[DAWSON] BREST ON THE QUEBEC LABRADOR 23 



cites Lewis Koberts' " Dictionary of Commerce, London, 1660," evidently 

 at second hand, for the title and date are ^\Tong. The work referred 

 to is Lewis Koberts' " Merchants' Map of Commerce," etc., etc., London, 

 •1638 — editions were published also in 1671, 1677 and 1700. The 

 passage referred to when examined shows the ignorance then prevalent 

 in England regarding Canada. It would be a waste of time to dwell 

 upon it were it not that these errors have been very generally copied 

 from book to book. 



Roberts in his divisions of this continent makes Terra Corterialis 

 " the seventh in numloer." " On the south of it is that famous river 

 " of Canada, rising out of the hill Hombuedo running nine hundred 

 " miles and found navigable for eight hundred thereof. The chief 

 " town thereof is Brest, Cabomarso and others of little note. The 

 "^ eighth division is Norumbega, and the chief town carrieth that name, 

 '' in possession of the French. The ninth division is Nova Francia, 

 " discovered by Jacques Cartier in Anno 153-1 inhabited, besides the 

 '' natives, with some few Frenchmen. The chief to^vns are Canada, 

 " the next Sanguinai, seated both upon two rivers so called." This 

 shows how little of an authority Eoberts is. Brest, Cabomarso, Norum- 

 bega, Canada, and Sanguinai, the only towns he reports, are all imagin- 

 ary. His description of the Newfoundland fisheries is better; but, 

 as he supposed the island to have been discovered by the English, as 

 late as 1527, he evidently knew very little about the subject. 



Eeturning now to Mr. Robertson's " tradition of the coast " after 

 stating that Brest was at the height of its prosperity about A.D. 1600, 

 he says : " The first cause of decay was a grant en seigneurie of four 

 " leagues of coast each way, embracing the to\ATi, to a certain nobleman 

 '' called Courtemanche who had married a daughter of Henry IV of 

 " France." Reserving this statement for subsequent consideration, I 

 would only remark here that these extracts from Roberts'' book and Mr. 

 Robertson's " traditions " show how utterly unreliable both of them are 

 on this subject and on kindred questions. 



Tr/(a^ Brest was. 



It has not been sufficiently realized that Cartier 's actual discoveries 

 began with a harbour (not a to^\'n) Icnovm as Brest. He himself plainly 

 indicated that by commencing and continuing to name the coast west 

 of that point. Even Blanc Sablon was not named by Cartier. Both 

 places are still in the old province of Quebec and had been frequented 

 by Breton fishermen before Cartier, who, doubtless, named them at 

 some time between 1504 and 1534 from places in tlicir own country 

 Our present concern is, however, with Brest, and Cartier 's original nar- 



