Purchas his pilgrimes. part 1 In fiue bookes. The first, contayning the voyages and peregrinations made by ancient kings, patriarkes, apostles, philosophers, and others, to and thorow the remoter parts of the knowne world: enquiries also of languages and religions, especially of the moderne diuersified professions of Christianitie. The second, a description of all the circum-nauigations of the globe. The third, nauigations and voyages of English-men, alongst the coasts of Africa ... The fourth, English voyages beyond the East Indies, to the ilands of Iapan, China, Cauchinchina, the Philippinæ with others ... The fifth, nauigations, voyages, traffiques, discoueries, of the English nation in the easterne parts of the world ... The first part.

§. III. Of King IOHN the second his Discoueries, and aduancement of the Art of Nauigation.

KIng Iohn the second hauing some experiment of the Profits of Guinea, which King Alphonso had bestowed on him for his Princely maintenance, could not now by the Obiections of the length of the Way, vnholesomenesse of the Countrey, ex∣pence [ 10] of Victuali, and the like, be detained by his Counsellors; but in the yeere 1481. he sent a Fleet of ten * 1.1 Carauels, vnder the command of Diego Dazambuia, to build the Castle of S. George della Mina, which in the yeere 1486. he dignified with the Priuiled∣ges of a Citie. In the Church thereof was ordayned a perpetuall Soule-Priest for Prince Henry aforesaid: and three yeeres after that Castle was builded, he added to his Regall Title, Lord of Guinea. Caramansa the Lord of the Countrey would haue hindered that Building, and the people (which worshipped the Stones and Rockes) mutined; but the Popes Gift, with their Strength, Gifts, Cunning, and some Reuenge, preuayled: The King commanded, that Stone Crosses or Pillars, with the Portugall Armes,* 1.2 should be set vp in conuenient pla∣ces, expressing the time and Authors of such Discoueries. So did Diego Can 1484. on the [ 20] Bankes of the Riuer Zaire, in the first Discouerie of the Kingdome of a 1.3 Congo (the King whereof, as also the King of Benin, desired Priests, and Baptisme) and in his next returne two others, hauing discouered sixe hundred miles, and in both his Voyages 1125. miles from Cape Catarine, further on the Coast.

By the Embassador of the King of Benin (which is not farre from Mina) the King of Portugall vnderstood of the b 1.4 Abassine, commonly called Prester Iohn, by them Ogane, whose Vassall the King of Benin then was, none being c 1.5 acknowledged lawfull Prince, till he had sent his Embassadour to the said Ogane, and had receiued from him a Crosse to weare about his necke, in token of his admission. Hereupon King Iohn sent both d 1.6 by Sea and Land to inquire both of the Indies, and of this great Negus, or Ogane: by Sea, two Pinnaces, of [ 30] fiftie Tunnes apiece, vnder the conduct of Bartholomew Diaz, with a little Victualling Barke, in August, 1486. Hee set certaine Negros on shore in diuers places, which had beene before carried into Portugall, and well vsed, that among those Sauages they might relate the Portu∣gall Ciuilitie and Greatnesse; carrying also with them some shewes thereof in Apparrell, and other things giuen them; and to make knowne, if it were possible, his desire, to find by his Discoueries meanes of acquaintance with Prester Iohn. He gaue Names to places discouered, and erected Pillars or Crosses of Stone (as is said) the last in the Ile called hereof, the Crosse; where his people with much disquiet vrged his returne, alledging their Victuals spent, and the losse of their Victualling Barke. Yet after consultation, hee proceeded so farre, that hee first discouered the famous Cape, which for his manifold troubles he termed Cabo Tormentoso, [ 40] or the tempestuous Cape: but King Iohn hoping thence to discouer the Indies, named it at his returne the e 1.7 Cape of Good Hope; where hee placed another Pillar of Stone, called S. Philip; as the other were termed S. George in the Riuer of Zaire, S. Augustine in the Cape thereof so termed, and likewise the rest. He returned in December, 1487. sixteene moneths and seuenteene dayes after his setting out, hauing discouered a thousand and fiftie miles of Coast. He found by the way his Victualler, wherein he had left nine men, of which, three onely were left aliue; f 1.8 one of which, Fernand Colazzo, died with sudden ioy of this fight nine moneths after the losse of each other.

