_ 244 _ But which of the Cathay routes? Some historians have thought that under the influence of the Genoese Gasparre Centurione, he had in mind the northern route(A). But this was not the case. The Verrazzano fleet, which was set out in May or June 1526 to "go to the Spice Lands"(B) was intended to go through the Strait of Magellan. But a storm prevented this and dispersed the vessels, and the two Italians with their ships made their way along the coast of Brazil and returned thence to Normandy. Let us now follow the remainder. Two Portuguese letters throw light on this matter. Diego de Gouveia, the Principal of the College of St Barbara in Paris, wrote as follows to João III on 18 September 1527: Master Giovanni Verrazzano, who was commander of three ships sailing to the Indies, has returned, also his brother. The reason is this: when the sailors found themselves caught in a storm near the Cape (Horn) they forced him and his brother, with their ships, to turn back. As for the other vessel, it is said to have proceeded onwards, but there is no further news of it(C). (A) L. Delevaud, Le commerce des vins et du sel en Normandie au Moyen Age (Rev. Inst. Sociol., Brussels, IX,1929, p. 61). (B)Archives Départ. Seine Maritime, E (Tabellionage de Rouen, 11 & 12, May 1526). (C) Torre do Tombo, CC, I, m.37, d.95, published by M. Brandão, O processo na Inquisisão de Mestre João da Costa, vol.1 (Coimbra,
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