Document # 1
[Adapted from a translation by Susan Tarrow of
the Cellere Codex, in Lawrence C. Wroth, ed., The Voyages of
Giovanni da Verrazzano, 1524-1528 (Yale, 1970), pp. 133-143]
... Since the storm that we encountered in the northern regions,
Most Serene King, I have not written to tell Your Majesty of what
happened to the four ships which you sent over the Ocean to
explore new lands, as I thought that you had already been
informed of everything--how we were forced by the fury of the
winds to return in distress to Brittany with only the Normandy
and the Dauphine, and that after undergoing repairs there,
began our voyage with these two ships, equipped for war,
following the coasts of Spain, Your Most Serene Majesty will have
heard; and then according to our new plan, we continued the
original voyage with only the Dauphine; now on our return from
this voyage I will tell Your Majesty of what we found.
We set sail with the Dauphine from the
deserted rock near the Island of Madeira, which belongs to the
Most Serene King of Portugal on the 17th day of January last; we
had fifty men, and were provided with food for eight months, with
arms and other articles of war, and naval munitions; we sailed
westward on the gentle breath of a light easterly wind. In 25
days we covered eight hundred leagues. On the 24th day of
February we went through a storm as violent as ever sailing man
encountered. We were delivered from it with the divine help and
goodness of the ship, whose glorious name and happy destiny
enabled her to endure the violent waves of the sea. We continued
on our westerly course keeping rather to the north. In another 25
days we sailed more than four hundred leagues where there
appeared a new land which had never been seen before by any man,
either Ancient or modern.
At first it appeared to be rather low-lying;
having approached within a quarter of a league, we realized that
it was inhabited, for huge fires had been built on the seashore.
We saw that the land stretched southward, and coasted along it in
search of some port where we might anchor the ship and
investigate the nature of the land, but in fifty leagues we found
no harbor or place where we could stop with the ship.
Seeing that the land continued to the south we
decided to turn and skirt it toward the north, where we found the
land we had sighted earlier. So we anchored off the coast and
sent the small boat in to land. We had seen many people coming to
the seashore, but they fled when they saw us approaching; several
times they stopped and turned around to look at us in great
wonderment. We reassured them with various signs, and some of
them came up, showing great delight at seeing us and marveling at
our clothes, appearance, and our whiteness; they showed us by
various signs where we could most easily secure the boat, and
offered us some of their food. We were on land, and I shall now
tell Your Majesty briefly what we were able to learn of their
life and customs.
They go completely naked except that around their loins they wear skins of small animals like martens, with a narrow belt of grass around the body, to which they tie various tails of other animals which hang down to the knees; the rest of the body is bare, and so is the head. Some of them wear garlands of birds’ feathers. They are dark in color, not unlike the Ethiopians, with thick black hair, not very long, tied back behind the head like a small tail. As for the physique of these men, they are well proportioned, of medium height, a little taller than we are. They have broad chests, strong arms, and the legs and other parts of the body are well composed. There is nothing else, except that they tend to be rather broad in the face: but not all, for we saw many with angular faces. They have big black eyes, and an attentive and open look. They are not very strong, but they have a sharp cunning, and are agile and swift runners. From what we could tell from observation, in the last two respects they resemble the Orientals, particularly those from the farthest Sinarian regions.
We could not learn the details of the life and
customs of these people because of the short time we spent on
land, due to the fact that there were few men, and the ship was
anchored on the high seas. Not far from these people, we found
others on the shore whose way of life we think is similar.
