sarmiento de gamboa y la tempestad

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Storms, Shipwrecks and South America:

from Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa's

Voyages to Shakespeare's The TempestPeter D. McIntosh

a

a Forest Practices Authority, HobartPublished online: 13 Dec 2011.

To cite this article: Peter D. McIntosh (2011): Storms, Shipwrecks and South America: from Pedro

Sarmiento de Gamboa's Voyages to Shakespeare's The Tempest , Colonial Latin American Review,

20:3, 363-379

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Storms, Shipwrecks and SouthAmerica: from Pedro Sarmiento deGamboas Voyages to ShakespearesThe Tempest

Peter D. McIntosh

Forest Practices Authority, Hobart

Literary and historical review

In 1808 Edmond Malone suggested that the account of the storm in Shakespeares play

The Tempest, and the location of the imaginary island on which the action occurs, were

both derived from Jacobean accounts of a shipwreck in the Bermuda Islands in July

1609 (Malone 1808). Morton Luce (1901) selected William Stracheys narrative ATrueReportory of the Wreck, apparently written in 1610 and published in Purchas his

Pilgrimes (1625),1 as the key document. The other relevant accounts are Sylvester

Jourdains Discovery of the Barmudas (1610)2 and the Council of Virginias True

Declaration of the State of the Colonie in Virginia (1610).3 A few commentators (e.g.

Stoll 1927; Kinney 1995; Stritmatter and Kositsky 2007) have disputed Malones and

Luces conclusions but generally they have been accepted,4 most recently by Kermode

(1958), Vaughan and Vaughan (2003) and Vaughan (2008), although Vaughan and

Vaughan (2003, 43) struck a cautionary note: the bulk of the information in the

Bermuda and early Virginia tracts is not directly relevant to The Tempest.Of the three early seventeenth-century texts mentioned above, which for

convenience I shall refer to collectively as the Bermuda accounts, Stracheys is still

considered to be the most important (Kermode 1958, xxviii; Vaughan 2008), and the

problem of Stracheys account appearing in print in 1625, long after the first recorded

performance of The Tempest on 1 November 16115 (and indeed after Shakespeares

death in 1616 and the publication of the First Folio in 1623), is dispensed with by

assuming that Stracheys account arrived from Virginia in time for Shakespeare to

read it before November 1611, or that Shakespeare met Strachey after his return

from the colony. However, there is no independent evidence for either of these

propositions. Nevertheless Kermode (1958) explored possible connections between

ISSN 1060-9164 (print)/ISSN 1466-1802 (online) # 2011 Taylor & Francis on behalf of CLAR

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10609164.2011.624332

Colonial Latin American Review

Vol. 20, No. 3, December 2011, pp. 363379
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Shakespeare, his colleagues, and members of the Virginia Company: noting that

there seems to have been opportunity for Shakespeare to see the unpublished

[Strachey] report, or even to have met Strachey, Kermode lapsed into a circular

argument with his comment that Shakespeares knowledge of this unpublished work

makes it probable that he was deeply interested in the story and with his concludingdiscussion in which he referred to the possible contacts as these facts (Kermode

1958, xxviixxviii). Similarly, Vaughan (2008, 273) wrote of the overwhelming

probability that at least two copies [of Stracheys manuscript] circulated widely

among [Virginia] Company officials.

Recently Roger Stritmatter and Lynne Kositsky (2007) argued that it was unlikely

that Stracheys report was written before May 1611, since it replies to points raised

in a letter sent to Strachey by Richard Martin and received by Strachey in Jamestown,

Virginia in this month. They elaborated their argument by pointing out that

Stracheys report also draws on the subject matter of several books to which hereferred when writing other travel accounts after his return to London in autumn

1611, that it was unlikely that his library would have survived the miserable

conditions in the Virginia colony which was in a desperate state when the Bermuda

castaways arrived there in May 1610 (only 60 of the original 500 settlers were still

alive), and that conditions in the colony were not conducive for writing a 24,000

word report. They also argued that the manuscript is unlikely to have accompanied

Sir Thomas Gates when he sailed for England on 15 July 1610 for two reasons: the

manuscript itself refers to the voyage, and the manuscript draws on material from

the Council of Virginias True Declaration of the State of the Colonie in Virginia,

published late in 1610.

Vaughan (2008) showed that the part of the voyage referred to by Strachey was

only that part from Jamestown to Point Comfort, the victualling harbour for the

Atlantic crossing, and questioned whether Strachey borrowed from the Council of

Virginia report. He also doubted that Strachey would reply to Martins enquiry about

conditions in Virginia via a third party, and in a letter that included great detail about

the Bermuda Islands. But Stritmatter and Kositsky (2007) and Vaughan (2008) seem

to have missed the main point: that Martins enquiry dated 14 December 1610

indicates that Stracheys account containing information answering Martins ques-

tions, if sent to London on Gatess return voyage, was not in circulation in the capitalby December 1610, possibly because it was critical of the Virginia Company and had

been suppressed.

Relevant to Stritmatters and Kositskys argument that the Strachey account had

not been written by 1612 is the observation that in his book listing the laws of the

colony,6 which he wrote in London at Blackfriars, Strachey himself acknowledged

that he had not been able to bring the full story of his Bermuda and Virginia

experiences to the attention of the Council of Virginia:

I have both in the Bermudas, and since in Virginea, beene a sufferer and an

eie witnesse, and the full story of both in due time shall consecrate unto your

364 P. D. McIntosh


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viewes [. . .]. Howbet [sic] since many impediments as yet must detaine such myobservations in the shadow of darknesse, until I shall be able to deliver them perfectunto your judgements . . . .

