Merchants and Explorers: Roger Barlow, Sebastian Cabot and Networks of Atlantic Exchange 1500–1560 by Heather Dalton

Abstract

Reviewed by: Merchants and Explorers: Roger Barlow, Sebastian Cabot and Networks of Atlantic Exchange 1500–1560 by Heather Dalton Michael Bennett Dalton, Heather, Merchants and Explorers: Roger Barlow, Sebastian Cabot and Networks of Atlantic Exchange 1500–1560, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016; cloth; pp. 256; R.R.P. £50.00; ISBN 9780199672059. This remarkable study begins with Roger Barlow, hitherto only known, if at all, as the author of A Brief Summe of Geographie, unpublished until the 1930s. In following Barlow's trail, Heather Dalton has opened surprising vistas on early sixteenth-century England, the Atlantic rim, and South America. Impressive archival research in Seville found Barlow among a group of English adventurers involved in business ventures in Spain. In 1526, he participated in a Genoese-financed expedition led by Sebastian Cabot. Its aim was to establish a good route to Moluccas but, heading south, Cabot decided to explore the Rio de la Plata. In his later work, Barlow included observations of the geography, natural history, and the Tupi-Garaní people of the region. He was the first Englishman to describe the humming bird and a cannibal feast. Dalton follows rather than concentrates on Barlow, broadening her focus to discuss Cabot, Barlow's English associates in the Atlantic enterprise, and Barlow's brothers who pursued clerical careers in England. Regarding Cabot, she offers new insights on his puzzling career. In discussing the activities of the Thornes and their Bristol colleagues, she demonstrates the accessibility of Spain to English enterprise through to the 1550s. Her study of Barlow's brothers, John and William, whose careers prospered after the break with Rome, provides a fresh perspective on the English Reformation. [End Page 161] The stories intertwine smoothly and the reframing exercise is always revealing. One revelation is how effectively networks of trust—often familial but surprisingly extended—worked in building capital and knowledge in this uncertain world. A bonus is that Dalton's approach brings into the frame the lives of some remarkable women, generally so fleetingly observed in the records. Catalina de Medrano, the widow of a conquistador and wife of Cabot, did more than mind the shop in Seville during her husbands' absences. She pursued her own interests, consolidated partnerships, and served as a conduit in the exchange of knowledge. On returning to England in 1530, Barlow settled first in Bristol but put down roots in southwest Wales. If he had helped finance the education of his brothers, they now assisted him in making connections and advancing socially. John was Anne Boleyn's chaplain, promoter of Henry VIII's divorce, and dean of Westbury. William became bishop of St David's in 1536. By this time, Roger had leased a substantial property at Slebech, upriver from Milford Haven. Far from the standard cashed-up merchant retiring from the counting-house to a country seat and landed gentility, he had the mindset of a colonist. His estate at Slebech became the centre of an enterprise that drew timber from the hinterland for shipbuilding, participated in illicit as well as licit trade, and profited from anti-piracy operations. Along with his brother, Roger served Thomas Cromwell in establishing the anglicizing and reformist agenda of the government in southwest Wales. Still looking for wider opportunities, Barlow assisted Robert Thorne in a proposal for exploring a northern route to Cathay in the early 1530s. Nicholas Thorne brought a ship from Seville and acted as Cromwell's agent in raising a fleet in 1539. Barlow may have supplied naval stores from Slebech. For some time, he had also been working on a translation of Martín Fernández de Enciso's Suma de Geographia (1519). A novel blend of mathematical and descriptive geography, the Suma was far in advance of work available in English. Barlow included his observations of the Rio de la Plata, expanded the coverage of northern Europe, and customized Enciso's work to reflect English needs. Around 1541, he presented it to Henry VIII, along with a map and a reworked version of the tract on the northern passage. It appears to have been simply filed away. Barlow probably kept in touch with Cabot, who returned to England in 1548. By this...