Hakluyt, Richard

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

hak'loot, Richard (1552-1616), an English geographer. Little is known of his early life. The date of his birth is uncertain. He studied at Oxford and was admitted to the priesthood. In 1583 he was a member of the English embassy at Paris. In 1589 he published an extensive collection of travels, entitled The Principal Navigations, Sea Voyages, and Discoveries of the English Nation. In 1598 he prepared a greatly enlarged edition in three volumes. He aimed in this collection to give a complete account of the earth's surface as reported by discoveries. His compilation is, therefore, invaluable. Writers of American history go to it for an account of the Cabots, Drake, and other navigators. He took an active interest in the colonization of Virginia. The Hakluyt Society of London, named in his honor, was established in 1846, with the purpose of printing rare works of geography. Its publications have been of the greatest service to those interested in the history of geography. A notion of Hakluyt's style may be had from an excerpt: In the yeere of our Lord 1494, John Cabot a Venetian, and his sonne Sebastian (with an English fleet set out from Bristoll) discouered that land which no man before that time had attempted, on the 24th of Iune, about fiue of the clocke early in the morning. This land he called Prima vista, that is to say, First seene, because as I suppose it was that part whereof they had the first sight from sea. That island which lieth out before the land, he called the Island of S. Iohn vpon this occasion, as I thinke, because it was discouered vpon the day of Iohn the Baptist. The inhabitants of this Island vse to weare beasts skinnes, and haue them in as great estimation as we haue our finest garments. In their warres they vse bowes, arrowes, pikes, darts, woodden clubs, and slings. The soile is barren in some places, and yeeldeth little fruit, but it is full of white lions, and stags farre greater than ours. It yeeldeth plenty of fish, and those very great, as seales, and those which commonly we call salmons: there are soles also aboue a yard in length: but especially there is great abundance of that kinde of fish which the Saluages call Baccalaos (cod-fish). In the Island also there breed hawks, but they are so blacke, that they are very like to rauens, as also their partridges, and eagles, which are in like sort blacke.--Hakluyt, Principall Navigations, ed. 1589, p. 511.