24 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
cial and religious between the Portuguese and the 
Spanish explorers and at an early date they had appealed 
to the Pope to settle their disputes. This the Pope did 
by assigning the eastern hemisphere to Portugal and the 
western to Spain, the meridian separating the two 
passing through the Atlantic. The famous Line of De- 
marcation was not easily adjusted to suit both parties 
but in its final form it was the meridian of 46° W. in 
the Atlantic and 134 0 E. on the other side of the globe. 
Thus it came about that the fruits of Cabral’s discovery 
so far as a route to the Spice Islands were concerned fell 
to the share of Spain, and it was from Spain that the 
greatest hero of this great age of discovery set sail, al- 
though he was himself a Portuguese, Ferdinand Magellan. 
Magellan sailed in September, 1519, found the coast 
of Brazil in the neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro in 
December, coasted southward, and very carefully ex- 
amined the broad opening of the Rio de la Plata by which 
he had hoped, probably on the strength of the “ Newen 
Zeytung aus Presillgt Landt,” to find a passage west- 
ward. Convinced by the shallowness and freshness of 
the water that there was no passage there, he pursued 
his course, searching every bay until the approach of the 
southern winter made it necessary to seek a secure 
harbour. This he found in Port St. Julian 49 0 30' S. 
where he stayed five months, and there he informed his 
officers that he would go on seeking for a passage as far 
as 75 0 S. if necessary. 
On October 21st, 1520, the squadron sighted a head- 
land, which was named, in accordance with the Roman 
Catholic custom so valuable to the historian of early 
travels, after the saint of the day, in this case the Eleven 
Thousand Virgins. It was situated in 52 0 S. the highest 