From Stracheys words it is unclear whether he had been unable to write his full

story, or unable to publishhis writings, but as the Council of Virginia (and others) no

doubt would have been interested in receiving any written version of the calamity,

whether published or not, it is reasonable to conclude that in 1612 Strachey had not

written his report or circulated it.

While the quotation above and Martins apparent ignorance of the content of

Stracheys report appear to indicate that Stracheys report was written in 1612 or

later, i.e. after the first performance of The Tempest, important contrary evidence is

the date of 15 July 1610 which appears in Purchass 1625 printed version of

Stracheys report. Stritmatter and Kositsky suggest that this date (the exact date of

sailing of Sir Thomas Gates to England from Virginia) was obtained by Purchasfrom within Stracheys manuscript, but this suggestion can neither be proved nor

disproved.

It is therefore necessary to conclude that the observations above, while suggestive

of a post-1611 date for Stracheys Bermuda account, do not allow the matter of the

relevance of this account to The Tempest to be settled in the negative with certainty.

Therefore, despite strongly worded support for traditional interpretations (Kathman

1996; Vaughan 2008), there remain two important literary and historical questions to

be answered regarding the date of the Strachey report and its use as a source for the

writing of The Tempest: (1) was the report available in London in 1610 or 1611? and(2) are there sufficient parallels between the Bermuda accounts and The Tempest to

support the proposition that these accounts were used by Shakespeare as sources for

the description of the storm and the description of the island reached by the ships

crew? If the answer to either (1) or (2) above is negative, then a third question arises:

(3) are there alternative accounts which may have served as sources or part sources

for the storm and island descriptions in The Tempest?

As demonstrated above, there is insufficient evidence to be certain as to whether

Stracheys account was available in London in 1610 or 1611. The analysis must

therefore proceed to question (2). In order to address this question it is useful to

summarise the descriptions of the storm and the island in Shakespeare s play and the

Bermuda accounts.

In Shakespeares text, during the storm (Act 1, Scene 1), the sailors are ordered to

take in the topsail; the aristocratic passengers argue with the boatswain and generally

make a nuisance of themselves and get in the way of the sailors. The boatswain orders

the topmast to be taken down. There is howling within the boat and the aristocrats

continue arguing with the boatswain. In order to clear the lee shore the boatswain

orders two large sails to be set (two courses). However, the sailors admit failure and

imminent disaster: All lost, to prayers . . . and an aristocratic passenger says we split

and bids farewell to wife and children.

Colonial Latin American Review 365


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After the storm (Act 1, Scene 2), Miranda describes how the lightning in the storm

was like stinking pitch being poured down, on fire, from the sky; she saw the ship

dashd all to pieces but Prospero assures her theres no harm done and that the

ship is still intact. Ariel describes how he flamd amazement on the prow, deck and

poop and in the cabins and on the topmast, the yards and bowsprit would I flamedistinctly. He then describes how the terrified passengers leapt from the vessel into

the sea, but the sailors were stowed under hatches; the garments of the aristocratic

passengers were magically unmarked by the seawater. The apparently wrecked ship

Ariel describes as being safely in harbour [. . .] in the deep nook, where once Thou

calldst me up at midnight to fetch dew From the still-vexd Bermoothes. The fleet

minus the foundered vessel continues its voyage across the Mediterranean to Naples.

The natural features of the island are described in Act 1, scene 2 and in Act 2,

scenes 1 and 2. Wolves and bears lived on the island; the trees on the island are pines

and oaks;7

the island has freshwater springs; the island seems to be desert,uninhabitable, and almost inaccessible but in fact has everything advantageous to

life and green lush grass; Sebastian and Antonio claim to have heard lions on the

island; Caliban describes how Prospero gave him water with berries in it; he also

refers to crabs, jays, marmosets (South American monkeys), scamels8, filberts (hazel

nuts) and pig-nuts.

In Shakespeares play the island was inhabited by the witch Sycorax and her son

Caliban when Prospero and Miranda arrived; Sycorax is described as believing in the

god Setebos. The villains arriving in the storm are Antonio, Sebastian and Alonso

(but Alonsos qualities improve by the end of the play). A trusted councillor is namedGonzalo and the good prince is named Ferdinand. Antonio and Sebastian plan to kill

Alonso and Gonzalo but when they draw their swords to put their plan into action

they are discovered with swords in their hands by the waking Gonzalo.

In Stracheys account the relevant events are summarised as follows. In the storm

women and passengers are heard to shriek. The ship springs a serious leak, resulting

in water five foot deep in the hull, above the ballast. A little round light also called a

sparkling blaze (St Elmos fire9) is seen on the main mast, shooting sometimes from

shroud to shroud (the stays), sometimes settling on all four shrouds for three or four

hours, sometimes running along the main yard (a wooden boom supporting square

sails) to the end and then returning. The Bermuda Islands are considered by most to

have no habitation for men, but rather [they are] given over to devils and wicked

spirits but the shipwrecked mariners find them to be as habitable and commodious

as most countries of the same climate and situation. The castaways found no rivers

nor running springs of fresh water on the island but obtained water by digging pits.