I will now tell Your Majesty about it, and
describe the situation and nature of this land. The seashore is
completely covered with fine sand 15 feet deep, which rises in
the form of small hills about fifty paces wide. After climbing
farther, we found other streams and inlets from the sea which
come in by several mouths, and follow the ins and outs of the
shoreline. Nearby we could see a stretch of country much higher
than the sandy shore, with many beautiful fields and plains full
of great forests, some sparse and some dense; and the trees have
so many colors, and are so beautiful and delightful that they
defy description. And do not think, Your Majesty, that these
forests are like the Hyrcanian Forest or the wild wastelands of
Scythia and the northern countries, full of common trees; they
are adorned and clothed with palms, laurel, cypress, and other
varieties of tree unknown in our Europe. And these trees emit a
sweet fragrance over a large area, the nature of which we could
not examine for the reason stated above, not because we found it
difficult to get through the forests-indeed, they are nowhere so
dense as to be impenetrable. We think that they belong to the
Orient by virtue of the surroundings, and that they are not
without some kind of narcotic or aromatic liquor. There are other
riches, like gold, which ground of such a color usually denotes.
There is an abundance of animals, stags, deer, hares; and also of
lakes and pools of running water with various types of bird,
perfect for all the delights and pleasures of the hunt. This land
lies at 34 degrees [on a parallel with Carthage and Damascus]]
The air is salubrious and pure, and free from
the extremes of heat and cold; gentle winds blow in these
regions, and the prevailing winds in summertime, which was
beginning when we were there, are northwest and westerly; the sky
is clear and cloudless, with infrequent rain, and if occasionally
the south winds bring in clouds and murkiness, they are dispelled
in an instant, and the sky is once more clear and bright; the sea
is calm and unruffled, its waves gentle. And although the whole
shore tends to be low and has no harbor it is not dangerous for
sailors, since it is quite distinct and without rocks; the water
is deep, for at four or five paces from land it is at least 20
feet deep whatever the tide, and this depth increases in relation
to the distance from the shore. With such good coastal
conditions, no ship in distress in a storm could perish in these
parts unless she broke her ropes. And we proved this by
experience; for several times at the beginning of March, when the
wind usually blow fiercely in any region, we were overwhelmed by
storms as we lay at anchor at sea, and we found the anchor broken
rather than torn from the seabed or moved at all.
We left this place and continued to follow the coast, which we
found veered to the east. All along it we saw great fires because
of the numerous inhabitants; we anchored off the shore since
there was no harbor, and because we needed water we sent the
small boat ashore with 25 men. The sea along the coast was
churned up by enormous waves because of the open beach, and so it
was impossible to put anyone ashore without endangering the boat.
We saw many people on the beach making various friendly signs,
and beckoning us ashore and there I saw a magnificent deed, as
Your Majesty will hear.
We sent one of our young sailors swimming
ashore to take the people some trinkets, such as little bells,
mirrors, an other trifles, and when he came within four fathoms
of them, he threw them the goods and tried to turn back, but he
was so tossed about by the waves that he was carried up onto the
beach half dead. Seeing this, the native people immediately ran
up; they took him by the head, the legs, and arms and carried him
some distance away. Whereupon the youth, realizing he was being
carried away like this, was seized with terror, and began to
utter loud cries. They answered him in their language to show him
he should not be afraid. Then they placed him on the ground in
the sun, at the foot of a small hill, and made gestures of great
admiration, looking at the whiteness of his flesh and examining
him from head to foot. They took off his shirt and shoes and
hose, leaving him naked, then made huge fire next to him, placing
him near the heat. When the sailors in the boat saw this, the
were filled with terror, as always when something new occurs, and
thought the people wanted to roast him for food. After remaining
with them for a while, he regained his strength, and showed them
by signs that he wanted to return to the ship. With the greatest
kindness, they accompanied him to the sea, holding him close and
embracing him; an then to reassure him, they withdrew to a high
hill and stood watching him until he was in the boat.
The youth learned the following about
these people: they are dark in color like the other tribes, their
skin is very glossy, they are of medium height, their faces are
more clear-cut, their body and other limbs much more delicate and
much less powerful, but they are more quick-witted. He saw
nothing else. We left this place [GV footnote: We called it
"Annunciata" from the day of arrival, and found there
an isthmus one mile wide and about two hundred miles long, in
which we could see the eastern sea from the ship, halfway between
west and north. This is doubtless the one which goes around the
tip of India, China, and Cathay. We sailed along this isthmus,
hoping all the time to find some strait or real promontory where
the land might end to the north, and we could reach those blessed
shores of Cathay. This ishtmus was named by the discoverer
"Varazanio," just as all the land we found was called
"Francesca," after our Francis.]
