Neither Indeed Is This Letter Of Much
Importance, Except To Shew The Miserable End Of That Unfortunate Voyage,
The Villainy
Of Don Rodrigo and his comrades in murdering the poor
Englishmen to conceal their plunder, and that Alcasar, in the
Prosecution, was solely intent upon recovering the treasure for the King
of Spain, without any consideration of the murder of the three
Englishmen; who, in his letter, are treated as robbers and thieves,
though England was then at war with Spain, and they were consequently
justifiable in taking the Portuguese ships as lawful prizes.
SECTION IX.
Voyage of Captain John Davis to the East Indies, in 1598, as Pilot to a
Dutch Ship.[31]
This voyage was written by Davis himself, and appears to have been sent
by him in a letter to Robert Earl of Essex, dated Middleburgh, 1st
August, 1600. From this letter we learnt that Mr Davis had been employed
by his lordship, for discovering these eastern parts of the world, for
the service of Queen Elizabeth, and the good of England. He informs his
noble patron, that his journal only contains such things as had fallen
under his own observation; but, when favoured with an opportunity, he
would give him an account of all that he had learnt abroad relating to
the places of trade and strength belonging to the crown of Portugal, and
respecting the commerce of those eastern nations with each other. The
Portuguese possessions, he says, beginning at Sofala, being the first
beyond the Cape of Good Hope, are Mozambique, Ornuus, Diu, Gor, Coulan,
Onore, Mangalore, Cochin, Columbo, Negapatam, Portogrande or Chittigong
in Bengal, Malacca, and Macao in China, with the islands of Molucca and
Amboyna. That the Portuguese likewise trade to Monomotapa, Melinda,
Aden, Arabia, Cambaya or Guzerat, the coast of Coromandel, Balagate, and
Orissa.
[Footnote 31: Purch. Pilg. I. 116. Astley, I. 254.]
Of all these nations, as he says, there are some traders residing at
Acheen, in the island of Sumatra; where likewise he met with Arabians,
and a nation called Ramos,[32] from the Red-Sea, who have traded there
many hundred years. There are there also many Chinese engaged in trade,
who have been used to trade there for many hundred years, and used Davis
kindly, so that he says he was able to give his lordship much
information concerning the great empire of China. He concludes by
saying, that the Portuguese had long industriously concealed all these
things, which were now providentially laid open. He concludes by saying,
that he had inclosed the alphabet of the Acheen language, with some
words of their language, written from right to left, after the manner of
the Hebrews; but this has not been printed in the Collection of Purchas.
He says that he had also sent by one Mr Tomkins, probably the bearer of
the letter and journal, some of the coin used there in common payments;
The gold piece called mas, being worth about ninepence half-penny; and
those of lead called caxas, of which it takes 1600 to make one mas.
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