The Spanish author Gonzalus Ferdinandus Oviedus10 is mentioned. Cedars, oaks and

palms grow in the forests and the castaways ate palm and cedar berries; they also

found fruits (nuts?) like almonds, and found that certain berries made a kind of

pleasant drink when allowed to stand three of four days. The birds on the island

are sparrows, robins, swans and sea-meawes and the animals are pigs and turtles

366 P. D. McIntosh


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(also called tortoises). Strachey lists twelve types of fish that the castaways caught, as

well as lobsters, crabs, oysters and whelks.

In Jourdains account and in the Council of Virginias True Declaration11 the ship

fortuitously lodges between two rocks when she founders on the Bermuda Islands.

Jourdain describes how, contrary to the stories of the islands being enchanted, folornand prone to gusts, storms and foul weather, they were in fact temperate and

provided the castaways with the necessities of life including berries and tortoises.

If Shakespeare drew on Stracheys Bermuda account in order to describe the storm

it should be possible to prove precise verbal parallels where similar scenes are

described. The comparison12 is less than convincing. In The Tempest the topsail is

taken in, the topmast is lowered and two large sails are set in an effort to clear the lee

shore; no such desperate attempt to gain sea room is mentioned by Strachey, who

says the sails were kept wound up (furled) and at most a storm sail (hollocke) was

used to guide the ship. There is a general but inexact correspondence of Shakespeareshowling within the boat and Stracheys strikes [shrieks?] of the women and

passengers. Prayers are mentioned by Shakespeare and by Strachey, but again the

correspondence of the texts is not close: Shakespeares characters utter religious

platitudes (Mercy on us etc.) but Strachey writes that prayers were on the lips of

unspecified people (probably the passengers) but could not be heard above the

shouting of the officers. In Shakespeares account Ariel flamd amazement on the

prow, deck, poop, topmast, yards and bowsprit and in the cabins, and his fire, cracks

and thunderclaps were accompanied by sulphurous roaring, but in Stracheys account

wind, rain and tumultuous seas are described but not lightning; thunder is only

mentioned in passing. Instead Strachey reports that a little round light alsodescribed as a sparkling blaze is seen on the main mast, jumping between the

shrouds and travelling along the length of the main yard and then returning; the

prow, deck, poop, topmast, bowsprit and cabins are not mentioned. Ariels fire

terrified passengers and crew; Stracheys little round light was innocuous and the

subject of wonder.

Shakespeares Miranda describes the lightning as being like burning pitch being

poured down from the sky and the ship as dashd all to pieces; Ariel, after Prospero

has worked his spell, describes the same ship as being safely in harbour [. . .] in the

deep nook [inlet]. Neither description has a parallel in Stracheys report or in thereports of the Council of Virginia and Jourdain which describe the ship as

fortuitously lodging intact between two rocks when it strikes land.

Shakespeares island was inhabited by Prospero, Miranda and Caliban; Stracheys

Bermuda was uninhabited. Shakespeares island had a temperate fauna and flora

(wolves and bears, pines and oaks) and freshwater springs; on Stracheys Bermuda

island water could only be found by digging and wolves and bears and pines are not

mentioned*the shipwrecked sailors instead remark on the palms, cedars and oaks, a

prickly pear, a wide variety of birds and fish, and pigs and tortoises (turtles).

Prosperos water with berries in it, which he gave to Caliban, could possibly be

derived from Stracheys account of making a drink out of berries but the verbal



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parallel is inexact: the Bermudan castaways let their berries stand for days, implying a

fermentation process was occurring, whereas Prosperos beverage appears to have

been berry-flavoured water. Both Shakespeare and Strachey list unusual food items

but of those listed by Caliban (crabs, jays, marmosets, scamels, filberts and pig-nuts)

only crabs appear in Stracheys list. Shakespeare mentions owls and bats in Arielssong (Act 5), and Strachey mentions the same creatures, but owls and bats are both

nocturnal so this is a natural association to make for anyone describing natural

history.

The names Gonzalo and Ferdinand in The Tempest could have been derived from

the name Gonzalus Ferdinandus Oviedus mentioned by Strachey, but Gonzalo

Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdess books on the West Indies were well known from

partial English translations13 and Shakespeare would not have needed Stracheys

account to prompt him to use these names. Furthermore the names Prospero and

Stephano appear in Ben Jonsons Every Man in his Humour published in 1598 and aProspero and Ferdinando (the Duke of Milan) are described in William Thomas s

Historie of Italiepublished in 1549. None of these names can be used to infer sources.

Whether Ariels flamd amazement is a reference to St Elmos fire is not certain*

St Elmos fire is normally confined to extremities of vessels and is not observed in

cabins and on deck. Furthermore, Ariels fire is associated with lightning and thunder

and sulphurous roaring*nothing like the incandescence noted on Stracheys ship

and by seamen since classical Greek times. Shakespeares use of mariners terms

common in stories about storms and shipwrecks cannot be taken as proving

derivation of one account from the other*the evidence must be more specific. As

Vaughan and Vaughan (2003, 41) have remarked, the voluminous literature ofEuropean exploration was rife with tempests, wrecks, miracles, monsters, devils and

wondrous natives and Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes devoted a whole book

to stories of tribulation and disasters at sea (Dille 2010).

