A.D. 



1578. 



A black 

 Moores sonne 

 borne in Eng- 

 land. 



[in. 52.] 



The colour of 

 the people in 

 Meta Incog- 

 nita. The 

 complexion of 

 the people of 

 Meta incog- 

 nita. 



THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



the middle region of the aire where all the haile, frost, 

 and snow is engendred, is neerer unto the Sunne then 

 the earth is, and yet there continueth perpetuall cold, 

 because there is nothing that the Sunne beames may 

 reflect against, whereby appeareth that the neerenesse of 

 the body of the Sunne worketh nothing. 



Therefore to returne againe to the blacke Moores. 

 I my selfe have seene an Ethiopian as blacke as a cole 

 brought into England, who taking a faire English woman 

 to wife, begat a sonne in all respects as blacke as the 

 father was, although England were his native countrey, 

 and an English woman his mother : whereby it seemeth 

 this blacknes proceedeth rather of some natural infection 

 of that man, which was so strong, that neither the nature 

 of the Clime, neither the good complexion of the 

 mother concurring, coulde any thing alter, and therefore, 

 wee cannot impute it to the nature of the Clime. And 

 for a more fresh example, our people of Meta Incognita 

 (of whom and for whom this discourse is taken in hande) 

 that were brought this last yeere into England, were all 

 generally of the same colour that many nations be, lying- 

 in the middest of the middle Zone. And this their 

 colour was not onely in the face which was subject to 

 Sunne and aire, but also in their bodies, which were stil 

 covered with garments as ours are, yea the very sucking 

 childe of twelve moneths age had his skinne of the very 

 same colour that most have under the Equinoctiall, which 

 thing cannot proceed by reason of the Clime, for that 

 they are at least ten degrees more towardes the North 

 then wee in England are, No, the Sunne never commeth 

 neere their Zenith by fourtie degrees : for in effect, they 

 are within three or foure degrees of that which they 

 call the frosen Zone, and as I saide, fourtie degrees 

 from the burning Zone, whereby it followeth, that there 

 is some other cause then the Climate or the Sonnes 

 perpendicular reflexion, that should cause the Ethiopians 

 great blacknesse. And the most probable cause to my 

 judgement is, that this blackenesse proceedeth of some 



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