ixxu 



INTRODUCTION. 



" which the king of the Malayans afRimed to himfelf, of 

 " Lord of the Winds and Seas toiheEafc and to the Weft, is an evi- 

 «' dent proof of this ; but much more the Malayan language, 

 '' which fpread mod all over the Eaft, much after the fame 

 «' manner as formerly the Latin, and of late the French, did 

 *' all over Europe." Thus far, I fay, was known. But that 

 from Madagafcar to the Marquefes and Eafter Ifland, that 

 is, nearly from the Eaft fide of Africa, till we approach to- 

 ward the Weft fide of America, a fpace including above 

 half the circumference of the globe, the fame tribe or na- 

 tion, the Phoenicians, as we may call them, of the Oriental 

 world, fliould have made their fettlements, and founded 

 colonies throughout almoft every intermediate flage of this 

 immenfe tradt, in iflands at amazing diftances from the 

 mother continent, and ignorant of each others exiftence -, 

 this is an hiftorical fa(5l, which could be but very imper- 

 f e6tly known before Captain Cook's two firft voyages difco- 

 vered fo many new inhabited fpots of land lurking in the 

 bofom of the South Pacific Ocean ; and it is a faft which 

 does not reft folely on fimilarity of cuftoms and inftitutions, 

 but has been eftabliflied by the moft fatisfadlory of all 

 proofs, that drawn from afiinity of language. Mr. Marfden, 

 who feems to have confidered this curious fubjeft with 

 much attention, fays, that the links of the latitudinal chain ;r- 

 mainyet to be traced*. The difcovery of the Sandwich Iflands 



in 



* Archaeolog. Vol. vi. p. 155. Sec alfo his Hiftory of Sumatra, p. 166. from 

 •which the following paflage is tranfcribed. " Befides the Malaye, there are a va- 

 " riety of languages fpolcen on Sumatra, which, however, have not only a manifeft 

 " affinity among themfelves, hut alfo. to that general language which is found to 

 -" prevail in, and to be indigenous to, all the iflands of the Eaftern feas ; from Ma- 

 *' dagafcar to the remoteft of Captain Cook's difcoveries, comprehending a wider 

 " extent than the Roman or any other tongue has yet boafted. In different places, 

 f it has been more or lefs mixed and corrupted; but between the moft di/fimilar 



** branches. 



