Part 11

There was also a pilot named Juan Fernandez, who discovered the track from Lima to Chili by going to the westward (which till then had been made with much difficulty, as they kept along shore, where the southerly winds almost constantly prevail): he sailing from the coast of Chili about the latitude of forty degrees, little more or less, in a small ship, with some of his companions, in courses between west and south-west, was brought in a month’s time to what was, to the best of their judgment, a very fertile and agreeable continent, inhabited by a white and well-proportioned people, of our own height, well clad, and of so peaceable and gentle a disposition that, in every way they could express, they showed the greatest hospitality, both with respect to the fruits and productions of their country, which appeared in every respect very rich and plentiful. But (being overjoyed to have discovered the coast of that great and so much desired continent) he returned to Chili, intending to go back properly fitted, and to keep it a secret till they and their friends could return on the discovery. It was delayed from day to day till Juan Fernandez died, when, with his death, this important matter fell to the ground.

In regard to this subject it must be observed, that many have related this discovery of Juan Fernandez in the following manner, affirming that they had it thus from himself, viz.: That going to the westward from Lima, to discover the track to Chili, waiting their opportunity and getting off shore (where the winds almost always are southerly), a certain space of longitude (which he would, at a proper time, declare); and then standing south, with little deviation to the adjoining points, he discovered the said coast of the southern continent in the latitude (which he would also tell when expedient), from whence he made his voyage to Chili.

Other relations, very worthy of credit, give this discovery as before described; but whether it happened in this or the other manner, or whether there were two different discourses, it is a very certain fact that he did discover the coast of the southern land; for it has been thus certified by persons of great credit and authority, to whom the said Juan Fernandez communicated the account, with the above-mentioned proofs and details of the country and the people thus discovered: and one of these witnesses, who made a statement thereof here to Your Majesty, as having heard it from the said pilot, and seen the description he brought of the said coast, was the Maestre del Campo Cortes, a man as worthy of credit as any that is known, and who has been employed in Chili nearly sixty years.

When Pedro Fernandez de Quiros sailed from the coast of Peru, he followed nearly the same track until he reached the latitude of twenty-six degrees, when his companions, and especially his admiral, earnestly advised him to continue on until he reached forty degrees, as the most reasonable means of finding the continent which they had come in search of. This, for certain considerations he refused, being apprehensive of unfavourable weather, as he saw that the sun already began to decline towards the equinoctial; but in this refusal he made a great mistake.

That which we have above related, is the most noticeable thing which has hitherto been effected in the shape of discovery in the southern hemisphere in the said longitude in the Pacific; and although, with the exception of the discovery made by the pilot Juan Fernandez, no satisfactory examination of the coast of the much-sought-for great southern continent has been effected, yet, doubtless, the aforesaid voyage failed but little of finding it, and it is either by negligence or by carelessness, and, it may be said, by the acknowledged blunders of some of the adventurers that it has not yet been discovered, for in their explorations they saw very great and manifest signs of a most extensive continent; and when Pedro Fernandez de Quiros reached the aforesaid twenty-six degrees they saw to the south very extensive and thick banks of clouds in the horizon, and other well known signs of mainland, and also a little islet, in which were various kinds of birds of very sweet song, which never sing nor are found at any great distance from the coast of the mainland. They discovered afterwards some islands, still very remote from the coast of Peru and Mexico, inhabited by races very different in feature, form, stature, colour, and language from the Indians of Peru and Mexico, which, apparently, could not have been peopled but from the coast of the southern continent. And in other islands which Pedro Fernandez de Quiros discovered in the same voyage, long before he discovered that of Taumaco, he stated that he saw some boys as fair and ruddy as Flemings, amongst the natives of the islands who were almost swarthy, and they said by signs that they brought those whites from a more southern latitude. Nearly the same thing was met with by the adelantado Alvaro de Mendaña, in some island which he discovered before he reached San Christobal and Santa Cruz, as in those which he called the four Marquesas de Mendoza and others, in which there were the same reasons for presuming that they could not have been peopled from the coasts of Peru and Mexico, but from the southern land; not only from the distance from those countries, but from the great difference of the natives from the Indians of Peru and Mexico, and because when questioned by signs they had no knowledge of any land towards Mexico or Peru, and all seemed to point towards the south.

It is of great importance towards the same argument, to take into consideration the often confirmed indications given by the Indians of Taumaco of there being a deep and spacious, populous and fertile continent towards the south. The land also of the Baia de San Felipe y Santiago showed very great signs of its being the coast of the southern continent, as much by its great extent as by there being visible from it, looming at a great distance, cordilleras of very lofty mountains of very agreeable aspect; and by the fact of two rivers falling into the bay, one as large as the Guadalquiver, and the other not quite so broad, all signs of a continent, or at least of a very spacious and deep country approaching to a continent.

