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of schemes — for exploring both the Unknown and the Known 

 South Lands, and, indeed, for obtaining a knowledge of the 

 whole Southern world. • 



The report begins with a recommendation that the expedition 

 should leave Batavia in August, when they would have the 

 most favourable winds, and have the whole of the summer 

 before them, with long days and good weather. From Batavia 

 the ships should first proceed to Mauritius, then a Dutch 

 possession. As the expedition was intended to go to the east, 

 this, at first sight, seems a strange recommendation. But 

 there were good grounds for the advice. Visscher, as we shall 

 see, had certain reasons for wishing to make the point of 

 departure as far to the west as possible. Mauritius, moreover, 

 was easily reached with the south-east trades, and when there the 

 ships would have rim down nearly 1000 miles of their southing, 

 and would have a comparatively short distance to run to the 

 south before reaching the region of the westerly winds, on 

 which they must depend for success. Moreover, at Mauritius, 

 and this is the only reason explicitly stated in the report, they 

 could conveniently take in wood, water, and other supplies 

 necessary for the voyage. 



Leaving Mauritius early in October, the ships were to get 

 away south as quickly as possible to 51° or 54° south latitude, 

 or until they fell in with land. From this point they should 

 run due east upon the same latitude to the longitude of the 

 east end of New Guinea, and then steer a course north by west 

 until they got New Guinea on board ; or else they might run 

 further to the east to the supposed longitude of the Solomon 

 Islands — or perhaps 500 or 700 miles bevond — then steer north, 

 explore those islands — where, according to all accounts, they 

 would find many things worth their trouble — and return by the 

 north coast of New Guinea to Banda or Amboyna. 



But Visscher had an alternative scheme, or rather a, com- 

 bination of two schemes, by which a much more complete 

 exploration could be made. If an exploring expedition was 

 fitted out in Holland, the ships might make the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and thence sail south to latitude 54° S., or make Rio 

 Janeiro, and begin from the east side of Staten Land, near 

 Cape Horn; in either case running east to the longitude of the 

 Solomon Islands, and making the homeward voyage as before. 

 Such a voyage would give a knowledge of the whole Southern 

 Ocean from Cape Horn to the Solomon Islands. Of course 

 if land was met, with the plans would be modified, but Visscher 

 apparently had not much faith in the common belief in a huge 

 Southern Continent, at least in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. 

 About the South Pacific he was more doubtful. Here the 

 difficulty of exploration would be greater. The strong westerly 



