39 2 A rctic and Antarctic Exploration [part ii 
Australis in the same way as Ortelius, as does the Hexham 
Atlas, even after the return of Schouten and Le Maire. 
All these maps treat Tierra del Fuego as a pro- 
montory of the great Terra Australis. This vast con- 
tinent of the map-makers originated in some idea that 
the amount of land in the two hemispheres should balance 
each other. Its effect was, on the whole, useful, for it 
led to a desire among men of action to look for and 
discover the unknown land, and it is always a good 
thing when anyone undertakes to look for anything. 
It was while serving with Mendana, in his second 
voyage, that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros conceived his 
grand project, after studying and pondering over the maps 
of the world with their great southern continent. He 
thought that here might be a discovery as famous as that 
achieved by Columbus or Da Gama. After long waiting 
he at length obtained an order from Philip III to the 
Viceroy of Peru, to fit out an expedition with himself in 
command, for the discovery of the Antarctic continent. 
Quiros proceeded to Lima in 1603, but it was two years 
before the two small vessels were equipped and ready 
for sea. The plan of Quiros was to steer E.S.E. from 
Callao until he reached the latitude of 30°S., when he 
fully expected to have arrived at the southern continent 
shown on the maps. He continued on this course from 
December 21st to January 22nd, when he was in 26°S. 
There was a great swell from the south, and the men 
became alarmed. Quiros then came to the unlucky 
resolution of altering course to E.N.E. His excuse was 
that the crew were mutinous and that he was ill in bed. 
If he had gone on he would have discovered New Zealand. 
Thus ended, rather ignominiously, the first intended 
Antarctic voyage. Quiros discovered the New Hebrides, 
and his second in command finally separated Australia 
from New Guinea by discovering Torres Strait, but the 
Antarctic project came to an end. 
About this time there was a Memorial written by 
a Chilean lawyer named Juan Luis Arias, on the dis- 
covery of an antarctic continent and the conversion of 
its inhabitants. This Memorial contains the statement 
that Juan Fernandez, the navigator who discovered 
the quickest route from Callao to Valparaiso, led an 