Many spacious rivers were also seen to discharge themselves along the coast which the pilot Juan Fernandez discovered, from which and from the signs of the natives, and from the people being so white, so well clad, and in all other respects so different from those of Chili and Peru, it was taken for certain that it was the coast of the southern continent, and seemed to be far better and richer than that of Peru. Besides all this, the great number of large islands which, as has been stated, have been discovered on voyages from the coast of Peru, made with the object of discovering the southern land, are necessarily the evidences of the proximity of a very large and not very distant continent, as we see in the islands of the archipelago of San Lazaro, near which are the Phillippines, the Moluccas, Amboina, those of Banda,[11] the Javas, and many others in their neighbourhood, which are the evidences of the proximity of the great coast of the continent of Asia; I now allude to India beyond the Ganges, the kingdoms of Siam and Cambodia, that of the Great Mogul and China, leaving out what lies more to the westward.

From all which it follows how infallibly certain is the greatness, populousness, fertility, and riches of the southern continent, and how readily, according to what has been above demonstrated, it may be discovered and subjected to an evangelical and spiritual conquest, by which may be attracted to our Mother, the Catholic Church, millions upon millions of most faithful and sincere sons as the result of this mighty evangelical conquest. And if the vast extent of the southern continent of which we have been writing, were not such as it has thus evidently been shown to be, for planting therein the purity of our holy and Catholic religion, nevertheless we have in that portion of the southern hemisphere which we have already seen and visited, if we take into consideration all the above-mentioned islands, more land than half of Europe, and as rich, populous, and fertile, in which there is the full harvest of which Christ our Lord and treasure spoke, to be cultivated by the holy labourers and preachers of His gospel.

Your Majesty ought to give much consideration to the fact that Christ our Redeemer and supreme good, when He finished the period of His first coming, recommended to His Apostles with the greatest strictness the preaching of His gospel, as the principal means by which the redemption of the human race, which had cost him so much, was to receive its consummation. For this cause it was the last charge He gave to them, that they might understand that it was the principal service they had to render Him, and for which He had chosen them. Immediately after so doing He ascended up to heaven, to give to His most holy humanity the seat of ineffable glory at the right hand of His Father, and receive the crown of the sovereign and universal empire over heaven and earth, as is shown by the evangelist St. Mark in the passage quoted above: “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved.” And after He “had spoken unto them He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them.” Thus also should Your Majesty set the eyes of your heart upon the consummation of the preaching of the gospel in the southern hemisphere, which this same Lord is now recounting to you, with the crown of the universal empire of the globe in His hand, ready to place it upon your head, if you value, as it should be valued, this Divine commission, and execute it with that zeal and devotion which the charge enjoins. But if, which God forbid, Your Majesty should not accept this commission, or withhold the said zeal from the undertaking, it would doubtless be the greatest disaster that could happen to this kingdom, and the most certain sign that God is withdrawing his Hand from us; and even already it seems that this withdrawal has fallen upon us, in that we are not attempting a task which applies to us so well, and which so much concerns these kingdoms and all Your Majesty’s possessions. And we do not seem to bethink ourselves that, in neglecting and crushing so great an enterprise, our most culpable and persevering remissness brings upon us this grievous and abiding calamity, which we shall realize with greater certainty when we have to repair such great losses, for we shall have to effect all our conversions amidst great blindness and error.

Meanwhile Your Majesty might not apprehend how that this proposition is the most important that could be made for the welfare of your crown, and that its most speedy and faithful execution should be carried out with the same fervour and zeal as was shown at the commencement by your most Christian predecessors the Catholic kings, who frequently declared that, when other means failed, they themselves would go forth to carry it into effect. By this means will Your Majesty return to find the road which they followed, and by which they brought their kingdom to so great a height of prosperity, from which exalted height it has, through the loss of time and through repeated blunders and hindrances, continued falling, until we have reached such a point that the most inconsiderable nations of Europe, whom we formerly held beneath our feet, now look upon us as an oppressed and afflicted nation and of small account, which is a horrible fact, and an easily recognizable effect of the divine indignation for the aforesaid cause, and there is no one who correctly reasons upon this subject but will come to the same conclusion.

