> 
o2^ T H E V E N o t’j ^ ravels Book III. 
famous Cruelty and Treachery on the Part of the ’Turks ^ 
who have kept it ever iince. 
It abounds with Wine, Oyl, Corn, Sugar, Cotton, 
Honey, Wool, Turpentine, Alom, Verdigreafe, all 
Sorts of Metals, and moft excellent Salt. This Ifland 
affords feveral good Ports, all the Materials requifite for 
building of Ships, all the Commodities that can be de* 
fired for carrying on a great Trade % and, if it were 
under a right Government for one Century, might be ' 
able to defend itfelf againft all its Neighbours. At 
prefent it is thinly peopled, and not half cultivated. 
A Turkijh Bafha deflroy’d all the Sugar Canes, to pre- 
vent the Cypriots from having too much Wealth j an 
Evil which there is now no Reafon to fear. 
In a Word, it is at this Day the cleared Proof that 
can be given, how much a bad Government can defeat 
all the kind Intentions of Nature ; for in Spite of all 
the Advantages that a Country can poffibly have, there 
never was a more difmai or defolate Place than this 
Ifland is at this Day, from having Millions of People, 
there are now in it fcarce thirty thoufand ; from a Cli- 
mate that produced a perpetual Spring, it is become 
both unwholfome and unpleafant •, from Cities and 
Towns that touched each other, there are now only 
Villages and Heaps of Ruins ; from Abundance of all 
Things, the Inhabitants are reduced to Indigence and 
Starving ; fo that except to confiderate and intelligent 
Perfons, the Face of the modern Cyprus refutes all that 
ancient Authors have faid in its Favour. Such are the 
Effefts of a falfe Religion and tyrannical Government. 
22. It would be inexcufable in fpeaking of thefe 
Iflands, to fuffer that which makes the greated Figure 
in Hidory, to remain hidden and out of the Reader’s 
“View ; I mean the Ifland of Candia, fo long the The- 
atre of War between the Venetians and the Turks. The 
< Inhabitants of this Ifland are allowed to be fenfible, as 
well as brave and hardy ; whereas the Sciotes, or In- 
habitants of the Ifland of Scio, are commonly called 
Prajftnos by the Turks., which is as much as to fay 
Green. The Reafon of this is, that a Turkijh Baiba, 
much edeemed for his Wifdom, obferving the, Manners 
of the Inhabitants of that Ifland. faid, that a wife Sciot 
and a green Horfe^ were Rarities equally hard to be met 
with. By this unlucky Sarcafm he damped the Name 
of Prajfinos upon this whole Nation. But for the Can- 
diotSy though the Turks hate them, yet they cannot help 
owning, that they have both Courage and Underdand- 
ing, of both which they gave ample Tedimony in the 
Courfe of the long War before-mentioned. 
Among others who have recorded the Events of that 
famous Difpute, our Countryman Mr. Bernard Randolphy 
is thought to have done it with as much Fidelity as 
any. He fpent upwards of twenty Years not only in 
the Levanty but amongd thefe Iflands ; and upon his 
Return home, he compofed a Defeription of them, 
which was printed in a thin Volume in VJuarto in 1687, 
at the Theatre in Oxford. It appears from thence, that 
he was a plain well-meaning Man, more concerned 
about Matter of Fa6l, than the Stile or Manner of 
telling his Story : What he related was chiefly from 
his own Knowledge, which gives great Credit to his 
Accounts, and in fome Meafure excufes the Roughnefs 
of his Language, and his Writing without any Me- 
thod. It appears from the Works of the judicious Sir 
George Wheeler, that Mr. Randolphs was printing, 
when he was writing his Travels ; and for this Reafon 
that worthy Gentleman fpeaks very refpedfully of that 
Performance, and refers his Reader to it, as a Kind of 
Supplement to his own ; Yet in mod Parts of his 
Book Mr. Randolph is wonderfully concife, and tells us 
more or lefs of a Place, not in Proportion to its Size, 
Situation, or Importance, but as he was little or much 
acquainted with it himfelf. Of this Ifland, however, 
he fpeaks copioufly enough, and has thrown together, 
in his Defeription, the principal Aclions in that War, 
which cod the Grand Signior Mahomet IV, fo much 
Trouble, and which broke the Force, and exhauded 
the T reafure of the Venetians to fuch a Degree, that 
they have never been able to recover. We will give 
che Reader j therefore, his Account in his own Words. 
