The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 14: America, Part IIIHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 14: America, Part III
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
The gentlemen that thus tooke vs for their seruants or slaues, did new
apparell vs through out, with whom we abode, doing such service as they
appointed vs vnto, which was for the most part to attend vpon them at
the table, and to be as their chamberlaines, and to waite vpon them when
they went abroad, which they greatly accounted of; for in that countrey
no Spaniard will serue one another, but they are all of them attended
and serued by Indians weekly, and by Negroes which be their slaues
during their life. In this sort we remained and serued in the said citie
of Mexico, and thereabouts for the space of a yeere and somewhat longer.
Afterwards many of vs were by our masters appointed to go to sundry of
their Mines where they had to doe, and to be as ouerseers of the Negroes
and Indians that laboured there. In which mines many of vs did profite
and gaine greatly: for first we were allowed three hundred Pezos a man
for a yeere, which is threescore pound sterling and besides that the
Indians and Negroes which wrought vnder our charge, vpon our well using
and intreating of them, would at times as vpon Saturdayes when they had
left worke, labour for vs, and blow as much siluer as should be worth
vnto vs 3 markes or there abouts, euery marke being worth 6 Pezos, and a
halfe of their money, which 19 Pezos and a halfe, is worth 4li. 10s. of
our money. Sundry weeks we did gaine so much by this means besides our
wages, that many of vs became very rich, and were worth three thousand,
or foure thousand Pezos, for we liued and gained thus in those Mines
some three or foure yeeres. As concerning those Gentlemen which were
deliverd as hostages, and that were kept in prison, in the Viceroy his
house, after that we were gone from out the garden to serue sundry
gentlemen as aforesaid, they remained prisoners in the said house for
the space of 4 moneths after their comming thither, at the end whereof
the fleete being readie to depart from S. Iohn de Vllua, to goe for
Spaine, the said Gentlemen were sent away into Spaine with the fleete,
where as I haue heard it credibly reported, many of them died with the
cruell handling of the Spaniards in the Inquisition house, as those
which haue bene deliuered home after they had suffered the persecution
of that house can more perfectly declare. Robert Barret also master of
the Iesus, was sent away with the fleete into Spaine the next yeere
following, where afterwards he suffered persecution in the Inquisition,
and at the last was condemned to be burnt, and with him one more of our
men whose name was Iohn Gilbert.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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