Manuscripts
HM 58286: Charles du Val (Dieppois)'s account of his voyages in the South Seas with crews of French, English, and Dutch buccaneers. Among other entries, Charles describes his crew's ransacking of Grenada in 1687; their departure for California with Franc Roole, including their stay at Cabo San Lucas with descriptions of the native people and pearl fisheries; the capture of the Duchess de Lerma (ransomed in 1689); the scenery and wildlife of the Galapagos; experiments with cacao performed by Spanish doctors in South America; travels to the Strait of Magellan and the landscape of the area; and the crew's time in the South Atlantic with Roole. Also included in the manuscript are copies of two letters, the first from Jacques Marin to the Compte de Monclos, Viceroy of Lima (Don Melchor Portocarrero y Lasso de la Vega, conde de Monclova), written in Mexico in 1692, and the second from Francois de Colmenarez to an unknown recipient and sent from Madrid, also in 1692. The manuscript appears to be addressed to a Father Gravier, a Jesuit in Canada, on the recommendation of Esprit Cabart de Villermont (1628?-1707). The journal itself covers the years 1685-c.1694, but was compiled between 1696 and 1707; extracts undated, probably 18th century. Included with the Charles manuscript is a handwritten copy of a letter from Dom Juan de Yrayzoz at Arica, Bolivia, to the Compte de Monclos, Viceroy of Lima (Don Melchor Portocarrero y Lasso de la Vega, conde de Monclova), written after a voyage aboard the Santyoquil from Lima in 1693. The letter includes a description of a hostile encounter with a Corsaire (possibly that of Franc Roole). In French.
mssHM 58286, HM 73056-73057
