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They were engaged in an unjust expedition against the rights of Portugal, and without order from Charles the Fifth; for that emperor, to whom King John the Third addressed his complaints thereupon, disavowed the proceedings of his subjects, and gave permission, that they should be used like pirates. Yet the Portuguese proceeded not against them with that severity.
An excellent brief account of the discovery of America is in Channing's History of the United States, I, chs. I-II. For the relations of Europe and Asia, and the Portuguese explorations, see Cheyney's European Background of American History, chs. I, II, IV. An excellent brief sketch of the life of Columbus is in Ency. Brit., 11th ed.
For nearly a hundred years before the discovery of America the Portuguese had been endeavouring to find an ocean route to the spice islands of the East and to the great Oriental empires which, tradition said, lay far off on a distant ocean, and which Marco Polo and other travellers had reached by years of painful land travel across the interior of Asia.
"'Does he count fast? asked one of the men, this being the first question that had been asked. "'I've heard, said the Portuguese, 'that he's a rapid calculator, and the minute he's got to his millionth claw, and finds it's hooked tight and fast, he begins to haul down the ship." At this point the marine stopped and glanced around at the little group.
They were either French, Spanish or Portuguese. He could distinctly see the white field of the flag they flew, "but they were at too great a distance to discover if there was anything else on it." The flag, of course, showed the golden lilies of France on a white ground. One of the ships, King records, "wore a CHEF D'ESCADRE'S pennant," that is, a commodore's.
He even went the length of lamenting his presence in the far-away land he governed, and swore that he longed for the day when he might return and sit upon the steps of his father's throne. In the meanwhile the jealousies between the Portuguese and Brazilians increased rapidly, the bitterness being more especially evident in the soldiery of the respective lands.
Everybody was thinking and talking about the great Battle on the Somme of which this was the first anniversary; but before the day was over we ourselves had cause to remember the first of July. My diary contains a brief synopsis of the journey: "July 1st. "Up 4 a.m. Breakfast 4.40. Marched off from Westbecourt at 6.15. Marched to Lumbres. The place full of Portuguese. Entrained there.
I cannot remember to have seen so many relics under one roof, bones of both holy men and women, with idols of the heathen brought from Portuguese possessions in the East which are now faded from the map, as well as the body of St. John of God shrined in silver in the midst of all.
As they proceeded through a long street the crowd was so great, many among the people being Moors, with swords and shields, that it was with difficulty the Portuguese could make their way, until several nairs arrived and drove the rabble aside.
He gained great experience and a thorough knowledge of his new profession. He once sailed on an English vessel to Thule or Iceland, the longest voyage which mariners of that time dared attempt. Then he tried his fortune in Portugal, earning a living by drawing sea-charts and serving as skipper on Portuguese vessels sailing to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and to Guinea.
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