Still following the coast which veered somewhat
to the north, and after fifty leagues we reached another land
which seemed much more beautiful and full of great forests. We
anchored there, and with 20 men we penetrated about two leagues
inland, to find that the people had fled in terror into the
forests. Searching everywhere, we met with a very old woman and a
young girl of 18 to 20 years, who had hidden in the grass in
fear. The old woman had two little girls whom she carried on her
shoulders, and clinging to her neck a boy -- they were all about
eight years old. The young woman also had three children, but all
girls. When we met them, they began to shout. The old woman made
signs to us that the men had fled to the woods. We gave her some
of our food to eat, which she accepted with great pleasure; the
young woman refused everything and threw it angrily to the
ground. We took the boy from the old woman to carry back to
France, and we wanted to take the young woman, who was very
beautiful and tall, but it was impossible to take her to the sea
because of the loud cries she uttered. And as we were a long way
from the ship and had to pass through several woods, we decided
to leave her behind, and took only the boy.
We found these people whiter than the previous
ones; they were dressed in certain grasses that hang from the
branches of the trees and which they weave with different threads
of wild hemp. Their heads are bare and of the same shape as the
others. On the whole they live on pulses, which are abundant and
different from ours in color and size, but are excellent and have
a delicious taste; otherwise they live by hunting fish and birds,
which they catch with bows and snares. They make the bows of hard
wood, the arrows of reeds, and at the point they put the bones of
fish and other animals. The wild animals here are much more
ferocious than in Europe because they are continually being
molested by hunters.
We saw many of their little boats made out of a
single tree, twenty feet long and four feet wide, which are put
together without stone, iron, or any other kind of metal. For in
the whole country, in the area of two hundred leagues that we
covered, we did not see a single stone of any kind. They use fire
and burn the wood as much as necessary to hollow out the boat:
they do the same for the stern and the prow so that when it sails
it can plow through the waves of the sea.
The land is like the previous one in situation,
fertility, and beauty; the woods are sparse; the land is covered
with different types of trees, but they are not so fragrant,
since there it is more northern and cold. We saw there many vines
growing wild, which climb up around the trees as they do in
Cisalpine Gaul: they would doubtless produce excellent wines if
they were properly cultivated, for several times we found the dry
fruit sweet and pleasant, not unlike our own. The people must
value them, because wherever they grow, the bushes around them
are removed so that the fruit can ripen better. We found wild
roses, violets, and lilies, and many kinds of herbs and flowers
different from ours. We did not find out about their houses, as
they were in the interior of country. We think from the many
signs we saw that they are built of wood and grasses; we also
think from various conjectures and signs that many of them who
sleep in country have nothing but the sky for cover. We learned
nothing more of them. We think that all the others of the country
we visited earlier live in the same way. After staying here for
three days, anchored off the coast, we decided to leave because
of the scarcity of port and we continued to follow the coast to
the northeast, sailing only during the day an casting anchor at
night.[ftnte # 10]
After a hundred leagues we found a very
agreeable place between two small but prominent hills; between
them a very wide river, deep at its mouth, flow out into the sea;
and with the help of the tide, which rises eight feet, any laden
ship could have passed from the sea into the river estuary. [almost
certainly New York Harbor] Once we were anchored off the
coast and well sheltered, we did not want to run any risks
without knowing anything about the river mouth. So we took the
small boat up this river to land which we found densely
populated. The people were almost the same as the others, dressed
in birds’ feathers of various color and they came toward us
joyfully, uttering loud cries of wonderment, and showing us
safest place to beach the boat. We went up this river for about
half a league, where we saw that it formed a beautiful lake,
about three leagues in circumference. About 30 small boats ran to
and from across the lake with innumerable people aboard who were
crossing from one side to the other to see us. Suddenly, as often
happens in sailing, a violent unfavorable wind blew in from the
sea, and we were forced to return to the ship, leaving the land
with much regret on account of its favorable conditions and
beauty; we think was not without some properties of value, since
all the hills showed signs of minerals.
