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THE EPISTLE DEDICATORIE IN THE FIRST

VOLUME OF THE SECOND EDITION, 1598.

To the right honorable my singular good Lord, the Lord Charles Howard, Erle of Notingham, Baron of Effingham, Knight of the noble Order of the Garter, Lord high Admirall of England, Ireland, and Wales, &c. one of her Majesties most honourable privie Counsell. RIGHT Honourable and my very good Lord, after I had long since published in Print many Navigations and Discoveries of Strangers in divers languages, as well here at London, as in the citie of Paris, during my five yeeres abode in France, with the woorthie Knight Sir Edward Stafford your brother in lawe, her Majesties most prudent and carefull Ambassador ligier with the French King and had waded on still farther and farther in the sweet studie of the historie of Cosmographie, I began at length to conceive, that with diligent observation, some thing might be gathered which might commend our nation for their high courage and singular activitie in the Search and Discoverie of the most

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unknowen quarters of the world. Howbeit, seeing no man to step forth to undertake the recording of many memorable actions, but every man to folow his private affaires the ardent love of my countrey devoured all difficulties, and as it were with a sharpe goad provoked me and thrust me forward into this most troublesome and painfull action. And after great charges and infinite cares, after many watchings, toiles, and travels, and wearying out of my weake body; at length I have collected three severall Volumes of the English Navigations, Traffiques, and Discoveries, to strange, remote, and farre distant countreys. Which worke of mine I have not included within the compasse of things onely done in these latter dayes, as though litle or nothing woorthie of memorie had bene performed in former ages; but mounting aloft by the space of many hundred yeeres, have brought to light many very rare and worthy monuments, which long have lien miserably scattered in mustie corners, & retchlesly hidden in mistie darkenesse, and were very like for the greatest part to have bene

buried in perpetuall oblivion. The first Volume of this worke I have thus for the present brought to light, reserving the other two untill the next Spring, when by Gods grace they shall come to the Presse. In the meane

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season bethinking my selfe of some munificent and bountifull Patrone, I called to mind your honorable Lordship, who both in regard of my particular obligation, and also in respect of the subject and matter, might justly chalenge the Patronage thereof. For first remembred how much I was bound, and how deeply indebted for my yongest brother Edmund Hackluyt, to whom for the space of foure whole yeeres your Lordship committed the government and instruction of that honorable yong noble man, your sonne & heire apparant, the lord William Howard, of whose high spirit and wonderful towardlinesse full many a time hath he boasted unto me. Secondly, the bounden duetie which I owe to your most deare sister the lady Sheffield, my singular good lady & honorable mistresse, admonished me to be mindfull of the renoumed familie of the Howards. Thirdly, when I found in the first Patent graunted by Queene Marie to the Moscovie companie, that my lord your father being then lord high Admirall of England, was one of the first favourers and furtherers, with his purse and countenance, of the strange and wonderfull Discoverie of Russia, the chiefe contents of this present Volume, then I remembred the sage saying of sweet Isocrates, That sonnes ought not onely to be inheriters of their fathers substance, but also of their commendable vertues and honours. But what speake I of your ancestors honors (which to say the trueth, are very great, and such as our Chronicles have notably blazoned) when as your owne Heroicall actions from time to time have shewed themselves so admirable, as no antiquitie hath affoorded greater, and the future times will not in haste (I thinke) performe the like. To come to some particulars, when the Emperors sister, the spouse of Spaine, with a Fleete of an 130. sailes, stoutly and proudly passed the narow Seas, your Lordship accompanied with ten ships onely of her Majesties Navie Roiall, environed their Fleet in most strange and warrelike sort, enforced them to stoope gallant, and to vaile their bonets for the Queene of England, and made them perfectly to understand that olde speach of the prince of Poets;

Non illi imperium pelagi sævúmque tridentem,
sed tibi sorte datum.

Yet after they had acknowledged their dutie, your lordship on her Majesties behalfe conducted her safely through our English chanell, and performed all good offices of honor and humanitie to that forren Princesse. At that time all England beholding your most honorable cariage of your selfe in that so weightie service, began to cast an extraordinarie eie upon your lordship, and deeply to conceive that singular hope which since by your most worthie & wonderfull service, your L hath more then fully satisfied. I meane (among others) that glorious, triumphant, and thrise-happy victory atchieved against that huge and haultie Spanish Armada (which is notably described in the ende of this volume) wherein being chiefe and sole Commander under her sacred and roiall Majestie, your noble government and worthy behavior, your high wisedom, discretion and happinesse, accompanied with the heavenly blessing of the Almightie, are shewed most evidently to have bene such, as all posteritie and succeeding ages shall never cease to sing and resound your infinite prayse and eternall commendations. As for the late renoumed expedition and honorable voyage unto Cadiz, the vanquishing of part of the king of Spaines Armada, the destruction of the rich West Indian Fleete, the chasing of so many brave and gallant Gallies, the miraculous winning, sacking, and burning of that almost impregnable citie of Cadiz, the surprising of the towne of Faraon upon the coast of Portugal, and other rare appendances of that enterprise, because they be hereafter so judicially set downe, by a very grave and learned Gentleman, which was an eye witnesse in all that action, I referre your good L. to his faithfull report, wherein I trust (as much as in him lay) he hath wittingly deprived no man of his right. Upon these and other the like considerations, I thought it fit and very convenient to commend with all humilitie and reverence this first part of our English Voiages & Discoveries unto your Honors favourable censure and patronage.