The Ifland of Candia, ( which in old Time was 
and alfo now is by the Turks called Crete) hath foi! 
lowed, for the mod Part, that of the Empire of Greece, 
and is now fubjeded to the Tyranny of the Turks, after 
a War for above twenty feven Years ; in which Time 
the Venetians did bravely, and with unparallel’d Cou- 
defend the City of Candia to the lad Extremity, 
After a clofe Siege for near two Years Continuance, the 
Vizier there in Perfon, and with him the bed of all the 
Ottoman Forces, they were forced to furrender, yet 
upon the mod honourable Terms that themfelves could 
propofe, carrying away with them not only their, Can- 
non and all other Ammunition, but alfo the Bells which 
were in the Steeples, and whatever die they thought . 
worth their Labour. The Vizier was fo much over- 
joyed that the City was furrendred to him, that he ap- 
pointed feveral of the Turkijh Boats to aflid the Vene- 
tians, if they fliould have Occafion for their Help in 
carrying their Goods to the Ships. He was fo obfer- 
ving of his Word on the Ceddion, that he caufed two Ja- 
nizaries to be put to Death for attempting to force their 
Way into the City, 
All Europe has heard of this great Siege, how many 
thoufand Bombs were cad into the City ; how many 
Mines and Fornellos were blown up •, and how many 
bold AflTaults the Turks made. They had at lad work- 
ed themfelves fo near the Walls, that it was impolTible 
for the Befieged to make ufe of any of their great 
Guns ; for no fooner could a Man appear to level a 
Gun, but there was a Shower of Bullets and Arrows ; 
fo that the Turks would often attempt to undermine, and 
the Venetians did countermine them; and when they 
met under Ground, they fought mod defperately. The 
Venetians have an Engine which they call Trombo di Fuo- 
co, it is as long as a half Pike, the Staff bigger ; at the 
End are two Irons about two Foot long, m the Form 
of a Fork, in which is fadened a Trunk made of Iron, 
and fome are of Wood ; In it are five Charges, each 
firing feverally and at a certain Time, and carry feveral 
Bullets to do Execution as far as a Pidol ; they let Fire 
to it at the Fore-parr, and have a Touch to reach from 
one Chamber to the other. 
Another Invention they had to fifli up the Turks when 
they attempted to undermine their Walls ; they had 
Hooks made in the Form of a Boat’s Grapling, the 
Points fharp, fadened to a Rope, and four or five Foot 
of Chain at the End ; thefe Hooks they often cad 
over the Walls amongd the Turks, and feldom fail’d 
to bring up a Turk, fome fadened by the Cloaths, others 
by the Body. I have heard fome of the Officers fay 
they have taken feveral in a Night, for when the Hook 
was fadened, they gave them not Time to unhook 
themfelves, but had them foon over the Walls. At- 
the Greeks leaving Candia, there happened a mod fad 
Accident, a new Ship, called La Fregatta Galliera, 
or the Gaily Frigat, was pitch’d upon for tranfporting 
mod of the Principal of the Gentry, and the greated 
Part of the Riches of the Citizens ; there was alfo (be- 
fides what were mounted) fifty great Brafs Guns ; the 
Paffengers were between two hundred and fifty and three 
hundred, befides two hundred Mariners and upwards. 
Being between an Ifland called Obo and the Port oiCerigo, 
the Ship opened, and not a Man was faved. The red 
of the Fleet got well, fome to Zant, others to Ceffalonia, 
Corfu, and Venice, landing the Greeks as they had a 
Fancy to the Place which they came to, or as they found 
Friends. Thus they left their Edates to the Enemy, 
and not above five or fix Greeks remained, who being 
in Years, and fickly withal, defired Leave of the Gene- 
ral that they might end their Days there. In the Arti- 
cles of Peace it was concluded, that the Venetians fliould 
keep PoffelTion of three fmall Iflets which are clofe to 
the Ifland of Candia, and have each a very drong Cadle. 
The Turks laughed at their Propofals, faying. We have 
the Hen, and the Chickens will follow of Courfe. 
This Idand had twenty Cities, and above one thou- 
fand Towns, Villages, and large Monaderies ; now 
there is not above four Cities and three hundred Towns 
and Villages. To give you an Account of them, I will 
begin with the Eadern Parc. This was formerly a Pro- 
vince 
