Puerto Bello.
PUERTO Bello lieth five leagues from Nombre de Dios
Westward: It is a very good harbour and sufficient to
receive great store of ships, and hath very good ankering,
and fresh water: for neere the shore you shall find some
sixe fathome water, and in the middest of the same harbour you shall find twelve fathome, very good and cleane
ground or sand, without eyther banks or rockes. There
are twelve small rivers or brookes of water which doe
belong to this harbour, and so doe meete all together:
so that the fleete may at all times provide themselves of
fresh water so much as shall serve their turnes. And
like wise there is in this place great store of timber
to build shippes, and stones to ballast shippes. Also the
harbour hath no danger at all in comming in, but onely
when the wind is Westerly, which is seldome seene upon
this coast. The windes which doe most blowe upon this
coast are Northerly windes, and they are more dangerous
and hurtfull then the Easterly windes are. Within this
harbour there lieth a small creeke safe from all winds that
can blow. This creek is about five hundred yards long,
and so many in breadth, and in the entring in of this
creekes mouth it is some 300. yardes broad, and foure
fathome and a halfe of water: and entring further in,
sixe fathome, all oaze and muddie ground: so that if a
ship should chance to strike or come aground, shee could
take no harme being soft oaze; also it doth ebbe and flow
according as I have certified your majestie already.
And likewise the comming in and going out of this
harbour is very good; and with all kinde of weather a
shippe may set saile from this place except with a
Westerly wind: and all this coast is very cleane where
a shippe at all times may come to anker without the
harbours mouth. This harbour is invironed round about
with woods: and at the ende of this harbour there is
certaine land which is overflowen with water: it may bee
easily dryed up and walled round about, so this land will
serve very well to feede cattell. For that is the chiefest
thing which doth belong to any citie or towne, and of this
pasture ground there is great want in Nombre de Dios,
for there is no pasture at all to breede cattell, for all kinde
of flesh which is spent in this place is brought from
Panama: so towards the South there is a very good place,
where the citie may bee newe built on a certaine plaine
ground which lieth at the foot of certaine mountaines,
which bee not very high; and in this place there runne
three little rivers of fresh water very sweete and good,
and here is good arable ground to till and to sow Maiz
and other kinds of graine. Also in this circuite there are
great stones to make lyme, and these stones must needes
proove very good as I doe thinke, but we never had any
triall thereof.
This harbour hath all things necessary to builde a citie,
where your majestic may have your armies and fleetes of
shippes to ride at an anker in safetie without danger of
loosing: and it is a very healthful countrey, and where the
citie shall be builded it is all stony ground: and forasmuch
as the raine water which doth fall from the mountaines
may doe hurt unto the citie, there at the foote of the
mountaine wee will make a great pond to receive in all the
water which doth fall from the mountaines, and so from
thence to goe into the sea, as more at large your majestic
may see by my platforme.
If it would please your majestie, it were good that the
citie of Nombre de Dios might bee brought and builded
in this harbour: it would not bee very chargeable unto
the citizens by reason that all their houses are made of
timber, and they may benefite themselves with the same
againe, and likewise with the tyles of their houses: the
greatest charge will bee to land timber and to cut downe
the mountaine of wood.
If it please your majestie that the sayd citie of Nombre
de Dios should bee builded in this harbour the first thing
which must be finished is to make up this high way, and
so to pull downe the Church which is in Nombre de Dios,
and the Contractation house, and so newe build it in this
harbour: and then to command all the fleetes of shippes
from time to time to come and unlade their goods in this
sayd Puerto Bello: And that those marchants and factors
of Spaine which are lygers in Panama and Nombre de
Dios, shall come to this harbour and builde anew their
warehouses for receiving of their goods. So by these
meanes in short time it will be greatly inhabited with
people: also the fleete shall not passe so many dangers
as they dayly doe in Nombre de Dios: neither will there
so many people die as there dayly doe in Nombre de
Dios: and the cause thereof is, that those labouring men
which doe use to unlade those marchandize, are all the
whole day wading in the water up to the armepits to
bring the packs of cloth and other commodities aland;
for there is no landing place where there can come any
boates to land any goods close to the shore, so this
wading and the parching of the Sunne is the cause why
so many doe dye of a burning fever. There are but 60.
dwelling houses in Nombre de Dios, and but thirtie
dwellers which doe continually dwell there, and the rest
doe goe to Panama after the fleete is gone, and then this
Towne doeth remayne desolate, every man forsaking it
because it is so full of diseases.
In the entring in of this harbour for the more securitie
thereof and defence of the towne it is needefull to build
upon the toppe of the mount which lyeth to the Northward, a little fort fouresquare that will hold foure or five
pieces of ordinance, and to appoynt sixe men to watch
and ward; and this beeing done wee shall have no occasion to make any more defence, by reason the countrey
is full of rocks and filthy wayes, and all full of woods
round about the harbour.
And so likewise on the other side to builde a little tower
in maner of a fort, with eight pieces of ordinance and
five and twentie souldiers to keepe it. And this will bee
of more importance because it must be builded on the
towne side. And a little beyond this place on the Northside there lyeth a creeke, where there is a very good
ankering in eight fathome water: so this fort beeing
builded in this place it will defend the harbour and offend
the enemy: and will defend the coast along and a poynt
of the land which doth runne from the East to the West,
and reacheth to the
Iland of Buena Ventura. And put
case that the fort which is builded on the other side doth
decay, or be taken by the enemy, with this other fort wee
may defend the citie very well, if the enemy should chance
to come into the harbour, and bee succoured and holpen
by the citizens, and twenty musketters being planted upon
a mount which lieth over the fort, will bee sufficient to
defende us from a good many of our enemies, that shoulde
come to assault us, because all the countrey is full of
rockes and stones, and full of mountaines. So from this
wood there may a way be made to goe to the citie, and to
joyne with that way which shall goe to Panama; and this
may bee done with small charges. This harbour doth lie
in nine degrees and one tierce, and if occasion shoulde
serve wee may stop up the way which doth goe to Capira,
and the rest of the wayes which goe from Nombre de
Dios to Venta de Cruzes, according as it is certified me by
the Negros called Simerons; for they told me that this
way would not bee very troublesome. Although in the
Winter it is reported that here is good store of water in
this place, which in the Sommer is all dryed up, and
where these waters are, there we may builde a causey, to
which purpose there are great quantities of stones and
timber very serviceable: so this way may bee made with
that treasure which your majestie doeth receive of the
averages and customes of Nombre de Dios and Panama,
which doth amount unto twelve or foureteene thousand
pezos yeerely : and an order might be taken for the same,
that the sayd money may serve for the building and
reparing of these wayes.
