4© A. D. 151 r. 



The great and fine ifland of Cuba, in the Weft Indies, was not en- 

 tirely fubdued by the Spaniards till this year, when it is laid, they had, 

 by various cruelties and tortures, totally deftroyed the numerous na- 

 tives ; and as it never could be repeopled in any reafonable degree by 

 Spain (being 660 miles in length), it ftill remains, in a great meafure, 

 a defert to this day, unlefs it, be in and near the few towns they have in 

 it, which likewife are but poorly inhabited, excepting the famous town 

 and port of Havannah, which may poffibly contain near 5000 Spa- 

 niards (exclufive of negroes), being about half the white inhabitants of 

 this great illand ; inlomuch that it would probably be totally deferted 

 by Spain, were it not for its important fituation ; more efpecially for its 

 nioft important haven of the Havannah, near the weft end of it, com- 

 manding the entrance into the gulf of Florida, through which their 

 treafure fleets muft necelfarily fail home to Spain. And as the Havan- 

 nah has always been, and muft ever be, the general rendezvous of their 

 fleets homeward bound, both from new Spain and from Vera Cruz, 

 Carthagena, and Porto Bello, it is juftly called the key of the Spanifh 

 Weft-Indies. This noble ifland produces tobacco much efteemed, fu- 

 gar (though in no great quantity, for want of hands), ginger, long 

 pepper, and many ufeful drugs, copper mines, excellent fruits and 

 vines, timber of various kinds, vaft multitudes of black cattle, brought 

 originally from Spain, — but there not being people fufl&cient to eat 

 them, the Spaniards employ their negroes to kill them (as they alfo do 

 in Paraguay, &c.) purely for their hides, which they fend over to Spain 

 in great quantities. 



We find, by the moft laborious and judicious Hakluyt, in his fecond. 

 volume, that there was fome commerce from England,, and in Englifli 

 fliips, up the Mediterranean lea, as far as Scio, in the Levant, even as 

 early as this year, chiefly from London, Briftql, and Southampton. 



King Henry VIII of England and king Ferdinand the catholic, of 

 Spain entered into a league againft France, &c. wherein they ftipulated 

 to maintain a maritime force fufl[icient for proteding the commerce of 

 both nations, viz. each king 3000 men, armed and equipped for naval 

 war ; and king Ferdinand was to fend his quota of 40 lliips, fome of 

 which were to be of 300 tons burden, and the reft fmaller, down to 

 100 tons, to rendezvous at Southampton, where Henry's forces were to 

 embark, though his quota be not therein fpecified. [Fcedera, V. xiii, 



/. 311.] 



1512. — Tlie next year we have a very particular indenture (in Eng- 

 lifli) between king Henry VIII and his admiral fir Edward Howard, 

 which affords us great light into the manner of letting out fleets for war 

 in thofe times, viz. 



1) Befide the 30CO men (as in the preceding year above related) arm- 

 ed for fea,war, there wei-e to be 700 foldiers, mariners and gunners in 



