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.

§. II. [ 50] The Voyage of Master BENIAMIN WOOD, into the East Indies, and the miserable disastrous successe thereof.

IN the yeere 1596. by the charges principally of Sir Robert Dudly, was set forth a Fleete of three Ships, the Beare, the Beares Whelpe, and the Beniamin, com∣mitted vnto the command and conduct of Master Beniamin Wood. The Marchants imployed in this Voyage, were, Master Richard Allot, and Master Thomas Bromfield, of the Citie of London. These men for their better furtherance, intending to pierce as farre as China, obtained the gracious Letters of Queene Elizabeth of famous memory, to the King of [ 60] China in their behalfe, which begin in this manner.

* 1.1ELIZABETHA, Dei gratia, Angliae, Franciae, & Hiberniae Regina, verae & Christianae fidei contra omnes falso Christi nomen profitentes inuictissima Propugnatrix, &c. Altissimo, Ser••nissi∣mo{que}, Principi, Potentissimo Magni Regni China Dominatori, summo in illis Asiae Partibus, In∣sulis{que}

adiacentibus Imperatori, & Magno in Orientalibus Mundi Regionibus Monarchae, salis∣tem, multos{que} cum omni optimarum rerum copia & affluentia laetos & foelices annos. Cùm honesti & fideles subditi nostri, qui has literas nostras ad Serenitatem vestram perferunt, RICARDVS ALLOT & THOMAS BROMFIELD, &c. Datae in Palatio nostro Grenouici XI. Mens. Iulij Anno Christi 1596. anno{que} nostri Regni XXXVIII.

This their honourable expedition, and gracious commendation by her Maiestie to the King of China in their marchandizing affaires, had not answerable successe; but hath suffered a double disaster; first, in the miserable perishing of the Fleet, and next in the losse of the Historie and Relation of that Tragedie. Some broken Plankes, as after a shipwracke, haue yet beene [ 10] encountered from the West Indies, which giue vs some notice of this East Indian disaduenture. Quae Regio in terris nostri non plena laboris? This intelligence wee haue by the intercepted Letters of Licentiate Alcasar de Villa Sen̄or, Auditor of the Royall Audience of Saint Do∣mingo, and Iudge of Commission in Puerto Rico, and Captaine Generall of the Prouinces of New Andalusia, written to the King and his Royall Councell of the Indies. An extract whereof, so much as concerneth this businesse, here followeth. Wherein, let not the imputation of Robbery or Piracie trouble the Reader, being the words of a Spaniard▪ and the deeds of English in the time of warre twixt vs and Spaine.

