. They are so sensible of their weakness, and jealous of
their riches in those parts that it is very difficult for any ingenious
man, once taken by them, to get his liberty, fearing he might give such
intelligence as would be the cause of their ruin, witness their
blindfolding of all strangers, when they pass their cities and castles,
for they much dread an old prophecy among them, _that within a short
time the English will as freely walk the streets of Havana as the
Spaniards now do_, which indeed had been easily performed with a third
of the army sent to Jamaica and a far greater advantage to the nation;
for I esteem that port and harbor of the Havana in the West Indies to be
as great a check upon the Spaniards as Tangier in the straits of
Gibraltar; and if we were once masters of both they would without doubt
be so straightened as absolutely to admit us a free trade into their
ports of America, where they import our commodities and sell them for
ten times more than they first cost in Spain, by reason of the great
plenty of silver, which trade would not only be of great advantage to
us, but also prevent their future enslaving our nation in chains, as
they now do; for being employed in their fortifications, they are worse
used, all things considered, than if they were taken by the Turks. I
have seen other parts of the West Indies, where the Spaniards might be
fleeced of considerable quantity of riches; as at Panama, where there
are silver bars piled up in heaps in the open street day and night,
without guard, four, five or six months together, waiting the arrival of
the armada, which when arriving in Puerto Bello, they transport it
thither with so slender a guard for so great a treasure, that it would
be easy prey for a thousand resolute men the expense of whose
expedition would be small in comparison to the prize. But there is no
resting or long tarrying about the business, the Spaniards being
numerous here as in all other places of the main land; a catch and away.
This island of Cuba hath adjacent to it great conveniences of salt and
fishing and in it is very great plenty of horses, meat, sheep and hogs,
both wild and tame, of a far larger and better breed than in other parts
of America. Which hath also many rich mines of copper already open and
it is the only place which supplies all the West Indies with metal for
the infinite number of ordnance they have in all their ports and
castles, both in the north and south sea