I 
3 8 " Tae V O Y 
miralj or had ferved oncier him in his two firft Voyages, and 
eonfeqiiently had greater Opportunities of gaining Ex- 
perience, in this Way, than any other Men. Of thefe 
there was none fo capable of profecuting V oyages of this 
kind as Vincent Tanez Pinfon^ of whom we have already 
fpoken, for he was not only a very able Seaman, and, as 
fuch, had failed with the Admiral in his firft Difcovery, but 
was alfo a Man of liberal Education, great Courage, 
and had a large Fortune, fo that he fitted out at his 
ow'n Expence a Squadron of four Sail of flout Ships, 
with which he failed to the Cape de Verd Elands, and, 
having there taken in fuch Refrefliments as he thought 
neceffary, proceeded from St. Jago upon the 1 3th of Ja- 
nuary.^ 1500, upon Difcovery. 
He firft flood away to the South, and then to the AVeft, 
and having failed 700 Leagues loft Sight of the North 
Star, and crofted the equinoflial Line, being the firft: 
Subjebt of the Crown of CajUle and Peon that did it. 
When pafl the Line, they met with fuch a dreadful 
Storm*, that they expebled to perifti ; he ran 240 Leagues 
farther to the Weflward, and on the 26th of February 
they difcovered Land at a great Diftance, being that 
which is now called Cape St. AugujUne., though Vincent 
Yanez named it Caho de Confolation., or Cape Comfort., and 
CmPortuguefe call it the Province of Santa Cruz, or of 
the Holy Crofs, now a Part of Brazil-, they found the 
Sea thick and whitifh, like a River, and, founding, had 
fixteen Fathom Water. Captain P inf on, going on Shore, 
here took PoftefTion of the Country in the Name of their 
Catholic Majeflies, and endeavoured all he could to bring 
the People to trade, but without Effedl, for at laft 
they came to Blow's, in which fome were ftain on both 
Sides ; and at laft; he thought it advifeable to retire 
and continue his Voyage, which he did to the Mouth of 
the River Maramon, where he obferved what the Admiral 
had done before at the Mouth of another great River ; a 
mighty Struggle between the Tide of Salt-water run- 
ning in, and a vaft Current of frefh Water pouring 
down from the Land : Fie likewife found the Country 
at the Mouth of this River well inhabited on both Sides, 
but could not bring them to enter into any Trade as 
he expebted, and therefore he refolved, without any far- 
ther Delay, to proceed towards Paria, which he accord- 
ingly did. 
In his PaftTage he met with another very large River, 
fo that he drew up frefh Water when above twenty 
Leagues at Sea, and therefore he called it Rio Duke, or 
the Frefj River, v/hich has been fmce fuppofed to be a 
Branch of the great River Tapari, that makes the frefh 
Bay betweeen Paria and the Ifland of Trinity', upon 
this frefh River, found by Vincent Tanez, it is fuppofed 
that the People called Aruaxas have their Dwellings. 
They proceeded to Paria, and there took in BrazilYdood 
from which Vincent Tanez flruck over to the Elands that 
lay in the Way to Hifpaniola, and, the Ships being at An- 
chor, there arofe fuch a dreadful Storm that two of them 
funk in the Sight of the others, with all the Men-, 
a third was forced from its Anchors, with eighteen 
Men, and carried out of Sight : I'he Fourth, which 
is likely had the beft Anchors and Cables, riding it out, 
beat fo furioufly upon the Sea, that the Sailors, believing 
it would be dafhed in Pieces, went all afhore in the 
Long Boat, without Hopes of its efcaping j and, for 
their own Security, had F’houghts of killing all the In- 
dians thereabouts, to prevent their calling in their Neigh- 
bours to deftroy them j but the Ship that had been drove 
away with the eighteen Men returned, and that which 
had rode out, when the Sea grew calm, was faved. In 
thefe tv 70 Ships they went away to Hifpaniola, where 
they refitted, and returned into Spain, about the latter 
end of September, having difcovered 600 Leagues about 
the Coaft of Paria. 