AN other Commission your Royall Audience committed vnto mee,* 1.2 to punish offenders [ 20] that did vsurpe a great quantitie of goods of your Maiesties, in the Island of Vtias. Of the state that I had in the end of the last yeere, I sent relation to your Maiestie, inserting a decla∣ration of one Thomas an English man, of the goods that in the said Island hee and his compa∣nions had, and for this onely I will make a summarie relation of the Case, and the state of the Suite, by the which will appeare, that out of England went three Shippes for the India orientall of Portugall, which tooke three Portugall Shippes, subiects to your Maiestie,* 1.3 whereof one of them came from the Citie of Goa, and from the Captaine they tooke a great rich stone, which he said hee carried for your Maiestie, the proportion whereof went in the said Relation. They had in them also many bagges of Royalls of eight and foure, for the pay of the Souldiers, which your Maiestie hath in Garrison, in a Castle Frontire of the said India; and the said Eng∣lish-men [ 30] rob'd them of it, and much more goods appertaining to your Maiesties subiects: and by sicknes of the English-men, remained only foure, which in a boat put all the goods they could, which they had robbed from your Maiestie and your subiects, and with it chanced to a Riuer in the Island of Vtias, three leagues from this Island: where they tooke out their goods on land, where their Boat was sunke and lost: so they remained on thIsland, with only one small Boat made of boords, which they had taken from certaine Fisher-men, at the head of Saint Iohn of this Island: with the which they came for water hither, and left one George an English-man, one of the foure that arriued in the said Island of Vtias. Who being found by Don Rodrigo de Fuentes, Iuan Lopez de Aliçeda, Iuan Morales, Iuan Martinis, Iuan Ruiz, Pedro Chamacho; He gaue them notice of the things aboue said, and of the Stone, Stones, Gold, Plate, Testones, [ 40] and other goods that was in the said Island, and the parts and place where the three English-men and their goods they might find. Whereupon they consulted and agreed, to passe to the said Island of Vtias to possesse and benefit themselues with the goods that they should there find, and so they past ouer, and carried with them a Letter of George the English-man, that his compa∣nions should deliuer themselues to them, with their weapons and goods. And being come neere to the place where the English-men were, they set vp a white Flagge of Peace, and the Eng∣lish-men seeing this, set vp another, and so came peaceably to speake together, where they pro∣mised them their Faith and Friendship: whereupon the English-men yeelded themselues, with their armes and goods to the said Don Rodrigo, and his consorts: who tooke possession of all, and parted among themselues the money, and hid and kept secret the Stone, and Stones, Gold, [ 50] Plate and other goods, leauing a small quantitie of Plate in barres, and Silkes to make this small part manifest, that the truth might not be knowne what quantitie of Stones, Gold, Plate, and the rest of the goods they vsurped. They consulted and agreed to murther the English-men, with whom they had eaten, drunke, and slept in company of peace: who hauing kil'd Richard and Daniel, and would haue kil'd Thomas, hee escaped into the mountaine from them, and the said Don Rodrigo and his consorts came backe againe to this Island, with intent to kill, as they did kil George the English-man with poyson, & sent backe again to the said Island of Vtias, to seeke Tomas for to kill him also; who with a piece of Timber passed ouer to this Island with great admiration. They hauing knowledge thereof, sought all the meanes they could to kill him. Here the said Don Rodrigo, and Iuan Lopez, de Aliceda, came to this Citie and before the [ 60] Gouernour manifested and made denuntiation of a small quantitie of goods that they found in Vtias, and the rest of their complices presented themselues for witnesse, falsly proouing that they had found no more goods, then that little that they there manifested, and that they had kil'd three English-men in fight to get it. And thus they plotted many false in••ormations, be∣fore Christo vall de Marcado, a chiefe Officer, which was sent with Commission of your Go∣uernour,

