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
to the river Jordan, and after remaining there a few days, ran
southwesterly along the coast to Gualdape or St Helena, where Ayllon
died, and from whence it thereupon immediately returned home to St
Domingo, without any further attempt at exploration. [Footnote: tom.
III. p 624. (Madrid 1853.) Mr. Kohl states (Discovery of Mains, 397)
that the ships of Ayllon made an extensive survey of the coast,
NORTH of the Jordan, soon after their arrival in the country. In
this he is in error; into which he appears to have been misled by
Navarrete, a part of whose language he quotes in a note, as that of
Oviedo. Navarret, referring to the portion of Oviedo's history, not
then (1899) published, as his authority, says on this point that
after leaving the river Jordan the ships of Ayllon proceeded to
Gualdape, "distante cuarenta o cicuenta leguas mas al norte" distant
forty or fifty leagues more to the north; whereas the language of
Oviedo, as contained in the recently published edition of his work,
is, "acordaron de yrse a pohlar la costa delante hacia la costa
accidental, e fueron a un grand rio (quarenta o quarenta e cico
leguas de alli, pocas mas o menos) que si dice Gualdape," (ut supra,
p. 628) they agreed to go and settle the coast further on towards
the west coast, and sent to a large river (forty or fifty-five
leagues from that place, a little more or less) which is called
Gualdape. The course of the coast at these points is northeast and
southwest. A westerly course was therefore to the SOUTH and not to
the north. Besides, Oviedo states that the Jordan was in latitude 33
degrees 40' and that Gualdape was the country through which the
river St. Helena ran, which he also calls the river of Gualdape, and
which in another part of his history he places in latitude 33
degrees N., and expressly stating that the Jordan was north of the
St. Helena, towards Cape Trafalgar, or Cape Fear (tom. II p. 144.)
Ayllon, therefore did not sail north of the Jordan, and the names on
the Ribero map, north of that river, are not attributed to his
expedition.]
This disastrous expedition, therefore, went no further north, than
the Jordan or Santee. It demonstrated the falsity of the stories
told to Peter Martyr by Francis, the Chicorane, as he was called,
one of the Indians seized in the first expedition and taken by
Ayllon to Spain, of the vast provinces with uncouth names which were
upon his authority transferred to the royal cedule granted to Ayllon
on the 12th June, 1523. [Footnote: P. Martyr, Dec. VII. o.2;
Navarrete III. 153.] That region remained unknown, therefore, until
the voyage of Gomez, and to it and it alone can the names on these
maps, within the limits before designated, be attributed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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