The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10: Asia, Part IIIHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10: Asia, Part III
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
thither with him, bringing great store of marchandises with them, as
Clothes, Saffron, all kindes of drinking glasses, and Haberdashers wares,
as looking glasses, kniues, and such like stuffe: and to conclude, brought
with them all kinde of small wares that may be deuised. And although those
wares amounted vnto great summes of money, notwithstanding it was but onely
a shadow or colour, thereby to giue no occassion to be mistrusted, or seen
into: for that their principall intent was to buy great quantities of
precious stones, as Diamants, Pearles, Rubies, &c. to the which end they
brought with them a great summe of money and golde, and that very secretly,
not to be deceiued or robbed thereof, or to runne into any danger for the
same. They being thus arriued in Ormus, hired a shoppe, and beganne to sell
their wares: which the Italians perceiuing, whose factours continue there
(as I sayd before) and fearing that those English men finding good vent for
their commodities in that place, would be resident therin, and so dayly
increase, which would be no small losse and hinderance vnto them, did
presently inuent all the subtile meanes they could to hinder them: and to
that end they went vnto the Captaine of Ormus, as then called Don Gonsalo
de Meneses, telling him that there were certaine English men come into
Ormus, that were sent onely to spie the countrey; and sayd further, that
they were heretikes: and therefore they sayd it was conuenient they should
not be suffered so to depart without being examined, and punished as
enemies, to the example of others. The Captaine being a friend vnto the
English men, by reason that one of them which had bene there before, had
giuen him certaine presents, would not be perswaded to trouble them, but
shipped them with all their wares in a shippe that was to saile for Goa,
and sent them to the Viceroy, that he might examine and trie them, as he
thought good: where when they were arriued, they were cast into prison, and
first examined whether they were good Christians or no: and because they
could speake but badde Portugall, onely two of them spake good Dutch, as
hauing bene certaine yeres in the Low countreyes, and there traffiked,
there was a Dutch Iesuite born in the towne of Bruges in Flanders, that had
bene resident in the Indies for the space of thirty yers, sent vnto them,
to vndermine and examine them: wherein they behaued themselues so well,
that they were holden and esteemed for good Catholicke Christians: yet
still suspected, because they were strangers, and specially English men.
The Iesuites still tolde them that they should be sent prisoners into
Portugall, wishing them to leaue off their trade of marchandise, and to
become Iesuites, promising them thereby to defend them from all trouble.
The cause why they sayd so, and perswaded them in that earnest maner, was,
for that the Dutch Iesuite had secretly bene aduertised of great summes of
money which they had about them, and sought to get the same into their
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