The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 13: America, Part IIHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 13: America, Part II
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
(M18) My kinsmen, friends, and seruants, you doe well know that eighteene
yeres I haue bene your King, as my fathers and grandfathers were, and
alwayes I haue bene vnto you a louing Prince, and you vnto me good and
obedient subiects, and so I hope you will remaine vnto mee all the dayes
of my life. You ought to haue in remembrance, that either you haue heard
of your fathers, or else our diuines haue instructed you, that wee are not
naturally of this countrey, nor yet our kingdome is durable, because our
forefathers came from a farre countrey, and their King and Captaine, who
brought them hither, returned againe to his naturall Countrey, saying that
he would send such as should rule and gouerne vs, if by chance he himselfe
returned not, &c.
These be the very wordes of Mutezuma set downe in the Spanish Chronicles,
the which being thoroughly considered, because they haue relation to some
strange noble person, who long before had possessed those countreys, doe
all sufficiently argue the vndoubted title of her Maiestie: forasmuch as
no other Nation can truely by any Chronicles they can finde, make
prescription of time for themselues, before the time of this Prince Madoc.
(M19) Besides all this, for further proofe of her highnesse title sithence
the arriuall of this noble Briton into those parts (that is to say) in the
time of the Queenes grandfather of worthy memory, King Henry the seuenth,
Letters patents were by his Maiestie granted to Iohn Cabota an Italian, to
Lewis, Sebastian and Sancius, his three sonnes, to discouer remote,
barbarous and heathen Countreys, which discouery was afterwardes executed
to the vse of the Crowne of England, in the sayde Kings time, by Sebastian
and Sancius his sonnes, who were borne here in England: in true testimony
whereof there is a faire hauen in Newfoundland, knowen, and called vntill
this day by the name of Sancius hauen, which proueth that they first
discouered vpon that coast from the height of 63 vnto the cape of Florida,
as appeareth in the Decades.
And this may stand for another title to her Maiesty: but any of the
foresayd titles is as much or more then any other Christian Prince can
pretend to the Indies, before such time as they had actuall possession
thereof, obtained by the discouery of Christopher Columbus, and the
conquest of Vasques Nunnes de Balboa, Hernando Cortes, Francisco Pizarro,
and others. And therefore I thinke it needlesse to write any more touching
the lawfulnesse of her Maiesties title.
The fourth chapter sheweth how that the trade, traffike, and planting in
those countreys is likely to proue very profitable to the whole realme in
generall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account