FALKLAND ISLANDS. 299 



squadron of seven ships, to follow the route of 

 Magellan, and actually passed the straits ; but 

 all his vessels were lost on the voyage, and he, 

 with the remnant of his followers, perished in 

 the East Indies. 



Sebastian Cabot and Americo Vespucci, 

 names of note in American history, made abor- 

 tive attempts to pursue the same route — as did 

 Simon de Alcazara, whose crew, having muti- 

 nied before he reached the straits, compelled 

 him to return. But the failure of Cabot, a 

 name equally to be venerated by North and 

 South America, can scarcely be regretted ; inas- 

 much as it enabled him to complete the dis- 

 covery of the fine country of the Rio de la Plata, 

 and to explore, in several directions, those 

 mighty waters, which flow through regions of 

 matchless beauty and fertility. 



These repeated failures, disheartened the 

 Spaniards, and they gave over all attempts at 

 discovery in this quarter for many years. 



On the 20th August, 1578, Sir Francis Drake, 

 an Englishman, and the first naval commander 

 who circumnavigated the world, entered the 

 straits of Magellan, and named an island which 