We weighed anchor, and sailed eastward since
the land veered in that direction [along the south shore of
Long Island], and covered 80 leagues, always keeping in
sight of land. We discovered a triangular-shaped island, ten
leagues from the mainland, similar in size to the island of
Rhodes [ likely Block Island ]; it was full of hills,
covered in trees, and highly populated to judge by the fires we
saw burning continually along the shore. We baptized it in the
name of your illustrious mother, but did not anchor there because
the weather was unfavorable.
We reached another land 15 leagues from the
island, where we found an excellent harbor [in lalmost
certainly Newport in lower Narragansett Bay]; before
entering it, we saw about boats full of people who came around
the ship uttering various cries of wonderment. They did not come
nearer than fifty paces but stopped to look at the structure of
our ship, our persons, and our clothes; then all together they
raised a loud cry which meant that they were joyful. We reassured
them somewhat by imitating their gestures, and they came near
enough for us to throw them a few little bells and mirrors and
many trinkets, which they took and looked at, laughing, and then
they confidently came on board ship. Among them were two kings,
who were as beautiful of stature and build as I can possibly
describe. The first was about 40 years old, the other a young man
of 24, and they were dressed thus: the older man had on his naked
body a stag skin, skillfully worked like damask with various
embroideries; the head was bare, the hair tied back with various
bands, and around the neck hung a wide chain decorated with many
different-colored stones. The young man was dressed in almost the
same way. These people are the most beautiful and have the most
civil customs that we have found on this voyage. They are taller
than we are; they are a bronze color, some tending more toward
whiteness, others to a tawny color; the face is clear-cut; the
hair is long and black, and they take great pains to decorate it;
the eyes are black and alert, and their manner is sweet and
gentle, very like the manner of the ancients I shall not speak to
Your Majesty of the other parts of the body, since they have all
the proportions belonging to any well-built man.
Their women are just as shapely and beautiful;
very gracious, of attractive manner and pleasant appearance;
their customs and behavior follow womanly custom as far as befits
human nature; they go nude except for stag skin embroidered like
the men’s, and some wear rich lynx skins on their arms;
their bare heads are decorated with various ornaments made of
braids of their own hair which hang down over their breasts on
either side. Some have other hair arrangements such as the women
of Egypt and Syria wear, and these women are older and have been
joined in wedlock. Both men and women have various trinkets
hanging from their ears as the Orientals do; and we saw that they
had many sheets of worked copper which they prize more than gold.
They do not value gold because of its color; they think it the
most worthless of all, and rate blue and red above all other
colors. The things we gave them that they prized the most were
little bells, blue crystals, and other trinkets to put in the ear
or around the neck. They did not appreciate cloth of silk and
gold, nor even of any other kind, nor did they care to have them;
the same was true for metals like steel and iron, for many times
when we showed them some of our arms, they did not admire them,
nor ask for them, but merely examined the workmanship. They did
the same with mirrors; they would look at them quickly, and then
refuse them, laughing.
They are very generous and give away all they have. We made great
friends with them, and one day before we entered the harbor with
the ship, when we were lying at anchor one league out to sea
because of unfavorable weather, they came out to the ship with a
great number of their boats; they had painted and decorated their
faces with various colors, showing us that it was a sign of
happiness. They brought us some of their food, and showed us by
signs where we should anchor in the port for the ship’s
safety, and then accompanied us all the way until we dropped
anchor.
