A. D.

1511 kingdom was then much exhaufted of its treasure," he might have added alfo of its men, " and shall we truft now to better days?-What though, with our twelve thousand or fifteen "thousand men, we have often defeated their armies of fifty thousand or fixty thousand, stands "it with reason of war to expect the like fuccefs ftill? efpecially fince the ufe of arms is "changed, and for the bow, proper for men of our ftrength, the caliver, or hand gun, be

66

gins to be generally received; which, besides that it is a more coftly weapon, requireth a long practice, and may be managed by the weaker fort. Let us, therefore, in God's name, "leave off our attempts against the Terra Firma, as the natural fituation of iflands feem not to "fuit with conquefts of that kind. Or, when we would enlarge ourselves, let it be that way we can, and to which, it feems, the eternal Providence has deftined us, which is by fea. "The Indies are difcovered, and vaft treasure brought from thence every day; let us there"fore bend our endeavours thitherwards, and if the Spaniards or Portuguese suffer us not to "join with them, there will be yet region enough for all to enjoy," &c.

The great and fine ifland of Cuba, in the West Indies, was not entirely fubdued by the Spaniards till this year, when, it is faid, they had, by various cruelties and tortures, totally deftroyed the numerous natives. And as it never could be re-peopled in any reasonable degree by Spain, being fix hundred and fixty miles in length, it ftill remains, in a great degree, a defart to this day, unless it be in and near the few towns they have in it, which likewise are but poorly inhabited, excepting the famous town and port of Havanna, which may poffibly contain near five thousand Spaniards, exclufive of negroes, being about half the white inhabitants of this great ifland; fo that it would probably be totally deferted by Spain, were it not for its fituation, and more especially for its very important haven of the Havanna, at the north weft corner of it, that commands the entrance into the gulph of Florida, through which their treasure fleets muft neceffarily fail home to Spain. And as the Havanna has always been, and must ever be, the general rendezvous of their fleets homeward bound, both from New Spain and Terra Firma, that is from Vera Cruz, Carthagena, and Porto Bello, it is juftly called the key of the Spanish West Indies. This noble island produces tobacco that is much esteemed, excellent fugar, (though in no great quantity, for want of hands) ginger, long pepper, and many useful drugs, copper mines, excellent fruits and vines, timber of various kinds, vast multitudes of black cattle, brought originally from Spain; but there not being people fufficient to eat them, the Spaniards employ their negroes to kill them, as they also do in Paraguay, &c. purely for their hides, which they fend over to Spain in great quantities!

We find, by the most laborious and judicious Hakluyt, in his fecond volume, that there was fome commerce from England, and in English fhips, down the Mediterranean Sea, as far as Chios, in the Levant, even as early as this year, but chiefly from London, Bristol, and Southampton.

In the thirteenth volume, p. 311, &c. of the Foedera, we read, in the league entered into between King Henry VIII. of England and King Ferdinand the Catholic of Spain, against France, &c. that thofe two Kings ftipulate to have a maritime force fufficient for protecting the maritime commerce of both nations, viz. each King three thousand men, armed and equipped for naval war :-King Ferdinand was to fend his quota of forty fhips, fome of which were to be of three hundred tons burthen, and the reft of fmaller dimenfions down to one hundred tons, to rendezvous at Southampton, where Henry's forces were to embark, though his quota be not therein fpecified. Ferdinand's pretence for drawing young King Henry, his son in law, into a war for support of the Pope's dominions against Charles XII. of France, (who,

A. D.

1511 (who, being poffeffed of Milan, had alfo taken Bologna, &c.) was the conquering of Guienne for Henry, which had been the ancient inheritance of the crown of England; but all Ferdinand's views were folely for himself, viz. the conqueft of the neighbouring kingdom of Navarre by the help of the English troops.

1512 The next year, (ibid. p. 326) we have an indenture, in English, between King Henry VIII. and his Admiral, Sir Edward Howard, much more particular, and which affords us great light into the manner of fitting out fleets for war in those times, viz.