Let me also invite Your Majesty’s attention to the words of the Apostle in the passage quoted above: “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent?” And let Your Majesty take into account that the Apostle is speaking with Your Majesty yourself, and with your kingdoms, with reference to this very point, in as much as the charge has been given for preaching to the entire southern hemisphere, and especially to that which lies in the Pacific Ocean, and without allowing that any other Christian prince should go or send preachers hither.[12] If Your Majesty do not send them, how shall they have any knowledge of their Redeemer and be converted to Him? And as the charge was given that these gentiles were to be converted, Your Majesty and your Crown will be principally responsible for their conversion, for you will be the immediate cause of that infinite number of gentiles not hearing the word of the gospel or knowing their Redeemer; for as they should know Him, who is it that, if preachers are not sent, has the guilt of not sending them, and not allowing others to send them? May Your Majesty ponder much upon this matter, for it touches nothing less than your salvation and the final loss of your crown, if we do not perfectly discharge this most righteous duty, and acquit this most heavy debt to our Lord and Redeemer, by sending, as speedily as possible to the southern hemisphere, a sufficient number of preachers of the gospel.

May Your Majesty give no heed to the plausible arguments which some may perhaps advance, with some show of political consideration, that Your Majesty is not in a condition to undertake the conquest of new kingdoms of such great extent and so far off, but will have enough to do to keep those which you already have. There will also not be wanting men learned in the scriptures, who will prove from them that Your Majesty may disregard the fulfilment of an obligation so distinct, and may withdraw from the contract you have made with the Redeemer, through the medium of His vicar and the head of His Church. May Your Majesty give no heed to this, but abominate it as mischievous to your greatness, your conscience, and to your crown. For this conquest is to be a spiritual and evangelical one, and by no means entailing, as is supposed, any considerable expense upon Your Majesty, nor a matter which can divert you from walking conformably to the dictates of the Apostle. But rather, in order to secure Your Majesty the restoration and increase of your royal power to the extent of your desires, may Your Majesty give the attention of your exalted understanding to the words of the Apostle to his disciple Timothy, as if he had addressed them personally to Your Majesty: “For the time will come (please God that it may not be that in which we live) when they who are under an obligation to follow sound doctrine so important as this, not only do not receive it, but cannot endure it, heaping up to themselves the opinions of men with the title of teachers, who thereby only flatter them and conform to their wishes, turning away their ears from the truth and changing it into fables.” For such are the superficial arguments of expediency for reasons of state which are advanced in opposition to the extension of the Catholic Church and the increase of our holy faith. The Apostle then says, and we may reasonably understand him as on the present occasion addressing himself to Your Majesty: “But do thou (who, as sovereign prince of this Catholic monarchy, and as having made a contract with the King of kings, art pledged by promise to the completing of the preaching of the gospel), abominating those who shall propose to thee the contrary, watch day and night over the fulfilment of this glorious and important obligation, labour as much as lieth in you that it may by all possible means be accomplished, do the work of an evangelist; for as the evangelists wrote the gospel in order that thou mightest cause it to be preached to the gentiles, do thou after thy manner perform the same office which they performed in preaching. Placing great value on the fact that the Redeemer would not entrust the charge to any other prince but to thy illustrious house, do thou give all thy strength to the full and perfect completion of this grand and exalted ministry, so that no gap be left.” By so doing Your Majesty will be able to say at the day of account, that which immediately afterwards is said by the Apostle: “Bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi; in reliquo reposita est mihi corona justitiæ, quam reddet mihi Dominus in illa die justus judex, non solum autem mihi, sed his qui diligunt adventum ejus.” I have fought the good fight gloriously, overcoming the greater power of Lucifer, liberating from his tyrannical and abominable servitude so great a number of millions of souls in the southern hemisphere, which would have been lost and would have lost the Redeemer, who laid upon me the charge of this great and heroic deed; I have finished most faithfully my course; I have kept His faith pure in this Catholic seminary of my kingdom, and have transplanted it with the same purity into the hearts of the infinite number of gentiles which dwell in that spacious fold; and thus may I justly hope from the hand of the King Eternal, in the great day of the universal account, the glorious and blessed crown of righteousness (which the Apostle hoped for himself) from having rendered this service, the most acceptable which any king or prince of the world shall have rendered to the Divine Majesty. The same Apostle afterwards goes on to say, that not only would it be given to him, but to all those that love the coming of the just Judge, which are those who hold in such account the fulfilment of their obligations, and especially of so heavenly an one as this, that they may justly hope for the reward of that unspeakably glorious crown. Your Majesty may also entertain a like security of hope that, if the present proposition and prayer be accepted and undertaken with the earnest promptitude which, as has been shown, is enjoined upon you, there will be added to your present enjoyment of these Catholic kingdoms, and of the other possessions of your monarchy, every possible exaltation and aggrandisement, which is the most affectionate desire of Your Majesty’s faithful subjects and servants.