The reference to the Bermuda Islands (or Bermoothes, as the islands are named in

the play) in The Tempest is specific and appears, when considered out of context, to

be a definite link between the play and the Bermuda accounts. However, a close

reading ofThe Tempestand Stracheys account indicates the very different contexts of

the two references to these islands. In the Strachey account there is no doubt that the

Bermuda Islands are the islands on which the ship is wrecked after the storm. Incontrast, in The Tempest the Bermoothes are somewhere else, far away. This is

demonstrated by Prosperos instruction to Ariel to fetch dew from the still-vexd

Bermoothes. If one lives (say) on Easter Island one does not ask someone to fetch

something from Easter Island. It follows that Prosperos instruction to Ariel must

refer to a place that is not the place inhabited by Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and

Ariel.

Futhermore, the still vexd Bermoothes may not be a reference to the Bermuda

Islands at all, since the name Bermoothes was known in Jacobean times (and by

Shakespeares contemporary, Ben Jonson) as a brothel district (Vaughan and Vaughan

2003, 165), as were other areas on Londons South Bank (Karras 1996, 38).14

368 P. D. McIntosh


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So Prospero is not only asking Ariel to obtain something from somewhere far away,

but he also may be asking Ariel to achieve a task impossible for mortals: to find

dew (possibly signifying purity) in the most unlikely of places, a brothel district.

Shakespeares wry humour would not be lost on the playgoers who had come to hear

a comedy.

Summary

It is evident that the parallels between Shakespeares storm scene and that described

in the Bermuda accounts are not strong: there are general similarities of the type

expected when comparing two accounts of severe weather and a shipwreck, but there

is little correlation of detail over and above that which could have occurred by chance,

and this lack of correlation extends to the descriptions of the natural features of the

island. Confident statements such as that Shakespeare knew these narratives is nowgenerally agreed, he was deeply interested in the [Bermuda] story, Shakespeare was

interested in the Gates expedition and in the New World generally and he was

certainly acquainted with members of the Virginia Company15 are speculations that

gloss over differences, overstate similarities and are unsupported by evidence. Stolls

conclusion (1927) that This proof rests upon a few slight verbal parallels, most

precariously. There is not a word in The Tempest about America . . . appears to be

correct: the play contains no certain direct reference to North America or the

Caribbean. Consequently the conclusion of Malone (1808) and Luce (1901) that the

plot of The Tempest is partly sourced from the Bermuda accounts, repeated anddeveloped in many modern commentaries on the play, cannot be sustained. Question

(3), which asked whether there are alternative accounts which may have served as a

source or part source for The Tempest, therefore deserves attention.16

Alternative historical accounts

To answer the above question one of the more unusual and intriguing references in

The Tempest must be considered*the reference to the South American demon

Setebos, who was Sycoraxs god. Setebos was invoked for help by the Patagonian

captured and shackled by Magellans crew when overwintering at the port of St Julian

in South America, as described in Antonio Pigafettas (1525) account of the first

circumnavigation of the globe. Pigafetta also described St Elmos fire, tempests and

assorted giants and cannibals, making it likely that Pigafettas account (or the 1577

English translation and summary by Richard Eden) was a source used by Shakespeare

when writing The Tempest. An additional source may be Francis Fletchers account of

Francis Drakes 15771580 circumnavigation of the world, in which Setebos is again

mentioned (in 1578 Francis Drake visited the same port of St Julian where Magellan

had encountered the Patagonians), as is a deadly tempest and a native addicted to

wine (Vaughan and Vaughan 2003, 41).



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The mention of Setebos begs the question: what prompted Shakespeare to search

in accounts of South American voyages for a suitable name for a pagan god associated

with witches, when he had the rich mythology of European texts from which to

choose? After all, Prosperos island is supposedly located in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Setebos name establishes a South American connection beyond doubt. Bearing inmind that some of the characters in The Tempest (for example, Gonzalo, Alonso and

Antonio) could be Spanish, Portuguese or Italian, does the play contain South

American or Spanish links of which Malone and Luce were unaware?

The South American voyages of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa

After Magellans voyage, the Spaniard who most systematically recorded observa-

tions about the southern coast of South America was Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa

(1532

1592). As his journals appear to have some connection to the text of TheTempest I have paraphrased below and listed in Table 1 his most relevant observations

and the parallels between his accounts and Shakespeares play.

Sarmiento de Gamboas first venture into maritime exploration was as second-in-

command on Alvaro de Mendanas two-ship expedition that discovered the Solomon

Islands. Here the Spanish found cannibals. In October 1568, on the return journey to

the Americas, the two ships experienced severe storms, one of which resulted in

Mendanas ship being severely damaged (Amherst and Thompson 1901, 210). In 1579

Sarmiento set out from Peru on another expedition, this time with instructions to

explore the western approaches to Magellan Strait, and to take possession of the area

for King Philip II of Spain. The strategic aim was to prevent entry of Englishbuccaneers into the Pacific Ocean. This was the first of Sarmientos two expeditions

to the Strait.17

In his journals Sarmiento de Gamboa made notes on the topography, climate,

vegetation, animals and people encountered on the voyage.18 At one location

Sarmiento noted that the forest trees were cypress, fir, holly, myrtle, evergreen and

oak19*trees like those of Spain*and on an island in the western part of Magellan

Strait he noted, there are plenty of small fruits, like black grapes (Markham 1895,

118). The sailors supplemented their diet with shellfish: of fish we saw red prawns*a

good fish*

cockle shells and an immense quantity of other shells (identified asmussels by Markham20). On 1 February 1580 he had to put down a mutiny

(Markham 1895, 104). On 7 February he described lights in the sky, which were

probably a display of aurora australis: During this night, at 1 oclock, to the SSE we

saw a circular, red, meteor-like flame, in shape of a dagger, which ascended in the

heavens. Over a high mountain it became prolonged and appeared like a lance,

turning to a crescent shape between red and white (Markham 1895, 11516). Sailing

eastwards, on 13 February, near Santa Ana Point he noted that the footmarks of

tigers and lions were seen. On matters concerning potential settlement he remarked

that the air [was] healthful [. . .] there seemed to be land here with good climate

suitable for a settlement [. . .

