VOYAGES IN THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. 77 engage in a competition, in which her position gave CHAP her a pledge of success. When voyages for traffic were already made by English merchants between 1530 the coasts of Africa and Brazil, it may be safely believed, that the nearer shores of North America were not neglected. An account exists of one expedition, which was conducted by Hore, and "assisted by the good countenance of Henry VIII." But the incidents, as they were related to the inquisitive Hakluyt by "the only man then alive, that had been in the discovery," are embellished with improbable aggravations of distress. Memory, at all periods of life, is easily deceived by the imagination; and men who relate marvellous tales of personal adventure, are the first to become the dupes of their own inventions. The old sailor, perhaps, believed his story, in which frequent repetition may have gradually deepened the shades of horror. Cannibalism 1536 is the crime of famine at sea; men do not often devour one another on shore, least of all on a coast abounding in wild fowl and fish. The English may have suffered from want; and as a French ship, "well furnished with vittails," approached Newfoundland, they obtained possession of it by a stroke of "policie," which, if dishonest, seems not to have been regarded as disgraceful, and set sail for England. The French followed in the English ship, and complained of the exchange. It shows the favor of Henry VIII. to maritime enterprise, that he pardoned his subjects the wrong, and of his own private purse "made full and royal recompense to the French."1 The statute books of England soon gave proof, that 1541 the "new land" of America had engaged the attention 1 Hakluyt, iii. 168-170. CHAP. of parliament; and, after the accession of Edward, the III. fisheries of Newfoundland obtained the protection of a 1548. special act. The preamble to this latter statute declares the navigation to have been burdened for years by exactions from the officers of the admiralty; and its enactments forbid the continuance of the oppression. An active commerce must have long existed, since exactions, levied upon it, had almost become prescriptive. But India was still esteemed the great region of wealth; and England, then having no anticipation of one day becoming the sovereign of Hindostan, hoped for a peaceful intercourse only by the discovery of a new and nearer avenue to Southern Asia. Thrice, at least, perhaps thrice by Cabot alone, the attempt at a north-western passage had been made, and always in 1553. vain. A north-east course was now proposed; the fleet of Willoughby and Chancellor was to reach the rich lands of Cathay by doubling the northern promontory of Lapland. The ships parted company. The fate of Willoughby was as tragical as the issue of the voyof Chancellor was successful. The admiral, with one of the ships, was driven, by the severity of the polar autumn, to seek shelter in a Lapland harbor, which afforded protection against storms, but not against the rigors of the season. When search was made for him in the following spring, Willoughby him1554. self was found dead in his cabin; and his journal, detailing his sufferings from the polar winter, was complete probably to the day when his senses were suspended by the intolerable cold. His ship's company lay dead in various parts of the vessel, some alone, some in groups. The other ship reached the harbor age 133 Henry VIII., c. ii. Ruff- 412. Hakluyt, iii. 170 Hazard, i. head, ii. 304. 22, 23. 22 Edward VI., in Ruffhead, ii. ENGLAND BECOMES EMULOUS OF SPAIN. 79 of Archangel. This was "the discovery of Russia," CHAP. and the commencement of maritime commerce with that empire. A Spanish writer calls the result of the 1554 voyage "a discovery of new Indies." The Russian nation, one of the oldest and least mixed in Europe, now awakening from a long lethargy, emerged into political distinction. We have seen that, about eleven years from this time, the first town in the United States' territory was permanently built. So rapid are the changes on the theatre of nations! One of the leading powers of the age, but about two and a half centuries ago became known to Western Europe; another had not then one white man within its limits. The principle of joint stock companies, so favorable to every enterprise of uncertain result, by dividing the risks, and by nourishing a spirit of emulous zeal in behalf of an inviting scheme, was applied to the purposes of navigation; and a company of merchant adventurers 1555 was incorporated for the discovery of unknown lands.2 to For even the intolerance of Queen Mary could not 1553 check the passion for maritime adventure. The sea 1558 was becoming the element on which English valor was to display its greatest boldness; English sailors neither feared the sultry heats and consuming fevers of the tropics, nor the intense severity of northern cold. The trade to Russia, now that the port of Archangel had been discovered, gradually increased and became very lucrative; and a regular and as yet an innocent 1553 commerce was carried on with Africa. The marriage 1554 July of Mary with the king of Spain tended to excite the emulation which it was designed to check. The en 1 Hakluyt, i. 251-284. Turner's England, iii. 298-301. Purchas, iii. 462, 463. 2 Hakluyt, i. 298-304. 3 The Viage to Guinea in 1553, in Eden and Willes, fol. 336, 337— 353. 25. III. CHAP. thusiasm awakened by the brilliant pageantry with which King Philip was introduced into London, excited Richard Eden' to gather into a volume the history of the most memorable maritime expeditions. Religious restraints, the thirst for rapid wealth, the desire of strange adventure, had driven the boldest spirits of Spain to the New World; their deeds had been commemorated by the copious and accurate details of the Spanish historians; and the English, through the alliance of their sovereign made familiar with the Spanish language and literature, became emulous of Spanish success beyond the ocean. 1558. The firmness of Elizabeth seconded the enterprise of her subjects. They were rendered the more proud and intractable for the short and unsuccessful effort to make England an appendage to Spain; and the triumph of Protestantism, quickening the spirit of nationality, gave a new impulse to the people. England, no longer the ally, but the antagonist of Philip, claimed the glory of being the mistress of the northern seas, and prepared to extend its commerce to every clime. The queen strengthened her navy, filled her arsenals, and encouraged the building of ships in England: she animated the adventurers to Russia and to Africa by her 1561 special protection; and while her subjects were en1568. deavoring to penetrate into Persia by land, and enlarge their commerce with the East' by combining the use of ships and caravans, the harbors of Spanish America were at the same time visited by their privateers in pursuit of the rich galleons of Spain, and at least from 574-8 thirty to fifty English ships came annually to the bays and banks of Newfoundland.3 to 1 Eden's Decades, published in 1555. 2 Eden and Willes. The Voyages of Persia, travciled by the Mer chantes of London, &c. in 1561 1567, 1568, fol. 321, and ff. 3 Parkhurst, in Hakluyt, ii. 171 FROBISHER ATTEMPTS THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. III. 81 The possibility of effecting a north-west passage had CHAP. ever been maintained by Cabot. The study of geography had now become an interesting pursuit; the press teemed with books of travels, maps and descriptions of the earth; and Sir Humphrey Gilbert, reposing from the toils of war, engaged deeply in the science of cosmography. A judicious and well-written argument1 in favor of the possibility of a north-western passage was the fruit of his literary industry. The same views were entertained by one of the 1576 boldest men who ever ventured upon the ocean. For fifteen years, Martin Frobisher, an Englishman, well versed in various navigation, had revolved the design of accomplishing the discovery of the north-western passage; esteeming it "the only thing of the world, that was yet left undone, by which a notable minde might be made famous and fortunate."2 Too poor himself to provide a ship, it was in vain that he conferred with friends; in vain he offered his services to merchants. After years of desire, his representations found a hearing at court; and Dudley, earl of Warwick, liberally promoted his design. Two small barks of twenty-five and of twenty tons', with a pinnace of ten tons' burden, composed the whole fleet, which was to enter gulfs that none but Cabot had visited. As they June dropped down the Thames, Queen Elizabeth waved her hand in token of favor, and, by an honorable message, transmitted her approbation of an adventure which her own treasures had not contributed to advance. During a storm on the voyage, the pinnace was swallowed up by the sea; the mariners in the Michael became terrified, and turned their prow home 3 er's voyage, in Eden and Willes, 8. |