Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/569

 toward the Orient, and finisheth in this Card right over against a little crosse made at the said 180 degrees, to be the king of Portingals. And all the land from the said Crosse towarde the Occident, until it joyneth with the other Crosse in the Orient, which containeth the other hundreth and eightie degrees, that is the other halfe of the worlde, to be the king of Spaines. So that from the land over against the said hundreth and eighty degrees untill it finish in the three hundred and sixtie on both the ends of the Card, is the jurisdiction of the king of Spaine. So after this maner they divided the world betweene them.

Now for that these Islands of Spicery fall neere the terme and limites betweene these princes (for as by the sayd Card you may see they begin from one hundred and sixtie degrees of longitude, and ende in 215), it seemeth all that falleth from 160 to 180 degrees should be of Portingal: and all the rest of Spaine. And for that their Cosmographers and Pilots coulde not agree in the situation of the sayde Islandes (for the Portingals set them all within their 180 degrees, and the Spanards set them all without): and for that in measuring, all the Cosmographers of both partes, or what other that ever have bene cannot give certaine order to measure the longitude of the worlde, as they doe of the latitude: for that there is no starre fixed from East to West, as are the starres of the Poles, from North to South, but all mooveth with the mooving divine: no maner can bee founde howe certainly it may bee measured, but by conjectures, as the Navigants have esteemed the way they have gone. But it is manifest that Spaine had the situation of al the lands from ''Cape Verde, toward the Orient of y'e Portingals'' to their 180 degrees. And in all their Cardes they never hitherto set the saide Islands within their limitation of the sayd 180 degrees, (though they knew very well of the Islands,) till now that the Spaniards discovered them. And it is knowen that the king of Portingal had trade to these Islands afore, but would never suffer Portingal to go thither from Calicut: for so much as he knew that it fell out of his dominion: least by going thither there might come some knowledge of those other Islands of the king of Spaine, but bought the cloves of marchants of that countrey, that brought them to Calicut, much deerer than they would have cost, if he had sent for them thinking after this maner it would abide alwayes secret. And now that it is discovered he sendes and keepes the Spaniards from the trade all that he can.

Also it should seeme that when this foresaid consent of the