] this region is warmer and has a better climate than

370 P. D. McIntosh


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Table 1 Parallels between Sarmientos account and Shakespeares writing in The Tempest

Mentioned in Sarmiento de Gamboas account Mentioned in The Tempest

The forest trees were cypress, fir, holly, myrtle,

evergreen and oak

The trees are pines and oaks

Small fruits, like black grapes Water with berries intblack berries of a thorn tree, well flavoured and

nourishingsweet and wholesome small fruit, and another

resembling cherriescockle shells and an immense quantity of other

shellsthe fresh brook mussels

wholesome and sustaining shell-fishMutiny on 1 February 1580 Antonio and Sebastian plan a mutiny Lights in the sky: a red meteor-like flame was

seen in the heavensAriel flamed distinctly

The footmarks of tigers and lions were seen we heard a loud burst of bellowing Like bulls, or

rather lionsPleasant climate and land capable of supporting

a large population; there were large glades andspaces of very good pasture

Here is everything advantageous to lifeHow lush and lusty the grass looks! How green!

there are no rivers here, but small lakes andsprings from which the natives drink

The fresh springs, brine-pits

Voices of devils on the Azores Islands Hell is empty, And all the devils are hereIntrigues by Don Antonio Antonio was one of the mutinous plottersMutiny by Don Alonso de Sotomayer Alonso is one of the villainsGonzalo de Reyna and Fernando de Requena

were two of the witnesses in a formalceremony (and presumably trusted colleagues

of Sarmiento)

Gonzalo and Ferdinand are two of the principledcastaways: one is a trusted councillor and theother the good prince

Ship stranded in an arm of the sea and laterwrecked

Safely in harbour Is the Kings ship; in the deepnook

soldiers and settlers in the [stranded] ship . . .were hurled about at every lurch

The mariners all under hatches stowd

Mutiny organised by Alonso Sanchez, AntonioRodrguez, Juan Alonso and Francisco deGody

Alonso and Antonio are two of the villains;Francisco is a minor character

Mutineers are discovered with weapons in theirhands

Draw together, And when I rear my hand, doyou the like; [then the mutineers are discoveredwith weapons in their hands] Why are youdrawn? says Alonso

The aristocrat Sarmiento chops wood The aristocrat Ferdinand carries wood forProspero

Storm breaks up Sarmientos ship a brave vessel . . . dashd all to piecesSarmiento and a negro slave survive and are

swept ashore with some barrels of wineStephano: I escapd upon a butt of sack, whichthe sailors heaved oerboard

The thunder and lightning broke over ourheads, so low and horrible

an abyss of flame (abismo de fuego)

Joves lightnings. The precursors Othdreadfulthunderclaps . . . the fire and cracks ofsulphurous roaringflamed amazement . . . flame distinctlyall afire with methe sky, it seems, would pour down stinkingpitch

we called to God for help Passengers in the storm cry Mercy on us



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those we had passed [in the western part of the Strait]. Moreover it is pleasant to look

upon, is capable of sustaining a large population, and wild and tame flocks, and

would yield grain and there were large glades and spaces of very good pasture.

Sarmiento noted that along the coast there were no rivers because of the porous

sandy soils: there are no rivers here, but small lakes and springs from which thenatives drink (Markham 1895, 143). He remarked on the two types of people living

in the strait*the short-statured people of the western forested part who were only

about 5 ft tall (Markham 1895, 63) and the large people the Spanish called giants,

who inhabited the sparsely forested eastern part. On 16 February 1580 he captured

one of the latter in Gente Grande Bay.

Passing through the eastern approach of the Strait he made his way home to Spain

via the Cape Verde Islands and the Azores. He noted in passing (Markham 1895, 182)

that there had been an English settlement 8 years ago (1572?) among the Tapuya

population near Rio de Janeiro. However, the Tapuya were cannibals and may haveeaten the colonists. At the Azores he noted in his log that a volcanic eruption

occurred on 1 June 1580 and the voices of devils and other frightful things were

distinctly heard.

Sarmiento de Gamboa arrived back in Spain on 19 August 1580 and reported to

King Philip II on his voyage and on the possibility of fortifying the Strait of Magellan.

He gained the support of the king for the project and set out with a fleet on his

second voyage to the Strait on 25 September 1581. Seven vessels were lost in storms,

but Sarmiento re-embarked with sixteen ships on 9 December 1581. After further

misfortunes ten ships left the southern coast of Brazil on 13 January 1582. At the

River Plate there was a mutiny: the Captain General of Chile, Don Alonso deSotomayer, who with his force of 600 soldiers had joined the expedition with orders

to help Sarmiento build the fortifications at the eastern entrance to the Magellan

Strait, abandoned the expedition and landed his troops.

