[ DOCUMENT INDORSED ON THE OUTSIDE ]

July 1, 1610.
Report on Virginia
to the [Spanish]
council of state.

Report of What Francisco Maguel, an
Irishman, [learned] in the State of Virginia,
during the eight months that he was there.

About the Voyage he made and
the direction the English took at first
in order to discover Virginia.

1. From England they sail for “Sancto Domingo,” from there to “Mevis” and from “Mevis” to “San Nicolas,” and from there to “Puertorico.” From “Puertorico” they took their route directly towards Virginia, sailing sixteen days towards the North-West ’till they discover a Cape of Virginia, which the English call “San Nicolas,” which in the opinion of said narrator is about six hundred leagues distant from Puertorico. And all this sea-coast is low-land like “La Florida” and is free from any danger, and all along there, close to the shore, there are ten or twelve [fathoms ?] deep water and is very convenient for anchoring there. And in all that space there is a sandy beach, or a sandbank eight leagues out from the sea shore, which is covered to the depth of sixteen or eighteen fathoms. This bank begins close to “la Florida” and continues all the way towards the mountains, until it comes to unite with another bank of “Terranova” [Newfoundland ?]. There is navigation between this Bank and the firm land for some hundred and fifty leagues, on account of the great current which the water has on the other side of said Bank. [Between/Within] this Bank and the land there is a tide which runs from S. S. E. to N. N. W. From Cape “San Nicolas” to Cape Comfort [it is/there are] eight leagues. This Cape Comfort is an island which lies at the mouth of a great river on which the English live. This river lies under 37½ degrees. In order to enter this river the vessels that come up have to pass very close to said island, where they find ten fathoms of water. And half a league inside of this island in the river there is a large and ample bay with twelve fathoms of water, and in it all the ships of England might lie at anchor. The English had determined to erect a fort on this island, so as to defend the entrance to that river; but the narrator does not know whether it has ever been finished. Twenty leagues up from this island, or this mouth of the river, the English built a well intrenched fort, standing on a point which goes out from the land into the river, and the English determined to cut this point so that the water should surround them on all sides. And in this fort they put twenty pieces of artillery and afterwards they sent there from England much more artillery. This river will be little more than a league wide in most parts, and where it is least deep, it still has three fathoms of water when the tide is low, and in other parts it has ten or twelve fathoms. From this Fort which the English call James Fort the river flows towards the west for twenty leagues more, where the English penetrated in a few pinnaces taking with them some of the natives of the country to show them the way.

Of the Commodities which the English find in that Country, and of its Climate.

2. In this country are found many mines of iron and of copper and others, which they took to England, and the English do not wish it to be known what kind of mines there are, until they are first well fortified in Virginia. And of these mines the Narrator brought a sample to England which weighed eighty pounds, and in it he found the weight of three Reales of gold, of five in silver, and of four pounds in Copper. There are many large pearls in that country and a great quantity of coral, and in the mountains they find a few stones which look very much like “diamants.” And in order to discover more such mines and to examine the products, the King of England sent many skilled workmen, who understand it and also other laborers in all the mechanic Arts to live there. There are found there many varieties of dye stuff, which are sold in England at forty Reales a pound. The English make a very great quantity of soap-ashes, which they send home to their country. There are in those rivers great numbers of salmons [sallos.] and other fish, and such a quantity of Codfish and as good as in Newfoundland. There is in that country an infinite supply of deer, peacock, swans and every kind of fowl. There grow in that country wild many forest grapes, of which the English make a wine that resembles much the wine of Alicante, according to the opinion of the narrator who has tasted both. There is also a great quantity of [hanas], chick-pea, maise, almonds, nuts and chesnuts, and above all much flax which grows wild without any cultivation. They have a great abundance of peltry [of/for] very rich furs, especially sable-martins, and the King has houses full of them, they being his Treasure. The English draw from there many drugs and things necessary for pharmacy. The land lies very pleasantly and level, and is very fertile with many large rivers; the air is healthy and the temperature about the same as in Spain, altho’ the winters are somewhat colder.

Of the Emperor and the Natives of the Country.

3. The Emperor of Virginia has sixteen Kings under his dominion; he and all his subjects deal peaceably with the English and attend a market which the English hold daily near the Fort and bring to them there the commodities of the country to exchange them for many little trifles which the English give them, as knives, glass, mirrors, little bells &c. The natives of this country are a robust, well disposed race; and generally go about dressed in very well tanned deer skins as they understand very well how to prepare them. Their arms are bows and arrows. The Emperor sends every year some men by land to West India and to Newfoundland and other countries, to bring him news of what is going on there. And these messengers report that those who are in West India treat the Natives very badly and as slaves, and the English tell them that those people are Spaniards, who are very cruel and evil disposed. The English have some boys there among these people to learn their language, which they already know, at least some of them, perfectly. The Emperor sent one of his sons to England, where they treated him well and returned him once more to his own country, from which the said Emperor and his people derived great contentment thro’ the account which he gave of the kind reception and treatment he received in England. The English sent the Emperor a crown of shining Copper and many copper-vessels and silk dresses for himself and for his wives and children. This narrator returned to England in the same vessel with the said son of the Emperor. There they worship the Devil whom they consider their God and say that he often speaks to them, appearing in human form. The Emperor and his sons promised the English that they would give up their religion and believe in the God of the English and on account of the great familiarity which they show, it seems that they would be easily converted.

