ABSTRACT
Continental ethnographies and traveler's accounts before 1600 are far from entirely hostile to eastern cultures, but initially their English translators did take a harder line, especially with respect to religion. However, as Jones points out, English militancy with regard to Islam often conflicted with England's behavior, such as establishing political and economic relations with the Porte. Johannes Boemus's work apparently found a receptive hearing in England, and the contrast between Grafton's' preface and Watreman's testifies to the variety of English attitudes toward the Ottomans in the mid-sixteenth century. Ultimately, Hugh Goughe seems more interested in good husbandry and trade than in a crusade. While he resents the Ottomans' taxes and tributes, he welcomes England's desire to rival and reform the splendor of the ancients. By choosing particular texts and commenting upon them, translators shaped the discourse about the Ottomans circulating in England.
