it and the Vereies, there are 18. fathom deepe with small black sand.
From the aforesaid chanell of Vereies and Marinduque, wee helde our course Westnorthwest twelue leagues to the lande of Mindora, to the point or hooke called Dumaryn, lying full vnder thirteene degrees: Fiue leagues forward from the sayde chanell on the South side wee left an Iland called Isla de maestro del Campo, that is, The Iland of the Colonell, lying vnder twelue degrees and 3⁄4. which is a small and flat Iland: In this course we had 45 fathom deep white sand.
By this point or end of the Iland Marinduque beginneth the Iland of Myndoro, which hath in length East and West fiue and twentie leagues, and in bredth twelue leagues, whereof the furthest point Southward lyeth vnder thirteene degrees, and the furthest point Northward vnder thirteene degrees and 2⁄3. and the furthest point Westward vnder thirteene degrees. This Iland with the Iland of Luçon maketh a chanell of fiue leagues broad, and ten or twelue fathom deepe with muddie ground of diuers colours, with white sande. Fiue leagues forward from Marinduque lyeth the riuer of the towne of Anagacu, which is so shallowe, that no shippes may enter into it. From thence two leagues further lie the Ilands called Bacco, which are three Ilands lying in a triangle, two of them being distant from the land about three hundred cubits, and between them and the land you may passe with small shippes: And from the lande to the other Iland, are about two hundred cubites, where it is altogether shallowes and sandes, so that where the shippes may passe outward about 150. cubites from the lande, you leaue both the Ilands on the South side, running betweene the third Iland and the riuer called Rio del Bacco, somewhat more from the middle of the chanell towardes the Iland, which is about a league distant from the other; the chanell is tenne fathom deepe, with mud and shelles vpon the ground: the riuer of Bacco is so shallowe, that no ships may enter into it. From this Iland with the same course two leagues forward, you passe by the point called El Capo de Rescaseo, where we cast out our lead, and found that a man may passe close by the lande, and there you shall finde great strong streames: and halfe a league forward with the same course, lyeth the towne of Mindoro, which hath a good hauen for shippes of three hundred tunnes. Three leagues Northward from the same hauen lyeth the Iland called Cafaa, stretching from East to West, being hilly ground.
From the sayde towne of Myndora, wee helde our course Westnorthwest eight leagues, till wee came to the poynt or hooke of the sandes called Tulen, lying vpon the Iland of Luçon, which sande or banke reacheth into the Sea halfe a league from the coast: you must keepe about an hundred cubites from it, where you finde eight fathom water, muddie and shellie ground: you runne along by those sandes North, and North and by West for the space of two leagues, till you come to the riuer called Rio de Anasebo: all the rest of the coast called De los Limbones to the month or entrie of the Bay called Manilla, (which are foure leagues) is sayled with the same course. The Limbones (which are Ilands so called) are high in forme like a paire of Organs, with good hauens for small shippes, running along by the Limbones: and two leagues beyond them on the South side, wee leaue the Ilands of Fortan, and foure Ilands more, but the three Ilands of Lubao, which are very low, lie vnder 13. degrees and 1⁄3. and the Limbones lie in the mouth or entrie of the Bay of Manilla vnder 14. degrees and 1⁄4.
From thence we ranne Northwest for the space of sixe leagues to the hauen of Cabite, keeping along by the land lying on the West side, where it is shallowe, and is called Los Baixos del Rio de Cannas, The shallowes of the riuer of Reedes: all along this Bay in the same course, there is from ten to foure fathom deepe.
Being by the point or hooke of Cabite, then wee kept but an hundred paces from it, running Southwest, southsouthwest, and South, vntill we discouered the whole mouth or entrie of the Bay, where we might anker at foure fathom about two hundred cubites from the lande, and then the towne of Manilla was two leagues Northward from vs.[49]
[49] The Philippine Islands are an archipelago of about 1400 islands, forming a dependency of Spain, lying between 4 deg. 40 min and 20 deg. N. lat., and 116 deg. 40 min. and 126 deg. 30 min. E. lon., and having the China Sea on the west, and the Pacific Ocean on the East. They are very imperfectly known at present, but are estimated to have a total area of 114,000 square miles, and a population of about 10,000,000. The principal islands of the many hundreds of large and small forming the group are—Luzon, Mindanao, Palawan, Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Zebu, Leyte, and Samar.
The Philippines were discovered by Fernando Magalhaens in 1521, in the reign of Philip II, after whom they were named; and in 1564 the Spaniards made a settlement on one of the islands, and founded Manila in 1571. They obtained the possession of this important group almost without bloodshed; and they have preserved it by the extensive diffusion of the Roman Catholic religion among the Malays, who form the greater part of the population. The Spaniards have retained the island ever since, except from 1762 to 1764, during which the English held Manila, and for the release of which the Spaniards paid a ransom of £1,000,000.
Chap. 2.
The course and voyage of the aforesayd Francisco Gualle out of the hauen or roade of Manilla, to the hauen of Macao in China, with all the courses and situations of the places.
Sayling out of the hauen of Cabite, lying in the Bay of Manilla, wee helde our course Westwarde for the space of eighteene leagues, to the point called El Cabo de Samballes: and when wee were eight leagues in our way, wee left the two Ilands Maribillas on the South side, and sailed about a league from them: the point of Samballes aforesayde lyeth vnder foureteene degrees, and 2⁄3. being low land, at the end of the same coast of Luçon, on the West side.