Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/281

 Fernando Lopez de Castagneda, or Ioannes Maffeius in their Histories of the East Indies, you shall finde more written in his singular commendation, then a large Epistle can well comprehend.

THE WORKE THOUGH SMALL IN BULKE CONTAINETH SO MUCH RARE AND PROFITABLE MATTER, AS I KNOW NOT WHERE TO SEEKE THE LIKE, WITHIN SO NARROW AND STREITE A COMPASSE. For heerein is orderly declared, who were The first Discouerours of the world since the time of the flood: by what waies from age to age the spicerie, drugs, and riches of the East were conueied into the West: what were the causes of the alterations of those courses, as namely the changes of Empires and gouernments: The ceasing of all trafficke for many yeeres by The Gothes inuasion of the Romane Empire: The rising vp of The Mahumetane sect; with their ouerrunning of Afrike and Spaine: The renewing againe, after many yeeres disturbance, of the trafficke and entercourse of the East Indies; first by the Califas of the aforesaid sect: and eftsoones by The Venetians, Ienowais and Florentines. Then followeth the taking of Ceuta in Barbarie by Iohn the first king of Portugall of that name in the yeere of our Lord 1415. whose third sonne Don Henry (which he had by the vertuous Ladie Philippa, daughter of Iohn of Gante, and sister to Henry the fourth, king of England) was the first beginner of all the Portugall discoueries, and continued the same for the space of fortie and three yeeres euen to his dying day. By whose encouragement the kings of Portugall found out with much patience and constancie the last way of the bringing the Spicerie into Europe by The Cape of Buona Sperança; and for these hunderd yeeres past haue become the chiefe Lords of the riches of the Orient. By emulation of which their good endeuours, The Antiles and The west Indies began to be discouered by The kings of Spaine. The infancies of both which most important enterprises, The progresse of the same from time to time, the discoueries of Islands, riuers, baies and harbours, of many rich prouinces, kingdomes, and countries; The erecting of castles in sundry conuenient Islands and places, with the drawing of trafficke vnto the same, where, when, by whom, and by whose authority is heere succinctly and faithfully recorded. So that if it please your Honour at your conuenient leisure to take a sea card or a mappe of the world, and carie your eie vpon the coast