Sailors Narratives of Voyages Along the New England Coast, 1524-1624

Sailors Narratives of Voyages Along the New England Coast, 1524-1624

The first chapter, Verrazanos voyage in 1524, is a modern translation of the original Italian. The other chapters are literal reproductions of their original English publications, and so retain the spelling, the hyphenation and punctuation seen in those books. Three minor changes have been made to the etext: Page 27: Com of _Essex_ has a ~ (tilde) over the m in the original text. Page 123: assoone as they replaced by as soone as they. Page 155 Sidenote: 1605 June replaced by 1607 June. Giovanni da Verrazano, a Florentine sailor in the service of France who had attracted the royal attention by his successful attacks on Spanish commerce, was commissioned by Francis I, in the spring of 1523, to cross the Atlantic in search for a sea route to Cathay. In April, the agents of Spain in France notified their government that Verrazano was ready to start. Two months later, the Spanish authorities learned that he had returned to La Rochelle, bringing the captured vessels in which Cortes had shipped the treasure gathered from the Aztec lords of Mexico. The proposed voyage of discovery was not, however, merely a blind for this attack on the Spanish West Indian fleet. Verrazano refitted his ships and made a second start, only to be driven back by a Biscayan storm. With his single remaining seaworthy vessel, he finally got away for the West. In March, 1524, land was sighted, probably near Cape Fear, on the Carolina coast. After looking in vain for a harbour toward the south, he turned northward and followed the shore line as far as Maine or Nova Scotia. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 67623
Author: Winship, George Parker
Release Date: Mar 13, 2022
Format: eBook
Language: English
Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin & Co
Publication Date: 1905
Publisher Country: United States

Contributors

Editor: Winship, George Parker, 1871-1952