by Daniel Defoe
and had forty-six guns mounted, manned with threehundred and fifty-six men; we took the more men on board, because weresolved, as occasion should present, to fit ourselves with anothership, which we did not question we should meet with in the South Seas.
We had also a third design in our voyage, though it may be esteemed anaccident to the rest, viz., we were resolved to make some attempts fornew discoveries, as opportunity offered; and we had two persons on boardwho were exceeding well qualified for our direction in this part, allwhich was derived from the following occasion.
The person who was principally concerned in the adventure was a man notonly of great wealth, but of great importance; he was particularlyaddicted to what we call new discoveries, and it was indeed upon hisgenius to such things, that the first thought of the voyage was founded.This gentleman told me, that he had already sent one ship fully equippedand furnished for a new attempt upon the North-West or North-Eastpassages, which had been so often in vain tried by former navigators;and that he did not question the success, because he had directed themby new measures, and to steer a course that was never attempted yet; andhis design in our voyage was to make like discoveries towards the Southpole; where, as he said, and gave us very good reasons for it, he didnot doubt but we might discover, even to the pole itself, and find outnew worlds and new seas, which had never been heard of before.
With these designs, this gentleman came into the other part of ourproject, and contributed the more largely, and with the more freedom, tothe whole, upon that account; in particular, all the needfulpreparations for such discoveries were made wholly at his expense, whichI take notice of here, as being most proper in the beginning of ourstory, and that the reader may the less wonder at the particular way wetook to perform a voyage which might with much more ease have been doneby the usual and ordinary way.
We sailed from the coast of Flanders the 2nd of January, and, withoutany extraordinary incident, made the coast of Galway, in Ireland, the10th, where we stayed, and took in a very extraordinary store ofprovisions, three times as much as usual, the beef being also wellpickled or double packed, that we might have a sufficient reserve forthe length of our voyage, resolving also to spare it as much aspossible.
We had a very rich cargo on board, consisting of all sorts of Britishmanufactures suitable for the Spanish trade in their West Indies; and,as we aimed at nothing of trade till we came to the Spanish coast, wesailed directly for the Canary Islands: having not fully resolvedwhether we would make our voyage to the South Seas first, and so roundthe globe by the East Indies, as has been the usual way, or whether wewould go first by the East Indies, and upon the discoveries we weredirected to, and then cross the great Pacific Ocean to the west coast ofAmerica, as was at last resolved.
We made the Canaries, the 11th of February; and, coming to an anchorthere to take in some fresh water, we put out French colours, and sentour boat on shore, with a French boatswain and all French seamen, to buywhat we wanted: they brought us on board five butts or pipes of wine,and some provisions, and having filled our water, we set sail again the13th. In this time we called a council among ourselves, by which way weshould go.
I confess I was for going by the Cape of Good Hope first, and so to theEast Indies: then, keeping to the south of Java, go away to theMoluccas, where I made no doubt to make some purchase among the DutchSpice Islands, and so away to the Philippines; but the whole ship'scompany, I mean of officers, were against me in this scheme, although Itold them plainly, that the discoveries which would be made in such avoyage as that, were the principal reasons why our chief owner embarkedin the adventure, and that we ought to regard the end and design of ourvoyage; that it would certainly in the conclusion amount to the same, asto trade, as if we went the usual way, seeing the places we were to goto were the same one way as the other, and it was only putting thequestion which we should go to first; that all the navigators, on suchvoyages as these, went by the South Seas first, which would be no honourto us at all: but, if we went by the East Indies first, we should be thefirst that ever went such a voyage, and that we might make many usefuldiscoveries and experiments in trying that course; that it would beworth our while, not only to go that way, but to have all the world takenotice of it, and of us for it.
