[268] Bartolome Leonardo de Argensola was born in 1566 of a family of Italian origin, being the second son.  Taking orders, he became rector of Villahermosa in 1588, and chaplain to Maria of Austria, the queen, in 1598.  After the latter’s death he was commissioned by the Conde de Lemos, president of the Council of the Indias, to write a history of the conquest of the Moluccas.  He later spent some time in the kingdom of Naples, and about 1618 was made historian of Aragon.  He died at Zaragoza in 1631.  In addition to the present history, which is noted for its excellent literary style, he wrote Primera parte de los anales de Aragon (Zaragoza, 1630) the continuation of the Anales of Zurita.  He was also a poet, whose poems are remarkable for their purity of style and loftiness of sentiment; they are published, with those of his elder brother, under the title Rimas de Lupercio i del doctor Bartolome Leonardo de Argensola (Zaragoza, 1634).  One of the chief poems is an ode in honor of the church after the battle of Lepanto.

[269] The original book contains numerous side notes indicative of the subject matter of the text.  We omit such notes in our translated extracts.

[270] The above places are identified as follows:  Cafa is the modern Kaffa or Theodosia, a Russian seaport on the Black Sea; Trapisonda is either the city or district of Trebizond or Tarabozan (called by the Turks Tarabesoon, and formerly Traplezus); Barcito (misprint for Bareito?), Lepo, and Damasco, are Beirut, Aleppo, and Damascus respectively.

[271] Argensola defines this title, which he also spells sangaje, as equivalent to “count” or “duke,” and says that it may be derived from senchaq, a Turkish word meaning “captain.”

[272] Argensola gives a description of the clove in book ii, pp. 52-54 of his work.

[273] The Dutch.

[274] Canafistulo:  referring to the drug known as senna, which is obtained from the leaves of several species of Cassia.  According to Retana (Zuniga’s Estadismo, ii, p. 454*) the Bisayan name for this plant is ibabao (the ancient name of Samar Island).

[275] “Eagle” (Latin, aguila) is here a corruption of the Malay name agila, referring to the fragrant, resinous wood of a tree (Aguilaria agallocha) used for many centuries by Asiatic peoples, especially the Chinese, for incense; it is also called “Kalambak” and “aloes-wood.”  Calambuco is another species of this genus, its wood little fragrant, but used in cabinet work (Century Dictionary).

[276] True wealth and prosperity of the republic of Venice were largely due to its preeminence in the Oriental trade, carried on by the overland route through Asia, in caravans.  By the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope the Portuguese opened the sea-route to India, by which the products of the East were carried to Europe more cheaply and in greater abundance; and the decline of Venetian prestige and wealth rapidly followed (in the sixteenth century).