We stayed there for 15 days, taking advantage of the place to
refresh ourselves. Every day the people came to see us on the
ship, bringing their womenfolk. They are very careful with them,
for when they come aboard and stay a long time, they make the
women wait in the boats; and however many entreaties we made or
offers of various gifts, we could no persuade them to let the
women come on board ship. One of the two kings often came with
the queen and many attendants for the pleasure of seeing us, and
at first they always stopped on a piece of ground about two
hundred paces away from us, and sent a boat to warn us of their
arrival, saying they wanted to come and see the ship: they did
this as a kind of precaution. And once they had a reply from us,
they came immediately, and watched us for a while; but when they
heard the irksome clamor of the crowd of sailors, they sent the
queen and her maidens in a light little boat to wait on a small
island about a quarter of a league from us. The king remained a
long while, discussing by signs and gestures various fanciful
notions, looking at all the ship’s equipment, and asking
especially about its uses; he imitated our manners, tasted our
food, and then courteously took his leave of us. Sometimes when
our men stayed on a small island near the ship for two or three
days for their various needs, as is the custom of sailors, he
would come with seven or eight of his attendants, watch our
operations, and often ask us if we wanted to stay there any
length of time, offering us all his help. Then he would shoot his
bow and run and perform various games with his men to give us
pleasure.
We frequently went five to six leagues
into the interior, and found it as pleasant as I can possibly
describe, and suitable for every kind of cultivation-grain, wine,
or oil. For there the fields extend for 25 to 30 leagues; they
are open and free of any obstacles or trees, and so fertile that
any kind of seed would produce excellent crops. Then we entered
the forests, which could be penetrated even by a large army; the
trees there are oaks, cypresses, and others unknown in our
Europe. We found Lucullian apples, plums, and filberts, and many
kinds of fruit different from ours. There is an enormous number
of animals-stags, deer, lynx, and other species; these people,
like the others, capture them with snares and bows, which are
their principal weapons. Their arrows are worked with great
beauty, and they tip them not with iron but with emery, jasper,
hard marble, and other sharp stones. They use the same kind of
stone instead of iron for cutting trees, and make their little
boats with a single log of wood, hollowed out with admirable
skill; there is ample room in them for fourteen to xv men; they
operate a short oar, broad at the end, with only the strength of
their arms, and they go to sea without any danger, and as swiftly
as they please. When we went farther inland we saw their houses,
which are circular in shape, about 14 to 15 paces across, made of
bent saplings; they are arranged without any architectural
pattern, and are covered with cleverly worked mats of straw which
protect them from wind and rain. There is no doubt that if they
had the skilled workmen that we have, they would erect great
buildings, for the whole maritime coast is full of various blue
rocks, crystals, and alabaster, and for such a purpose it has an
abundance of ports and shelter for ships.
They move these houses from one place to
another according to the richness of the site and the season.
They need only carry the straw mats, and so they have new houses
made in no time at all. In each house there lives a father with a
very large family, for in some we saw 25 to 30 people. They live
on the same food as the other people-pulse (which they produce
with more systematic cultivation than the other tribes, and when
sowing they observe the influence of the moon, the rising of the
Pleiades, and many other customs derived from the ancients), and
otherwise on game and fish. They live a long time, and rarely
fall sick; if they are wounded, they cure themselves with fire
without medicine; their end comes with old age. We consider them
very compassionate and charitable toward their relatives, for
they make great lamentations in times of adversity, recalling in
their grief all their past happiness. At the end of their life,
the relatives perform together the Sicilian lament, which is
mingled with singing and lasts a long time. This is all that we
could learn of them.
This country is situated on a parallel with
Rome at 40 2/3s degrees, but is somewhat colder, by chance and
not by nature, as I shall explain to Your Majesty at another
point; I will now describe the position of the aforementioned
port. The coast of this land runs from west to east. The harbor
mouth [GV footnote: which we called "refugio" because
of its beauty] faces south, and is half a league wide; from its
entrance it extends for 12 leagues in a northeasterly direction,
and then widens out to form a large bay of about 20 leagues in
circumference. In this bay there are five small islands, very
fertile and beautiful, full of tall spreading trees, and any
large fleet could ride safely among them without fear of tempest
or other dangers. Then, going southward to the entrance of the
harbor, there are very pleasant hills on either side, with many
streams of clear water flowing from the high land into the sea.