to fetch the Plate and goods so manifested, and by their perswasion many false witnesses haue deposed, who haue vsed many tricks, inuentions, cauills & false deuises to couer the truth; and they sent by three passages to the Island of Vtias, to approue the so killing of the three English-men, and that their manifestation was true, intending to remaine with the rest, which they v∣surped, who vnderstanding that there were diligences done to approue their delict, some of them haue broken the Prisons and Goales, and fled out of them, especially the sayd Don Rodrigo de Fuentes. Who being in prison with a chaine and bolts, and two Souldiers for guard, hee fyled off his Irons, broke the prisons, and fledde away by night, and carried with him two Blacke-Moores of his that were attached for your Maiestie, and went to the Riuer of Toa two leagues from the Citie, where hee remained a long time in sight of this Citie, with a Horse, Lance, Pi∣stoll [ 10] and Sword, whom being fauoured of many kinsfolkes and friends of his wife, I cannot ap∣prehend, although I did many diligences, in the meane while I tooke the examination of his complices who haue confest the deed, and that the said Don Rodrigo is Actor of all; by whose counsell and direction they were all gouerned. But they haue not declared all the Stones, Gold, Plate, and Amber, saying that they were in the Island separated and deuided, that the one might hide his things without the priuitie of the other. The proouances and likelihoods doe much charge the said Don Rodrigo, and therefore I haue proceeded against him, for Absence and Re∣bellion, and they discouered in their confessions all their Complices; whom I haue examined for witnesses one against another, being a case wherein Complices may serue for witnesses. This cause being concluded by an extraordinarie diligence, I haue apprehended him, and for that the [ 20] sute is of two thousand leaues, I haue made a memoriall to take his confession of more then two hundred questions, and he hath confessed almost as much as his Complices, and denieth to haue the great stone and the rest; the said Don Rodrigo hauing taken from Daniel the English-man two chaines of Gold, the one hanged with an Agnus Dei, and the other with a Crucifixe of Gold, and with it a collar of Gold, which Thomas the English-man declareth to haue fiftie pieces Ameled, to bee worne for a womans chaine, with certaine Braslets and Rings of Gold with many small Stones: which declareth the said Iuan Martines, one of his Complices, and the said Don Rodrigo onely confesseth two Chaines and three Rings, which he saith were stolne from him, and his said Complices, hauing declared that three bags of Testones, of eight and foure Royalls which fell to the part of him and Iohn Ruiz, they had past to this Island, which [ 30] the said Iohn Ruiz hath confest, and as witnesse hath declared that hee brought them, and carried them by the order of the said Don Rodrigo vnto his house, which hee will not deliuer, saying, That they were stolne from him in the mountaine where hee did hide them: and his Complices hauing declared that he tooke in the said Island, a great masse of broken Siluer, which Thomas the English-man declareth to be fiftie pound weight, the said Don Rodrigo denieth the same. And hauing taken more two sackes of Plate in barres, which by witnesse I did prooue to weigh more then two hundred pound weight each of them; hee hath deliuered of all this onely tenne pound and a halfe, and saith that he spent and sold twelue pound, and a pound and a halfe was stolne out of his house, and that hee gaue to Christopher de Mercado twentie and six pound, when he went with Commission from your Gouernour to fetch the Plate manifested: he denieth all the [ 40] rest, affirming that he brought from the Island of Vtias a Pot full of Plate, which hee saith fell from him into a Riuer. And hauing prooued that he carried tokens from George the English-man where he should find the great Stone in a Presse, made vp betweene two Boords, hee denieth the same: and hauing prooued that the first time that hee went to the Island, hee brought thence a Purse of Veluet, without telling or shewing to his companions what was in it at the mouth thereof, did appeare certaine Boords of the Volume of two hands together, and it is presumed it was that whereinto Thomas the English-man declareth the Stone was put, and hee will not de∣liuer the said Purse, saying, that it was stolne from him: he declareth and manifesteth some little pieces of wood that he brought in it, and two witnesses his Complices declare that those small pieces that he manifesteth he brought out of the same Island many dayes after, being sent thither [ 50] by order of the said Christopher de Mercado. Many other tokens and presumptions concurre that hee hath the said Stone and the rest, and the rest of the Stones. It is likewise prooued, present∣ly after they returned from the said Island, the first time that they passed thither, it was pub∣likely said and famed, that the said Don Rodrigo had found a Stone of great value, and to couer the truth hee was furnished with many Informations, which I haue prooued to bee false, which were past before Christopher de Mercado, when hee went with the said Commission to bring the goods manifested: for the which the said Don Rodrigo gaue him the said twentie sixe pound of Plate, and hee and his Complices one hundred two and twentie Crownes of Gold, and foure hundred and fiftie Royalls of Foure, and other things of the goods that they vsurped in the said Island. The said Don Rodrigo directed his Complices what they should say and do, and [ 60] therefore they told not the truth in many examinations that I tooke of them, till such time that the said Don Rodrigo was fled out of the prison: so fayling of his counsel, they presently declared and confessed the fact, will serue for witnesses, and it doth appeare by many other witnesses that they before denyed the truth, and after his escape 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••••clared the same, and concealed the same

