and slaves, if they could not upon two days’ warning carry all the gold they have into the land, and far enough from the reach of our footmen, especially the Indies being, as they are for the most part, so mountainous, full of woods, rivers, and marishes.  In the port towns of the province of Venezuela, as Cumana, Coro, and St. Iago (whereof Coro and St. Iago were taken by Captain Preston, and Cumana and St. Josepho by us) we found not the value of one real of plate in either.  But the cities of Barquasimeta, Valencia, St. Sebastian, Cororo, St. Lucia, Laguna, Maracaiba, and Truxillo, are not so easily invaded.  Neither doth the burning of those on the coast impoverish the king of Spain any one ducat; and if we sack the River of Hacha, St. Martha, and Carthagena, which are the ports of Nuevo Reyno and Popayan, there are besides within the land, which are indeed rich and prosperous, the towns and cities of Merida, Lagrita, St. Christophoro, the great cities of Pamplona, Santa Fe de Bogota, Tunxa, and Mozo, where the emeralds are found, the towns and cities of Marequita, Velez, la Villa de Leiva, Palma, Honda, Angostura, the great city of Timana, Tocaima, St. Aguila, Pasto, [St.] Iago, the great city of Popayan itself, Los Remedios, and the rest.  If we take the ports and villages within the bay of Uraba in the kingdom or rivers of Darien and Caribana, the cities and towns of St. Juan de Rodas, of Cassaris, of Antiochia, Caramanta, Cali, and Anserma have gold enough to pay the king’s part, and are not easily invaded by way of the ocean.  Or if Nombre de Dios and Panama be taken, in the province of Castilla del Oro, and the villages upon the rivers of Cenu and Chagre; Peru hath, besides those, and besides the magnificent cities of Quito and Lima, so many islands, ports, cities, and mines as if I should name them with the rest it would seem incredible to the reader.  Of all which, because I have written a particular treatise of the West Indies, I will omit the repetition at this time, seeing that in the said treatise I have anatomized the rest of the sea towns as well of Nicaragua, Yucatan, Nueva Espana, and the islands, as those of the inland, and by what means they may be best invaded, as far as any mean judgment may comprehend.

But I hope it shall appear that there is a way found to answer every man’s longing; a better Indies for her Majesty than the king of Spain hath any; which if it shall please her Highness to undertake, I shall most willingly end the rest of my days in following the same.  If it be left to the spoil and sackage of common persons, if the love and service of so many nations be despised, so great riches and so mighty an empire refused; I hope her Majesty will yet take my humble desire and my labour therein in gracious part, which, if it had not been in respect of her Highness’ future honour and riches, could have laid hands on and ransomed many of the kings and caciqui of the country, and have had a reasonable proportion