In the middle of this estuary there is a rock of "viva
pietra" [a nonporous rock] formed by nature, which is
suitable for building any kind of machine or bulwark for the
defense of the harbor. [GV footnote: which we called "La
Petra Viva," on account of both the nature of the stone and
the family of a gentlewoman; on the right side of the harbor
mouth there is a promontory which we call "Jovius
promontory]
Having supplied all our needs, we left this
port on the sixth day of May and continued along the coast, never
losing sight of land.[Likely along the southern coast of Cape
Cod, first past Martha's Vineyard and then Nantucket] We
sailed one hundred and fifty leagues [GV footnote: within this
distance we found sandbanks which stretch from the continent
fifty leagues out to sea. Over them the water was never less than
three feet deep; thus there is great danger in sailing there. We
crossed them with difficulty and called them "Armellini] and
found the land similar in nature, but somewhat higher, with
several mountains which all showed signs of minerals. We did not
land there because the weather was favorable and helped us in
sailing along the coast: we think it resembles the other. The
shore ran eastward. At a distance of fifty leagues, keeping more
to the north, we found high country full of very dense forests,
composed of pines, cypresses, and similar trees which grow in
cold regions. [This is likely along the coast of southern
Maine.]
The people were quite different from the
others, for while the previous ones had been courteous in manner,
these were full of crudity and vices, and were so barbarous that
we could never make any communication with them, however many
signs we made to them. They were clothed in skins of bear, lynx,
sea-wolf and other animals. As far as we could judge from several
visits to their houses, we think they live on game, fish, and
several fruits which are a species of root which the earth
produces itself. They have no pulse, and we saw no sign of
cultivation, nor would the land be suitable for producing any
fruit or grain on account of its sterility. If we wanted to trade
with them for some of their things, they would come to the
seashore on some rocks where the breakers were most violent,
while we remained in the little boat, and they sent us what they
wanted to give on a rope, continually shouting to us not to
approach the land; they gave us the barter quickly, and would
take in exchange only knives, hooks for fishing and sharp metal.
We found no courtesy in them, and when we had nothing more to
exchange and left them, the men made all the signs of scorn and
shame that any brute creature would make [GV footnote: such as
showing their buttocks and laughing.] Against their wishes, we
penetrated two or three leagues inland with 25 armed men, and
when we disembarked on the shore, they shot at us with their bows
and uttered loud cries before fleeing into the woods. We did not
find anything of great value in this land, except for the vast
forests and some hills which could contain some metal: for we saw
many natives with "paternostri" beads of copper in
their ears.
We departed, skirting the coast in a
northeasterly direction; we found the country more beautiful,
open and bare of trees, with high mountains in the interior which
slope down toward the seashore. In fifty leagues we discovered 32
islands, [GV footnote: we are in 43 2/3 [degrees] all near the
continent: they were small and pleasant in appearance, but high,
and followed the curve of the land; some beautiful ports and
channels were formed between them, such as those formed in the
Adriatic Gulf in Illyria and Dalmatia. We made no contact with
the people and we think they were, like the others, devoid of
manners and humanity. After sailing 150 leagues in a
northeasterly direction we approached the land which the Britons
once found, which lies in 50 degrees; and since we had exhausted
all our naval stores and provisions, and had discovered seven
hundred leagues or more of new land, we took on supplies of water
and wood, and decided to return to France.