With his remaining five vessels Sarmiento de Gamboa arrived at the eastern end of

Magellan Strait on 1 February 1584. With extraordinary determination he established

two Spanish settlements (doomed to failure) in an extremely remote environment.

The first settlement he named City of Jesus. Gonzalo de Reyna and Fernando de

Requena were two of the witnesses in the ceremony that took possession of the land

for King Philip. The Spanish party found black berries of a thorn tree, well flavouredand nourishing (Markham 1895, 305). An attempt to beach a ship so that she could

be unloaded was mismanaged: low tide found the ship stranded in an arm of the sea

and the boat started to break up while settlers and soldiers were still in the ship:

There were still soldiers and settlers in the ship [ . . .] who were hurled about at every

lurch (Markham 1895, 310).

Marching with his men between the two settlements he had established, Sarmiento

de Gamboa noted creeping herbs which produced a sweet and wholesome small

fruit, and another fruit resembling cherries. He remarked, This land is pleasant and

fertile, producing much fruit, as well the red cherries as the berries growing on thorn

trees, and there are many wholesome and sustaining shell-fish (Markham 1895, 319).

372 P. D. McIntosh


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At the second settlement named Don Felipe (later more appropriately renamed

Port Famine by English sailors), Sarmiento de Gamboa forestalled a mutiny

organised by an ex-soldier named Alonso Sanchez and others named Antonio

Rodrguez, Juan Alonso and Francisco de Gody. When apprehended the mutineers

had weapons in their hands with the intent of mutiny (Markham 1895, 330).Sarmiento had Antonio Rodrguez executed. He also mentioned that he helped

establish the settlement by chopping wood.

While preparing to load stores from the City of Jesus on 26 May 1584 Sarmiento de

Gamboas ship was blown into the South Atlantic by a furious storm lasting 20 days

(according to his journal), so he made for Rio de Janeiro, where he loaded his ship

with dyewood to trade for tar, food and clothing, and then made his way north to

Pernambuco and from there to Bahia. While he was preparing to enter Bahia harbour

another great storm arose and dashed his ship to pieces. He and a Negro slave

survived and reached the shore by holding onto planks. All was lost from the shipexcept two or three barrels of wine and a small piece of artillery.

After this brush with death, which might have defeated a less determined man, he

obtained another ship and new provisions and on 13 January 1585 finally departed

from Rio de Janeiro to relieve the settlements in the Strait. His journal notes that on

reaching latitude 338S21 we encountered a gale from the west and south-west, which

was so furious that it was judged to be the worst and most terrible we had seen.

As his description of this storm appears to have links to that described in The Tempest

it is quoted in full below:

All the elements seemed to be entangled together. The thunder and lightning brokeover our heads, so low and horrible, that it seemed as if the sea had opened an abyssof flame. We were all amazed22 and without feeling. Looking at each other we couldnot recognise those nearest to us. Every sea threatened to overwhelm us, and onestruck the port quarter of the poop, sending the starboard side under the sea. Thenwe all thought we must be drowned, and we called to God for help [. . .]. The blowsfrom the sea were so terrible that they tore open the bulwarks, and washed overthe deck of the poop. Seeing no human remedy, we again commended ourselves toGod . . . .

Summary

Many parallels occur between descriptions in Sarmiento de Gamboas journals and

those in Shakespeares The Tempest (Table 1). Although accounts of storms and

strange experiences at sea necessarily have common themes, the vocabulary used by

Sarmiento de Gamboa is closer to Shakespeares than Stracheys. Both mention

thunder and lightning, flame and calls to God for help. Note how in both Sarmientos

account and in The Tempestthe word flame (fuego) is used; Stracheys vocabulary is

different: he describes a little round light or sparkling blaze. In The Tempest, the

ship is first wrecked then miraculously preserved in a deep nook (harbour) and in

Sarmientos writings a ship is stranded in an arm of the sea, then wrecked. In The

Tempest, mariners remain in a stranded ship and in Sarmientos account of a ship



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stranded on the beach, There were still soldiers and settlers in the ship [. . .] who

were hurled about at every lurch.

In other parts of Sarmientos journals we read of islands, lights in the sky, short-

statured natives and features having parallels to Shakespeares description of

Prosperos island: berries and shellfish, land which is pleasant and fertile withpastures suitable for supporting animals, and freshwater springs. Sarmiento mentions

evergreens and oaks and Shakespeare writes of pines and oaks, and (significantly)

does not mention the exotic warmer-climate prickly pear and palms of Bermuda.

Sarmiento mentions shellfish (identified as mussels), and Shakespeare writes of

mussels; in contrast the sea foods Strachey mentions are fish, oysters and whelks.

Sarmiento and Caliban find springs of water but Strachey specifically notes their

absence.

Several of the villains who challenged Sarmiento de Gamboas authority have the

names Alonso or Antonio, names also used for the villains in The Tempest. Inaddition witnesses (presumably trusted members of the expedition) to a ceremony

were named Gonzalo and Fernando (a name equivalent to Ferdinand) and these

names correspond to the names of the trusted councillor and the good prince in

Shakespeares play. Sarmiento also describes wine casks being washed ashore, and a

wine cask is washed ashore in The Tempest.

In both The Tempest and Sarmientos account mutineers are apprehended with

weapons in their hands. In The Tempestthe mutineers excuse their drawing of swords

by saying they had heard the bellowing of bulls or lions; Sarmiento mentions seeing

the tracks of tigers and lions. Strange lights in the sky are seen in the Strait of

Magellan and voices of devils are heard in the Azores: both observations haveparallels in The Tempest.

