298 MANILL A. 



least blood and labour. The honour of their discovery belongs to 

 Magelhaens, whose name is associated with the straits at the southern 

 extremity of the American continent, but which has no memorial 

 in these islands. Now that the glory which he gained by being 

 the first to penetrate from the Atlantic to the Pacific, has been in 

 some measure obliterated by disuse of those straits by navigators, it 

 would seem due to his memory that some spot among these islands 

 should be set apart to commemorate the name of him who made 

 them known to Europe. This would be but common justice to the 

 discoverer of a region which has been a source of so much honour 

 and profit to the Spanish nation, who opened the vast expanse of the 

 Pacific to the fleets of Europe, and who died fighting to secure the 

 benefits of his enterprise to his king and country. 



Magelhaens was killed at the island of Matan, on the 26th of April, 

 1521 ; and Duarte, the second in command, who succeeded him, im- 

 prudently accepting an invitation from the chief of Febri to a feast, 

 was, with twenty companions, massacred. Of all the Spaniards pre- 

 sent, only one escaped. After these and various other misfortunes, 

 only one vessel of the squadron, the Victoria, returned to Spain. Don 

 Juan Sebastian del Cano, her commander, was complimented by his 

 sovereign by a grant for his arms of a globe, with the proud inscrip- 

 tion, commemorative of his being the first circumnavigator, 



"PRIMUS ME CIRCUMCEDIT." 



Two years afterwards, a second expedition was fitted out, under 

 the command of Loaisa, who died after they had passed through the 

 Straits of Magelhaens, when they had been a year on their voyage. 

 The command then fell upon Sebastian, who died in four days after 

 his predecessor. Salayar succeeded to the command, and reached 

 the Ladrone Islands, but shortly after leaving there he died also. 

 They came in sight of Mindanao, but contrary winds obliged them 

 to go to the Moluccas. When arrived at the Portuguese settlements, 

 contentions and jealousies arose, and finally all the expedition was 

 dispersed, and the fate of all but one of the vessels has become doubt- 

 ful. None but the small tender returned, which, after encountering 

 great difficulties, reached New Spain. 



The third expedition was fitted out by Cortes, then viceroy of 

 Mexico, and the command of it given to Sarvedra. This sailed from 



