After the Genoese pilot’s narrative follows that of an anonymous Portuguese taken from Ramusio.
The letter of Maximilian, the Transylvanian, follows Pigafetta’s account; this has been translated from the Latin by Mr. James Baynes, of the Printed Book Department of the British Museum. After that comes the log-book of Francisco Albo or Alvaro, translated from a MS. in the British Museum, which is a copy from a document in Simancas. This log-book has been printed, in Navarrete’s collection, apparently from the British Museum MS., and it appears to have escaped the notice of Captain Burney. It is especially valuable because it helps to fix the position of the “Unfortunate Islands”, and because it establishes that the Island of Amsterdam in the Southern Indian Ocean to the North of St. Paul’s Island, the discovery of which is usually attributed to the Dutch navigator Vlaming, in 1696, was discovered March 18th, 1522, by the Victoria, the first ship which went round the world.
There is a confusion as to the names of these two islands, which are rightly named in the Admiralty and other sea charts, but which are wrongly named in common English maps, which place St. Paul to the north of Amsterdam. The southern island is bare and arid, and the northern island has bushes and a high peak visible eighteen or twenty leagues off. Francisco Albo says this Island had no trees; but the Victoria may not have approached near enough to see the bushes, which, from the views of the island, appear to be near its base; it is clear that the Victoria approached the northern island, or Amsterdam, because not only does the latitude given by F. Albo differ from that of modern observation by only eight miles, but also because from the course steered by the Victoria on leaving this island, she must have sighted the northern island had the one discovered by her been the southern one. Plates are given of these two islands, taken from Valentyn’s Dutch work on the East Indies. A French Geographical Dictionary sets up a claim to these islands as belonging to the government of the Isle of France or Mauritius; it does not say on what grounds; but if ever they were dependencies of Mauritius, they will have passed with that island into the possession of Great Britain.
Correa’s narrative contains two details not given in any of the other accounts, viz., the warning given to Magellan at Tenerife by Diogo Barbosa of the intended mutiny; and the incident of the Portuguese ship speaking the Victoria off the Cape of Good Hope. Correa’s having been in India at the time, and relating what he heard from the Portuguese, would account for his misplacing the death of Magellan as having happened at the same time as that of Duarte Barbosa. His narrative also contains additional evidence of the violent animosity of the Portuguese against Magellan, though he himself is more favourable than other Portuguese historians to him who is one of the most renowned of their countrymen, as he undoubtedly is the greatest of ancient and modern navigators.
September 1874.
CHRONOLOGY
OF THE
FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
| Magellan arrives at Seville | October 20, | 1518 | |
| Magellan’s fleet sails from Seville | Monday,[25] | August 10, | 1519 |
| Magellan sails from San Lucar de Barrameda, | Tuesday, | September 20, | „ |
| „ arrives at Tenerife | September 26, | „ | |
| „ sails from Tenerife | Monday, | October 3, | „ |
| „ arrives at Rio de Janeiro | December 13, | „ | |
| „ sails from Rio | December 26, | „ | |
| „ sails from Rio de la Plata | February 2, | 1520 | |
| „ arrives at Port St. Julian | March 31, | „ | |
| Eclipse of Sun | April 17, | „ | |
| Loss of Santiago | |||
| Magellan sails from Port St. Julian | August 24, | „ | |
| „ sails from river of Santa Cruz | October 18, | „ | |
| „ makes Cape of the Virgins, entrance of Straits | October 21, | „ | |
| Desertion of San Antonio | November | „ | |
| Magellan issues from Straits into the Pacific, | Wednesday, | November 28, | „ |
| Magellan fetches San Pablo Island | January 24, | 1521 | |
| „ fetches Tiburones Island | February 4, | „ | |
| „ reaches the Ladrone Islands, | Wednesday, | March 6, | „ |
| „ reaches Samar Island of the Philippines | Saturday, | March 16, | „ |
| „ reaches Mazzava Island, | Thursday, | March 28, | „ |
| „ arrives at Sebu Island | April 7, | „ | |
| Death of Magellan at Matan | Saturday, | April 27, | „ |
| Burning of Conception | May, | „ | |
| Arrival of San Antonio at Seville | May 6, | „ | |
| Arrival of Victoria and Trinity at Tidore, | Friday, | November 8, | „ |
| Victoria sails from Tidore | December 21, | „ | |
| „ discovers Amsterdam Island, | Tuesday, | March 18, | 1522 |
| „ doubles the Cape of Good Hope | May 18,[26] | „ | |
| „ arrives at Cape Verde Islands, | Wednesday,[27] | July 9, | „ |
| „ arrives at San Lucar | Saturday,[27] | September 6, | „ |
| „ casts anchor at Seville | Monday,[27] | September 8, | „ |
| Thanksgiving at Church of Our Lady of Victory | Tuesday,[27] | September 9, | „ |
CHEFE Magelliāes