AUSTRALIA DISTINCT FROM NEW GUINEA 7 



guese and the eastern coast by the Spanish prior to the year 1530. 

 In the DAUPHIN CHART, on which this conjecture is founded, the 

 point identified as Cape York is, however, not depicted, as it really 

 is, south of New Guinea, but as lying west of Timor and in the 

 latitude of the north coast of Java. The supposed Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria has for its western limit the eastern end of Java, and 

 from its south-western corner what may be called a strait or channel, 

 or still more correctly a canal, runs westward between " Jave " 

 on the north and " Jave la Grande," or Australia, on the south. 

 The supposed Gulf of Carpentaria is, according to the map, 

 interrupted by a few islands, and on it is written, in the Portuguese 

 language, the legend " Anda ne Barcha " (no ships come here). 1 

 Collingridge conjectures that the French compiler of the map, 

 ignorant of Portuguese, copied this legend from an older Portu- 

 guese map, under the impression that it was the name of the Gulf 

 or of the group of islands. 



In the sixteenth century, the islands between Asia and Australia 

 came to be well known to European adventurers. In 1512, 

 Portugal took possession of the Molucca group, the centre of the 

 " Spice Islands," and this possession speedily grew to great com- 

 mercial importance and passed into the hands of Spain. Magel- 

 haen "discovered" the Philippines in 1520 and Spain annexed 

 them fifty years later. Meantime the Dutch and the English were 

 on the alert and looking for a foothold. 



As far back as July, 1493, a BULL OF POPE ALEXANDER VI had 

 fixed a north and south line of demarcation between the claims 

 of Portugal and Spain to future discoveries. Portugal was to 

 occupy the hemisphere to the east and Spain the hemisphere to the 

 west of that line, which was placed 100 leagues (5 43') a west of 

 the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. The generosity of the Pope 

 was no doubt fully appreciated by the two beneficiaries, but the 

 line was not quite satisfactory to either of them ; besides, it was 

 ill-defined, because some six degrees of longitude extend between 

 the westmost Azores and the eastmost Cape Verdes. A private 

 arrangement or treaty was therefore made on 4th June, 1494, by 

 Don Juan II of Portugal on the one hand and Isabella and Ferdinand 

 of Spain on the other, whereby it was agreed that the line should 

 run 370 leagues (21 9') west of the Cape Verde Islands. 



Assuming 25 W. to be the mean longitude of the Azores and 

 Cape Verde Islands, the bull of 1493 bisected the globe by the 

 meridians of 40 43' W. and 149 if E., the latter meridian giving 

 to Portugal the islands of the Pacific west of the eastmost cape of 

 New Guinea and to Spain all those east of that cape. The treaty 



1 The equivalent of the phrase in modern Spanish, viz, " Barcas no andan," differs 

 so little from the Portuguese that some hesitation may be felt in settling the question 

 on the sole evidence of language. Blank ignorance of Portuguese on the part of a French 

 cartographer is rather a bold assumption. The most genuinely learned men of these 

 days were to be found among the compilers of maps. 



2 17$ Spanish leagues = I geographical degree. 



