C 33S ] 
difcovery of the fouthern continent and iflands, under 
the patronage of the Viceroy of Peru. From feveral 
memorials which he prefented to the court of Spain in 
the year 1609, with a view to procure a fettlement of the 
countries he had actually difcovered, it appears that he 
had found many iflands, and particularly a large tracfl 
of land lying in or near the 15* of S. latitude, well 
peopled and well cultivated, the inhabitants generally of 
a peaceable difpofition. The produce of this country 
is reprefented to be fuch as to render it a fit objedl to 
any commercial nation j confifling of gold, filver, pearl, 
fpices of many forts, and fu gar- canes. He defcribes 
feveral fafe and commodious harbours, particularly 
Puerto de la Vera Cruz in lat. 15° 40' S. capable of 
holding 1000 fhips, with a fafe anchorage in every 
partj and where he himfelf adtually ftaid thirty-fix 
days with three fhips. From the wholfomenefs' of 
the air, the fertility of the foil, and many other cir- 
cumftances peculiar to this continent, he makes no 
fcruple to prefer it to every country which the Spa- 
niards had conquered whether in the E. or W. In- 
dies — I muff, however, obferve, that, if this country 
be 195° to the W. of London, the whole of the tranfit, 
in all probability, will not be vifible; as Venus will 
enter wholly upon the fun’s difk at, dr a few minutes 
before, the'time of fun-rifing. 
The Spaniards gave the name of the Iflands of 
Solomon -to certain countries in the South feas, re- 
ported to be very rich in gold. They were firfl; dif- 
covered* by Alvarez de-Mendoza in 15275 ^n^d are fup- 
pofed by fome to be the very lands which were after- 
wards found by Fernandez de Qqiros. The Spaniards 
* Harris’s Voyages, 2d Edit. Vol. I. p. 63. 
are 
