Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/305

 After that the Romanes had gotten the most part of the world, there were in that age made many, and notable discoueries.

But then came the Gothes, Moores, and other barbarous nations, and destroied all. For in the yeere 412. after the incarnation of Christ, they tooke the citie of Rome: And the Vandales came out of Spaine and conquered Africa.

And in the yeere 450. the king called Atila destroied many cities in Italie: at which time the citie of Venice began. And in this age the Frankes and Vandals entered into France.

In the yeere 474. the Empire of Rome was lost, and fell from the Romanes to the Gothes.

And after this came the Lombards into Italie, namely in the yeere 560.

Also about this time the sect of the Arrians preuailed greatly: and at this time one Merline of England was famous for his prophecies.

To be short, in the yeere 611. sproong vp the Mahumetane sect and Morisco regiment, which by force inuaded both Africa and Spaine.

By all this it may appeere, that in that age, all the world was in hurly burly, and all places very tumultuous.

In so much that trafficke and merchandise ceased: for no nation durst trade one with another by sea or land: nothing as then remained stedfast neither in monarchies nor kingdomes, signiories, religions, lawes, artes, sciences, nor nauigation. Nor so much as the records and writings of such things did remaine, but were all burnt and consumed by the barbarous crueltie and vnbrideled power of the Gothes: who became so courteous and ambitious, that they purposed of themselues to begin a new world, and to root out the memorie, and blot out the knowledge of all other nations besides.

But they that succeeded after these times in the gouernment of things, perceiuing the great and huge losse, that the Christian world had by the want of trafficke and ceasing of nauigation, whereby those commodities and marchandises could not be spent, which before went ordinarily from one nation to another