4 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 
Hope to China, including the Eastern Archi- 
pelagos between New Holland and the coast 
of China. Japan might have a section to 
itself as a supplement to this class. 
«« The fourth might contain the whole 
of the discovery of the East side of America, 
except the Strait of Magalharies and of Le 
Maite, which are more connected with the 
voyages to the South Sea. 
<« The fifth class may comprehend the cir- 
cumnavigations and voyages to the South 
Sea. With these, the discoveries on the 
West coast of North America are so much 
interwoven, that they cannot without disad- 
vantage, be separated. 
«« The discoveries made by the Russians 
in the seas near Kamtschatka, and from 
thenee to the North; would appear not im- 
properly as a supplement to the fifth class. 
«© New Holland might form a sixth class. 
This country would naturally have divided 
itself between the third and fifth, had not its 
importance so much increased within the 
few last years, that it now requires a distinct 
class to itself. ; 
‘« For the subject of the present work, I 
have chosen the discoveries made in the 
South Sea, to which my attention has been 
principally directed, from having sailed with 
that great discoverer and excellent navigator, 
the late Captain Cook ; under whose com- 
mand J served as Lieutenant in his two last 
voyages.” 
a 
Upon this plan Captain Burney has 
condensed into one volume, the history 
of the discoveries in the South Sea, from 
the time when it was first known to 
Europeans, to‘the voyage of Sir Francis 
Drake. 
Nec mole dum decrescit, usu fit minor, 
Quin auctior jam evadit, & cumulatius 
Contracta prodest erudita pagina. 
Sic ubere magis liquor e presso effluit ; 
Sic pleniori vasa inundat sanguinis 
‘Torrente cordis Systole ; sic fusius 
Procurtit zquor ex Abyl angustiis. 
Three centuries ago the whole of the 
Pacific Ocean, and even its existence, 
was unknown to Europeans; the geo- 
graphers of that time believed that one 
open sea extended from the western 
shores of Europe and Africa, to the 
eastern part of Asia. Upon this error 
Columbus proceeded; mistaken as the 
Portugueze were in their estimate of the 
talents of the adventurer, perhaps the 
greatest man and the most blameless 
whom modern times have produced, their 
1¢ason for rejecting his offered services 
was well founded, and actually in con- 
sequence of their superior science; he 
proposed to reach Japan, the Cypango 
»af.Marco Paolo, by sailing westward. 
JoamII. referred his project to the Bishop 
of Ceuta, Mestre Rodrigo and Mestre 
Josepe his cosmographers, and they with 
good reason pronounced it impractica- 
ble ; they affirmed that they were seek- 
ing India in the true direction, and they 
were right. Columbus persevered, and 
his discoveries received the name of 
India from his accredited error. When 
it had been ascertained that America 
was not a part of Asia, its extent was not 
supposed to be such as to obstruct a 
western passage to the eastern Indies. 
At the very time when Vasco da Gama 
was on his voyage, the two Cabots sail- 
ed from England, in quest of a way to 
the north of the Spanish discoveries. 
In 1500 Gaspar Corte-Real sailed from 
Lisbon or the Azores in the track of the 
Cabots: he discovered the Labrador 
coast, and sailing a second time to pro- 
secute his discovery, was heard of no 
more. His brother Miguel sailed with 
two ships im search of him, and they also 
were lost. King Emanuel, who was at- 
tached to the brethren, for they had been 
brought up in his household, sentout two 
ni to seek them, but no tidings were 
ever obtained ; the province which they 
had discovered and called Terra Verde, 
was called,inremembrance of them, Ter- 
ra dos Corte-Reaes. The third brother, 
Vasco Earines, would have followed in 
their search, but Emanuel forbad him, 
being now warned by experience. 
The first Kuropeans who saw the 
main land of America were the English 
under Cabot, but the whole glory is due 
to Columbus. It has been idly regret- 
ted that Americus Vespucius should have 
affixed his name to the new world, as if 
any real honor had accrued to him from 
the success of his falseliood. When 
America is named, who thinks of its de- 
rivation from Americus or Amerigo, or 
Aymerique ? Next to the bible, no his- 
tory.#6.so generally known as the voyages 
of Columbus: Vespucius is now never 
mentioned but to be censured ; by perpe- 
tuating his name, he has only obtained 
a perpetuity of disgrace. 
In a chart printed at Rome 1508, 
Brazil, or Terra de Santa Cruz, as it 
was then called, is delineated as being 
separate from the northern continent. 
But now every year furnished new dis- 
coveries, for never at any period was 
the human race so persevering and des- 
perate in enterprize. The Europeans 
were certain that a sea existed to the 
west of the new continent, because they 
knew shat the eastern parts of China were 
. 
