Notes on a Manuscript...
Synopsis of Chapters with Brief Comments
The Foreword
Francis Herbert, Curator of Maps of the Royal
Geographical Society, President of the Society for the
History of Discoveries, Council Member of the Hakluyt
Society, Research Editor of the Map Collector, &tc. has a
longstanding interest in Drake's circumnavigation. The
present writer has been most fortunate to have had him
available as an advisor throughout the course of this project.
He has now honored this work with a foreword, which
reflects his expert view of the subjects covered and expresses
his opinion of the validity and value of the effort (an excerpt is in these pages).
The Introduction
While this work assumes that the reader has a basic
familiarity with the circumnavigation, a brief review of the
voyage begins the author's introduction, followed by a quick
look at what went on after the journey - including the chaos
into which its story soon fell. Comments on why the search
for Drake's lost Nova Albion harbor continues to be important
conclude the introduction (an excerpt is in these pages).
Chapter I
The Literature of the Circumnavigation
This chapter, in two parts, provides a foundation for
historians and for more casual students of Drake. Without an
understanding of the literature of the circumnavigation, any
approach to the unanswered questions about the journey is
hopeless. This confusing topic has not been well dealt with
in previous works, and there exists no coherent overview such
as is presented here. It is for these reasons that it begins the
book. This chapter has been reviewed by staff at the Bancroft
Library, where it is considered a particularly valuable part of
the work (specifics available on request).
Part I: The Early Literature
Part I deals with the early sources, manuscripts, and
publications. The emphasis is not on the technical
bibliographical history of the material, although some
elements of this are discussed, but rather on its origins and
evolution. The chapter also contains a fresh look at why some
of the early literature is so contradictory, enigmatic and
confusing.
Part II: The Modern Analysts
Part II reviews, from among the hundreds of works on
Drake, thirty-six modern sources which have been applied
(for better or worse) in tracking the Golden Hind's
movements along the North American coast. It documents
many of the sometimes spectacular and often unnoticed
blunders of a number of prominent modern analysts - among
them H. H. Bancroft, Henry Wagner, John Robertson, Dr.
Alfred Kroeber, S. A. Barrett, and Warren Hanna. Modern
corruptions of the early material, which have caused
heretofore unrecognized problems, are discussed.
Chapter II
The Latitudes of Nova Albion: The Early Sources & A New Analysis
This chapter includes a comprehensive new analysis of the
latitudes found in the narratives, with an eye cast towards
evaluating their relative and absolute accuracy. The result is
a picture quite different than the one promoted by boosters of
various anchorage sites, especially Drakes Bay. The argument
is made that there is no logical or mathematical reason to
confine the search for the lost harbor to the immediate area
of the latitudes given in the narratives.
Chapter III
The Latitudes of Nova Albion: Censorship & Obfuscation
Here the effects on the published latitudes of possible
early censorship and suppression are discussed, especially in
regard to the heavily promoted idea that there was a gradual
and orderly relaxation of secrecy resulting in the eventual
publication of an accurate harbor latitude. A number of
blunders and misleading claims by modern analysts are
exposed.
Chapter IV
Dr. Alfred L. Kroeber and The Word Encompassed
A look at how Dr. Kroeber came to make his often-quoted
statements about the identity of the Indians described in the
Word Encompassed focuses on the unfortunate and
heretofore barely mentioned fact that Dr. Kroeber,
unbeknownst to himself, based his analysis on a severely
corrupted modern version of the primary narrative of the
voyage. It also deals with the less than straightforward ways
his words have been subsequently employed by others.
Chapter V
The Indians at Drake's Landing
The Indians of Nova Albion are discussed in terms of how
the critical question of their identity has been, and should be,
addressed. A specific site proposal is used to demonstrate
(and only to demonstrate) how what is known about the
native people Drake met with can be applied to the search for
the lost harbor. Some recent archeological work which may
be pertinent (within the context of this demonstration) is
discussed, as are previous less than complete or
straightforward efforts to place Drake with one or another
native group. It is stressed that the inferences made in this
chapter regarding both the anchorage location and the
identification of the natives met are offered only as
illustrations of the reasoned application of evidence and
speculation, and most emphatically not as part of any site
proposal.
