A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06 - Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Robert Kerr
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page 25 of 667 (03%)
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and demaunded leave to enter into this haven, saying that hee came with
marchandise to traffique. But at that very instant the governour of the castle, Francis de Tapia, caused a tire of ordinance to be shot from the castle at the shippe, for she bare in directly with the haven. When the Englishmen sawe this, they withdrew themselves out, and those that were in the shipboate got themselves with all speede on shipboard. And in trueth the warden of the castle committed an oversight: for if the shippe had entered into the haven, the men thereof could not have come on lande without leave both of the citie and of the castle. Therefore the people of the shippe seeing how they were received, sayled toward the Island of St John de Puerto Rico, and entering into the port of St Germaine, the Englishmen parled with those of the towne, requiring victuals and things needful to furnish their ship, and complained of the inhabitants of the city of St Domingo, saying that they came not to doe any harme, but to trade and traffique for their money and merchandise. In this place they had certain victuals, and for recompence they gave and paid them with certain vessels of wrought tinne and other things. And afterwards they departed toward Europe, where it is thought they arrived not, for we never heard any more news of them. Thus farre proceedeth Gonzalvo de Oviedo, who though it please him to call the captain of this great English ship a rover, yet it appeareth by the Englishmens owne words, that they came to discover, and by their traffique for pewter vessels and other wares at the town of St Germaine in the iland of San Juan de Puerto Rico, it cannot bee denied but they were furnished with wares for honest traffique and exchange. But whosoever is conversant in reading the Portugal and Spanish writers of the East and West Indies, shall commonly finde that they account all other nations for pirats, rovers and theeves, which visite any heathen coast that they have once sayled by or looked on. Howbeit their |
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