Islands in the Solomon Group which do not at Present bear the Names given to them by the Spaniards:—
| Present name. | Spanish name. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ugi | San Juan | ||
| Three Sisters | Las Tres Marias | ||
| Ulaua (Contrarieté) | La Treguada | ||
| Malaita | Ramos (Isle of) | ||
| Savo | Sesarga | ||
| Ontong Java | Candelaria Shoals | ||
| Choiseul | San Marcos | ||
| New Georgia (?) | - | San Nicolas | |
| Arracises (Reefs). | |||
NOTE XI. ([Page 237].)
Inigo Ortez de Retes and Bernardo de la Torre.—We learn from Galvano’s “Discoveries of the World,”[409] that in 1545 Captain Inigo Ortez de Rotha was dispatched from Tidore to New Spain. He sailed to the coast of Papua, and not knowing that Saavedra had discovered it in 1528, he assumed the honour of the discovery. Mr. Coutts Trotter in a recent article[410] refers to him as Ortiz de Retez or Roda, and he informs us elsewhere[411] that Antonio de Abreu was probably the first discoverer of New Guinea in 1511. According to Galvano ([page 234]), a Spanish officer named Bernaldo de la Torre started from the Philippines in 1543, on a voyage to New Spain.
[409] Hakluyt Society’s Publication, 1862, p. 238.
[410] Encyclopædia Britannica (Article on “New Guinea.”)
[411] Proceedings, Royal Geographical Society, 1884, p. 196.
NOTE XII. ([Page 238].)
The islands of San Bartolomeo.—The Musquillo Islands of the Marshall Group, with which I have identified this discovery of the Spaniards, were thus named by Captain Bond in 1792.[412] They form a double atoll about 38 miles in length and trending N.W. and S.E. The N.W. end is in latitude 8° 10′ N., and the S.E. end is in latitude 7° 46′ N. Captain Bond ranged along the coasts of above 20 small islands. At the N.W. end and isolated from the rest are two small islands about three miles apart. On comparing this description with that given by Gallego, the reader will have little doubt as to the identity of the Musquillo Islands with the Spanish discovery. It is probable that Gallego considered this discovery to be near the position of an island discovered in 1536 in 14° N lat. by Toribio Alonzo de Salazar,[413] 328 Spanish leagues from the Mariana Islands, and named by him San Bartolomeo. This discovery of Salazar is marked in Krusenstern’s General Atlas of the Pacific.
[412] Purdy’s “Oriental Navigator,” p. 689.