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Letter
No. III To
my assured good frind Augustin Spalding, in Bantam,
deliuer this, per a good
frind Thomas Hill, whom God presserue. Lavs
dei : written in Japan in ye Iland of Ferrando, the 12
of Jeneuari 1613. My
good and louing frind : I do imbolden my self to wrytt
theess feaw lines vnto
you in which I do hartylly sallute me vnto you with
all the rest of my good
country men with you, with hope of your good health,
which God long continew :
as I prayss God I am at this pressent, etc. Your
ffrindly and christian letter
I hau receued by the Hollanders which be heer arriued
this yeer 1612, by which
I do vnderstand that you have receued my letter which
I sent by Peetter
Johnssoon, of which I am veri glad, hoping yt my poor
wyf and frindes shall
heer I am alyve. For vnto this pressent ther hath not
coum to ye hands of my
frinds anny letter of myne : being by the Hollanders
intercepted alwayes : for
by the company of thees ship I haue sertain newes of
trewth yt it is
exprsressley forbid by the Winthabers so called, or
Indish Company, yt they
shall carri nor bring anny letters in no maner of
wayes : for by both thees
shipes I have had diuers letteers sent me by my wyf
and other good frinds out
of Ingland and Holland, but feaw coum to my hand and
thooss yt I hau receued
the most part were 2 lettrs which cam from London by
the convayance of the
Gloob of London, which arriued at Pattania is heer
arriued : which 2 lettrs,
the on is from the honourable Sir Thomass Smith, and
on from my good frind John
Stokle, soum tym on of the [some words obliterated by
a crease in the paper].
Thees 2 lettrs hau not bin oppened, but a 40 or 50
dayes detayned from mee,
etc. You shall [? understand] by the letter of Sr
Thomass Smith, he hath
written that he will send a ship heer in Japan to
establish a facktori, of
which, yf yt may be profitt I shalbe most glad : of
which newes I told the
Emperour thearof, and told him yt in ye next yeer the
kinges mati of Ingland
would send his imbashador with mony and marchandiz to
trad in his country ; and
of the certenti theerof I had receued newes. At which
hee wass veery glad, and
rejoyced that strange nations had such good oppinion:
with many other good
speeches. Now, my good frind, if it so fall out that
on of our country shipes
do coum heer to traffick thear [ ] not lee [ ]
welcoum. And this I do inseur
you of, for it is in my power to do it. I doo prayss
God for it : who hath
geuen me fauor with the Emperour, and good will to me,
so farr as that I may
boldly say our country men shalbe so welcoum and free
in coumparisson as in the
riuer of London. And now to the purposs. I feear yt
theer wilbe no profitt,
which is principal! : for ye coumodeties of our
countri are heer good cheep, yt
is clloth ; for by reason of the ship that comes from
Novo Spaynia of the on party
and the Hollanders on the other party, hath made the
priss of cloth so good
chep as in Ingland. An 8 or 9 years ago cloth was very
deer, but now verry
chep. Now the coumodities yt ye bring from Hol land
are theess : cloth, leed,
still [steel], louking glasses, drink ing glasses,
dans-klass-glasses, amber,
dieeper and-holland, with other things of small
importance. First of ther cloth
no profitt ; leed at [ ] the l., or lees, 3d the which
is no profitt ; steel 6d
the 1. and other things of small profitt. By ye way [
] them bring peper, the
priss thearof 40s. the 1001. ; clouess 51. starlinge
the 1001. and thees [ ]
and the priss thay sell them for. The ship that coums
from Pattania [ ] of all
prisses, damas, taffety, velvett, satten, Brassill to
dye with. All other china
coumodities yt .[ ] is not sartain becass soum yeers
good cheep, and soum yeer
deer [ ] of chinas goods they mad great promt at
first. As the shipes coum
lade, so thay go away much deeper lade, for heer [?
they] lad thear shipes with
rise, fish, bisket, with diuers other prouisions,
monicion [? munition],
marriners, sojoures, and svch lyk, so that in respeckt
of the warres in the
Mollowcouss [Moluccas] Jappan is verry profitable vnto
them ; and yf the warres
do continew in ye Mollucous with ye traffick thay haue
heer wilbe a greate
scourge vnto ye Spaynnards, etc. Now my good frind :
can our Inglish marchants
get the handelling or trad with the Chinas, then shall
our countri mak great
profitt, and the worshippful Indiss Coumpany of London
shall not hau need to
send monny out of Ingland, for in Japan is gold and
siluer in aboundance, for
with the traffick heer they shall hau monny to serue
theer need ; I mean in the
Indiss, etc. The Hollandes be now settled, and I hau
got them that priuilledg
as the Spaynnards and Portingalles could neuer gett in
this 50 or 60 yeers in
Japan, etc. This yeer 1612 the Spaynnards and
Portingalles hau evssed me as an
instrument to gett there liberty in the maner of the
Hollandes, but vppon
consideration of farther inconvenience I hau not
sought it for them.
It
hath plessed God to bring things to pass, so as in ye
eyes of ye world [? must
seem] strange : for the Spaynnard and Portingall hath
bin my bitter ennemis, to
death ; and now theay must seek to me an vnworth
wr[e£]ch : for the Spay- nard
as well as the Portingall must haue all their
negosshes [? negotiations] go
thorough my hand. God hau ye prayse for it, etc. The
charges in Japan are not
great : onlly a pressent for ye Emperour and a
pressent for ye Kinge, and 2 or
3 other pressents for the Secretaris. Other coustoumes
here be nonn. Now, once,
yf a ship do coum, lett her coum for the esterly part
of Japan, lying in 35d.
10m. whear the Kinge and ye Emperour court is : for
coum our ships to Ferando
whear the Hollanders bee, it is farr to ye court,
about 230L., a wery soum way
and foul. The citti of Edo lyeth in 36, and about this
esterly part of the land
thear be the best harbors and a cost so cleer as
theayr is no sholdes nor rokes
a myll from the mayn land. It is good also for sale of
marchandis and security
for ships, forr which cass I haue sent a pattron [?
pattern, card, or chart] of
Japan, for which my self I hau been all about the cost
in the shipping that I
haue made for ye Emperour, that I hau experyence of
all yt part of ye cost that
lyeth in 36d., etc. Now my good frind : I thank you
for your good writting and
frindly token of a byble and 3 other boukes. By your
letter I vnderstand of ye
death of many of my good frinds in the barbarous
country of Barbary : for which
death, and los of goods I am heartelie sorry.
Nevertheles it is ye lot of all
flesh : in this lyf manny trobelles and afflixcions,
and in the end death.
Thearfor it is a blessed thing to dy in the Lord, with
a faithfull trust in God
: for theay rest from theer labores, etc. In this land
is no strange newes to
sertify you of: the whool being in peace : the peopell
veri subiect to thear
gouvernours and superiores : allso in thear relligion
veri zellous, or
svpersticious, hauing diuers secttes, but praying all
them secttes, or the most
part, to one saynt which they call Ameeda : which they
esteem to bee their
mediator be tween God and them : all theess sectes
liuing in frindship on with
an other, not [ ] on an other, but everi on as his
conscience teacheth.
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