And Being Arrived The
Last Day Of December, In A Place Near Unto Vigo, Called Pontevedra, Our
Men, With Excess Of Fresh Meat, Grew Into Miserable Diseases, And Died
A Great Part Of Them.
This matter was borne out as long as it might
be, but in the end, although there was none of our men suffered to go
on land, yet by access of the Spaniards our feebleness was known to
them.
Whereupon they ceased not to seek by all means to betray us, but
with all speed possible we departed to Vigo, where we had some help of
certain English ships, and twelve fresh men, wherewith we repaired our
wants as we might, and departing the 30th day of January, 1568, arrived
in Mount's Bay in Cornwall the 25th of the same month, praised be God
therefore.
If all the misery and troublesome affairs of this sorrowful voyage
should be perfectly and thoroughly written, there should need a painful
man with his pen, and as great time as he had that wrote the "Lives and
Deaths of the Martyrs."
JOHN HAWKINS.
- - -
A DISCOURSE WRITTEN BY ONE MILES PHILLIPS, ENGLISHMAN, ONE OF THE
COMPANY PUT ASHORE IN THE WEST INDIES BY MASTER JOHN HAWKINS IN THE
YEAR 1568, CONTAINING MANY SPECIAL THINGS OF THAT COUNTRY AND OF THE
SPANISH GOVERNMENT, BUT SPECIALLY OF THEIR CRUELTIES USED TO OUR
ENGLISHMEN, AND AMONGST THE REST, TO HIMSELF FOR THE SPACE OF FIFTEEN
OR SIXTEEN YEARS TOGETHER, UNTIL BY GOOD AND HAPPY MEANS HE WAS
DELIVERED FROM THEIR BLOODY HANDS, AND RETURNED TO HIS OWN COUNTRY.
ANNO 1582.
THE FIRST CHAPTER.
WHEREIN IS SHOWN THE DAY AND TIME OF OUR DEPARTURE FROM THE COAST OF
ENGLAND, WITH THE NUMBER AND NAMES OF THE SHIPS, THEIR CAPTAINS AND
MASTERS, AND OF OUR TRAFFIC AND DEALING UPON THE COAST OF AFRICA.
Upon Monday, being the 2nd of October, 1567, the weather being
reasonable fair, our General, Master John Hawkins, having commanded all
his captains and masters to be in a readiness to make sail with him, he
himself being embarked in the Jesus, whereof was appointed for master
Robert Barret, hoisted sail and departed from Plymouth upon his
intended voyage for the parts of Africa and America, being accompanied
with five other sail of ships, as namely the Minion, wherein went for
captain Master John Hampton, and John Garret, master. The William and
John, wherein was Captain Thomas Bolton, and James Raunce, master. The
Judith, in whom was Captain Master Francis Drake, now Knight, and the
Angel, whose master, as also the captain and master of the Swallow, I
now remember not. And so sailing in company together upon our voyage
until the 10th of the same month, an extreme storm then took us near
unto Cape Finisterre, which lasted for the space of four days, and so
separated our ships that we had lost one another, and our General,
finding the Jesus to be but in ill case, was in mind to give over the
voyage and to return home.
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