Early Australian Voyages: Pelsart, Tasman, Dampier Part 3

In the first place, then, it is most evident, from Captain Tasman's voyage, that New Guinea, Carpentaria, New Holland, Antony van Diemen's Land, and the countries discovered by De Quiros, make all one continent, from which New Zealand seems to be separated by a strait; and, perhaps, is part of another continent, answering to Africa, as this, of which we are now speaking, plainly does to America. This continent reaches from the equinoctial to 44 degrees of south lat.i.tude, and extends from 122 degrees to 188 degrees of longitude, making indeed a very large country, but nothing like what De Quiros imagined; which shows how dangerous a thing it is to trust too much to conjecture in such points as these. It is, secondly, observable, that as New Guinea, Carpentaria, and New Holland, had been already pretty well examined, Captain Tasman fell directly to the south of these; so that his first discovery was Van Diemen's Land, the most southern part of the continent on this side the globe, and then pa.s.sing round by New Zealand, he plainly discovered the opposite side of that country towards America, though he visited the islands only, and never fell in again with the continent till he arrived on the coast of New Britain, which he mistook for that of New Guinea, as he very well might; that country having never been suspected to be an island, till Dampier discovered it to be such in the beginning of the present century. Thirdly, by this survey, these countries are for ever marked out, so long as the map or memory of this voyage, shall remain.

The Dutch East India Company have it always in their power to direct settlements, or new discoveries, either in New Guinea, from the Moluccas, or in New Holland, from Batavia directly. The prudence shown in the conduct of this affair deserves the highest praise. To have attempted heretofore, or even now, the establishing colonies in those countries, would be impolitic, because it would be grasping more than the East India Company, or than even the republic of Holland, could manage; for, in the first place, to reduce a continent between three and four thousand miles broad is a prodigious undertaking, and to settle it by degrees would be to open to all the world the importance of that country which, for anything we can tell, may be much superior to any country yet known: the only choice, therefore, that the Dutch had left, was to reserve this mighty discovery till the season arrived, in which they should be either obliged by necessity or invited by occasion to make use of it; but though this country be reserved, it is no longer either unknown or neglected by the Dutch, which is a point of very great consequence. To the other nations of Europe, the southern continent is a chimera, a thing in the clouds, or at least a country about which there are a thousand doubts and suspicions, so that to talk of discovering or settling it must be regarded as an idle and empty project: but, with respect to them, it is a thing perfectly well known; its extent, its boundaries, its situation, the genius of its several nations, and the commodities of which they are possessed, are absolutely within their cognisance, so that they are at liberty to take such measures as appear to them best, for securing the eventual possession of this country, whenever they think fit. This account explains at once all the mysteries which the best writers upon this subject have found in the Dutch proceedings. It shows why they have been at so much pains to obtain a clear and distinct survey of these distant countries; why they have hitherto forborne settling, and why they take so much pains to prevent other nations from coming at a distinct knowledge of them: and I may add to this another particular, which is that it accounts for their permitting the natives of Amboyna, who are their subjects, to carry on a trade to New Guinea, and the adjacent countries, since, by this very method, it is apparent that they gain daily fresh intelligence as to the product and commodities of those countries. Having thus explained the consequence of Captain Tasman's voyage, and thereby fully justified my giving it a place in this part of my work, I am now at liberty to pursue the reflections with which I promised to close this section, and the history of circ.u.mnavigators, and in doing which, I shall endeavour to make the reader sensible of the advantages that arise from publishing these voyages in their proper order, so as to show what is, and what is yet to be discovered of the globe on which we live.

CHAPTER XXI: REMARKS UPON THE VOYAGE.

In speaking of the consequences of Captain Tasman's voyage, it has been very amply shown that this part of Terra Australis, or southern country, has been fully and certainly discovered. To prevent, however, the reader's making any mistake, I will take this opportunity of laying before him some remarks on the whole southern hemisphere, which will enable him immediately to comprehend all that I have afterwards to say on this subject.

