A Jesuit Missionary in Eighteenth-Century Sonora: The Family Correspondence of Philipp Segesser

Letters from Havana (42–44)

• 113 Letters from Havana (42–44) havana, the capital of cuba, was the main New World harbor for transatlantic traffic. Most ships from Europe stopped at Havana before traveling to other destinations such as Cartagena and Veracruz. Father Segesser arrived in Havana on 1 February 1731 and, after almost three more months of waiting there, sailed on 19 April to Veracruz, the gateway to New Spain. Letter 42 letter to his brother from havana, 2 february 1731 Most noble and honorable brother, As much as it comforts me, after a very long voyage, to finally have reached port, I believe it must be equally comforting for my most beloved mother, noble brother, and other siblings, and all highly regarded relatives to find out about it. Having departed for Cádiz on 16 November, and then from there to America, we happily arrived on 1 February, and this after seventy-eight days, although we could have and should have reached this port within seventy days. But good things take a while, especially because our honorable Captain Ignatius Dotel chose to opt for safety and made a wide detour1 rather than expose himself and us to danger by taking the shortest route. Moreover, he had received news and orders from his royal majesty, on the last day before his and our departure, to take on 120 soldiers and to drop them off at the Bahía de Coa on the island of Santo Domingo, from where they had to march seven miles through wasteland and wilderness (there was not one house to be found, instead 1 He sailed south rather than north of Cuba (where Havana is located) and therefore had to turn back east to Havana after reaching the western end of the island. 114 Letters from Havana (42–44) only some hunters who had come there to obtain necessary provisions of mountain sheep and cattle for us), because we were not allowed, upon the king’s order, into the harbor of the city of Santo Domingo. However, because the commander of that city had to dispatch one of his men to personally pick up the royal order and writ, we had to remain there a number of days to await the arrival of his sloop. With him came a brother from the college of the mission there, which belongs to Cartagena, who delivered some fruit, sweets, and fresh bread from the Father Rector for our refreshment and told me that Father Candidus Götzfried, who had been in the novitiate with me in Landsberg, teaches grammar there because that is what he had requested. Our winter travels had gone well until then. We could not have been more fortunate, although, as I said above, we traveled slowly without rushing. Although we did not experience misfortune after leaving Santo Domingo, we were constantly worried because the route was relatively unknown to our crew. At night we often went backward as much as we had gone forward during the day, because of the movement of the ocean, or so-called current. Nevertheless, we arrived here in good shape. I survived, and to everyone’s astonishment walked off the ship refreshed and healthy, even though, due to my well-known malady, on forty two days [of the voyage] I had not, as far as I can judge, eaten more than half a pound of food. I kept myself alive solely with simple broth. I really wanted to continue immediately to Veracruz as I would have to experience the unavoidable suffering again after having spent some time here. How long we will stay here I do not know, because our captain must await the new orders from señor Torres, the commander of this sea, necessary because the previous ones from the king had been changed. Some of the events that occurred in the meantime I shall keep for another letter, but I want to tell you in this one that the azogues with which we originally had expected to travel encountered considerable misfortune because of the shoals near the Cayman Islands,2 which we had diligently and carefully avoided. One of the three, the newest of them, foundered and sank, and no one managed to save himself except 2 The Cayman Islands, to the south of Cuba, rise above the undersea Cayman Ridge with its dangerous shoals. 115 Letters from Havana (42–44) the captain [?] and one other sailor. The two...