In the latter end of the Month of December, 1400, 
fame's de Lepe, a Native of the Town of Palos, having 
heard of the Expedition undertaken by Pinfon, applied 
himfelf to the Earl of Miranda, his Patron, and pro- 
mifed him mighty things in cafe he would enable him to 
make the fame Voyage, which was very foon complied 
A G E S ; Book I. 
with j and he aflually anjived at the Mouth of the River 
Maranori, within a very fliort time after Pinfon had left 
it, as he found to his Coil ; for the People, being 
provoked by his carrying away thirty-fix Men out of 
their Country, attacked the Spaniards brifldy, and kil- 
led feveral, fo that he was compelled to profecute his 
Voyage to Paria, where he likewife quarrelled with the 
People, and returned vdthout making the leafl Advan- 
tage of this Expedition, except taking a few Indian 
Prifoners. , 
As it happened about this time, it is requifite that we 
fhouid fpeak here of the great good Fortune of the 
Crown of Portugal, a Subjefl of which was fo happy as 
to fall upon one of the richeft Countries of South Arne-- 
rica, by meer Chance ; the thing happened thus ; Don 
Emanuel King of Portugal, fitted out a Fleet for the Baft 
Indies, confifting of thirteen Sail, having on Board one 
thoufand two hundred Men, Soldiers and Sailors, under 
the Command of Peter Alvarez Cabral, who failed from 
Bijbon on Monday the pth of March, 1 500, and, to avoid 
the Coaft of Guinea, where they afterwards met with 
great Calms, flruck out to Sea on the Starboard, fleering 
his Courfe to the Southward, the better to turn the Cape 
of good Hope, becaufe it runs far out into the Sea ; 
having failed a Month, ftill keeping to Sea, on the 24th 
of April he fell in with the Coaft of the Continent^ of 
America, which, according to the Computation of the 
Pilots, might be about 450 Leagues dillant from the 
Coaft of Guinea, and in about 10° South Latitude. The 
Pilots could not perfuade themfelves that it was a Conti- 
nent, but fome great Eland like Hifpaniola, and, in order 
to find it out, they held on one Day along the Coaft,. 
hoifled out a Boat, went afhore, and faw an infinite 
Number of naked People, but not black, nor, with curl- 
ed Hair like thofe of Guinea, but hanging down lank 
like ours, which they thought was extraordinary ; the Boat 
returned to give an Account of it, and faid that there was 
a good Harbour where they might come to an Anchor ; 
the Pleet drew near to Land, and the Commander fent 
out the Boat again, with Orders to endeavour to take 
fome Men. 
The Indians retired to a Hill, waiting to fee what the 
P or tuguefe would do ; but when they were about fending 
other Boats, the Weather obliged them to proceed along 
the Coaft, and they anchored in another good Harbour, 
which they called Puerto Seguro, or fafe Harbour-, a 
Boat went afhore and took two Indians, whom the 
Commander ordered to be cloathed and fent back, where- 
upon a great Number of People came forward, finging 
and dancing, founding Horns of feveral Sorts, and leap- 
ing in joyful Manner; the Commander went afhore with 
moft of his Men, and that being Eafler-day they erefled 
an Altar under a Tree, where they fung Mafs ; the Indians 
drew near in a very peaceable Manner, and with much 
Security kneeled down, beat their Breafls, doing all that 
they faw the Chriflians do, and were as attentive at a Ser- 
mon that was preached as if they underflood it. 
Peter Alvarez Cabral fent away a Ship from thence 
under Gafpar de Lemos, with Advice of the Land he had 
difcovered, which was very acceptable. The Men walk- 
ed about all that Day diverting themfelves, and the In- 
dians, for pieces of Paper, bits of Cloth, and fuch like 
inconfiderable things, gave them Parrots and other Birds 
of fine Colours, Axis, Batatas, and the like. They 
went to the Towns, and thought the Country fruitful 
and agreeable, very full of Maize, or Indian Wheat, and 
Cotton. Peter Alvarez ordered a Stone Crofs to be^ erebl- 
ed there, in Token of Pofteffion, and therefore the Por- 
tuguefe called that Country Santa Cruz, or Holy Crofs, 
and it is now called Brazil, from that Sort of Wood 
brought from thence. The Commander left two Men 
there of twenty he had brought from Portugal, being 
banifhed Men, to be left where he thought fit, whom the 
Indians ufed very well, and one of them learned the Lan- 
guage, and ferved a long time for an Interpreter. Thus 
the Difcovery of Brazil was purely accidental, and the 
only one independant of what v/as projefled by the Ad- 
miral, or grounded upon his Projeds. ' 
. ■ . 1 3- IV 
