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The Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492-93)

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The Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492-93) The Journal of Christopher Columbus (during his First Voyage, 1492–93) And Documents relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real Edited by CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM ROUTLEDGE Routledge Taylor & Francis Group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ounded in 1846, the Hakluyt Society seeks to advance knowledge and education by the publication of scholarly editions of primary records of voyages, travels and other geographical material. In partnership with Ashgate, and using print-on-demand and e-book technology, the Society has made re-available all 290 volumes comprised in Series I and Series II of its publications in both print and digital editions. For information about the Hakluyt Society visit www.hakluyt.com. ,6%1 KEN WORKS [SSUED fi.Y ttbe 1balllu12t Socfet~. THE JOURNAL fi.Y C H R I S T 0 PH E R C0 L U M BU S. ETC. No. l.XXXVl. .'\ grart admiraei.on a gran espanto Pensando sus srandems me provoco Y su mayor loor en qualquier canto No~ podri deeir ~ b:o: IPues Castilla y ·Leon 1e dlebe toto Que euanto puedo yo decir es poeo No procuro dddtes ni guajoc Mas sufticlor rue grande de ~. ]VA.N 0& CASTELLANOS,. 8/qi~JIY. THE JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (DURING HIS FIRST VOYAGE, 1492-93}, AND DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE VOYAGES OF JOHN CABOT AND GASPAR CORTE REAL. «ranelatrlr, lllitfl jlotrl anlJ an llntrolhlttion, BY CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, C.B., F.R.S., pR:ItSJDitNT OF THE HAICl.U\''F SOCUl.TY. LO~DON: PRINTED FOR THE /HAKLUYT SOCIETY, 4• LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS. W.C. M.PC:£C..XCJU~ LO!!fDOH I l'll:llii'RO BY CK.U. .J. CI.Ait&. 4> UlfooutS INN l'l&LDS, W.C. LO~DON: COUNCIL OJ! THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY. CLDIENTS R. MARKHAM, ESQ., C.B., F~R.l:'., Presiamt. :\fAJOil:-GEJ\IERAL SIR HE:<:RY RAWUNSOX., K.C.B., D..C.L., LI~D., 'F.R.S., A.ssocit! Stranger de L'lnstilut de FrtVue, Yice•Presidenl. LoRD ABERD ARE, G.C.B., F.R.S•. , late Pres. R.U.S. s. E.. B. BoiJ\'ERIE-Pti$EV, ESQ. V!CR-ADMIRAL LINDESAY BRINE, ROBERT 8ROWN, EsQ., l\1.,\,, PH.D. :\hLLER CHRISTY, EsQ. THE RIGHT HON. SIR 1>.IOUNTl'.Tt:.\RT E. GRANT Dt:FF, G.C.S.L, Prts. R.G.S. ALBERT GlltAY, ESQ. A, P~ MAUDSLAV, ESQ. ADMIRAL SIR E. 0JorMANNEY, C.B.,. F.R.S. :[":, A. iPETHERICK, E.SQ. ERNEST SATO\V, EsQ., C. M.G. , ,Tibtlsfer Resident in Uruguay. s. w. ~ILVER, E.SQ. CotrrTs TRoTTER,. •EsQ. PROF. E. 8. TVLQR, D. C. L. CAPTAIN SIR J. StrDN~Y \\'EI18, K.C.M.G. CAPTAIN' W. J. L. 'WHARTON, R.~. ,Tibtlsfer Resident in Uruguay.0JorMANNEY, 0JorMANNEY, Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group http://taylorandfrancis.com CONTENTS. PAG& INTRODUCTION: 1. Journal of Columbus ix 11. John Cabot ix Ill. Sebastian Cabot XXll IV. Gaspar Corte Real xlh· SAILING DIRECTIONS OF COLUMBUS. LETTERS OF TOSC.·\- NELLI 3 JOURNAL OF THE FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS lj DOCU:'I!ENTS RELATING TO THE VOYAGES OF JOHN CABOT: Letters Patent granted to John Cabot and his sons 197 N arne of the ship 199 Date of sailing 199 Landfall. Legend on the map of Sebastian Cabot 200 Reward for John Cabot 201 Letter from Lorenzo Pasqualigo 201 First Despatch from Raimondo di Soncino 202 Second Despatch from Raimondo di Soncino 203 Second Letters Patent granted to John Cabot 2o6 Despatch from Ambassador Puebla 207 Despatch from Ambassador Ayala 208 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO SEBASTIAN CABOT: From the Decades of Peter Martyr 209 Rarnusio. Recollection of a letter 211 Account by the Guest of Fracastor, in Ramusio 212 From Gomara . 215 From Galvano . 216 Venett'an Intrz:t;t~t's. Letter from the Council of Ten 217 VIII CONTENTS. PAGK Reward to Cabot's agent 21& Despatch from Ambassador Contarini 219 Second Despatch from Contarini 223 Letter from the Council of Ten to Contarini . 224 Letter from the Ragusan to Cabot 225 Third Despatch from Contarini 22) The Council of Ten to Soranzo 226 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE VOYAGES OF GASPAR CORTE REAL: Extract from Gaivao 229 Extract from Damian de Goes 230 Letter from Cantino to the Duke of Ferrara. 