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When we lay in prison at Fuquieo, we came many times abroad, and were brought to the pallaces of noble men, to be seene of them and their wiues, for that they had neuer seene any Portugale before. Many things they asked vs of our Countrey, and our fashions, and did write euery thing, for they be curious in nouelties aboue measure.
As they do their idolatry they laugh at themselues. If at any time this countrey might be ioyned in league with the kingdome of Portugale, in such wise that free accesse were had to deale with the people there, they might all be soone conuerted. The greatest fault we doe finde in them is Sodomie, a vice very common in the meaner sort, and nothing strange among the best.
Their admiral had been fighting long and bravely, when Martin Shobbrok, who was standing near me, exclaimed, pointing at her, "The Lord have mercy on their souls! Mark you not, Master Ben, how deep by the head is that stout Portugale ship? See, see! she is sinking lower and lower." Still the guns from her upper deck continued to belch forth flames and smoke.
"Silence!" he cried; "go to your quarters without beat of drum." The guns were cast loose, and powder and shot brought from below, and our men stood ready for the next order. The phantom ship, for such she appeared, loomed larger and larger. The admiral divined her object to run us on board. "She's either the Portugale flag-ship or maybe that of Prince Rupert's himself," whispered Martin to me.
Then did he take vpon him to command all alone, setting nought both by captain Pinteado, and the rest of the marchants factors, sometimes with opprobrious words, and sometimes with threatnings most shamfully abusing them, taking from Pinteado the seruice of the boies and certain mariners that were assigned him by the order and direction of the worshipful merchants, and leauing him as a common mariner, which is the greatest despite and grief that can be to a Portugale or Spaniard, to be diminished of their honor, which they esteem aboue all riches.
Portugale gallies with certaine shippes, and slewe about 300. of them, taking 150. Portugales prisoners, of which we daily saw some going vp and downe the streetes of Bantam like slaues and captiues. Besides these they tooke about 900. gallie slaues prisoners.
The Portugales haue a castle here which standeth neere vnto the sea, wherein there is a Captaine for the king of Portugale hauing vnder him a conuenient number of souldiers, whereof some part remaine in the castle, and some in the towne. In this towne are marchants of all Nations, and many Moores and Gentiles.
All these and other particularities are plainly and truely here deliuered by one Thomas Steuens a learned Englishman, who in the yeere 1579 going as a passenger in the Portugale Fleete from Lisbon into India, wrote the same from Goa to his father in England: Whereunto I haue added the memorable voyage of M. Iames Lancaster, who doth not onely recount and confirme most of the things aboue mentioned, but also doth acquaint vs with the state of the voyage beyond Cape Comori, and the Isle of Ceilon, with the Isles of Nicubar and Gomes Polo lying within two leagues of the rich Island Sumatra, and those of Pulo Pinaom, with the maine land of Iuncalaon and the streight of Malacca.
"Being sent with a merchant of Turney, called Berlo, to the mart of Antwerp, the said Berlo set me," says Perkin, "to borde in a skinner's house, that dwelled beside the house of the English nation. And after this the said Berlo set me with a merchant of Middleborough to service for to learne the language, with whom I dwelled from Christmas to Easter, and then, I went into Portugale."
To come more neere vnto particulars, I haue here set downe the very originals and infancie of our trades to the Canarian Ilands, to the kingdomes of Barbarie, to the mightie riuers of Senega and Gambia, to those of Madrabumba, and Sierra Leona, and the Isles of Cape Verde, with twelue sundry voyages to the sultry kingdomes of Guinea and Benin, to the Ile of San Thome, with a late and true report of the weake estate of the Portugales in Angola, as also the whole course of the Portugale Caracks from Lisbon to the barre of Goa in India, with the disposition and qualitie of the climate neere and vnder the Equinoctiall line, the sundry infallible markes and tokens of approaching vnto, and doubling of The Cape of good Hope, the great variation of the compasse for three or foure pointes towards the East between the Meridian of S. Michael one of the Islands of the Azores, and the aforesaid Cape, with the returne of the needle againe due North at the Cape Das Agulias, and that place being passed outward bound, the swaruing backe againe thereof towards the West, proportionally as it did before, the two wayes, the one within and the other without the Isle of S. Laurence, the dangers of priuie rockes and quicksands, the running seas, and the perils thereof, with the certaine and vndoubted signes of land.
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