KUNOL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 57. N:0 4 33 



in sight is shown by the absolute sOence observed in all the narratives of the voyage as 

 regards that archipelago, which was previously well known to the Spaniards. 



Tlie detailed consideration that I have devoted to this enquiry must be regarded as 

 justified, inasmuch as it was necessary to show that Juan Gaytan could not have dis- 

 covered the Hawaiian Islands in 1542: but how about the same man\s alleged discovery 

 of 1555? 



About Gaytan we know that he was on board the ship "San Juan", which, under 

 the command of Bernardo de la Torre, was to start for Mexico and ask for succour 

 to Villalobos after the latter had fallen into extreme distress in the Moluccas. De la Torre 

 had with him as pilot Gaspar Rico and as second pilot Alonso Fernandez Tarifeno: 

 thus Gaytan had not the position of a pilot in this voyage either. They sailed from Min- 

 danao 26 August 1543; they saw various islands in about 25° N. lat., one of which was a 

 volcano which poured forth fire from several places. Of some of these islands it is said 

 that they lay due north of the Ladrones; without doubt we have to find them in the 

 present Volcano archipelago, possibly amongst the Bonin Islands. From here they steered 

 eastwards between 23° and 30° N. lat. (the figures vary) and now discovered, possibly, 

 another little uninhabited island (Marcus Island?); but on 18 0ctober, when they believed 

 themselves to have sailed 750 leagues from the point of departure, they were compelled 

 by storms and scarcity of water to turn back to the Philippines. 1 



All that we know f urther about Gaytan is, that he was one of the men of Villalobos who 

 was sent home to Europé by the Portuguese: of this voyage hehimself says that he served 

 as a pilot from the very departure from the Moluccas; that he acquired knowledge of all 

 Portuguese sailing directions and charts, which they deliberately falsefied, but thathe 

 made his own observations and prepared a more reliable chart; and that, when the Portu- 

 guese found that he knew the secrets of their navigation, they made him attractive offers, 

 which he would not accept because he preferred to serve his imperial master. 



Juan Gaytan now disappears from history: no document so far known says that 

 he took part in any expedition to the Pacific in 1555, or, that any such expedition ever 

 took place. 



It may perhaps be objected that, even if none of the known accounts speak of any 

 discovery that can refer to Hawaii, and even if the Juan Gaytan hypothesis must be 

 recognized as untenable, yet the old documents are not so completely preserved but that 

 one or other voyage, one or other discovery could have taken place, without leaving 

 any trace in the written records. Though such an objection cannot be entirely refuted, 

 yet I believe that in this case we have complete evidence that the opposite holds good. 



In the year 1559 preparations were begun in Mexico for a new expedition to the Philip- 

 pines, viz. that which was to be placed under the command of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, 



1 Bernardo de la Torre's expedition is briefly mentioned, and in ways not fully agreeing amongst tlieni- 

 selves, in the above cited narratives of Gaytan, Galväo, Escalante, and Santisteban. Only Galväo mentions the 

 islands found by name — Maldbrigo, Duas Yrmaas, Volcanes, and Forfana, names which in a short time 

 found a place on the maps and have not altogether disappeared yet. 



K. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handl. Band 57. N:o 4. 5 