If we suppose the south pole to be the centre of a chart of which the equinoctial is the circ.u.mference, we shall then discern four quarters, of the contents of which, if we could give a full account, this part of the world would be perfectly discovered. To begin then with the first of these, that is, from the first meridian, placed in the island of Fero.

Within this division, that is to say, from the first to the nineteenth degree of longitude, there lies the great continent of Africa, the most southern point of which is the Cape of Good Hope, lying in the lat.i.tude of 34 degrees 15 minutes south. Between that and the pole, several small but very inconsiderable islands have been discovered, affording us only this degree of certainty, that to the lat.i.tude of 50 degrees there is no land to be found of any consequence; there was, indeed, a voyage made by Mr. Bovet in the year 1738, on purpose to discover whether there were any lands to the south in that quarter or not. This gentleman sailed from Port l'Orient July the 18th, 1738, and on the 1st of January, 1739, discovered a country, the coasts of which were covered with ice, in the lat.i.tude of 54 degrees south, and in the longitude of 28 degrees 30 minutes, the variation of the compa.s.s being there 6 degrees 45 minutes, to the west.

In the next quarter, that is to say, from 90 degrees longitude to 180 degrees, lie the countries of which we have been speaking, or that large southern island, extending from the equinoctial to the lat.i.tude of 43 degrees 10 minutes, and the longitude of 167 degrees 55 minutes, which is the extremity of Van Diemen's Land.

In the third quarter, that is, from the longitude of 150 degrees to 170 degrees, there is very little discovered with any certainty. Captain Tasman, indeed, visited the coast of New Zealand, in the lat.i.tude of 42 degrees 10 minutes south, and in the longitude of 188 degrees 28 minutes; but besides this, and the islands of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, we know very little; and therefore, if there be any doubts about the reality of Terra Australis, it must be with respect to that part of it which lies within this quarter, through which Schovten and Le Maire sailed, but without discovering anything more than a few small islands.

The fourth and last quarter is from 270 degrees of longitude to the first meridian, within which lies the continent of South America, and the island of Terra del Fuego, the most southern promontory of which is supposed to be Cape Horn, which, according to the best of observations, is in the lat.i.tude of 56 degrees, beyond which there has been nothing with any degree of certainty discovered on this side.

On the whole, therefore, it appears there are three continents already tolerably discovered which point towards the south pole, and therefore it is very probable there is a fourth, which if there be, it must lie between the country of New Zealand, discovered by Captain Tasman, and that country which was seen by Captain Sharpe and Mr. Wafer in the South Seas, to which land therefore, and no other, the t.i.tle of Terra Australis Incognita properly belongs. Leaving this, therefore, to the industry of future ages to discover, we will now return to that great southern island which Captain Tasman actually surrounded, and the bounds of which are tolerably well known.

In order to give the reader a proper idea of the importance of this country, it will be requisite to say something of the climates in which it is situated. As it lies from the equinoctial to near the lat.i.tude of 44 degrees, the longest day in the most northern parts must be twelve hours, and in the southern about fifteen hours, or somewhat more, so that it extends from the first to the seventh climate, which shows its situation to be the happiest in the world, the country called Van Diemen's Land resembling in all respects the south of France. As there are in all countries some parts more pleasant than others, so there seems good reason to believe that within two or three degrees of the tropic of Capricorn, which pa.s.ses through the midst of New Holland, is the most unwholesome and disagreeable part of this country; the reason of which is very plain, for in those parts it must be excessively hot, much more so than under the line itself, since the days and nights are there always equal, whereas within three or four degrees of the tropic of Capricorn, that is to say, in the lat.i.tude 27 degrees south, the days are thirteen hours and a half long, and the sun is twice in their zenith, first in the beginning of December, or rather in the latter end of November, and again when it returns back, which occasions a burning heat for about two months, or something more; whereas, either farther to the south or nearer to the line, the climate must be equally wholesome and pleasant.

