The voyage of Verrazzano : $b a chapter in the early history of maritime discovery in AmericaMurphy, Henry Cruse
History
The voyage of Verrazzano : $b a chapter in the early history of maritime discovery in America
Murphy, Henry Cruse
America -- Discovery and exploration -- French; Verrazzano, Giovanni da, 1485-1528
By the two courses and distances just mentioned, the explorers are
brought first to the island of Cape Breton, and then to the cape of
that name, where the coast first takes a decided turn, from its
easterly direction, to the north, and forms the westerly side of the
strait leading into the gulf of St. Lawrence. This cape, according
to the letter, is distant easterly one hundred and fifty, and fifty,
leagues from the harbor in the great bay, distances which, for
reasons already mentioned, are to be regarded as estimates only, but
which taken exactly would have carried them beyond Cape Race in
Newfoundland. They are to be considered, however, as properly
limited to the turn of the coast before mentioned, as that is a
governing circumstance in the description. Beyond this point, north,
and east, the letter presents the claim to the discovery in another
aspect. Thus far it relates to portions of the coast confessedly
unknown before its date. But from Cape Breton, in latitude 46
Degrees N. to latitude 50 Degrees N. on the east side of
Newfoundland, it pretends to the discovery of parts, which were in
fact already known; and it makes this claim circumstances which
prove it was so known by the writer, if the letter were written as
pretended. Having described their attempts at intercourse with the
natives at Cape Breton, the narrative concludes the description of
the coast with the following paragraph.
"Departing from thence, we kept along the coast, steering northeast,
and found the country more pleasant and open, free from woods, and
distant in the interior, we saw lofty mountains but none which
extended to the shore. Within fifty leagues we discovered thirty-two
islands, all near the main land, small and of pleasant appearance,
but high and so disposed as to afford excellent harbors and
channels, as we see in the Adriatic gulf, near Illyria and Dalmatia.
We had no intercourse with the people, but we judge that they were
similar in nature and usages to those we were last among. After
sailing between east and north one hundred and fifty leagues MORE,
and finding our provisions and naval stores nearly exhausted, we
took in wood and water, and determined to return to France, having
discovered (avendo discoperto) VII, [Footnote: "The MS. has
erroneously and uselessly the repetition VII, that is, 700 leagues."
Note, by M. Arcangeli. It is evident that VII is mistakenly rendered
502 in the transcription used by Dr. Cogswell.] that is, 700 leagues
of unknown lands."
The exact point at which they left the coast, and to which their
discovery is thus stated to have extended, is given in the
cosmography which follows the narrative, in these words:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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