"I. Befide the three thousand men," as in the preceding year above related, "armed for "fea war, there were to be feven hundred foldiers, mariners, and gunners, in King Henry's "ship, named the Regent. The above three thousand men confifted of the eighteen captains of the English fhips, one thousand seven hundred and fifty foldiers, and one thousand two "hundred and thirty-two mariners and gunners.

"II. The Admiral to have, for the maintenance of himself in diet, and for wages and re"ward, ten fhillings daily pay during the voyage; and each captain one fhilling and fix pence per day," or two fhillings and feven pence of our modern money.

"III. The foldiers, mariners, and gunners to have, per month of twenty-eight days, five fhillings wages, and five fhillings more for victuals.

" IV. The Admiral undertakes to manage this armament for the before-named and follow"ing allowances, he receiving three months expence always before hand. Item, for the coat "of every captain and soldier, four fhillings; and of every mariner and gunner, one fhilling "and eight pence.

"V. For the dead shares of the said eighteen English ships, the Admiral was to have as fol"lows, viz.

"The rest of the eighteen fhips were, one of two hundred and forty tons, one of two hun"dred tons, three of one hundred and fixty tons each, one of one hundred and eighty tons, "two of one hundred and forty tons each, three of one hundred and twenty tons each, one "of one hundred tons, and one of feventy tons. Moreover, for re-victualling and wa"tering the said eighteen fhips, (they are here nineteen) the Admiral was allowed two cray63 ers, viz. one of fixty-five tons, and the other of fifty-five; in the former twelve mariners " and a boy, in the latter, ten and a boy, befide their commanders: each of the masters and mariners to have ten fhillings per month (as before) for wages and victuals.

"VI. All the foldiers and failors to have fix pence per day for conduct-money, allowing a "day's journey to be twelve miles only.

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"And forafmuch as our Sovereign Lord, at his cost and charges, victualleth the faid army "and navy, the said Admiral shall therefore reserve for the King the one half of all gains and winnings of the war, which he and the fleet, or any of them, shall fortune to obtain in the voyage, either on land or water: and also all prisoners, being chieftains, and one fhip royal "of two hundred tons or upwards, with the ordinance and apparel of every prize to be taken by them."

66

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1512

This English fleet was, by agreement, to guard the feas from the Channel to the Streights Mouth of Gibraltar; and King Ferdinand's fleet was to perform the fame duty in the Mediterranean. It was about this time that ships first began to be reckoned by guns and tonnage jointly; gunners being now, for the first time, mentioned in the Fœdera.

In this fame year, King James IV. of Scotland, equipped a fleet, (fays Rapin de Thoyras} "which he intended to fend into France, under colour of presenting it to Queen Anne, "wife of Louis XII. But this fleet, in which was the largest fhip that had yet been seen on "the fea, was loft or difabled by a ftorm, and the Admiral's ill conduct." King James's real intent was to aid the French King, against his brother-in-law, King Henry VIII. of England.

Whoever will attentively confider the gradual increase of the trade, manufactures, and people of England, muft, at the fame time, acknowledge, that in fome of our acts of Parliament of old, the true condition and increase thereof was far from being fairly or justly stated; being often egregiously misrepresented either in the preamble, or in the main bodies of such ftatutes; fometimes probably to answer the temporary and finifter purposes of men in power, and perhaps fometimes only from mere inadvertency and ignorance of the true state of the then prefent moment compared with former times; proceeding alfo from a humour, always more or less prevalent, of unreasonably depreciating the present, and exalting former periods. Of this we have furely a pregnant inftance in a statute of the third year of King Henry VIII. cap. viii. intitled, Of the Affizing of the Price of Victuals when a Victualler is Chief Officer, —that is, in a corporation.

*

Whereas, by a ftatute, cap. vi. of the twelfth year of King Edward II. in the year 1319, entitled, No Officer of a City or Borough shall sell Wine or Victuals during his Office, it was enacted, "That no officer, who, by virtue of his office, was bound to keep the affizes of "wines and victuals, fhall, during his office, fell wines or victuals, either by wholesale or "retail."