RELATION OF LUIS VAEZ DE TORRES, CONCERNING THE DISCOVERIES OF QUIROS, AS HIS ALMIRANTE. DATED MANILA, JULY 12th, 1607. A TRANSLATION, NEARLY LITERAL, BY ALEXANDER DALRYMPLE, ESQ., FROM A SPANISH MANUSCRIPT COPY IN HIS POSSESSION.

[First printed in Burney’s _Discoveries in the South Sea_. Part 2, p. 467. London, 1806. 4to.]

Being in this city of Manila, at the end of a year and a half of navigation and making discovery of the lands and seas in the southern parts; and seeing that the Royal Audience of Manila have not hitherto thought proper to give me dispatches for completing the voyage as Your Majesty commanded, and as I was in hopes of being the first to give yourself a relation of the discovery, etc.; but being detained here, and not knowing if, in this city of Manila, I shall receive my dispatches, I have thought proper to send Your Majesty Fray Juan de Merlo, of the order of San Francisco, one of the three religious who were on board with me, who having been an eye-witness, will give a full relation to Your Majesty. The account from me is the following.

We sailed from Callao, in Peru, December 21st, 1605, with two ships and a launch, under the command of Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, and I for his almirante; and without losing company, we stood W.S.W., and went on this course 800 leagues.

In latitude 26° S., it appeared proper to our commander not to pass that latitude, because of changes in the weather: on which account I gave a declaration under my hand that it was not a thing obvious that we ought to diminish our latitude, if the season would allow, till we got beyond 30 degrees. My opinion had no effect; for from the said 26 v., we decreased our latitude in a W.N.W. course to 24½v. In this situation we found a small low island, about two leagues long, uninhabited and without anchoring ground.

From hence we sailed W. by N. to 24° S. In this situation we found another island, uninhabited, and without anchorage. It was about ten leagues in circumference. We named it San Valerio.

From hence we sailed W. by N. one day, and then W.N.W. to 21⅓° S., where we found another small low island without soundings, uninhabited, and divided into pieces.

We passed on in the same course, and sailed twenty-five leagues: we found four islands in a triangle, five or six leagues each; low, uninhabited, and without soundings. We named them las Virgines (the Virgins). Here the variation was north-easterly.

From hence we sailed N.W. to 19° S. In this situation we saw a small island to the eastward, about three leagues distant. It appeared like those we had passed. We named it Sta. Polonia.

Diminishing our latitude from hence half a degree, we saw a low island, with a point to the S.E., full of palms: it is in 18½° S. We arrived at it. It had no anchorage. We saw people on the beach: the boats went to the shore, and when they reached it, they could not land on account of the great surf and rocks. The Indians called to them from the land: two Spaniards swam ashore: these they received well, throwing their arms upon the ground, and embraced them and kissed them in the face. On this friendship, a chief among them came on board the _Capitana_ to converse, and an old woman; who were cloathed, and other presents were made to them, and they returned ashore presently, for they were in great fear. In return for these good offices they sent a heap, or locks of hair, and some bad feathers, and some wrought pearl oyster shells: these were all their valuables. They were a savage people, mulattoes, and corpulent: the arms they use are lances, very long and thick. As we could not land nor get anchoring ground, we passed on, steering W.N.W.

We went in this direction from that island, getting sight of land. We could not reach it from the first, on account of the wind being contrary and strong with much rain: it was all of it very low, so as in parts to be overflowed.

From this place in 16½° S., we stood N.W. by N. to 10¾° S. In this situation we saw an island, which was supposed to be that of San Bernardo, because it was in pieces: but it was not San Bernardo, from what we afterwards saw. We did not find anchoring ground at it, though the boats went on shore to search for water, which we were in want of, but could not find any: they only found some cocoa-nut trees, though small. Our commander seeing we wanted water, agreed that we should go to the island Santa Cruz, where he had been with the adelantado Alvaro de Mendana, saying we might there supply ourselves with water and wood, and then he would determine what was most expedient for Your Majesty’s service. The crew of the _Capitana_ at this time were mutinous, designing to go directly to Manila: on this account he sent the chief pilot a prisoner on board my ship, without doing anything farther to him or others, though I strongly importuned him to punish them, or give me leave to punish them; but he did not choose to do it, from whence succeeded what Your Majesty knows, since they made him turn from the course [voyage], as will be mentioned, and he has probably said at Your Majesty’s court.