As to the product and commodities of this country in general, there is the greatest reason in the world to believe that they are extremely rich and valuable, because the richest and finest countries in the known world lie all of them within the same lat.i.tude; but to return from conjectures to facts, the country discovered by De Quiros makes a part of this great island, and is the opposite coast to that of Carpentaria. This country, the discoverer called La Australia del Espiritu Santo, in the lat.i.tude of 15 degrees 40 minutes south, and, as he reports, it abounds with gold, silver, pearl, nutmegs, mace, ginger, and sugar-canes, of an extraordinary size. I do not wonder that formerly the fact might be doubted, but at present I think there is sufficient reason to induce us to believe it, for Captain Dampier describes the country about Cape St.

George and Port Mountague, which are within 9 degrees of the country described by De Quiros. I say Captain Dampier describes what he saw in the following words: "The country hereabouts is mountainous and woody, full of rich valleys and pleasant fresh-water brooks; the mould in the valleys is deep and yellowish, that on the sides of the hills of a very brown colour, and not very deep, but rocky underneath, yet excellent planting land; the trees in general are neither very straight, thick, nor tall, yet appear green and pleasant enough; some of them bear flowers, some berries, and others big fruits, but all unknown to any of us; cocoa- nut trees thrive very well here, as well on the bays by the sea-side, as more remote among the plantations; the nuts are of an indifferent size, the milk and kernel very thick and pleasant; here are ginger, yams, and other very good roots for the pot, that our men saw and tasted; what other fruits or roots the country affords I know not; here are hogs and dogs, other land animals we saw none; the fowls we saw and knew were pigeons, parrots, cocadores, and crows, like those in England; a sort of birds about the bigness of a blackbird, and smaller birds many. The sea and rivers have plenty of fish; we saw abundance, though we catched but few, and these were cavallies, yellow-tails, and whip-wreys."

This account is grounded only on a very slight view, whereas De Quiros resided for some time in the place he has mentioned. In another place Captain Dampier observes that he saw nutmegs amongst them, which seemed to be fresh-gathered, all which agrees perfectly with the account given by De Quiros; add to this, that Schovten had likewise observed, that they had ginger upon this coast, and some other spices, so that on the whole there seems not the least reason to doubt that if any part of this country was settled, it must be attended with a very rich commerce; for it cannot be supposed that all these writers should be either mistaken, or that they should concur in a design to impose upon their readers; which is the less to be suspected, if we consider how well their reports agree with the situation of the country, and that the trees on the land, and the fish on the coast, corresponding exactly with the trees of those countries, and the fish on the coasts, where these commodities are known to abound within land, seem to intimate a perfect conformity throughout.

The next thing to be considered is, the possibility of planting in this part of the world, which at first sight, I must confess, seems to be attended with considerable difficulties with respect to every other nation except the Dutch, who either from Batavia, the Moluccas, or even from the Cape of Good Hope, might with ease settle themselves wherever they thought fit; as, however, they have neglected this for above a century, there seems to be no reason why their conduct in this respect should become the rule of other nations, or why any other nation should be apprehensive of drawing on herself the displeasure of the Dutch, by endeavouring to turn to their benefit countries the Dutch have so long suffered to lie, with respect to Europe, waste and desert.

The first point, with respect to a discovery, would be to send a small squadron on the coast of Van Diemen's Land, and from thence round, in the same course taken by Captain Tasman, by the coast of New Guinea, which might enable the nations that attempted it to come to an absolute certainty with regard to its commodities and commerce. Such a voyage as this might be performed with very great ease, and at a small expense, by our East India Company; and this in the s.p.a.ce of eight or nine months'

time; and considering what mighty advantages might accrue to the nation, there seems to be nothing harsh or improbable in supposing that some time or other, when the legislature is more than usually intent on affairs of commerce, they may be directed to make such an expedition at the expense of the public. By this means all the back coast of New Holland and New Guinea might be thoroughly examined, and we might know as well, and as certainly as the Dutch, how far a colony settled there might answer our expectations; one thing is certain, that to persons used to the navigation of the Indies, such an expedition could not be thought either dangerous or difficult, because it is already sufficiently known that there are everywhere islands upon the coast, where ships upon such a discovery might be sure to meet with refreshments, as is plain from Commodore Roggewein's voyage, made little more than twenty years ago.