Of the Designs and Intentions of the English against His Catholic Majesty, as the said Narrator learned when he was in Virginia.

4. In the first place the natives of Virginia assure the English that they can easily take them to the South-Sea by three routes. The first route on which they will take them is by land, from the head of that river, on which the English have a fort, to the South Sea, as the Natives affirm [is ten days’ march]. The second route is, because in a day’s march and a half from the head of that river inland, there is another river so long that it falls into the South Sea. The third route is that twelve leagues from the mouth of this river, where the English are, towards the N. W. there are four other rivers, to which there came [went ?] one of those English Captains in a pinnace, who says that one of these rivers is of great importance, and the Natives affirm, that fourteen leagues farther on from these 4 rivers towards the N. W. there is another great river, which flows very far into the country, until it meets another large river, which flows to the South Sea. The English desire nothing else so much as to make themselves Masters of the South Sea in order to secure their share of the riches of the Indies and to cut off the trade of the King of Spain, and to seek new worlds for themselves. With a view to this end: to make themselves Masters of the South Sea they have determined to erect a fort at the end of every days march of these ten days march which lie between the head of their river and the South Sea, to secure themselves on this route. And two other forts on that day’s march and a half which lie between the two rivers. This they hope to accomplish in a short time, because they do not intend to fortify them very strongly, but only so much as would suffice to defend themselves against these savages. Likewise, for this aforesaid purpose the King of England has sent out many carpenters of his Kingdom, who are to build ships, and boats for those seas and rivers, for which they have there the very greatest facilities, since they have there a great abundance of the best timber that can be found, for ship building, and their land abounds in pitch, rosin and tar. Besides there grows wild there much hemp, of which they mean to make cables and ropes for their ships, and having, as they do have, all these facilities for ship building, and with them, as before mentioned, so many iron mines (to work which, as well as to work other metals they have already erected there some machinery) it will be very easy to them to build many ships. And according to themselves — as the narrator heard — if they once have twenty or thirty thousand effective Englishmen settled there, they will be able to do much injury to the King of Spain, much more than France and England can do. The English are much encouraged to make this march to the South Sea by the report of the Natives of Virginia that on the other side of Virginia, close to the South Sea, there is a country, the inhabitants of which wear wide silk dresses for their clothing, and bright colored buskins, that they have much gold and that ships are in the habit of coming to that country, who deal with the natives and get from them both silk and gold. As a proof of this the Virginians showed the English a few knives and other things which they had gotten from those who came in these aforesaid ships, & the English believe these vessels must be Spanish.

Item: The English in that country have among themselves proclaimed and sworn (allegiance to) the King of England as King of Virginia. And the anxiety they feel that the secrets of this country shall not become known, is so great that they have issued orders prohibiting anyone from taking letters with him beyond the frontiers, and also from sending any, especially to private individuals, without their being first seen and read by the Governor. For the same reason they have tried in that Fort of theirs at Jamestown an English Captain, a Catholic, called Captain “Tindol,” because they [learned] that he had tried to get to Spain, in order to reveal to His Majesty all about this country and many plans of the English, which he knew, but which the Narrator does not know. And in conclusion of this it must be observed that now, since they have fully discovered this country, they no longer follow the first route and sailing Course, which they took by “Puerto rico” when they were about to discover Virginia, but that from England they take their course much more towards the North so as not to fall in with Spanish ships and also to make the voyage in less time. The same Narrator affirms that he returned from Virginia to England in 31 days, because in coming back the voyage is much shorter than in going out.

And in proof of the truth of all that has been stated within the said Narrator promises and binds himself to go in person, to serve His Catholic Majesty, by showing to the eye all that he says, if H. M. should be pleased to employ him in this service.

I, Don Fray Florencio Conryo, Archbishop of Tuam, certify that the said Irishman, the narrator, “Francisco Miguel,” has sworn in my presence that he has either seen himself, or heard said, or done all that is herein contained, and among the best people of the English, when he was in Virginia, and that all he has said in his own language, is here faithfully translated into the Spanish Language, and for the truth of it he signed it at Madrid, July the first. 1610.

FR: FLORENCIO CONRYO,
Archbishop of Tuam.

F I N I S .

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