"Now," fays the first named act, "fithen the making of which statute, many, "and the "most part, of all the cities, burghs, and towns corporate, within this realm of England, "be fallen in ruin and decay, and not inhabited with merchants and men of such substance as "were at the time of the making of the forefaid ftatute;-for, at this day, the dwellers and "inhabitants of the fame cities and burghs be moftly bakers, brewers, vintners, fishmongers, " and other victuallers; and few or no other perfons of fubftance be within many of the faid "cities and burghs at this day, able to bear office within the fame, and to content, anfwer, "and pay unto the King's grace his fee-farm, wherewith they, (i. e. the cities and burghs) "be charged."-How absurd are these words; for, if the bulk of a city should confist of such trades, it is frange indeed, to represent the rest as perfons unable to fupport them!" It was "now enacted, for the ease, comfort, and relief of the forefaid poor cities, burghs, and towns"corporate, that whenfoever, and as often as any victualler is chofen to bear any office, “which should have the affizing and correction for the felling of victuals, that then two difcreet and honeft perfons of the fame city or burgh, not being victuallers, fhall be chosen "by the commonalty of the fame city or burgh, which two perfons, jointly, with the said "officer, fhall be fworn to set the affizes or prices of victuals during the faid victualler's office. "And then it shall be lawful for the faid victualler in office to fell wines and victuals by "wholefale and retail."

Pro

A. D:

1512

Provided that this act fhall not extend to difcharge any minifter, (aforefaid) of "the cities of London, York, and Coventry, for any wine or victuals to be fold by retail "within the faid cities."

Now, will any one ferioufly believe, that, two hundred years further backward, and prior to the reign of King Edward III. who firft gave the great and moft advantageous turn to the English commerce and manufactures, the cities and towns of England were richer, or indeed. near fo rich, as at this time, when the exports of the native product and manufactures of England were greatly increased, an infallible mark of increafing riches, and that the most part of the cities and towns of England were fallen into ruin and decay, fince the twelfth of year King Edward II? Certainly quite otherwife. It is rather to be fuppofed, that fome other latent reafon produced this law; but whether it was intended for the eafe of the other more wealthy inhabitants of the faid cities and burghs, to bring back the magiftracy to the victuallers, and perhaps alfo for fome other political purpose, or for what other reason, we shall not abfolutely determine, any more than why York and Coventry, and not Bristol, Norwich, &c. though fuperior to them, are, with London, the only places excepted out of this act.

And we have fufficient demonftration of the truth of what we have advanced by another ftatute, cap. vii. For reftraining the Exportation of Woollen Cloths before they be fully manufactured,-wherein we find that the cloths called veffes, rayes, failing cloths, &c. which, in King Edward the Fourth's time, fold for forty fhillings, were now fold for four marks, and two years after were fold at five marks, and that the prices of wool and workmanship were confiderably advanced in about fifty years; which circumftance was folely occafioned by the increase of commerce and people.

In this fame year, according to my Lord Herbert, King Henry VIII. built the largest ship ever known in England before. It was built at Woolwich, which place is faid to have had the first or oldest royal dock of any place in England. This is the fhip called the Regent, of one thousand tons, already mentioned to be this year fitting out against France. The Scotifh writers, nevertheless, affirm, that their King James the Fourth's great ship, already mentioned in this fame year, and which had been built fix years before, was fo large and well conftructed, that both the English and French copied after it.

An expired statute of the third of King Henry VIII. cap. i. merits a due remark. Its title is, Every Perfon that fhall carry over the Sea any Money, Plate, Jewels, &c. fhall forfeit the double Value. Plate and jewels are, in our age, deemed as much a commodity as any other merchandize, and fo is foreign coin and bullion. And, in fact, the only folid reafon for prohibiting the exportation of our own coin, is when (like our crown pieces at present) it happens to be too weighty; for it would be impracticable to be continually altering our coins, in order to keep pace with the current prices of gold and filver on the continent. Moreover, notwithstanding this prohibition, we know that our crown pieces are melted down and carried beyond fea, fo that very few are to be feen current; which fhews that it is the intrinfic value alone of our coins which is at all times regarded, and not their nominal value.

