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VALENTIN FERDINAND'S ACCOUNT OF FAYAL AND PICO.(1)
YLHA DO FAYAL E PICO.
Jost de Utre fidalgo(2) da casa del duque de Borgonha que foy casado com a Irmâa da Imperatriz(3) .6. annos despoiz(4) de arzila tomado por palaura de frey Pedro(5) da ordem de Sam Francesco homem letrado e confessor da raynha de Portugal em chegando a frandes por embaixador para a duqueza ouve falla com Jost Utre ho qual tinha tres irmãos ricos(6) e elle como homo mancebo seguindo a corte guastava sua fazenda mais que os outros ao qual ouve falla este Frey Pedro de como se acharom as aylhas em tal rota e que avia nellas muyto prata e stanho etc. pello qual moveo ao dito Jost de Utre ouve sua fala em bruges donde era com .15. homens trabalhadores, homens de bem dando lhe mesmo a entender de como lhes faria ricos ata que virom ter a Portugal onde o dito Utre ouve lugar delrey dom Affonso quinto par apouoar a dita ylha do aFayal(7) e foy la e esteva hum anno pello qual acaborom de comer ho que tinha pello qual os moradores denojados que nom acharom o que lhes foy promettido andarom para mator o seu capitam(8) pello qual com boa industria se sayo e foy a portugal onde elrey em vindo sua diligencia e parigos deulhe huma moça fremosa do casa do ynfante dom fernando pay delrey dom manuel chamada para nome ysabel(9) de macedo com o qual entam elrey mandou seos navigos e homems honrrados. E o capitam era homem discreto e ouve se tam ben com seos moradores que ouverom por bem de ser seos sojeitos onde começarom a cavar e roçar e lhes levarom gados das ylhas sancta Maria sam Miguel e terceyra. E assi hum guylelmo Bersmacher Framengo que vii e conheci trouxi primeiro ha lavoyra do pastel e partio para as outras ylhas.
Jost de Utre, a nobleman9 in the household of the Duke of Burgundy, who had married the sister of the Empress,10 six years before the capture of Arzila,11 had speech of Friar Pedro12 of the Order of St. Francis, a man of culture and confessor of the Queen of Portugal, who had come to Flanders as an ambassador to the Duchess. Jost Utre had three wealthy brothers,13 but himself, having followed the Court as a youngster, had spent his fortune more freely than they had. Friar Pedro, now the islands had been discovered, in what direction they lay and that they abounded in silver and tin, &c., which animated said Jost de Utre. At Brügge, whence he was, he spoke with 15 workmen, good men and true, giving them to understand that he would make them rich, upon which they went [0;0;147;350;t;0] with him to Portugal, where King Affonso V. granted said Utre permission to people said island of Fayal.1 And he went there and remained a year, in the course of which all they had brought was eaten up, upon which the settlers grew discontented, for they had not found what had been promised them, and they were about to kill their captain.2 He, however, quickly left the island and went to Portugal, where the King, in consideration of his diligence and risks, gave him as wife a beautiful maiden of the household of the Infante Don Ferdinand, father of King Don Manuel, whose name was Ysabel de Macedo,3 and with her the King sent his ships and men of work. And the captain was a discreet man and managed so well with his settlers that they thought well to acknowledge themselves his subjects, and they begun to dig and to grup up, and cattle were brought from the islands Sancta Maria, St. Miguel and Terçeira. And one William Bersmacher, a Fleming whom I saw and knew, introduced there the cultivation of wood.
(1) 8 Copied from a loose leaf of Valentin Ferdinand's MS. at Munich (Cod. hisp. 27), and first published by P. J. Baudet, `Beschrijving van de Azorische Eilanden,' Antwerp, 1879, pp. 69, 201. back
(2) 9 Frei Diogo das Chagas calls him an equerry (Panadeiro) of the Duchess Isabella of Burgundy. back
(3) 10 D. Isabel, Duchess of Burgundy, was a daughter of King John I., and consequently an aunt and not a sister of D. Leonor, daughter of King Duarte, who had married Frederick III., the German Emperor, in 1451. Duke Philip, the husband of D. Isabel, died in 1467, when his consort retired to a convent and died there two years afterwards. back
(4) 11 Arzila was taken in 1471. I take "despoiz" in the sense of "atras," before, previous to. The year referred to would therefore be 1465.. back
(5) 12 Fructuoso (`As saudades') speaks of a Chaplain, a Fleming, of the Infanta and the Infante (D. Ferdinand) at whose instance Fayal was granted to Jos d'Utra, a gentleman of the Infante's household. back
(6) 13 This is borne out by Flemish documents (see p. 48). back
(7) Behaim speaks of 2,000 colonists, Flemings and Germans; Val. Ferdinand, in the body of his MS., states that persons against whom a sentence of civil death had been pronounced (outlaws) were sent thither at the request of the Duchess of Burgundy. Cordeiro (`Hist. Ins.,' 1457) says that Josse van Hurter, having been appointed capitão donatario, went to Flanders, disposed of his estate, and returned thence accompanied by many other noble men, blood relations and common folk whom he took to Fayal. back
(8) 2 Cordeiro (`Historia Insulana,' VIII., c. 2) mentions a Fleming, Arnequim, as leader of this revolt. back
(9) 3 Fructuoso likewise speaks of D. Ysabel as the wife of Josse da Hurter, instead of D. Beatriz, but D. Ysabel, her sister, the "thonna Isabl" of Pock, became the wife of Francisco da Silveira (Vandaraga or van der Haghe). back
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