The only difficulty that I can see would be the getting a fair and honest account of this expedition when made; for private interest is so apt to interfere, and get the better of the public service, that it is very hard to be sure of anything of this sort. That I may not be suspected of any intent to calumniate, I shall put the reader in mind of two instances; the first is, as to the new trade from Russia, for establishing of which an Act of Parliament was with great difficulty obtained, though visibly for the advantage of the nation; the other instance is, the voyage of Captain Middleton, for the discovery of a north-west pa.s.sage into the south seas, which is ended by a very warm dispute, whether that pa.s.sage be found or not, the person supposed to have found it maintaining the negative.

Whenever, therefore, such an expedition is undertaken, it ought to be under the direction, not only of a person of parts and experience, but of unspotted character, who, on his return, should be obliged to deliver his journal upon oath, and the princ.i.p.al officers under him should likewise be directed to keep their journals distinctly, and without their being inspected by the princ.i.p.al officer; all which journals ought to be published by authority as soon as received, that every man might be at liberty to examine them, and deliver his thoughts as to the discoveries made, or the impediments suggested to have hindered or prevented such discoveries, by which means the public would be sure to obtain a full and distinct account of the matter; and it would thence immediately appear whether it would be expedient to prosecute the design or not.

But if it should be thought too burdensome for a company in so flourishing a condition, and consequently engaged in so extensive a commerce as the East India Company is, to undertake such an expedition, merely to serve the public, promote the exportation of our manufactures, and increase the number of industrious persons who are maintained by foreign trade; if this, I say, should be thought too grievous for a company that has purchased her privileges from the public by a large loan at low interest, there can certainly be no objection to the putting this project into the hands of the Royal African Company, who are not quite in so flourishing a condition; they have equal opportunities for undertaking it, since the voyage might be with great ease performed from their settlements in ten months, and if the trade was found to answer, it might encourage the settling a colony at Madagascar to and from which ships might, with the greatest conveniency, carry on the trade to New Guinea. I cannot say how far such a trade might be consistent with their present charter; but if it should be found advantageous to the public, and beneficial to the company, I think there can be no reason a.s.signed why it should not be secured to them, and that too in the most effectual manner.

A very small progress in it would restore the reputation of the company, and in time, perhaps, free the nation from the annual expense she is now at, for the support of the forts and garrisons belonging to that company on the coasts of Africa; which would alone prove of great and immediate service, both to the public and to the company. To say the truth, something of this sort is absolutely necessary to vindicate the expense the nation is at; for if the trade, for the carrying on of which a company is established, proves, by a change of circ.u.mstances, incapable of supporting that company, and thereby brings a load upon the public, this ought to be a motive, it ought, indeed, to be the strongest motive, for that company to endeavour the extension of its commerce, or the striking out, if possible, some new branch of trade, which may restore it to its former splendour; and in this as it hath an apparent right, so there is not the least reason to doubt that it would meet with all the countenance and a.s.sistance from the government that it could reasonably expect or desire.