Chapter VI
The Defense and Overhaul of the Golden Hind in Nova Albion
These interwoven topics have received less attention from
previous analysts than they deserve, notwithstanding this
author's article "Study of Ordnance May Help to Determine
Drake's California Harbor" (The Artilleryman, vol. XI no. 2,
1990). The chapter includes discussion of the problems
presented by the Golden Hind's ordnance in regard to Drake's
choice of a harbor, the Spanish pursuit, careening, the
fortification at the Nova Albion anchorage and the presence
or absence of an accompanying vessel ("Tello's Bark").
Elements of this chapter were reviewed by Adrian Carruana,
Keeper of Arms at Chatham Historic Dockyard (Kent).
Chapter VII
The Weather Reports of the Narratives in the Secondary Literature
The unbelievable weather reports of the narratives -
especially of the World Encompassed - have been almost
universally regarded as lies, and thus have cast a pall over the
rest of the accounts. This chapter deals with the ways the
detailed descriptions of freezing conditions along the coast of
Nova Albion during early summer have blinded analysts to
critical information embedded within them.
Chapter VIII
The Climate of Nova Albion in the Summer of 1579
What began as a casual attempt to see if there is any new
paleoclimatic information available turned into a major
investigation of the weather of Northern California during the
summer of 1579. This yielded strong evidence, developed by
this investigator with the help of professional
dendroclimatologists, that the seemingly bizarre reports of
extreme summer cold were accurate; it now appears that a
brief and severe climatic anomaly occurred during the time
of Drake's visit. A secondary investigation revealed a possible
cause for the phenomena. This work affects the search for
Drake's former whereabouts by sharply raising the level of
credibility of the primary and most detailed narrative. It also
is of considerable interest to those concerned more with
climate than with Drake.
A seminar on this subject was conducted by the author at
the invitation of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the
University of Arizona at Tucson, in November of 1995.
Subsequently, a paper on the same subject was presented,
again by this investigator, at the invitation of the Society for
the History of Discoveries, at the University of Texas at
Arlington, also in November of 1995.
This chapter has been reviewed by Dr. Harold C. Fritts,
Professor Emeritus, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research,
University of Arizona at Tucson.
Chapter IX
A Wooden Treasure in a Golden Chest
The claims in the early accounts of silver and gold in
Nova Albion, as well as similar but more veiled references to
some other sort of riches and treasure, have been dismissed
by past analysts as either meaningless stock phrases added to
the narratives after the journey, or as evidence of the
unreliability of the original accounts. There being no apparent
basis in the San Francisco Bay region for these claims of
riches, such attitudes seem reasonable. On close examination,
however, the narratives can be shown to be less compromised
by these statements than might be thought; furthermore, it
can be speculated that there was indeed something of great
potential value found in Nova Albion - timber. Such a line of
reasoning tends to lead the search for Drake's haven away
from the immediate Bay Area.
Chapter X
The Plate of Brass
While the fraudulent "plate of brass" today stands
exposed, its effects were strong and still linger. Thus in this
housecleaning the topic is fully aired. The chapter begins
with the history of the plate, with emphasis on the
mismanagement of the episode in various quarters. It ends
with a circumstantial (and entertaining) case supposing that
the perpetrators of the hoax were members of the notoriously
mischievous California "historical drinking society," E
Clampus Vitus, who were (perhaps) playing a prank - that got
out of hand - on one of their own, the original authenticator
of the plate, University of California professor Dr. Herbert
Bolton.
Chapter XI
A Harbor at Bay
The idea that the early narratives describe two separate
bodies of water, a bay and a harbor, at the Golden Hind's
anchorage shows signs of becoming embedded in the
mythology of Drake's visit. It was crafted by proponents of
the theory that the lost harbor was Drakes Estero, itself within
Drakes Bay. This cunning misuse of the narratives, which
involves the grafting of the language of one account into
another, is classic in its superficial simplicity and in the
difficulty a refutation presents. Earlier attempts at countering
this concept relied on external linguistic indicators and were
weak, but a careful new analysis of the use of the words
"bay" and "harbor" within the narratives yields powerful
evidence against it. The analysis also illuminates several
other less than sound tactics found in related misleading
arguments.
Chapter XII
Cartography and the Search for Drake in Nova Albion
Part I: The Essential Maps and Their Treatment
While there is not a great deal to be learned from the maps
of the circumnavigation, they have often been used - and
misused - to bolster this or that theory. This chapter discusses
such applications. It also provides a convenient and concise
overview of the more important maps - something that has
been lacking in prior works - to help end the confusion often
found around this topic.
