Doc. 1596H The story of the Carlettis, Italian traders aboard the San Pablo in 1596

Sixth chapter on the West Indies

...After having been in Mexico from the month of June [1595] (1) until that of March of the year 1596, we started to make ready, firstly by overcoming the difficulty that we had with the passage, that could not be done without the express permission of the Viceroy, which is not given to anyone who does not go either with the intention to remain in those islands to live - and in such a case they go at the royal expense - or truly embarking aboard the ship to serve in it in some capacity, and the latter was the means we used. Having discussed this business with a captain of one of the two ships that had to leave that year, he got us two fictitious jobs aboard his ship: for my father, that of artillery constable and for me that of boatswain's mate, with the understanding that we should give him the salary and that the captain would provide two sailors who would actually serve in our posts...

...We returned with our silver to the said port of Acapulco, where two ships were being prepared for the voyage. Without further ado, we quickly embarked and on the 25th [rather 5th] day of March 1596 we unfurled the sails to the wind and headed westward, plowing the immensity of the sea that is more than 6,000 miles of gulf, always running at the same latitude along the 14- to 15-degree North parallel in straight line, in such a manner that if there had been left a trace where the ship passed and made its way, one would have seen a spherical semi-circle on the fourth part or more of the whole globe, that with the prosperous and very happy cruise that we had, without ever moving the sails or turning the lateen yards and with a tail wind, being always the same that softly and continuously blew throughout that whole torrid zone from the east to the west, so that it would be impossible to return by the same parallel; and it is necessary to go out of the tropics in order to find northerly or southerly winds that lead you to the east. It takes six months for this return voyage and a little more than two to go, as we ourselves did, at the end of which, that is,76 days, we arrived in sight of the first islands, situated at a latitude of 7º[sic]to 15º north, about 950 miles from the Philippines, that the Spaniard call the Islands of the [Lateen] Sails or of Thieves [Ladrones]: appropriate names, the first one on account of the great quantity of canoes that were seen to come out of these islands to the sea, all with sails, as soon as these islanders had seen our ship, that it seemed they covered the sea all around us; as they are accustomed each year when the Spaniards pass there, they approach the ship, as they were doing to ours, because the other one, that is the flagship, had already left us as we lost it at the beginning of our cruise and we did not see it again until we arrived at the Philippine Islands. And they began to show us what they carried, which was a quantity of big canes marvelous to see, and green and full of fresh water, each section holding between two nodes no less than 4 or 5 bottles of it; they brought also fresh and salted fish and rice and fruits of many kinds and various other little things, all to barter for some small pieces of iron that we threw tied to a little cord, that were untied with indescribable speed and, when it appeared that they had untied enough, they in turn tied to the same cord some thing that they carried, with parsimony, because, there being many [of us] who at the same time throw from the ship the iron tied to the cord, they for their part wait to untie it and to few [of us] they give the exchange: and for this also they are called thieves.

[Canoes of the Ladrones]

For a while they gave us great pleasure and a wonderful entertainment, to see their canoes so well made, of narrow boards painted in various colors and skillfully joined and laced together, in a fine and very beautiful form, so light that they looked like birds that fly in that sea, with sails made like a mat of reed; and because they are very narrow and long, so that the waves of the sea and the force of the wind that touch the sails do not capsize them, they carry always on one side a counterweight [made] of a big wood almost as long as the canoe that is supported at the ends by two small poles that cross each other in the center of the canoe and come out by 3 fathoms and, skimming the sea, sustain it so that it cannot capsize nor sink even when full of water; and it so happens that the sail is always on the other [side], and without changing either one or the other they sometimes make the poop the prow and the prow the poop, sailing with whatever wind it is necessary to use, taking it as it comes without turning the canoe.

The canoe has both ends pointed, and in each go 4 or 5 Indians, completely naked and with bodies that are robust, fat and of a reddish color [as if] burnt by the sun, and without covering the part of themselves that is shameful among us, that among themselves they do not take into account, give that I heard that these men are very simple and pure on the point, and further that they hold everything in common, even their women.

1 Ed. note: From the Cape Verde Islands, the Carlettis had gone to Panama, then to Lima, and to Acapulco, with a side-trip to Mexico City. From Manila, they went on to Japan, and Macao, after which they went to Goa, and back to Europe via Mozambique and St. Helena Island. However, they met with Dutch ships and were carried to the Low Countries. The author did not reach Florence, his hometown, until 1606.
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From Rodrigue Lévesque, History of Micronesia Vol. 3, pages 36-38. Reproduced with permission of Lévesque Publications, 189 Dufresne, Gatineau, Québec, Canada, J8R 3E1.

Copyright © 1993 by Rodrigue Lévesque

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