ad. THE ENGLISH Y r OYAGES 



1592. 



grandure of all rich commodities would be more then 

 sufficient to content both the adventurers desire & the 

 souldiers travell. And here I cannot but enter into the 

 consideration and acknowledgement of Gods great favor 

 towards our nation, who by putting this purchase into 

 our hands hath manifestly discovered those secret trades 

 & Indian riches, which hitherto lay strangely hidden, and 

 cunningly concealed from us ; whereof there was among 

 some few of us some small and unperfect glimse onely, 

 which now is turned into the broad light of full and 

 perfect knowledge. Whereby it should seeme that the 

 will of God for our good is (if our weaknesse could 

 apprehend it) to have us communicate with them in 

 those East Indian treasures, & by the erection of a law- 

 full traffike to better our meanes to advance true religion 

 and his holy service. The caracke being in burden by 

 the estimation of the wise and experienced no lesse then 

 1600 tunnes had full 900 of those stowed with the 

 grosse bulke of marchandise, the rest of the tunnage 

 being allowed, partly to the ordinance which were 32 

 pieces of brasse of all sorts, partly to the passengers and 

 the victuals, which could not be any small quantity, con- 

 sidering the number of the persons betwixt 600 and 700, 

 A briefe cata- an d the length of the navigation. To give you a taste 

 logue of ye ^ as - t were ) f t h e commodities, it shall suffice to deliver 

 'commodities of vou a generall particularity of them, according to the 

 yeMadrede catalogue taken at Leaden hall the 15 of September 1592. 

 Dior. Where upon good view it was found, that the principall 



wares after the jewels (which were no doubt of great 

 value, though they never came to light) consisted of 

 spices, drugges, silks, calicos, quilts, carpets and colours, 

 &c. The spices were pepper, cloves, maces, nutmegs, 

 cinamom, greene ginger : the drugs were benjamim, frank- 

 incense, galingale, mirabolans, aloes zocotrina, camphire : 

 the silks, damasks, taffatas, sarcenets, altobassos, that is, 

 counterfeit cloth of gold, unwrought China silke, sleaved 

 silke, white twisted sike, curled cypresse. The calicos 

 were book-calicos, calico-launes, broad white calicos, fine 



116 



