70 DAHLGREN, THE DISCOVERY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



the clerical profession and stood in high esteem among his contemporaries as a mathemat- 

 ician and astronomer of the highest rank. He had occupied himself with the problem 

 of determining the longitude at sea, and had invented nautical instruments for this 

 purpose; he had put forward a plan for the conquest of Formosa, and had displayed great 

 zeal for a number of other enterprises intended to enlarge the dominion of Spain in the 

 South Sea. In particular he had proposed, in a letter of 20 June 1597 to the King, that, 

 as the hitherto used route from Spain to the Philippines via Mexico had proved so costly 

 and dangerous, they ought to make use of one or other of two other routes: one north 

 of America through the Strait oj Anian, "which separates the uttermost parts of China 

 from New Spain", the other through some inlets, which were supposed to penetrate into 

 the interiör of the American Continent from both sides in 45° lat., and which come so 

 close together that an easy line of communication between the two oceans could be 

 arranged here. In order to show the practicability of these proposals the story of several 

 supposed voyages Avhich were in vogue at this time is told in the letter in question. 1 



These proposals do not appear to ha ve attracted any immediate attention; but in 

 a letter of 16 February 1602 from the King to the Governor of Manila, Don Pedro de 

 Acuna, the latter is urged to send a copy of Fernando de los Rios's letter and to obtain 

 information from him and from other persons concerning the discovery of the two straits, 

 and — what interests us most in this place — to express an opinion "whether it were 

 expedient to take possession of La I sia de Armino in order to make a harbour t here for 

 the ships that pass between these islands [the Philippines] and New Spain in accordance 

 with the information of the said Fernando de los Rios". 2 • 



Here we once more come upon a reminder of the previously mentioned Isla del 

 Armenio; and that de los Rios in this connection had called attention to the importance 

 of searching for Rica de Oro and Rica de Platå is established by an utterance from him 

 at a låter occasion. Probably he renewed his proposal in the course of a visit to Spain 

 in 1606; and a result of this was a royal decree of 19 August in the same year, in which 

 the execution of the plan was entrusted to Sebastian Vizcaino; but the matter had to be 

 postponed because the latter had already sailed with the galleon to Manila when the decree 

 arrived at Mexico. When now the plan came up for renewed discussion, in connection 

 with a proposal of Vizcaino to continue his exploration of the coast of California, the 

 Viceroy, the Marquess de Montes Claros, expressed his disapproval of this last proposal, 

 on 24 May 1607: Monterey was not suitable as a station for the galleons, because from 

 there to Acapulco was only 25 to 30 days sail, and accidents by storm were always wont 

 to take place from Cape Espiritu Santo until they pass the end of Japan, at the point called 

 the Cape of Sestos, and reach 32° or 33° lat. ; hence, declared the Viceroy, it Avould be better 

 that the harbour should be provided, or at least sought, where it may be of use before the 

 vessels enter the great gulf of New Spain; this he urged the more "because there are two 

 islands in lat. 34° or 35°, named Rica de Oro and Rica de Platå, to the west of the harbour 

 of Monterey and in almost the same latitude, though very distant in longitude". He 



1 This letter is printed in Colin, Labor Evangelica, I, p. 582. Cf. Bl. & Rob. IX, p. 310. 



2 This letter is reprinted by Martin Fernandez de Navarrete in Colecciön de documentos inéditos para 

 la historia de Espar/a, T. XV, Madrid 1849, p. 234 note. 