And here by the way most humbly craving pardon, and alwayes submitting my poore opinion to your Lordships most deep and percing insight, especially in this matter, as being the father and principall favourer of the English Navigation, I trust it shall not be impertinent

in passing by, to point at the meanes of breeding up of skilfull Sea-men and Mariners in this Realme. Sithence your Lordship is not ignorant, that ships are to litle purpose without skilfull Sea-men; and since Sea-men are not bred up to perfection of skill in much lesse time (as it is said) then in the time of two prentiships; and since no kinde of men of any profession in the common wealth passe their yeres in so great and continuall hazard of life; and since of so many, so few grow to gray heires: how needfull it is, that by way of Lectures and such like instructions, these ought to have a better education, then hitherto they have had; all wise men may easily judge. When I call to minde, how many noble ships have bene lost, how many worthy persons have bene drenched in the sea, and how greatly this Realme hath bene impoverished by losse of great Ordinance and other rich commodities through the ignorance of our Sea-men, I have greatly wished there were a Lecture of Navigation read in this Citie, for the banishing of our former grosse ignorance in Marine causes, and for the increase and generall multiplying of the sea-knowledge in this age, wherein God hath raised so generall a desire in the youth of this Realme to discover all parts of the face of the earth, to this Realme in former ages not knowen. And, that it may appeare that this is no vaine fancie nor devise of mine, it may please your Lordship to understand, that the late Emperour Charles the fift, considering the rawnesse of his Sea-men, and the manifolde shipwracks which they susteyned in passing and repassing betweene Spaine and the West Indies, with an high reach and great foresight, established not onely a Pilote Major, for the examination of such as sought to take charge of ships in that voyage, but also founded a notable Lecture of the Art of Navigation, which is read to this day in the Contractation house at Sivil. The readers of which Lecture have not only carefully taught and instructed the Spanish Mariners by word of mouth, but also have published sundry exact and worthy treatises concerning Marine causes, for the direction and incouragement of posteritie. The learned works of three of which readers, namely of Alonso de Chavez, of Hieronymo de Chavez, and of Roderigo Zamorano came long ago very happily to my hands, together with the straight and severe examining of all such Masters as desire to take charge

for the West Indies. Which when I first read and duely considered, it seemed to mee so excellent and so exact a course, as I greatly wished, that I might be so happy as to see the like order established here with us. This matter, as it seemeth, tooke.no light impression in the royall brest of that most renowmed and victorious prince King Henry the eight of famous memory; who for the increase of knowledge in his Sea-men, with princely liberalitie erected three severall Guilds or brotherhoods, the one at Deptford here upon the Thames, the other at Kingston upon Hull, and the third at Newcastle upon Tine which last was established in the 28. yeere of his reigne. The chiefe motives which induced his princely wisedome hereunto, himselfe expresseth in maner following. Ut magistri, marinarii, gubernatores, & alii officiarii navium, juventutem suam in exercitatione gubernationis navium transigentes, mutilati, aut aliquo alio casu in paupertatem collapsi, aliquod relevamen ad eorum sustentationem habeant, quo non solùm illi reficiantur, verumetiam alii juvenes moveantur & instigentur ad eandem artem exercendam, ratione cujus, doctiores & aptiores fiant navibus & aliis vasis nostris & aliorum quorumcunque in Mare gubernandis & manutenendis, tam pacis, quàm belli tempore, cum opus postulet, &c. To descend a litle lower, king Edward the sixt that prince of peerelesse hope, with the advise of his sage and prudent Counsaile, before he entred into the Northeasterne discovery, advanced the worthy and excellent Sebastian Cabota to be grand Pilot of England, allowing him a most bountifull pension of 166.li. vi.s. viii.d. by the yeere during his life, as appeareth in his Letters Patents which are to be seene in the third part of my worke. And if God had granted him longer life, I doubt not but as he delt most royally in establishing that office of Pilote Major (which not long after to the great hinderance of this Common wealth was miserably turned to other private uses) so his princely Majestie would have shewed himselfe no nigard in erecting, in imitation of Spaine, the like profitable Lecture of the Art of Navigation. And surely when I considered of late the memorable bountie of sir Thomas Gresham, who being but a Merchant hath founded SO many chargeable Lectures, and some of them also which are Mathematicall, tending to the advancement of Marine causes; I nothing

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