Considered in isolation, some of these parallels could be expected to occur by

chance, but in total they establish the likelihood of some connection between

Sarmiento de Gamboas accounts and The Tempest. Significantly, the parallels

between Sarmientos account and The Tempest are more specific than the supposed

parallels between the Bermuda accounts and The Tempest.

In combination, Antonio Pigafettas (1525) account of the first circumnavigation

of the globe, the 1577 English translation and summary of the same by Richard Eden,

Francis Fletchers account of Francis Drakes 1577

1580 circumnavigation, and theSarmiento journals offer all the necessary information to explain the many references

to details of geography, superstition and natural history in The Tempest. However, the

question remains: how could Shakespeare have become aware of Sarmientos account?

Sarmiento de Gamboa in London

Sarmiento de Gamboas journal provides the necessary information. After the storm

of January 1585, he built another ship and he left Bahia on 22 June 1586 with the aim

of seeking help from the king of Spain. On 11 August he was near the Azores,

between the islands of Terceira and San Jorge, when his vessel was attacked by three

374 P. D. McIntosh


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English ships, probably a squadron commanded by Sir Richard Grenville. Sarmiento

was captured and taken to Plymouth, where he was held until 11 September.

On 14 September he was taken to Hampton Court and the next day to Windsor,

where Queen Elizabeth I was in residence. There he met Sir Walter Ralegh and the

two conversed in Latin and exchanged seafaring stories.23

Don Antonio thePortuguese Pretender, at that time resident in London, took issue with the

friendliness offered to Sarmiento and, according to the latter, plotted to kill him*

an example of another villain called Antonio and another possible link to the plot of

The Tempest. Subsequently Queen Elizabeth asked to speak with Sarmiento and the

two conversed for more than two and a half hours. He also met Admiral Lord

Howard and William Cecil, who were already familiar with Sarmientos journals from

documents they obtained at his capture. Sarmiento wrote in his journal, Some letters

and reports sent by Sarmiento [sic] from Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco and Bahia in

Brazil were captured by English pirates, for he [Sarmiento] found some in possessionof the Admiral [Howard] of that land when he was a prisoner, and Don Antonio [the

Pretender] had other parts and broke them open.24 However, Sarmientos account

may be only partly true: Markham (1895, 229) pointed out that Sarmientos reports

from Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco were duly received by Philip II and it is

therefore unlikely that these reports were intercepted by the English. It appears that

the journals that preceded Sarmiento to the English court were those in his

possession when he was captured, and to avoid the damaging charge of allowing

sensitive state information (concerning Spanish attempts to fortify and colonise the

Magellan Strait) to fall into enemy hands, he fabricated a story that copies of his

journals, previously sent to Spain from Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco, had beenobtained by the English prior to his own capture. Whatever the true facts of the

matter are, Sarmientos journals certainly ended up in English hands, and it can be

assumed that before he arrived at the English court they were read and translated by

officials for the new geographical knowledge they contained about an important

strategic seaway.

After about six weeks at court and in London Sarmiento de Gamboa was

discharged on 30 October 1586, given some money and jewels, probably entrusted

with a message from Queen Elizabeth to King Philip, and sent to Calais, from which

port he planned to make his way across France to Spain.

Conclusion

The parallels between Shakespeares storm scene in The Tempest and the 1609

Bermuda shipwreck described by Sylvester Jourdain (1610), William Strachey (1610?)

and by the Council of Virginia (1610) are of the general nature expected in accounts

of sailing disasters, but there is little correspondence of detail, and this lack of

correspondence extends to other details in the play.

Historical and literary researchers, beginning with Malone in 1808 and Luce in

1901, appear to have overstated similarities between the description of the storm and



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the natural features of the island in the Bermuda accounts and The Tempest. Stolls

(1927) conclusion that there is not a word in The Tempestabout America appears to

be well founded: a link between the Bermuda accounts and The Tempest is unproven.

When the description of the storm in The Tempestis compared to the text of Pedro

Sarmiento de Gamboas journals covering his voyages to the Strait of Magellan in the1580s, numerous detailed parallels are evident: both mention thunder and lightning,

flame and calls to God for help. Parallels extend to the features and the people

described on Shakespeares island. In Sarmientos journals we read of islands, lights in

the sky, short-statured natives, berries and shellfish, land which is pleasant and fertile

with pastures suitable for supporting animals and freshwater springs. In the journals,

men who challenged Sarmientos authority have the names Alonso or Antonio, and

these names are used for the usurper and rogue in Shakespeares play. In both

Sarmientos journals and in The Tempest, the names Gonzalo, Francisco and

Fernando occur. In both The Tempest and in Sarmientos account, mutineers areapprehended with weapons in their hands. In The Tempestthe mutineers excuse their

drawing of swords by saying they had heard lions; Sarmiento mentions seeing the

tracks of tigers and lions. In Sarmientos account, a ship is stranded in an arm of the

sea and later wrecked; in The Tempest, the sequence is magically reversed: the ship is

first described as wrecked and then as miraculously preserved in the deep nook.

The strange lights in the sky and devils described by Sarmiento also have parallels

in The Tempest. It is considered unlikely that these numerous parallels have occurred

by chance.