Due to the lack of [a common] language, we were
unable to find out by signs or gestures how much religious faith
these people we found possess. We think they have neither
religion nor laws, that they do not know of a First Cause or
Author, that they do not worship the sky, the stars, the sun, the
moon, or other planets, nor do they even practice any kind of
idolatry; we do not know whether they offer any sacrifices or
other prayers, nor are there any temples or churches of prayer
among their peoples. We consider that they have no religion and
that they live in absolute freedom, and that everything they do
proceeds from Ignorance; for they are very easily persuaded, and
they imitated everything that they saw us Christians do with
regard to divine worship, with the same fervor and enthusiasm
that we had.
It remains for me to tell Your Majesty of the
progress of this voyage as regards Cosmography. As I said
earlier, we departed from the aforementioned rocks which lie at
the limit of the Occident as the ancients knew it, and in the
meridian of the Fortunate Islands, at a latitude Of 32 degrees
north from the Equator in our hemisphere, we sailed westward
until we first found land at 1200 leagues-which is equal to 4800
miles, counting four miles to a league in accordance with the
maritime practice of naval experts: geometrically, according to
the ratio of three plus 1 1/2 times one seventh [3’ 3/14] of
the diameter to the circumference, that is, 92 54164/47233
degrees. This is correct. For, since the chord [diameter] of an
arc of the greatest circle is 114 6/11 degrees, and the chord
[diameter] of the parallel of 34 degrees where we first found
land, according to the same ratio, is 95 233/450 degrees, then
the circumference of the whole circle is 300 713/1575 degrees;
allowing 62 1/2 miles for each degree* (which most of those who
have experimented confirm as the distance on earth corresponding
to the proportion of the sky), this should give us 188759 31/126
miles, divided into 36o parts, which would come to 52 989/9072
miles each. And this is the length of a degree of longitude in
the said parallel [of latitude] Of 34 degrees; on the basis of
this we calculated our departure by taking a straight line from
the meridian of the aforesaid rocks which lie in latitude 32
degrees. Using these 1200 leagues on a straight line in an
east-west direction in 34 degrees [of latitude], we found
therefore that this amounts to 92 54164/472773 degrees, and so we
have navigated in this parallel of 34 degrees this much farther
to the westward than was ever known to the ancients.**
[Editor's footnote: ** Verrazzano’s
reference to the number of "degrees" in the
"chord," etc., is confusing to one who does not
understand what he means. In plain language, his argument is as
follows, using his figures but changing his words: If a great
circle, such as the equator, be divided into 36o parts, each part
will contain 62 1/2 miles. If there are 36o such parts in the
circumference of the circle, then, according to the ratio of
circumference to diameter, 3 3/14 to 1, there are in the diameter
only 114 6/11 such parts of 62 1/2 miles each. (He uses the word
"chord" for diameter.) Now, if the diameter of a great
circle contains 114 6/11 such parts, the diameter of a circle
lying in the plane of 34’ of latitude will contain only 95
233/450 such parts, and multiplying that diameter by 3 1/7, he
finds the circumference of a circle in 34’ of latitude to
contain 300 713/1575 such parts of 62 1/2, miles each. The last
two figures multiplied together give him 18,759 31/126 miles in
the circumference of the circle in 34’. Then dividing 18,759
31/126 into 36o equal parts or degrees, he finds that a degree of
longitude at the height Of 34’ of latitude measures 52
989/9072 0 miles. As he estimated that he had sailed westward
1,200 leagues or 4,800 miles in that latitude, he divides 4,8oo
by 52 989/9072 and finds that he sailed through 92 54164/472733
degrees of longitude. That is the substance of his method,
although his fractions are not always accurate.-E. H. H.]
This longitudinal distance was known to us by
navigating with various instruments (but without observing lunar
eclipses or other phenomena), by the motion of the sun (always
taking the altitude at whatever hour we wished) [and] by the
distance the ship ran on the various courses; thus we found the
distance between one meridian and another geometrically. I have
noted all this fully in a little book, together with the rising
of the tide in all the regions in every season and at every time
of day, which I think would prove rather useful to navigators. I
hope to discuss the matter with Your Majesty with a view to
promoting science.