Part II:The Portus Plan of Joducus Hondius
This famous little vignette from the corner of a map is,
perhaps, a sketch of the lost harbor; it has been the center of
much attention for nearly a century and a half, with various
authorities stretching it and turning it this way and that in
fitting it to their favorite spots. The straining and squinting is
examined here, and some of the features of the portus plan
are discussed. The widespread and heretofore unmentioned
circulation of significantly corrupt copies of the plan -
unwittingly published by the University of California (among
others) as lately as the 1970's - is brought to light.
Chapter XIII
The Farallon Islands
The principal narrative implies that the voyage from the
lost harbor to what are generally acknowledged to be the
Farallon Islands involved an overnight sail. A date is given
for departure and another, a day later, for arrival. The
narrative also indicates that Drake began this short hop in
daylight and with a good wind. This presents a major problem
for patriots of Drakes Bay, from which these islands lie in
sight; the time spent getting to them seems inexplicably long.
The dilemma is cleverly addressed by the Drake Navigators
Guild through the claim that dates aboard the Golden Hind
were changed at noon, not midnight. Thus a date change
could occur during a short daytime hop. Until now no
effective rebuttal to this argument has been made, in spite of
several attempts. Here, however, rock-solid new evidence is
applied that strongly refutes this crafty concept. This argues
strongly for a more distant harbor.
Epilogue
The Case For and Against Albion Bay as the lost Harbor
The epilogue uses the vehicle of a specific site proposal to
illustrate how evidence and reasonable conjecture for and
against any theory can be applied properly. It also provides
a forum for discussion of some factors not discussed
elsewhere, such as the white cliffs and the rodents reported in
the narratives. It is emphasized strongly that while Albion
Bay is on the list of possible locations of the lost harbor - first
having been considered in the 1920's and again more recently
- no claim for its status is made here. The point here (as in the
chapter on the native people met) is to examine the
mechanisms of proper and logical application of evidence
and speculation. While in some ways a hypothetical or
perhaps a previously completely ignored location might serve
this purpose without certain hazards, such an effort would be
strained and probably boring.
Albion Bay is also used in some of the earlier chapters in
a similar way - always with the proviso that it is merely a
possible site among many which is being used only for
illustrative purposes, and always with the presentation of both
positive and negative arguments.
Appendix I
Nova Albion in The World Encompassed: A New Transcription
There is presently no accurate transcription of The World
Encompassed - the most detailed and most often referred-to
of the contemporary chronicles of the circumnavigation - in
print; nor are the great majority of previous transcriptions
true to the original. The errors and changes in many published
editions are significant both in their numbers and in their
possible misleading effects. Therefore, a new transcription,
by this writer, is included here. It is presently limited to that
portion of the text, twenty pages, dealing with Nova Albion.
(Should the resources be available, it would be most
worthwhile to include not only a new transcription of the
entire World Encompassed, but also of the shorter Hakluyt
narratives and related documents.)
Endnotes
There are 782 endnotes in this work (because of the
controversial and complex nature of the subject, thorough
documentation is critical). In order to relieve the reader from
constantly turning pages only to encounter a citation, the
reference numbers in the text that point to endnotes
containing comments are marked with a special symbol.
Also, all of the endnotes are together and numbered
consecutively; this again minimizes needless page-turning.
List of Cited Works
Chapter I is, after a fashion, a bibliography, and there are a
number of extensive Drake bibliographies available
elsewhere; thus what is presented here is confined to a list of
the 100 or so works cited in the text.
List of Illustrations
The 72 illustrations in the manuscript are for preliminary
reference purposes, and compilation of a final list awaits
further discussion. There is considerable flexibility in this
regard; of the illustrations in the manuscript, perhaps one
third are necessary in terms of the text (for example map
details); the rest have a primarily decorative function. Some
seldom-seen and previously unpublished 19th century
photographs of coastal Northern California are included,
including a previously unknown one by Carlton Watkins.
Index
Compilation of the index awaits final formatting of the
book. It is this writer's intention to compile the index himself
(although assistance would certainly be useful).
Author's Note: Some of this material is adapted from or relates to
my yet-unpublished book Francis Drake in Nova
Albion - The Mystery Restored, in which these and neighboring
thickets are explored much more deeply than on these few web pages.
Thus there may be references here not fully explained, or answers missing
their questions. Also lacking here is documentation, provided in the book
by 782 endnotes. - Oliver Seeler
Nova Albion Research
Copyright 1996-97 by Oliver Seeler
Please feel free to send your comments
to oseeler@mcn.org
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