There is documentary evidence for Sarmiento de Gamboas account circulating in

London. In contrast there is no evidence for the circulation of the most detailed ofthe Bermuda accounts (Stracheys) before 1611 and several lines of evidence,

including Stracheys own writings in 1612, indicate that his account was not written

or in circulation by this date.

It is evident from Sarmientos account and Sir Walter Raleghs record of his

conversation with him that Sarmiento was an affable man of considerable self-

confidence, who, in modern parlance, was able to talk and charm his way out of the

most difficult of situations. His stories about faraway places, strange peoples,

colonising remote lands, storms and shipwrecks, survival and hardship, intrigues and

mutinies clearly fascinated Queen Elizabeth, Sir Water Ralegh and their associates.During his long stay in London (probably under a mild form of house arrest, judging

from his friendly treatment), Sarmiento is likely to have had ample opportunity to

converse with many people not mentioned in his journal. As the evidence indicates

that he was an able communicator, it can be assumed that his stories circulated

widely in London society.

The capture of Sarmiento de Gamboa by English privateers in 1586 and his stay in

London, and the documented seizure of his journal and the reading of the same by

members of the court and associates like William Cecil, provide several possible

mechanisms by which Shakespeare could have gained familiarity with Sarmientos

accounts: by reading the journals translation; by direct contact with government

376 P. D. McIntosh


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officials such as scribes; by conversation with gentlemen at court such as Sir Walter

Ralegh or with officials like William Cecil; or by conversation with Sarmiento himself

during his six-week stay in London. In the absence of records, which of these

opportunities may have been made use of by Shakespeare cannot be established.

Similarities between the text of the play and the Bermuda accounts, available inLondon in 1610 or later, appear to have been overstated by scholars, beginning with

Malone in 1808. The dependence of the play on the Bermuda accounts is unproven

and depends heavily on uncertain dates of composition, dates of transmission and

dates of circulation of Stracheys report. In contrast, Sarmientos accounts of his

South American voyages are known to have been available in London during 1586 or

soon after, and contain specific parallels to the storm and island descriptions in The

Tempest. I suggest that Sarmientos writing provides an important Spanish and South

American link to the development of English renaissance literature, and deserves

further critical study.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks E.R. for comments on an early version of this paper, and two

anonymous referees and the editor of CLAR for suggestions on improving the text.

Notes

1 Vaughan and Vaughan (2003) provide an accessible version of William Stracheys letter.2 Kermode (1958, 141) provides an accessible version of the relevant passages of Jourdains

account.3 Force (1844) includes the Council of Virginia report.4 Stritmatter and Kositsky (2007) present an overview of the in fluence of Malones ideas in the

critical literature.5 As recorded in the Revels accounts, in which The Tempest is listed as being played at Whitehall

on this date.6 The Colony in Virginea. Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall, reproduced in Force (1844).7 Cedars are mentioned by Prospero in his speech rejecting magic in Act 5, Scene 1, but not in the

context of a passage describing the islands attributes.8 According to the Chambers Dictionary (10th edition, 2006) a scamel is alleged to be a Norfolk

name for the bar-tailed godwit; Vaughan and Vaughan (2003, 217) suggested scamels were

shellfish and perhaps mussels; as Caliban promises Stephano young scamels from the rock, the

shellfish meaning is considered to be most likely.9 St Elmos fire is the glow of ions produced by an electrical discharge that forms around pointed

extremities such as the mast of a ship, often during thunderstorms.10 Strachey uses the latinised form of the name of the Spanish author Gonzalo Fernandez de

Oviedo y Valdes.11 See above, and notes 2 and 3.12 Kathman (1996) listed parallels.13 The first part of Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdess monumental work was published as

Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas y terra-firma de mar oceano in 1535. English



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translations of extracts were published by Eden (1577). The complete version appeared in 1851

(Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes 1851).14 Vaughan (2008), quoting a source from the 1620s, points out that the name Bermudoes applied

to a residence in Millford Lane, London (present-day Milford Lane, near the Strand) used by the

ex-Governor of the island of Bermuda after his return in 1615. This may be so, but the use of this

name for a house in Millford Lane does not exclude the use of the name Bermoothes for adistrict elsewhere.

15 All four quotes are from Kermode (1958, xxvi and xxvii).16 Although he argued strongly for the correctness of Malones (1808) and Luces (1901) analyses,

Vaughan (2008) also commented that, a thorough rummaging through English and Continental

literature might uncover earlier possible sources for many, if not most, of The Tempests

similarities to True Reportory.17 Bobb (1948) provides a succinct summary of Sarmientos South American voyages.18 For printed versions see documents of the Coleccion Munoz (1866) and Rosenblat (1950);

quotes are from the translation by Markham (1895).19 The larger broadleaved trees are likely to have been southern beeches of the Nothofagusgenus,

some of which are evergreen. The cypress and fir were probably podocarps of the Libocedrusgenus.

20 Markham (1895, 319) noted that the large bivalve, the Magellan mussel, is the staple food of the

Fuegians for most of the year.21 Rosenblat (1950) gives the latitude as 398.22 In Rosenblat (1950) the original Spanish word used by Sarmiento is atronados which translates

as deafened, not amazed.23 Sir Walter Ralegh, in his History of the World, records a seafaring anecdote exchanged with

Sarmiento on this occasion.24 Markham (1895, 229); in his journals Sarmiento de Gamboa had the habit of referring to himself

as Sarmiento rather than in the first person.

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