My intention on this voyage was to reach Cathay
and the extreme eastern coast of Asia, but I did not expect to
find such an obstacle of new land as I have found; and if for
some reason I did expect to find it, I estimated there would be
some strait to get through to the Eastern Ocean. This was the
opinion of all the ancients, who certainly believed that our
Western Ocean was joined to the Eastern Ocean of India without
any land in between. Aristotle supports this theory by arguments
of various analogies, but this opinion is quite contrary to that
of the moderns, and has been proven false by experience.
Nevertheless, land has been found by modern man which was unknown
to the ancients, another world with respect to the one they knew,
which appears to be larger than our Europe, than Africa, and
almost larger than Asia, if we estimate its size correctly; I
shall give Your Majesty a concise account of it.
Beyond the Equator, at 20 32060/4781
[32060/46781?] degrees westward from the Fortunate Islands, the
Spaniard [Magellan] sailed to 54 degrees south where they found
land without end. They then turned to the north along the same
meridian and followed the coast as far as 8 degrees. They have
sailed to 89 2970/46781 degrees, which added to the 20
3206o/46781 degrees makes 110 44830/46783 degrees. So they have
sailed this far westward from the aforementioned meridian of the
Fortunate Islands in the parallel of 21 degrees of latitude. We
have not measured this distance as we have not made this
particular voyage; it could vary a little one way or the other.
We have calculated it "geometrically" from the reports
of many naval experts who have made the voyage-who assert it to
be i6oo leagues, to judge the ship’s course arbitrarily and
to allow for the ship’s deviation from its straight course
according to strength of the wind. I hope we shall soon be
absolutely certain about these facts.
0n the other hand, on this voyage we made by
order of Your Majesty, in addition to the degrees etc. that we
sailed from the said meridian to the west of the first land we
found 34 degrees, we sailed 300 leagues northeastward, and almost
400 leagues to the east, following the coast until we reached 54
degrees; we then left the land which the Lusitania [Portuguese]
found long ago and which they followed northward as far as the
Arctic Circle without finding an end to it. So if we add the
northerly latitude to the southern -- that is, 54 degrees to 66
degrees -- we have 120 degrees, which is more than latitude
covered by Africa and Europe: for from the northernmost point of
Europe, form by the limits of Norway at 71 degrees, to the tip of
Africa, which is the Cape of Good Hope at 35 degrees, there are
only 106 degrees; and if the territorial area of this [new] land
corresponds in size to its maritime shore, there is no doubt that
it is larger than Asia. In this way we find that the extension of
the land is much greater than the ancients believed, a contrary
to the Mathematicians who considered that there was less land
than water, have proven it by experience to be the reverse.
And as for the corporeal volume, we judge that
there cannot be less land than water, I hope to establish to Your
Majesty at a better time by more reasoned and tried argumen All
this land or New World which we have described above is joined
together, but is not linked with Asia or Africa (we know this for
certain), but could be joined to Europe Norway or Russia; this
would be false according to the ancients, who declare that almost
all the north has been navigated from the promontory of the
Cimbri to the Orient, and affirm that they went around as far as
the Caspian Sea itself. Therefore the continent would lie between
two seas, to the east and west; but these two seas do not in fact
surround either of the two continents, for beyond 54 degrees
south from the Equator the New World tends eastward for a great
distance, and to the north of the Equator it passes 66 degrees
and continues eastward as far as 70 degrees. I hope that with
Your Majesty’s help we shall have more certain knowledge of
this; may God Almighty prosper you in everlasting glory, that we
may see the perfect end to our cosmography, and that the sacred
word of gospel may be fulfilled: "their sound has gone out
into every land."
In the ship Dauphine on the 8th day of July, 1524
Humble servant Janus Verazanus
To Leonardo Tedaldi or to Thomaso Sartini@
merchants in Lyons. To be forwarded
to Bonacorso Ruscella