ABSTRACT
IN the name of God and of good salvation. We departed from Seville with five ships on the tenth of August, in the year 1519, to go and discover the Molucca Islands. We commenced our voyage from San Lucar for the Canary Islands, and sailed south-west 960 miles, where we found ourselves at the island of Tenerife, in which is the harbour of Santa Cruz in twenty-eight degrees of north latitude. And from the island of Tenerife we sailed south wards 1680 miles, when we found ourselves in four degrees of north latitude. From these four degrees of north latitude we sailed south-west, until we found ourselves at the Cape of Saint Augustin, which is in eight degrees of south latitude, having accomplished 1200 miles. And from Cape Saint Augustin we sailed south and by south-west 864 miles, where we found ourselves in twenty degrees of south latitude. From twenty degrees of south latitude, being at sea, we sailed 1500 miles south-west, when we found ourselves near the river, whose mouth is 108 miles wide, and lies in thirty-five degrees of the said south latitude. We named it the river of Saint Christopher. From this river we sailed 1638 miles south-west by west, where we found ourselves at the point of the Lupi Marini, which is in fortyeight degrees of south latitude. And from the point of the Lupi Marini we sailed south-west 350 miles, where we found ourselves in the harbour of Saint Julian, and stayed there five months waiting for the sun to return towards us, because in J nne and July it appeared for only four hours each day. From this harbour of Saint Julian, which is in fifty degrees, we departed on the 24th of August, 1520, and sailed westward a hundred miles, where we found a river to
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which we gave the name of River of Santa Cruz, and there we remained until the 18th of October. This river is in :fifty degrees. We departed thence on the 18th of October, and sailed along the coast 378 miles south-west by west, where we found ourselves in a strait, to which we gave the name Strait of Victoria, because the ship Victo-,.ia was the :first that had seen it : some called it the Strait of Magalhaens., because our captain was named Fernando de Magalhaens. The mouth o.f this strait is in fifty-three degrees and a half, and we sailed through it 400 miles to the other mouth, which is in the same latitude of fifty-three degrees and a half. We emerged from this strait on the 27th of November, 1520, and sailed between west and north-west 9858 miles, until we found ourselves upon the equinoctial line. In this course we found two uninhabited islands., the one of which was distant from the other 800 miles. To the first we gave the name of Saint Peter, and to the other the island of the Tiburones. Saint Peter is in eighteen degrees, the island of the Tiburones in fourteen degrees of south latitude. From the equinoctial line we sailed between west and north-west 2046 miJes., and discovered several islands between ten and twelve degrees of north latitude. In these islands there were many naked people as well men as women, we gave the islands the name of the Ladrones., because the people had robbed our ship: but it cost them very dear. I shall not relate further the course that we made, because we lengthened it not a little. But I will tell you that to go direct from these islands of the Ladrones to the Moluccas it is necessary to sail south-west a 1000 miles., and there occur many islands., to which we gave the name of the Archipelago of Saint Lazarus. A little further there are the islands of the Moluccas, of which there are five., namely, Ternate., Tidor, Molir., :l.fachiam, Bachian. In Ternate the Portuguese had built a very strong castle before I left. From the Molucca Islands to the islands of Banda there are three hundred miles, and one goes thither by different
courses,b~cattsetherearemanyislandsin.between;~d onemust~ajl.bysight.Intheseislandsuntilyoureacht}le islandsofBand$;whichareinfourdegreesandahalfof $outhlatitude,therearecollectedfromthirtytofortythou<+ sendcantarosofnutmegsannually,andthereislikewisecol~ lectedmuchmastic;andifyouwishtogotoCali~utyou mustalwayssailamidsttheis1andsasfaras:Malacca;which isdistantfromtheMoluccas2000miles,andfrom.Malacca. toCalicut·are2000milesmore.F!omCalicuttoPortugal thereare14,000miles.IffromtheislandsofBandayou. :wishtoroundtheCapeofGoodHope,youmustsailbetweenwestandsouth-westuntilyoufindyourselfinthirty... fourdegreesanda·halfofsouthlatitude,andfromthere yousailwestward,alwayskeepingagoodlook-outatthe prownottorunagroundonthesaidCapeofGoodHo}leor itsneighbourhood.FromthisCapeofGoodHopeonesails north-westbywest2400miles,andtherefindstheislandof SaintHelena,wherePortugueseshipsgototakeinwater andwood,andotherthings.Thisislandisinsixteendegreessouthlatitude,andthereisnohabitationexceptthat ofaPortugueseman,whohasbutonehandandonefoot, nonose,andnoears,andiscalledFornam-lopem.