From this year we may properly date the commencement of what may be called an English navy-royal, that is, a number of ftout fhips for war, actually belonging to, and permanently established by the English crown for national defence; King Henry VIII. being the first English King who effectually pursued this plan, and for that end first formed a royal navy office, with commiffioners, &c. nearly as at prefent. He muft, indeed, be allowed, amidst all his VOL. II.

D

wild

A. D,

1512 wild diffipations, to have employed great fums of money on his marine affairs, as well for the conftruction of fhips of war, as of docks, yards, wharfs, ftorehouses, &c. Before his time, there was no permanent navy-royal; but, on ordinary occafions, the Cinque Ports, as we have already fully explained, fupplied the crown with a determined number of such sorry ships as they had in thofe old times and on great emergencies we have alfo feen, that all the maritime towns of the kingdom were bound, on reasonable notice, to fend their quota of ships and mariners for a determined time, commanded either by the King or his Admiral ;-fuch as was the fleet of King Edward III. at the fiege of Calais, in the year 1347, and other capital expeditions.

Moreover, Bishop Gibfon, in his Additions to Camden's Britannia, obferves, that King Henry VIII. in this fourth year of his reign, for the advancement and benefit of navigation and commerce, erected a corporation for the business of examining, licenfing, and regulating pilots, for the ordering and directing of beacons, lighthouses, buoys, &c. which is stiled, The Corporation of the Trinity Houfe of Deptford Strond, and has proved of great benefit for accomplishing the valuable ends of its founder. Another fociety, for the fame good purposes, he afterwards erected at Hull, by the name of the Trinity Houfe at Hull; and also another at Newcastle upon Tyne, in the year 1537,-" Which three establishments," fays Hakluyt, "were in imitation of that which the Emperor Charles V. had erected at Seville in Spain; "who, obferving the many fhipwrecks in the voyages to and from the Weft, Indies, occafi"oned by the ignorance of feamen, eftablished, at the Contractation Houfe, lectures on navigation, and a pilot-major for the examination of other pilots and mariners :-he alfo di"rected books to be published on that fubject for the ufe of his mariners." The King, by this charter, confirmed to the Deptford Trinity Houfe Society, all the ancient rights, privileges, &c. of the shipmen and mariners of England, and their feveral poffeffions at Deptford; though the time of its particular commencement is not difcoverable at prefent. This corporation, whofe powers, &c. have been fince confirmed and augmented by fucceeding kings, have alfo the power of appointing pilots for the King's fhips, and for examining and fixing their wages, and for certifying their qualifications, and those of the masters of ships of war; alfo for clearing and deepening the Thames by ballaft hoys, with which ballaft they supply the fhipping. They have alfo the examination of the forty mathematical boys of Chrift's Hofpital; they have likewife power to hear and determine complaints of officers and failors in the merchant fervice: fo that this corporation, more efpecially, is evidently of very great utility

to the nation.

That finery, or gaiety of apparel, was much increafed with the increase of commerce in England, appears from an act of Parliament of the fourth year of King Henry VIII. cap. vi. reciting part of an act of the twelfth of King Edward IV. (not printed) whereby the Customhoufe officers are prohibited to take any thing whatever for ftamping of imported cloth of gold, and cloth of filver, vaudekin, velvet, damask, fattin, farcenet, tariton, camlet, and other cloths of filk, and of filk and gold and filver. It is in this new act faid, "that many times the mer"chants do import, in one fhip only, three or four thousand pieces of those merchandize, "which" fays this act, "amounts to thirty or forty pounds to thofe officers, thus against law "fill extorting two pence for the fealing of each piece."

John de Solis, failing from Spain along the coaft of Brafil fouthward, firft discovers the great river which they named De la Plata, in thirty-five degrees fouth of the equator, in the country of Paraguay.