AD. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1583. 



Aleppo, which is nine dayes journy. In Aleppo there 

 arc resident divers marchants & factours of all nations, as 

 Italians, French men, English men, Armenians, Turks 

 and Moores, every man having his religion apart, paying 

 tribute unto the great Turke. In that towne there is 

 great traffique, for that from thence every yeere twise, 

 there travel! two Caiiyls, that is, companies of people and 

 camels, which travell unto India, Persia, Arabia, and all 

 the countreys bordering on the same, and deale in all 

 [II. i. 266.] sorts of marchandise, both to and from those countreys, 

 as I in another place have already declared. Three of 

 the sayd English men aforesayd, were sent by the 

 company of English men that are resident in Aleppo, 

 to see if in Ormus they might keepe any factours, and so 

 traffique in that place, like as also the Italians do, that 

 is to say, the Venetians which in Ormus, Goa, and 

 Malacca have their factours, and traffique there, aswell 

 for stones and pearles, as for other wares and spices of 

 those countreyes, which from thence are caried over land 

 JohnNewbery into Venice. One of these English men had bene once 

 had beenetn befoj-g \^ ^1^^ sayd towne of Ormus, and there had taken 

 Anno i/si ' g^^^ information of the trade, and upon his advise and 

 advertisement, the other were as then come thither with 

 him, bringing great store of marchandises with them, 

 as Clothes, Saffi-on, all kindes of drinking glasses, and 

 Haberdashers wares, as looking glasses, knives, and such 

 like stuffe : and to conclude, brought with them all 

 kinde of small wares that may be devised. And although 

 those wares amounted unto great summes of money, 

 notwithstanding it was but onely a shadow or colour, 

 thereby to give no occasion to be mistrusted, or scene 

 into : for that their principal! intent was to buy great 

 quantities of precious stones, as Diamants, Pearles, 

 Rubies, &c. to the which end they brought with them 

 a great summe of money and golde, and that very 

 secretly, not to be deceived or robbed thereof, or to 

 runne into any danger for the same. They being thus 

 arrived in Ormus, hired a shoppe, and beganne to sell 



506 