I used a great many arguments of the like nature, but they answered memost effectually, with laying before me the difficulties of the voyage,and the contrary methods of trade, which, in a word, made the going thatway impracticable: First, the difficulty of the voyage, over the vastocean called the Pacific Sea, or South Sea, which, if we kept a southernlatitude, and took the variable winds, as we should find them, as Iproposed to do, might very well be a voyage of six or eight months,without any sight of land, or supply of provisions or water, which wasintolerable; that, as to trade, it was preposterous, and just settingthe voyage with the bottom upward; for as we were loaden with goods, andhad no money, our first business, they said, was to go to the SouthSeas, where our goods were wanted, and would sell for money, and then tothe East Indies, where our money would be wanting, to buy other goods tocarry home, and not to go to the East Indies first, where our goodswould not sell, and where we could buy no other for want of money.
This was seemingly so strong a way of reasoning, that they were allagainst me, as well French as English, and even the two agents fordiscoveries submitted to it; and so we resolved to stand away from theCanaries to the coast o Brazil, thence upon the eastern coast of SouthAmerica to Cape Horn, and then into the South Seas; and, if we met withanything that was Spanish by the way, we resolved to make prize of it,as in a time of war.
Accordingly, we made the coast of Brazil in twenty-six days, from theCanary Islands, and went on shore at Cape St. Augustine, for freshwater; afterwards we put into the bay of All Saints, got some freshprovisions there, and about an hundred very good hogs, some of which wekilled and pickled, and carried the rest on board alive, having taken onboard a great quantity of roots and maize, or Indian corn, for theirfood, which they thrived on very well.
It was the last of March when we came to the bay, and having stayedthere fourteen days, to furnish ourselves with all things we wanted, wegot intelligence there, that there were three ships at Buenos Ayres, inthe river Rio de la Plata, which were preparing to go for Europe, andthat they expected two Spanish men of war to be their convoy, becauseof the Portuguese men of war which were in Brazil, to convoy the Brazilfleet.
Their having two Spanish men of war with them for their convoy, tookaway a great deal from the joy we had entertained at the news of theirbeing there, and we began to think we should make little or nothing ofit; however, we resolved to see the utmost of it, and, particularly, ifour double appearance would not now stand us in some stead.
Accordingly, we went away for the river of Plata, and, as usual,spreading French colours, we went boldly up to Buenos Ayres, and sent inour boat, manned with Frenchmen, pretending to be homeward bound fromthe South Seas, and in want of provisions.
The Spaniards received us with civility, and granted us such provisionsas we wanted; and here we found, to our great satisfaction, that therewas no such thing as any Spanish man of war there; but they said theyexpected one, and the governor there for the King of Spain asked ourFrench officer if we would take one of their ships under our convoy?Monsieur Merlotte answered him warily, that his ship was deep loaden,and foul, and he could not undertake anything; but, if they would keephim company, he would do them what service he could; but that also, asthey were a rich ship, they did not design to go directly to France, butto Martinico, where they expected to meet with some French men of war toconvoy them home.
This answer was so well managed; though there was not one word of truthin it, that one of the three ships, for the other two were not ready,resolved to come away with us, and, in an evil hour for them, they didso.
To be brief, we took the innocent Spaniard into our convoy, and sailedaway to the northward with them, but were not far at sea before we letthem know what circumstances they were in, by th
e following method. Wewere about half a league a head of them, when our captain bringing to,and hauling up our courses, made a signal to the Spaniards for thecaptain to come on board, which he very readily did; as soon as he wason board, our captain let him know that he was our prisoner, and all hismen, and immediately manning their boat with thirty of our men, we sentthem on board their ship, to take possession of her, but ordered themthat they should behave civilly to the men on board, and plundernothing. For we made a promise to the Spanish captain, that his shipshould not be plundered, upon condition he would give us a just accountof his loading, and deliver peaceably to us what riches he had on board;then we also agreed, that we would restore him his ship, which by theway, we found was chiefly loaden with hides, things of no value to us,and that the ship also was an old vessel, strong, but often doubled, andtherefore a very heavy sailer, and consequently not at all fit for ourpurpose, though we greatly wanted a ship to take along with us, wehaving, as I have said, both