;6 



THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



Cortes 



Spanish 

 Empire 



South Seas, 



dividing the world " like an orange," had drawn his line 

 North to South down the Atlantic, none could yet say with 

 scientific certainty how this line would run when produced 

 to the other side of the globe. Eventually Charles of Spain 

 sold to the Portuguese his claim to the Spice Islands ; all 

 the more readily, no doubt, because the solid Portuguese 

 settlements in India and Malacca gave them a hold on these 

 islands that could hardly be loosened by occasional Spanish 

 ships, sailing from Spain through the Straits of Magellan, 

 or from some part of Mexico or Peru. So the Portuguese 

 permanently enclosed the Moluccas within their maritime 

 empire, which dominated the whole Indian Ocean. And 

 Galvano, that " goodly example of a true and faithful 

 Portugal " (as his friend and editor called him) waged war 

 against a combination of " all the Kings and Governors of 

 all the islands about," who " had agreed to make war 

 against the Portugals until such time as they might drive 

 them all out of the country ; he fought against them all 

 with only one hundred and thirty Portugals and he gave 

 them the overthrow ! " From the Moluccas they sought 

 to enforce their claim to monopoly of trade throughout 

 the whole Far Eastern Seas, the trade with Malacca and 

 with India, with the thousand Islands, with China, and 

 with Japan; for in 1542 they discovered Japan by 

 accident. " It seemeth," writes Galvano, "to be the 

 island of Zipango whereof Paulus Venetus (Marco Polo) 

 maketh mention." 



But, though the Spaniards had sold their claim to the 

 Moluccas, they did not abandon ambition to found a great 

 Empire in the East. This was one of the huge schemes 

 which occupied the mind of Cortes, conqueror of Mexico, 

 ea g er t discover and subdue new worlds, and with imagina- 

 tion set on fire by the story of Magellan. " The informa- 

 tion," he writes from Mexico to the Spanish King (May 

 I 5 2 3)> " gave me much pleasure, for it appeared to me that 

 the discovery would prove a great and signal service to Your 

 Majesty, especially as all who possess any knowledge or 

 experience in navigation to the Indies have considered it 

 certain that the discovery of the South Sea in those parts 



