4i6 AMERICA, 
Among other adventurers to the new world, in purfuit 
of gold, was Americus Vefputius, a Florentine gentle¬ 
man, whom Ferdinand had appointed to draw fea-charts, 
and to whom he had given the title of chief pilot. This 
man accompanied Ojeda, an enterpriling Spanilli adven¬ 
turer, to America; and having, with much art, and fome 
degree of elegance, drawn up an amiifirig hillory of his 
voyage, he publiflied- it to the world. It circulated ra- 
; )idly, and was read with admiration. In his narrative, 
le had inlinuated that the glory of having firlt difcovered 
the new world belonged to him. This was in part be¬ 
lieved, and the country began to be called after the name 
of its fuppofed firlt difcoverer. The unaccountable ca¬ 
price of mankind has perpetuated the error; fo that now, 
by the univerfal confent of all nations, this new quarter 
of the globe is called America. The bold pretentions of 
a fortunate impoltor have, after him, thus robbed tire 
difcoverer of the new world of a diftinftion which be¬ 
longed to him. The name of Americus has fupplanted 
that of Coluntbus; and mankind are left to regret an aft 
of injuftice, which, having been fantlioned by time, they 
can never.redrefs. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION cf the AMERICAN 
CONTINENT. 
America is not of equal breadth throughout its 
.whole extent; blit is divided into twm great continents, 
called North and South America, by an ifthmus 1500 miles 
long, and which at Darien, about lat. 9 0 N. is only iixty 
miles over. This -ifthmus forms, with the northern and 
fouthern continents, a vaft gulph, in which lie a great 
number of illands, called the Wejl Indies, in contradiltinc- 
tion to the eaftern parts of Afia, which are called the 
Eajl Indies. 
Between the New World and the Old, there are feveral 
very finking differences ; but the moff remarkable is the 
general predominance of cold throughout the whole ex¬ 
tent of America. Though we cannot, in any country, 
determine the precife degree of heat merely by the diftance 
of the equator, becaufe the elevation above the fea, the 
nature of the foil, &c. aft'eft the climate ; yet, in the an¬ 
cient continent, the heat is much more in proportion to 
the vicinity to the equator than in any part of America. 
Here the rigour of the frigid zone extends over half that 
which fliould be temperate by its pofition. Even in thofe 
latitudes where the winter is fcarcely felt on the old conti¬ 
nent, it reigns with great feverity in America, though du- 
rin cr only a'fhort period. Nor does this cold, prevalent 
in the new world, confine itfelf to the temperate zones; 
but extends its influence to the torrid zone alfo, confider- 
ably mitigating the excefs of its heat. Along the eaftern 
coaft, the climate, though more fimilar to that of the 
torrid zone in other parts of the earth, is neverthelefs 
coniiderably milder than in thofe countries of Afia and 
Africa which lie in the faifte latitude. From the fouthern 
tropic to the extremity of the American continent, the 
cold is laid to be much greater than in parallel northern 
latitudes even of America itfelf. 
For this remarkable difference between the climate of 
the new continent and the old, various caufes have been 
afligned by different authors. The following is the opi¬ 
nion of Dr. Robertfon on this fubjeft: “ Though the ut- 
,molt extent of America towards the north be not yet dif¬ 
covered, we know that it advances nearer to tire pole than 
either Europe or Afia. The latter have large feas to the 
north, which are open during part of the year; and, even 
when covered with ice, the wind that blows over them is 
lefs intenfely cold than that which blows over land in the 
fame latitudes. But, in America, the land ffretches from 
the river S-t. Eaurence towards the pole, and fpreads out 
immenfely to the weff. A chain of enormous mountains, 
covered with fnow and ice, runs through all this dreary 
region. The wind pafling over fuch an extent of high 
and frozen land, becomes fo impregnated with cold, that 
jt acquires a piercing keennefsj which it retains in its pro- 
grefs through warmer climates ; and is not entirely miti¬ 
gated until it reaches the gulph of Mexico. Over all the 
continent of North America, a north-wefterly wind and 
exceflive cold are fynonymous terms. Even in the moff: 
fultry weather, the moment that the wind veers to that 
quarter, its penetrating influence is felt in a tranfition from 
heat to cold no lefs violent than fudden. To this powerful 
caufe we may aferibe the extraordinary dominion of cold, 
and its violent inroads into the fouthern provinces in that 
part of the globe. 