232 Letter from Pasqualigo to the Go,•ernment of Venice 235 Letter from Pasqualigo to his brothers 236 Payment for the Cantirio Map· :2.38 Legends on the Cantino Map 239 INDEX TO THE jOURNAL OF COLUMBUS 241 INDEX TO THE DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE VOYAGES OF jOHN CABOT AND GASPAR CORTE REAL 253 ILLUSTRATIONS. Sketch of the vessels in the first voyage of Columbus to face page iv Map of Juan de Ia Cosa " XX Map of Sebastian Cabot , xxxii Restoration of the Toscanelli Map , ix Map of Cantino , 241 INTRODUCTION. 1.-J ovRN.\L OF CoLu~mus. HE Council of the Hakluyt So­ ciety has decided upon issuing a translation of the Journal of the First Voyage of Columbus on the four hundredth anniversary of that momentous expedition. It has also been arranged that translations of the documents relating to the voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real shall be included in the same Yolume. Those ,·oyages were direct consequences of the g-reat dis­ covery of Columbus. The Society has to thank ~Ir. Harrisse, whose exhaustive works on the Cabots and Corte Reals leave little but translation to be done, for his kindness in giving permission for the translation from his texts of some important docu­ ments,1 the originals of which are difficult of access: and also for permission to reproduce portions of the 1 Specified in their places. b 11 INTRODUCTION. Cantina and La Cosa maps from his impressions. The thanks of the Society are also due to Mr. H. Welter, the publisher of Mr. Harrisse's last work, for permission to make use of the plates of the maps of Juan de la Cosa and Cantina. Our late Secretary, Mr. R. H. Major, by his pro­ duction of the Select Letters of Columbus ( 1847; 2nd ed., 187o), brought within the reach of members of this Society all the letters written by the Admiral himself on the subject of his four voyages, as well as some other original documents. There remains for the Council to furnish the members with a trans­ lation of the Journal of the first voyage, the only one that has been preserved, and this in a mutilated form. Our series will then contain all the contri­ butions of the great discoverer himself, that have escaped destruction, to the history of his mighty achievements. It is necessary, for the proper understanding of the Journal, that it should be preceded by the T oscanelli correspondence, because constant allusion is made to it by the Admiral; the places mentioned by T oscanelli were anxiously sought for at every turn; and the letters of T oscanelli were practically the sailing directions of Columbus. The famous Florentine astronomer, Paolo T oscanelli, was lool<ed upon as the highest authority on cosmography and navigation in that age. King Affonso V of Portu­ gal, through the Canon F ernam Martins, made an application to T oscanelli for information re8pecting the voyage westward to India. The astronomer IXTRODL'CTIOX. iii replied fully on June 25th, 1474, enclosing a map. Soon afterwards Columbus, who was then at Lisbon, and had long pondered over these questions, re­ solved to make a similar application to the Florentine philosopher. He sent a letter, together with a small globe embodying his ideas, to Toscanelli, entrusting them to the care of an Italian named Lorenzo Birardi, who was going to Florence.1 The reply was satisfactory. 2 Toscanelli sent his correspondent a copy of his letter to Martins, and a copy of the map, with some additional remarks. It was that letter and that map that were destined to play so important a part in the conduct of the first voyage. Columbus replied, and received a second briefer but equally cordial letter from T oscanelli. The T os­ canelli correspondence is given in I tal ian in the Vita dell A1mnt'ra,glio,3 and in Spanish in the Histo1y of Las Casas. 4 Both these translations are inaccu­ rate, and several passages are inserted that are not in the original, which was in Latin. This original Latin text was discovered in I 86o, in the Colum­ bine Library at Seville, by the librarian, Don Jose l\Iaria Fernandez de Velasco. He found it in the Admiral's own handwriting, on a fly-leaf of one of the books which belonged to Columbus.~ 1 Las Casas, i, p. 92. 2 The date of .the letter to Columbus is di~cussed in a note at pages 3 and 4· 3 Cap. xiii. 4 Las Casas, i, 92-96. Las Casas, by mistake, calls Toscanelli Marco Paulo, instead of Paulo, in t\YO places. 5 The book is Historia rerum ubique geslarum, by Eneas Silvio Piccolomini (Venice, 1477, small folio, 105 leaves). b 2 lV INTRODCCTION. I have translated from the Latin text, as given in his life of Columbus by Don Jose Maria Asensio.1 The Toscanelli map is lost. It was in possession of Las Casas when he wrote his history, and that is the last trace we have of it. But it is so minutely described in the letter that its restoration, with help from the globe of Martin Behaim, is not difficult.
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