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your majestie shall have this citie very well fortified, by reason it is of such importance for the service of your majestie, and the trade of all Spaine and Peru, and all the Indies: for this is the principall fort of all this countrey.

Over against this point of the Ycacos, in the Isle of Cares, hard by the water side, there are great store of stones, free stones, and other stones to make lyme, and wood to burne the stones withall for the lyme, and great part of the stones doe lie about the water: so the wood will cost but the cutting of it downe, and the working of it, and with little paines taking it will bee brought to good perfection, for wee have already made triall thereof, for there was never building that went to decay after it hath bene made, nor perished by the sea: so the charge hereof will be but litle or nothing.

And for to put this in practise to build a fort, it is needefull that your majestie should send hither and to many other places, where any fort shall bee made, some store of Negros, and to this place would be sent 150 Negros brought from Guyney: and if the Negros of Havana are not to bee imployed there, nor those which are in Sant Juan de Ullua, it may please your majestie to cause them to bee sent for to this place, for most of them be artificers, some masons, bricklayers, smithes and sawyers, and to send some masons from Spaine to teach our men these occupations. And after these fortifications are ended and all furnished, then the Negros may be solde to great profit, for a Negro that is of any occupation is sold here for 600. and 700. pezos.

Nom

Nombre de Dios.

Ombre de Dios is builded upon a sandy Bay hard by the sea side, it is a citie of some thirtie housholdes or inhabitants: their houses are builded of timber, and most of the people which are there be forreiners, they are there to day and gone to morrow: it is full of woods and some places of the land are overflowen

with water continually by reason of much raine which doth fall upon the hils. It is a very bad harbour,

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neither is there any good water: and it is subject to Northerly winds and Easterly windes, which continually doe blow upon this coast: many of the great ships which doe come to this place doe unlade halfe their commodities betweene the two ledges of rockes, for that there is but little water in the harbour: and after that a ship hath [III. 552.] unladen halfe of her goods, then shee goeth to the second rocke, as it doth appeare by the platforme, but the small ships come neere unto another rocke on the West side. If the winde chance to come to the North and Northwest, and that it overblowe, then such great ships as then be > in the roade must of force more themselves with sixe cables a head, especially in a storme, and yet nevertheless sometimes they are driven ashore and so cast away, and all because they dare not vier cable ynough, because of so many shelves and rockes which are in both those places: also the shippes doe roule very much in the harbour, by reason in foule weather the Sea will bee mightily growen, which is the cause that their cables do oftentimes breake, and their ruthers are unhanged, the cause thereof is by reason the shippes doe ride but in little water, yet goeth there a great sea.

The citie is builded and situated very well if it were a good harbour, it standeth upon the Eastside upon a rocke where they may builde a very good fort, according to the platforme for the safegard of this harbour: but seeing it is but a bad haven and shallow water, therefore I doe thinke that it is not needefull for your majestie to be at any charges in fortifying that place, but onely a trench to be made of earth or clay, so that these townesmen may defend themselves from danger of 3. or 4. ships.

The citie of Panama is eighteene leagues from Nombre de Dios, the wayes are exceeding bad thitherwards; yet notwithstanding all the silver is brought this way to Nombre de Dios, as well your majesties treasure

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Nombre de Dios in 9. deg. and one tierce.

as other marchandize; so likewise the most part of those commodities which are caried to Peru, and the rest of the marchandize are carried to the river of Chagre which is some 18 leagues from this citie and it is brought up by this river within five leagues of Panama unto an Inne or lodge called Venta de Cruzes, and from this place afterwards they are transported to Panama upon Mules. The high way which goeth from Nombre de Dios to Panama may be very wel mended, only to remoove this way and to stop it quite up, and so to make it againe upon the side of a mountaine. This citie lieth in nine degrees and one tierce, and if your majestie will give order that this citie should be plucked downe and newly builded againe in Puerto Bello, then you are to make a new way through the mountains of Capira, by reason it may not be frequented and because the high wayes are very bad: with little charges they may be broken and so shut up, and the channell of this harbour may bee stopt with the timber of those old ships which are laid up here every yeere, and then afterwards may be cast a great number of stones into the same, and so by this meanes to damme up the harbour: and here is great want of stones to ballast the shippes: wherefore they are faine to goe to an Island three leagues from Cartagena called Isla de los Bastimentos, and this is a thing very needefull for this Countrey, as by experience I have seene.

