the touch as a man would
be that was infected; and therefore when any English vessel arrived in
foreign countries, if they did take the goods on shore, they always
caused the bales to be opened and aired in places appointed for that
purpose. But from London they would not suffer them to come into port,
much less to unload their goods, upon any terms whatever; and this
strictness was especially used with them in Spain and Italy. In Turkey
and the islands of the Arches,[291] indeed, as they are called, as well
those belonging to the Turks as to the Venetians, they were not so very
rigid. In the first there was no obstruction at all, and four ships
which were then in the river loading for Italy (that is, for Leghorn and
Naples) being denied product, as they call it, went on to Turkey, and
were freely admitted to unlade their cargo without any difficulty, only
that when they arrived there, some of their cargo was not fit for sale
in that country, and other parts of it being consigned to merchants at
Leghorn, the captains of the ships had no right nor any orders to
dispose of the goods; so that great inconveniences followed to the
merchants. But this was nothing but what the necessity of affairs
required; and the merchants at Leghorn and Naples, having notice given
them, sent again from thence to take care of the effects which were
particularly consigned to those ports, and to bring back in other ships
such as were improper for the markets at Smyrna[292] and
Scanderoon.[293]

The inconveniences in Spain and Portugal were still greater; for they
would by no means suffer our ships, especially those from London, to
come into any of their ports, much less to unlade. There was a report
that one of our ships having by stealth delivered her cargo, among which
were some bales of English cloth, cotton, kerseys, and such like goods,
the Spaniards caused all the goods to be burned, and punished the men
with death who were concerned in carrying them on shore. This I believe
was in part true, though I do not affirm it; but it is not at all
unlikely, seeing the danger was really very great, the infection being
so violent in London.

I heard likewise that the plague was carried into those countries by
some of our ships, and particularly to the port of Faro, in the kingdom
of Algarve,[294] belonging to the King of Portugal, and that several
persons died of it there; but it was not confirmed.

On the other hand, though the Spaniards and