ABSTRACT
THE Governor, Lope Garcia de Castro, ordered two Ships of War to be fitted out for the discovery of certain islands and a continent (tierra firme) for which he had been ordered to search by our Lord, His Majesty, The Catholic King Philip the Second of that name, because many men well versed in mathematics had deduced that they existed for certain in those positions. Obeying this order he selected the two Ships of War, and he appointed for General and Captain of the said fleet, Alvaro de Mendaña, his nephew; as Master of the Camp, Pedro de Ortega of Valencia; as Captain-General, Don Fernando Enriquez; and, as Chief Pilot, myself, the said Hernando Gallego. The number of persons chosen for this voyage, including soldiers and sailors, four Franciscan friars, and the slaves, was one hundred, this being done with all despatch and cheerfulness on the part of those who had to make the voyage.
