64 BALCH— EVOLUTION AND MYSTERY 



early maps. One of these names is Brazil or Brazir, which is 

 claimed to be Irish, either a compound of the Irish Gaelic words 

 "breas" and "ail" or to be descended from the Irish Saint Bresal. 

 It is applied both to a small island not far west of Cape Saint 

 Vincent, Portugal, and also to an island and sometimes to two 

 islands in the same longitude not far west of Ireland. This 

 northern Brazir is found on Dulcert's map of 1339, on the Catalan 

 Atlas of 1375, etc. On the Pizigani map of 1367, there are three 

 islands of Brazir in about the same longitude, and one of them is 

 placed in the latitude of Brittany with two ships in distress flying 

 the Breton flag near it. Mr. William H. Babcock,* the best living 

 authority on the subject, has suggested that this island is intended 

 to represent Newfoundland and possibly was discovered by the 

 Irish, and before 1367 reached also by some Breton sailors. There 

 is one objection to this theory, however, and that is the longitude of 

 the islands of Brazir. The northern island or islands are not far 

 from Ireland. If any mariner had genuinely reached Newfound- 

 land before 1367, it would seem as if he would have reported it as 

 an island far away from Ireland. There is of course no island in 

 the charted position, and if the latitude is correct it could be only 

 Newfoundland. And it must be recognized that even though the 

 longitude is incorrect yet that the latitude and the bigness of the 

 island are decided evidence in favor of Brazir being Newfoundland. 

 While the theory must be considered as non proven, still the evi- 

 dence is sufificiently strong to prevent it from being lightly thrown 

 aside. 



There is one island or group of islands which is especially note- 

 worthy, Antillia, from which we have made the Antilles. Some 

 writers have sought to derive the name from Atlantis, but Mr. 

 W'illiam H. Babcock has shown that the proper derivation comes 

 from Anti-Ilha or Ante-Ilha, meaning the island in front of, that is 

 to the west of the others. Originally Antillia seems to have been 

 considered as an island to which many Portuguese are reported to 

 have fled as a refuge when the Arabs invaded the Iberian peninsula 

 in the beginning of the eighth century. At least there is a legend 



* " Indications of visits of White Men to America before Columbus," 

 Proc. Nineteenth International Congress of Americanists, Washington, 1915. 



