We’ve had our classic out-and-back (self?)ethnography with Columbus, our journey of epic proportions with de Camões, and our castaway tale with Cabeza de Vaca. But where are the pirates? We’ve seen some brief nationalistic skirmishes between the great Renaissance powers, but we really haven’t experienced any full-on privateering until Léry’s History of a Voyage. And it’s all the more surprising to learn that Léry and his French fleet (the Christian “protagonists,” mind you) play the role of the pirates!
Not only does this passage give insight into the political dynamics between Renaissance powers and their apparent willingness to take piratical measures to defeat each other, but it also suggests a kind of navigational “privilege” if that makes sense. I mean, Columbus sure wasn’t going out of his way to find enemy ships and loot them (“equip themselves” (12)). And Léry only had a fleet of three caravels! Whereas the other navigators we’ve read about have more or less headed directly for their destinations (avoiding any ominous ships on the horizon), Léry and his men take the time to defeat anyone in their path. He even goes so far as to suggest that they “had not only resolved to attack and combat the naval army of the King of Portugal if [they] met with it but also [swore] to carry the victory” (14). Clearly Léry is on a whole new level of confidence; we shall see if this confidence is reflected in his further travels or if it will fade away as he is faced with more hardships.
I loved this point! I agree that there seems to be a level of confidence in Léry’s account lacking in the others, although at times I would say that this “confidence” approaches pomposity. Léry makes it a point to go into detail about what is, for all intents and purpose, piracy, made even more impressive for the fact that it is at the expense of France’s rival nations – Spain notably, but also Portugal. If only England would have been in on the fun! Ironically, Léry also tells the reader that he has no intention of boring them with accounts of his ships’ success in piracy, a funny sort of humble brag given that he had just spent a page or two doing exactly that. I really enjoy the point you made here, and I agree that I am VERY curious to see how far his confidence extends. With what Professor Serrano has said so far about the work, it doesn’t seem like it will extend very far at all…