376 A VOYAGE TO Book VI. 



its banks, it was natural for every one to call it by a 

 particular name, or at least to make use of that which 

 had been previously given it. But either the first 

 Spaniards who sailed on it neglected this inquiry, or 

 the former names became confounded with othors 

 given it since that epocha, so that now no vestiges 

 of them remain. 



The _£;eneral opinion prefers, in po'nt of antiquity, 

 that of Maranon, though some authors will have it 

 posterior to the two others; but we conceive they are 

 mistaken, both in their assertion, and in the cause of 

 that name. They suppose that it was first given to 

 this river by the Spaniards, who sailed down it under 

 the conduct of Pedro de Or?ua, in 1560 or 1559 > 

 whereas it had been known by that name many years 

 before : for Pedro Martyrin his Decades, speaking of 

 the discovery of the coast of Brazil, in the year 1500, 

 by Vincente Yanez Pinzón, relates, among other 

 things,that they came to g river called Maranon. This 

 book was printed in the year 15 16, long before Gon- 

 zalo Pizarro undertook the discovery of the river, and 

 conquest of the adjacent nations who inhabited its 

 banks ; or Francisco dc Orellana had sailed on it. 

 This demonstrates the antiquity of the name of Ma-: 

 ration; but leaves us under the samedifiiculties with 

 regard to its date and etymology. Some, following 

 Augustine de Zarate, attribute the origin of this name 

 to a Spanish commander called Marañan, from \vhom, 

 as being the first that displayed the Spanish ensign on 

 this river, it was thence called afier his own name. 

 But this opinion is rather specious than solid; being 

 founded only on the similarity of the names, a very 

 exceptionable inference; espepjally as no meniion is 

 made of any such officer in any history published of 

 these discoveries and conquests ; whence it seems na- 

 tural to conclude, that Z-jrate, on hearing that the 

 river was called Maranon, inferred that the name was 

 taken from some person of eminence vyho had made 



an 