“ Other caufes, no lefs remarkable, diminifh the aftive 
power of heat in thofe parts of the American continent 
which lie between the tropics. In all that portion of the 
globe, the wind blows in an invariable direction from eaft 
to weff. As this wind holds its courfe acrofs the old conti¬ 
nent, it arrives at the countries which ftretch along the 
weffern fliore of Africa, inflamed with all the fiery par¬ 
ticles which it hath collefted from the fultry plains of 
Afia, and the burning fands in the African deferts. The 
coaft of Africa is accordingly the region of the earth which 
feels the moff: fervent heat, and is expofed tp the unmiti¬ 
gated ardour of the torrid zone. But this fame wind, 
which brings fuch an accelTion of warmth to the countries 
lying between the river of Senegal and Caffraria, traverfes 
the Atlantic Ocean before it reaches the American fliore. 
It is cooled in its palfage over this vafi body of water ; and 
is felt as a refrefiiing gale along the coafts of Bralil and 
Guiana, rendering thofe countries, though amongft the 
warmed in America, temperate, when compared with thofe 
which lie oppofite to them in Africa. As this wind ad¬ 
vances in its courfe acrofs America, it meets with immenfe 
plains covered with impenetrable forefts; or occupied by 
large rivers, marfhes, and ftagnant w'aters, where it can 
recover no considerable degree of heat. At length it ar¬ 
rives at the Andes, which run from north to fouth through 
the whole continent. In palling over their elevated and 
frozen fummits, it is fo thoroughly cooled, that the great¬ 
er part of the countries beyond them hardly feel the ar¬ 
dour to which they feem expofed by their fituation. In 
the other provinces of America, from Terra Firma weft- 
ward to the Mexican empire, the heat of the climate is 
tempered, in fome places, by the elevation of the land 
above the fea; in others, by their extraordinary humidi¬ 
ty; and in all, by the enormous mountains fcattered over 
this trail. The illands of America in the torrid zone are 
either fmall or mountainous, and are fanned alternately by 
refrefhing fea and land breezes. 
“ The caufes of tire extraordinary cold towards the 
fouthern limits of America, and in the feas beyond it, 
cannot be afeertained in a manner equally fatisfying. It 
was long fuppofed, that a vafi continent, diftinguilhed by 
the name of Terra Aujlralis Incognita, lay between the 
fouthern extremity of America and the antarftic pole. 
The fame principles which account for the extraordinary 
degree of cold in the northern regions of America, were 
employed in order to explain that which is felt at Cape 
Horn and the adjacent countries. The immenfe extent of 
the fouthern continent, and the rivers which it poured into 
the ocean, w f ere mentioned and admitted by philofophers 
as caufes fufficient to occalion the unufual fenfation of cold, 
and the ftill more uncommon appearances of frozen feas 
in that region of the globe. But the imaginary continent 
to which fuch influence was aferibed having been fearched 
for in vain, and the fpace which it was fuppofed to occupy 
having been found to be an open fea, new conjeftures mult 
be formed with refpeft to the caufes of a temperature of 
climate fo extremely different from that which we expe¬ 
rience in countries removed at the fame diffarice from the 
oppofite pole. 
“ The moff obvious and probable caufe of this fuperior 
degree of cold towards the fouthern extremity of Ame¬ 
rica, feems to he the form of the continent there. its 
breadth gradually decreafes as it ffretches from St. Antonio 
fouthwards, and from the bay of St. Julian to the ftraits 
of Magellan its dimenfions are much contrafted, On the 
2 eaft 