Puerto Bello.

Uerto Bello lieth five leagues from Nombre de Dios very good harbour and sufficient to receive great store of ships, and hath very good ankering, and fresh water: for neere the shore you shall find some sixe fathome water, and in the middest of the same harbour you shall find twelve fathome, very good and cleane ground or sand, without eyther banks or rockes. There are twelve small rivers or brookes of water which doe belong to this harbour, and so doe meete all together:

so that the fleete may at all times provide themselves of fresh water so much as shall serve their turnes. And like wise there is in this place great store of timber to build shippes, and stones to ballast shippes. Also the harbour hath no danger at all in comming in, but onely 5 when the wind is Westerly, which is seldome seene upon this coast. The windes which doe most blowe upon this coast are Northerly windes, and they are more dangerous and hurtfull then the Easterly windes are. Within this harbour there lieth a small creeke safe from all winds that can blow. This creek is about five hundred yards long, and so many in breadth, and in the entring in of this creekes mouth it is some 300. yardes broad, and foure fathome and a halfe of water: and entring further in, sixe fathome, all oaze and muddie ground: so that if a ship should chance to strike or come aground, shee could take no harme being soft oaze; also it doth ebbe and flow according as I have certified your majestie already.

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And likewise the comming in and going out of this harbour is very good; and with all kinde of weather a shippe may set saile from this place except with a Westerly wind: and all this coast is very cleane where a shippe at all times may come to anker without the harbours mouth. This harbour is invironed round about with woods: and at the ende of this harbour there is certaine land which is overflowen with water: it may bee easily dryed up and walled round about, so this land [III. 553.] will serve very well to feede cattell. For that is the chiefest thing which doth belong to any citie or towne, and of this pasture ground there is great want in Nombre de Dios, for there is no pasture at all to breede cattell, for all kinde of flesh which is spent in this place is brought from Panama: so towards the South there is a very good place, where the citie may bee newe built on a certaine plaine ground which lieth at the foot of certaine mountaines, which bee not very high; and in this place there runne three little rivers of fresh water very sweete and good, and here is good arable ground to till and to

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sow Maiz and other kinds of graine. Also in this circuite there are great stones to make lyme, and these stones must needes proove very good as I doe thinke, but we never had any triall thereof.

This harbour hath all things necessary to builde a citie, where your majestie may have your armies and fleetes of shippes to ride at an anker in safetie without danger of loosing: and it is a very healthful countrey, and where the citie shall be builded it is all stony ground and forasmuch as the raine water which doth fall from the mountaines may doe hurt unto the citie, there at the foote of the mountaine wee will make a great pond to receive in all the water which doth fall from the mountaines, and so from thence to goe into the sea, as more at large your majestie may see by my platforme.

If it would please your majestie, it were good that the citie of Nombre de Dios might bee brought and builded in this harbour: it would not bee very chargeable unto the citizens by reason that all their houses are made of timber, and they may benefite themselves with the same againe, and likewise with the tyles of their houses: the greatest charge will bee to land timber and to cut downe the mountaine of wood.

If it please your majestie that the sayd citie of Nombre de Dios should bee builded in this harbour the first thing which must be finished is to make up this high way, and so to pull downe the Church which is in Nombre de Dios, and the Contractation house, and so newe build it in this harbour and then to command all the fleetes of shippes from time to time to come and unlade their goods in this sayd Puerto Bello: And that those marchants and factors of Spaine which are lygers in Panama and Nombre de Dios, shall come to this harbour and builde anew their warehouses for receiving of their goods. So by these meanes in short time it will be greatly inhabited with people also the fleete shall not passe so many dangers as they dayly doe in Nombre de Dios: neither will there so many people die as there dayly doe in Nombre de