before at the request and perswasion of the said Don Rodrigo also appeareth, that hee sent three small Caruels to the Iland, to the place where they said they had killed three English men in fight, and he confesseth he did the same, to the end that his first Declaration might seeme to bee true, that he sent them by order of the said Iohn Lopez de Alyceda, Constable of the vale of Coa, mo; which hath no Iurisdiction Ciuill nor Criminall. So I apprehended him and committed him- and hauing brought the said Thomas English man, to this Citie who declaring before your Go∣uernour by Interpreter the fact of this Sute, the said Don Rodrigo procured to kill him, and for the same he requested of the Licentiate Antonio de Robles Physician, a proportion of Poyson, which both he and the said Iohn Martine haue declared: and appearing that the said Iohn Lopez did not [ 10] passe to the said Iland as Constable, nor carryed with him any Scriuener of two that were pre∣sent when they imbarked themselues, and hauing confest, and as a witnesse declared that he past to the Iland, not as an Officer, but as a companion, and therefore tooke his share of the Te∣stones, the said Don Rodrigo holdeth for his principall defence, to haue passed to the Iland with a Constable, and that all was done by his order, and that the said Informations were false. I haue charged the said Don Rodrigo, of these and other offences that by the Processes appeare, and commanded that he might haue a Copie of them that with in the space of fifteene dayes, hee might alleage and proue what was conuenient in his right, with all charge of publication, con∣clusion and scitation for all the acts and sentences, leauing the Processes in Rebellion made ag••anst him in his force and vigor. He let passe the said Terme, and I granted him other three Termes of fifteene dayes, which likewise he let passe, and in the end of them hee refused me, and generally [ 20] all the Inhabitants in this Citie, and thirtie leagues about it, excepting only sixe friends of his, and your Royall Officers they refused. So I accompanied my selfe only with one Bailiffe for the time of tryall, reseruing to haue power to accompanie my selfe for the sentence with your Au∣ditor which is looked for heere, and commeth to this Port for your Royall Audience of Sancto Domingo, and I granted him the fourescore dayes of the Law, and hee hath made no proofe nor can make none. For all that were in the said Iland of Vtias haue declared the delicts of the which the said Don Rodrigo is charged, and there will bee found no other by whom to make proofe of any thing to the contrary: and the cause being concluded, the said Audites past without entring into this Port. And the said Bailiffe and other persons that I pretended to accompany mee refu∣sed me, saying, that if they did Iustice, the Kindred of the Wife of the said Don Rodrigo, which [ 30] haue taken his part would doe them harme, and in not doing the same, they did charge their con∣sciences: and notwithstanding any person with whom I might be accompanied, that might not be without suspect, and the refusall was so generall and auaileable, I accompanied my selfe at the last with Batcheler Ioseph Derebolledone, Naturall of the Island of the Canaries, which chanced to come to this Port. Likewise the said Iuan Ruiz being Prisoner, brake his Prison and Gaole, and withdrew himselfe into the Cathedrall Church of this Citie, and made himselfe strong in the Tower from whence I gate him, and a Sute was followed before the Iudge Ecclesiasticall, where I defended your Maiesties right, and made an Information in the which I alleaged all the said goods to belong to your Maiestie, hee hauing committed Robbery in the vsurpation of it, and o∣other grieuous Delicts, that they ought not to enioy the Immunitie Ecclesiasticall which hee [ 40] pretended: and with many iudgements and opinions of Theologie, the Iudge Ecclesiasticall gaue sentence that he ought not to be releeued of the said Immunitie Ecclesiasticall, for that by the said Information may be better vnderstood. This Sute and Iustice of your Maiestie, which I haue thought good to send; and if to the contrary the said Don Rodrigo doe write, may be vnder∣stood the credit that may be giuen to one that hath done such Delicts; and made so many In∣uentions and false Informations: to obscure and remayne without punishment with your Roy∣all goods.

A conclusion of the Sute was made with them all, and I gaue and pronounced sentence, in the which I comdemned the said Iuan Lopez, exaliced Iuan Ruis, Ioan Martines, Pedro Camacho to death, and losse of halfe their goods applyed for your Maiesties Chamber: and more I condem∣ned [ 50] the afore-said in solidum, and that within fiue dayes of the notification of this my sentence, they giue and deliuer the goods that they shared, all that yet remayneth vndeliuered to the accomplishment of that which Thomas the Engl••sh hath declared, therefore said, and his compa∣nions to haue taken in the Iland of Vtias, of whith they afore-said, and Complices were possest of, hid and kept secret, that it might be put into your Maiesties Chests, whose it is and to whom it doth belong.

The same sentence I gaue with my Companion against the said Don Rodrigo defuentes, and re∣maynes pronounced in secret, hauing others to sentence that they may come forth together in the pronuntiation. I command that within the fiue dayes they deliuer the said goods: which not ac∣complishing, [ 60] I did command a Mandate to be dispatched, that they may bee executed: with the which, I hope, to discouer these goods, and they shall be restored to your Maiestie, for the which I will doe all the diligence possible for my intention is not to execute them. And thus God keep the Catholike person of your Maiestie. From Portorico the second of October. 1601.

Notes

• * 1.1

  See the whole ••e••ter▪ ••••ak. To. 3. pag. 53.
• * 1.2

  An extract of a Spanish Let∣ter which I found amongst Master Hak∣luits pap••••s.
• * 1.3

  Three Portu∣gal Ships taken by the English▪