By Land, the King had sent some by the way of Ierusalem to passe with the Abassine Pilgrims; which yet, for want of the Arabick Tongue, returned. Whereupon he sent Peter [ 50] g 1.9 Couilian, well skilled therein, and with him Alphonso Paiua, in May, 1487. which went to Alexandria, thence to Cairo, and thence with certaine Mores to Aden: from whence Paiua went to seeke a passage to Prester Iohn, but died at Cairo. Couilian from Aden, neere the straits of the red Sea, unbarked himselfe for Cananor, and thence to Calicut and Goa in the East Indies: from whence he returned vnto Africa, neere the Mines of Sofala, and after that to Cairo, with purpose of returne into Portugall. But the King had sent by two Spanish Iewes, Rabbi Abraham and R. Ioseph, the later of which had beene at Bagdad, and had ac∣quainted the King with the Trade at Ormus, and from thence had passed to Aleppo and Damasco, and was now sent backe to Couilian, that by the one an answere might be brought what he had done, with charge not to desist, till he had beene with the Abassine, to whom he [ 60] imployed him in Embassage: the other, to goe to Ormus, and informe himselfe of the Af∣fa••res of those parts. By Ioseph, Couilian wrote to the King, and to encourage his Nauigati∣ons, sent him a Mappe of his Discoueries in India, and on the African Coast. Hee pierced

after this, to the Court of Alexander the Abassine, who kindly entertained him, but soone af∣ter died; neyther would his successors permit that Vlysses to returne, a man of many Lan∣guages,* 1.10 and much vsefull for his experience in the World: but to Francis Aluares, which ac∣companied Roderike de Lima in an Embassage thither almost thirtie yeeres after, hee related the summe of his Trauels.

Many other worthy Acts were performed by King Iohn, in seeking to reduce some of these wild people both in Guinea and Congo, to holy Baptisme and Christian Religion, not so pertinent to this our purpose: but this was the furthest of his Discoueries. He had omit∣ted an oportunitie offered by Columbus, whom in his first returne from the Indies with his new Indians, he saw in March, 1493. But Occasions Head in the hinder parts was bald, the [ 10] Spaniard hauing before fastned on her fore-lockes. Yet doth Nauigation owe as much to this Prince as to any,* 1.11 who had imployed Roderigo and Ioseph, his Iewish Physicians, cunning Ma∣thematicians of that time, with Martin Bohemus the Scholler of Iohn Monte Regius, to de∣uise what helpes they could for the Mariners in their saylings thorow vnknowne Seas, where neyther Starres (as vnknowne) nor Land (being out of kenne) could guide them. These first, after long study, applyed the Astrolabe, before vsed onely by Astronomers, to Marine vse, and deuised the Tables of Declinations,* 1.12 to find out the Latitude of Places, and how to direct their course (which was afterwards by the knowledge of the Variation, exceedingly furthered) whereby the Mariners Art first began to free it selfe from the rudenesse of former times, and in these Nauigations of Canus and Dias, as those also of Columbus, to prepare a Way to [ 20] open our Eyes in these parts, to see a new World, and there in those, to see a new Heauen by Euangelicall Light, whereof a little misled glimpse they haue alreadie; an Earnest (as wee hope) of more, and more perfect, by Gods grace in due time to be reuealed.

Notes

• * 1.1

  One of the Captaines was an Englishman called Diego or Iames Ruiz.
• * 1.2

  Stone Crosses or Pillars ere∣cted in places discouered.
• a 1.3

  Zaire & Congo.
• b 1.4

  Newes from Benin of Pres∣byter Iohn.
• c 1.5

  King of Be∣nin tributarie to him.
• d 1.6

  Enquirie for him by Sea and Land.
• e 1.7

  Cabo Tormen∣toso, or of good Hope, first dis∣couered.
• f 1.8

  Death caused by sudden ioy. The like hap∣ned to an En∣glishman, left 14. moneths in S. Helena.
• g 1.9

  Peter Couilian first discouerer of Prester Iohn, and of the In∣dies, & Sofala.
• * 1.10

  Francis Aluares.
• * 1.11

  Rules of A∣stronomie first applyed to Nauigation.
• * 1.12

  Astrolabe, and Tables of De∣clinations.