i88 OfCapt. HoWEL DAVIS, 



A Definition of the Ijlands of St. Thome, 

 Del Principe, >?>2c/ Annobono. 



' A S the Vortuguefe were the gfeat Improvers of 

 Jt\, Navigation^ and the firft Europeans ^ho traded 

 too and fettled on the Coaftsof Africay even round 

 to Indiay and made thofe Difcoveries, which now 

 turn fb much to the Advantage of other. Nations, 

 it may not be amifs, previously to a Defcriprion 

 of thofe Iflands, to hint on that wonderful Pro- 

 perty of 'the Loadftone, that a little before had been 

 found out, and enabled them to purfue fuch new and 

 daring Navigations* 



The attractive Power of the Loadftone, was uni- 

 verfally known with the Ancients, as may be be- 

 lieved by its being a native Foffil of the Grecians^ 

 {Magnes a Magnefta) but its direftive, or polar Vir- 

 tue, has only been known to us within this 350 

 Years, and faid to be found out by John Goia of 

 Mdfhly in the Kingdom of Naples^ Prima dedit nau* 

 its ufum magnetis Amdahl ^ tho' others think, and 

 afTureus, it was tranlportedby^PW^j* Vemtus from 

 China to Italy ^ like the other famous Arts of modern 

 Ufe with us, PRINTING and the Vfe of GUNS. , 



The other Properties or Improvements of the 

 Magnet, viz.. Variation, or its Defiuftion from an 

 exaft N. or S. LinejVariation of that Variation, and 

 its Inclination, were the Inventions of Sebafilan Ca- 

 boty Mr. Gelllhrandy and Mr. Norman ^ the Inclinati- 

 on of the Needle, or that Property whereby it 

 keeps an Elevation above the Horizon, in all Pla- 

 ces but under the Equator 5 (where its Parallel) is 

 as fi.n'prizing a Phenomenon as any, and was the 

 Difcovery of our Countrymen-, and could it be 

 found regular, I imagine would very much help to- 

 wards the Difcovery of Longitude, at leafl: would 



