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No. II. 



A Relation of the Discovery of the Strait of Anian; 

 made by me, Cajjt. Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado, in 

 the Year 1588; in which is given the Course of the Voy- 

 age, the Situation of the Strait, the Manner in which it 

 ought to be fortified, and also, the Advantages of this 

 Navigation, and the Loss zohich will arise from not 

 prosecuting it. 



Sire, 



It will be necessary, in the first place, to state the ad- 

 vantages which may result from the navigation of the 

 Strait of Anian into the South Sea : — Having well considered 

 the route which has hitherto been taken to the Philippines, 

 China, Japan, and other parts of that sea, it appears from 

 correct charts that almost half the length of the voyage 

 will be saved by sailing through this strait. This will 

 easily be perceived on inspecting a terrestrial globe, or a 

 map having the pole in its centre, though not apparent on 

 a plain chart, which exhibits the meridian at the very pole 

 as large and expanded as if it were the equinoctial line ; and 

 therefore in such charts one route w ill not seem shorter 

 than another : this theory may perhaps require demonstra- 

 tion — yet it is unnecessary to treat of it here ; suffice it to 

 say, that by navigating this strait, little short of half the 

 voyage is abated ; — besides this advantage, it is productive 

 of another much greater, namely, that after one embarkation 

 a ship may proceed directly from Spain to the Philippines ; 

 but it cannot tend to shorten the voyage when it is neces- 

 sary to disembark in New Spain and proceed one hundred 

 and iifty leagues over-land. Hence it happens that the 

 greater number of the people, who are sent to those parts as 

 recruits, remain in New Spain, either exhausted by the 



