g time to go beyond it,
at which cowardice the prince was much displeased.

In 1417, in the reign of John II. of Castile, and while his mother the
lady Catharine was regent of the kingdom, Ruben de Bracamonte, the
admiral of France, craved a grant of the Canary Islands, and the title of
king, for his kinsman John de Betancourt; which being conceded, he
departed from Seville with an armament to attempt the conquest. The
principal motive of this enterprize was to make a perfect discovery of
Madeira, of which Macham had before given so much information; yet he
went to the Canaries, where he carried a friar named Mendo as bishop, who
had received that dignity from Pope Martin V. He reduced Lancerota,
Fuerteventura, Gomera, and Ferro; whence he sent into Spain many slaves,
and considerable quantities of honey, wax, camphire, hides, orchill, figs,
dragons-blood, and other merchandize, of which he made good profit. This
armament is said to have likewise discovered Porto Santo. The island
first occupied by Betancourt was Lancerota, where he built a castle of
stone for the better defence of the new settlers.

In the year 1418, John Gonzales Zarco, and Tristram Vaz Teixera,
gentlemen of the household to Don Henry, perceiving the great desire of
their master to discover new countries, requested and obtained a bark to
proceed to the coast of Africa; where they were overtaken by a violent
tempest, and driven into a haven of the island now called Porto Santo,
where they remained two years. In 1420, they discovered the island of
Madeira, where they found the chapel, tomb, and stone on which Macham had
engraved his name. Others write, that a Castilian had informed Don Henry
of having made the discovery of Porto Santo; and that he sent
Bartholomew Perestrello, John Gonzales Zarco, and Tristram Vaz Teixera,
purposely in search of that island, according to the signs and directions
indicated by the Castilian; and that these persons afterwards discovered
Madeira in 1420, where they found the memorial and monument left by
Macham the Englishman.

Betancourt, who begun the conquest of the Canaries, was slain in a war
with the natives, leaving one Menante his heir; who afterwards sold the
islands to one Peter Barba of Seville. But others say, that John de
Betancourt went to France to procure reinforcements, to enable him to
complete his conquests, and left the command of Lancerota with his
nephew; who, hearing nothing of his uncle, and being