THE PRINCIPALL NAVIGATIONS-Continued. A fight performed by ten marchants ships of London against 12 Spanish gallies, in the Streit of Gibraltar. An. I590, The valiant fight performed in the Streit of Gibraltar by the 380 THE PRINCIPALL NAVIGATIONS OF THE ENGLISH NATION To the Worshipfull and his very loving Uncle M. Rowland Hewish Esquier, at Sand in Devonshire. SIR, considering the goodnesse of your Nature which is woont kindely to accept from a friend, even of meane things being given with a good heart, I have presumed to trouble you with the reading of this rude discourse of my travailes into Turkie, and of the deliverie of the present with such other occurrents as there happened woorthie the observation of all which proceedings I was an eie-witnesse, it pleasing the Ambassadour to take mee in with him to the Grand Signior. If for lacke of time to put it in order I have not performed it so well as it ought, I crave pardon, assuring you that to my knowledge I have not missed in the trueth of any thing. If you aske mee what in my travels I have learned, I answere as a noble man of France did to the like demaund, Hoc unum didici, mundi contemptum: and so concluding with the wise man in the booke of the Preacher, that all is vanitie, and one thing onely is necessarie, I take my leave and commit you to the Almightie. From London the 16. March 1597. Your loving Nephew A description of a Voiage to Constantinople and Syria, begun the 21. of March 1593. and ended the 9. of August, 1595. wherein is shewed the order of delivering the second Present by Master Edward Barton her majesties Ambassador, which was sent from her Majestie to Sultan Murad Can, Emperour of Turkie. WE set saile in the Ascension of London, a new shippe very well appointed, of two hundred and three score tunnes (whereof was master one William Broadbanke, a provident and skilfull man in his facultie) from Gravesend the one and twentie of March 1593. And upon the eight of April folowing wee passed the streights of Gibraltar, and with a small Westerne gale, the 24. of the same, we arrived at Zante an Iland under the Venetians. The fourth of May wee departed, and the one and twentie wee arrived at Alexandretta in Cilicia in the very bottome of the Mediterrane sea, a roade some 25. miles distant from Antioch, where our marchants land their goods to bee sent for Aleppo. From thence wee set saile the fift of June, and by contrary windes were driven upon the coast of Caramania into a road neere a litle Iland where a castle standeth, called Castle Rosso, some thirtie leagues to the Eastwards of the Rhodes, where after long search for fresh water, we could finde none, until certaine poore Greekes of the Iland brought us to a well where we had 5 or 6 tuns. That part of the country next the sea is very barren & full of mountains, yet found we there an olde tombe of marble, with an epitaph of an ancient Greeke caracter, by antiquity neere worne out and past reading; which to the beholders seemed a monument of the greatnesse of the Grecian monarchy. From thence we went to the Rhodes, and by contrary windes were driven into a port of Candy, called Sittia: this Iland is under the Venetians, who have there 600 souldiers, beside certaine Greeks, continually in pay. Here with contrary winds we stayed six weeks, and in the end, having the winde prosperous, we sailed by Nicaria, Pharos, Delos, and Andros, with sight of many other Ilands in the Archipelago, and arrived at the two castles in Hellespont the 24 of August. Within few dayes after we came to Galipoli some thirty miles from this place, where foure of us tooke a Parma or boat of that place, with two watermen, which rowed us along the Thracian shore to Constantinople, which sometime sailing and sometime rowing, in foure dayes they performed. The first of September we arrived at the famous port of the Grand Signior, where we were not a little welcome to M. Edward Barton untill then her Majesties Agent, who (with many other great persons) had for many dayes expected the present. Five or sixe dayes after the shippe arrived neere the Seven towers, which is a very strong hold, and so called of so many turrets, which it hath, standing neere the sea side, being the first part of the city that we came unto. Heere the Agent appointed the master of the Ascension to stay with the shippe untill a fitte winde and opportunity served to bring her about the Seraglio to salute the Grand Signior in his moskyta or church: for you shall understand that he hath built one neere the wal of his Seraglio or pallace adjoyning to the Sea side; whereunto twise or thrise a weeke hee resorteth to performe such religious rites as their law requireth: where hee being within few dayes after, our shippe set out in their best maner with flagges, streamers and pendants of divers coloured silke, with all the mariners, together with most of the Ambassadours men, having the winde faire, and came within two cables length of this his moskita, where (hee to his great content beholding the shippe in such bravery) they discharged first two volies of small shot, and then all the great ordinance twise over, there being seven and twentie or eight and twentie pieces in the ship. Which performed, he appointed the Bustangi-Bassa or captaine of the great and spacious garden or parke, to give our men thankes, with request that some other day they would shew him the like sporte when hee would have the Sultana or Empresse a beholder thereof, which few dayes after at the shippes going to the Custome-house they performed. The grand Signiors salutation thus ended, the master brought the ship to an anker at Rapamat neere the ambassadors house, where hee likewise saluted him with all his great ordinance once over, and where he landed the Present, the deliverie whereof for a time was staied: the cause of which staie it shall neither be dishonorable for our nation, or that woorthie man the ambassador to shew you. At the departure of Sinan Bassa the chiefe Vizir, and our ambassadors great friend toward the warres of Hungarie there was another Bassa appointed in his place, a churlish and harsh natured man, who upon occasion of certaine Genouezes, escaping out of the castles standing toward the Euxine Sea, nowe called the blacke Sea, there imprisoned, apprehended and threatened to execute one of our Englishmen called John Field, for that hee was taken thereabouts, and knowen not many dayes before to have brought a letter to one of them: upon the solliciting of whose libertie there felle a jarre betweene the Bassa (being now chiefe Vizir) and our ambassador, and in choler he gave her majesties ambassador such words, as without sustaining some great indignitie hee could not put up. Whereupon after the arrivall of the Present, he made an Arz, that is, a bill of Complaint to the grand Signior against him, the maner in exhibiting whereof is thus performed. The plaintifes expect the grand Signiors going abroad from his pallace, either to Santa Sophia or to his church by the sea side, whither, with a Perma (that is one of their usuall whirries) they approch within some two or three score yards, where the plaintife standeth up, and holdeth his petition over his forehead in sight of the grand Signior (for his church is open to the Sea side) the rest sitting still in the boat, who appointeth one of his Dwarfes to receive them, and to bring them to him. A Dwarfe, one of the Ambassadors favorites, so soone as he was discerned, beckned him to the shore side, tooke his Arz, and with speed caried it to the grand Signior. Now the effect of it was this; that except his highnesse would redresse this so great an indignitie, which the Vizir his slave had offered him and her majestie in his person, he was purposed to detaine the Present untill such time as he might by letters over-land from her majestie bee certified, whither she would put up so great an injurie as it was. Whereupon he presently returned answere requesting the ambassador within an houre after to goe to the Dovan of the Vizir, unto whom himselfe of his charge would send a gowne of cloth of gold, and commaund him publikely to put it upon him, and with kind entertainment to embrace him in signe of reconciliation. Whereupon our ambassador returning home, tooke his horse, accompanied with his men, and came to the Vizirs court, where, according to the grand Signiors command, he with all shew of kindnesse embraced the ambassador, and with curteous speeches reconciled himselfe, and with his own hands put the gowne of cloth of gold upon his backe. Which done, hee with his attendants returned home, to the no small admiration of all Christians that heard of it, especially of the French and Venetian ambassadors, who never in the like case against the second person of the Turkish Empire durst have attempted so bold an enterprise with hope of so friendly audience, and with so speedie redresse. This reconciliation with the great Vizir thus made, the ambassador prepared himselfe for the |