406 / 1060
Ro_yal
Commentarie!.
BooK
IX.
xxv.
Of
the
Vine, and
of
hinz
who
firfl
planted Grapes.
H
E
\vho
had
the
honour
to
be the firft Importer
of
Noah's
Plantwas
Francu
de
Caravantes,
a Nobleman of
Toledo,
and one of the
firft
Conquerours of
PerH.
This
Gentleman confiaering the Countrey
t0
be
in
fome tolerable fiate of
quiet
and repofe;> fent for Vines to the
Canaries,
as being the neareft place; from
whence
they brought the black fort of
Gr~pe, wtii~b
p,roduces a red Wine, but not of
the
deepeft red, or Tent-colour ;
ans:i
thopgh they have fince planted feveral
forts of
Vines, fuch
as
Mufcatel, and othe;s
~
yet there
is
none of
a
pale or
whitilh
co–
lour.
Bacchm
was adored by the Gentiles, and wodhii:tped
for a
God
in
xeward of
a
le!fer piece of fervice
than
this Gentleman had done
for tbe
lndian1
;
for
though
'Vine be now plentifull in
Peru,
yet the Natives tberoofhave fo ungentile a palate
that they know not how to relifh it, contenting themfelves with ch.eir ancient
Be~
verage made of
Cara
and Water. Moreover,
I
have heard
in
Peru,
from the
re–
port of a Gentleman
of
good repute, that..a certain
Spaniard,
who
was
very
curi–
ous, and a great
VtrtHofo,
had extralted a fort ofWine called
Almacigo
from
Raiiins
which
he had brought from
Spain
;
and that having fowed fome of the
Railin–
fiones, they produced
a
kind of Vines,
but
were
fo
tender, that he
was
forced to
conferve them three or
four
years
in
A!macigo,
unrill
fuch
time
as
they were
firong
enough to be planted ; and that from thence the Grapes have taken fo
high
a co·
lour, that all the Wine in
Peru
became like the Tent-wme
in
Spttin,
thougli nor
al–
together of
fo
deep
a
colow-.
Ir
is
probable
that
the Grapes of
Peru
have had their
Original from both of thefe ways; for the
Spaniards,
who were always paffionate
for their Countrey, and defirous to fee the fame
Fruits
growing in
the
Indies,
as
were
in
Spain,
did omit no experiments or
trials
to
bring the f4me to their
defi
ed
intent.
Captain
Bartho/()Jnew de Terrauu,
who
WFIS
one of the fufl:Conquerours..of
.
Peru,
and one of rhofe. who entred
Chili
under
the
Admiral
Don D iego
de
Almagro,
was the
full:
that
planted Grapes in his own Vineyard in the Cjty
of
Co~co;
I was
well acquainted with this Gentleman, and eH:eemed him
for
a mofl: generous
pcr–
fon, and well accomplHhed
in
all points of moft vertuous Endowmems. He
plan·
ted a Vineyard in his Lands, fituated in rhe Province of
Cunti}~tt,
which he ma·
nured
by
l ndiam,
being called
A chanquillo;
from whence in roe ye r
155),
as
an
evidence and proof of his good Husbandry, and greamefs of
his
liberal SouJ, he
fent thirty
Indians
laden with fair and goodly G rapes
to
his intimate and familiar
friend
Garfilaf{o de la Vega,
my honoured Lord, with order that he 01ould divide a ..
mongfl: the Gentlemen of that
City
an equal fhare and proportion, chat every one
might njoy the fruit of his labours.
It was indeed at that time a great curio!icy
to have the
Fruit
of
Spain
growing
in
tbat Countrey, and a clear evidence of
hiJ
munificent and liberal Soul; for
if
he would have made merchandife of
tbofe
Grapes, he might have fold them for four or five thoufand Ducats. For my part,
I did partake of thofe Grapes, for my Father having made me the Meifenger to
carry chem, attended with two Pages, I delivered to every principal Houfe
two
large bunches of them.
.
CH A
p,