of such
things as first came to hand, he perceiued that the wealth would arise
nothing disanswerable to expectation; but that the variety and grandure of
all rich commodities would be more then sufficient to content both the
aduenturers desire and the souldiers trauell. And here I cannot but enter
into the consideration and acknowledgement of Gods great fauor towards our
nation, who by putting this purchase into our hands hath manifestly
discouered those secret trades and Indian riches, which hitherto lay
strangely hidden, and cunningly concealed from vs; whereof there was among
some few of vs some small and vnperfect glimse onely, which now is turned
into the broad light of full and perfect knowledge. Whereby it should seeme
that the will of God for our good is (if our weaknesse could apprehend it)
to haue vs communicate with them in those East Indian treasures, and by the
erection of a lawfull traffike to better our meanes to aduance true
religion and his holy seruice. The caracke being in burden by the
estimation of the wise and experienced no lesse then 1600 tunnes had full
900 of those stowed with the grosse bulke of marchandise, the rest of the
tunnage being allowed, partly to the ordinance which were 32 pieces of
brasse of all sorts, partly to the passengers and the victuals, which could
not be any small quantity, considering the number of the persons betwixt
600 and 700, and the length of the nauigation. To giue you a taste (as it
were) of the commodities, it shall suffice to deliuer you a generall
particularity of them, according to the catalogue taken at Leadenhall the
15 of September 1592. [Sidenote: A briefe catalogue of the sundry rich
commodities of the Madre de Dios.] Where vpon good view it was found, that
the principall wares after the iewels (which were no doubt of great value,
though they neuer came to light) consisted of spices, drugges, silks,
calicos, quilts, carpets and colours, &c. The spices were pepper, cloues,
maces, nutmegs, cinamom, greene ginger: the drugs were beniamin,
frankincense, galingale, mirabolans, aloes zocotrina, camphire: the silks,
damasks, taffatas, sarcenets, altobassos, that is, counterfeit cloth of
gold, vnwrought China silke, sleaued silke, white twisted silke, curled
cypresse. The calicos were book-calicos, calico-launes, broad white
calicos, fine starched calicos, course white calicos, browne broad calicos,
browne course calicos. There were also canopies, and course diaper