17 / 1060
Royal
Commentaries.
.,
,
B 0
0 K
l
C H
.A
P.
I.
How the New World
Wa5
Difcovered.
A
BOUT
the Year
1484,
a certain Pilot, Native of
Helva
in
the
County of
Niebla,
called
Alon!}
Sanche:t,
ufually
f
raded in a
f
mall
Veffel from
Spajn
to
the
Canarse1
5
and there Ladmg the Commo ·
dities of that Coumrey, failed to the
Mader1t1,
and thence freigh–
.
red with Sugar and Conferves, returned home into
Spain;
this was
his confiant courfe and trafick, when in one of thefe Voyages mee–
ting
with a mofi violent Tempefr, and not able to bear
fail,_
he was forcea
t~
_put
before the Wind for the fpace of
28
or
29
days, not know10g where or whither
he went for in -:' that time he was not able to take an obfervation of the height
oft
' • , and
fo
grievous was the fior.Q1, that the Mariners could with no con–
vemence either eat or fleep: At length, after
fo
many ldng and teadious days, the
Wind abating, they found themfelves near an Hland, which
it
was, is not cer–
tainly known , bttt it is believed to have been St.
Drnningo,
becaufe that lyes juft
Weft from the
Canaries,
whence a fiorm at Ea!l: had driven the Ship, which
is
the more fitange, becaufe the Eafierly Winds feldom blqw
hard
in
thofe Seas, and
rather make
fair
weather, than tempefiuous. But God, who is all-fufficient,
in-
,
tending to befl:ow his mercies, can make caufes produce effe& contrary co their
nature ; as when he drew water from the Rock, and cured the blind with Clay ;
in
like manner his immenfe goodnefs and compaffion defigning to rranfmit the
light of the true Gofpel into the new World, made ufe of thefe unufual me
alls
to convert them from the Idolatry of Gentilifm , and from their foollih and
a
ark ·
fuperfl:itions, as ihall be related
in
the fequel of this Hillery.
The Mafier landing on the fhore , obferved the height of the Srin, and
fo
no–
ted particularly in writing what he had feen, and what had happened
in
this Voy–
age our, and home: and having fupplied himfelf with freili water and wood ,
be put to Sea again; but having not well obferved his courfe thither,
his
way to
return was the more difficult, and made
his
Voyage
fo
long, that he began to want
both water and
pr9vi~ons,
which being added to their
form~r
fufferings, the peo·
ple fell fick, and died m that manner, that of
17
perfons which came out of
Spain,
there remained but five onely alive, when they arrived at the
TercerM,
of which
.
the Mailer was one. Thefe came all to lodge at the Houfe of that famous
Ge-
:-roe(e,
called
Chnftopher *Colon,
becaufe they knew him to be a great Seaman and ,,.
or
Co/Hm–
Co~mographer, ~nd
one who made ea-carts to
fail
by; and for this reafon he
bus.
received the.m \ ith much kindnef, and treated them with all things neceffary,
that fo he might learn from them the particulars which occurred and the difcoveries
t~ey
had ma?e in this laborious Voyage : but
iri
regard they
br~ught
a
languifhing
dillemper with th,em,
cau~ed
by
their ufferings at Sea, and of which they could
not
~e
recoyered
oy
the kmd ufage of
Colon,
they all happened
to
dye
in
his houfi ,
leavmg
t~eir
labour for his inheritance; the which he improved with
[u
h re:idi-
nefs of mmd, that he underwent more, and greater, than they, in regard chat the
B
laCTed