If such a design should ever be attempted, perhaps the island of New Britain might be the properest place for them to settle. As to the situation, extent, and present condition of that island, all that can be said of it must be taken from the account given by its discoverer Captain Dampier, which, in few words, amounts to this: "The island which I call Nova Britannia has about 4 degrees of lat.i.tude, the body of it lying in 4 degrees, the northernmost part in 2 degrees 30 minutes, and the southernmost in 6 degrees 30 minutes. It has about 5 degrees 18 minutes longitude from east to west; it is generally high mountainous land, mixed with large valleys, which, as well as the mountains, appeared very fertile; and in most places that we saw the trees are very large, tall, and thick. It is also very well inhabited with strong, well-limbed negroes, whom we found very daring and bold at several places: as to the product of it, it is very probable this island may afford as many rich commodities as any in the world; and the natives may be easily brought to commerce, though I could not pretend to it in my circ.u.mstances." If any objections should be raised from Dampier's misfortune in that voyage, it is easy to show that it ought to have no manner of weight whatever, since, though he was an excellent pilot, he is allowed to have been but a bad commander; besides, the _Roebuck_, in which he sailed, was a worn-out frigate that would hardly swim; and it is no great wonder that in so crazy a vessel the people were a little impatient at being abroad on discoveries; yet, after all, he performed what he was sent for; and, by the discovery of this island of New Britain, secured us an indisputable right to a country, that is, or might be made, very valuable.

It is so situated, that a great trade might be carried on from thence through the whole Terra Australis on one side, and the most valuable islands of the East Indies on the other. In short, all, or at least most, of the advantages proposed by the Dutch West India Company's joining with their East India Company, of which a large account has already been given, might be procured for this nation, by the establishing a colony in this island of New Britain, and securing the trade of that colony to the African Company by law; the very pa.s.sing of which law would give the company more than sufficient credit, to fit out a squadron at once capable of securing the possession of that island, and of giving the public such satisfaction as to its importance, as might be requisite to obtain further power and a.s.sistance from the State, if that should be found necessary. It would be very easy to point out some advantages peculiarly convenient for that company; but it will be time enough to think of these whenever the African Company shall discover an inclination to prosecute this design. At present I have done what I proposed, and have shown that such a collection of voyages as this ought not to be considered as a work of mere amus.e.m.e.nt, but as a work calculated for the benefit of mankind in general, and of this nation in particular, which it is the duty of every man to promote in his station; and whatever fate these reflections may meet with, I shall always have the satisfaction of remembering that I have not neglected it in mine, but have taken the utmost pains to turn a course of laborious reading to the advantage of my country.

But, supposing that neither of these companies should think it expedient, or, in other words, should not think it consistent with their interest to attempt this discovery, there is yet a third company, within the spirit of whose charter, I humbly conceive, the prosecution of such a scheme immediately lies. The reader will easily discern that I mean the company for carrying on a trade to the South Seas, who, notwithstanding the extensiveness of their charter, confirmed and supported by authority of parliament, have not, so far as my information reaches, ever attempted to send so much as a single ship for the sake of discoveries into the South Seas, which, however, was the great point proposed when this company was first established. In order to prove this, I need only lay before the reader the limits a.s.signed that company by their charter, the substance of which is contained in the following words:--

"The corporation, and their successors, shall, for ever, be vested in the sole trade into and from all the kingdoms and lands on the east side of America, from the River Oroonoco, to the southernmost part of Terra del Fuego, and on the west side thereof from the said southernmost part of Terra del Fuego, through the South Sea, to the northernmost part of America, and into and through all the countries, islands, and places within the said limits, which are reputed to belong to Spain, or which shall hereafter be found out and discovered within the limits aforesaid, not exceeding 300 leagues from the continent of America, between the southernmost part of the Terra del Fuego and the northernmost part of America, on the said west side thereof, except the Kingdom of Brazil, and such other places on the east side of America, as are now in the possession of the King of Portugal, and the country of Surinam, in the possession of the States-general. The said company, and none else, are to trade within the said limits; and, if any other persons shall trade to the South Seas, they shall forfeit the ship and goods, and double value, one-fourth part to the crown, and another fourth part to the prosecutor, and the other two-fourths to the use of the company. And the company shall be the sole owners of the islands, forts, etc., which they shall discover within the said limits, to be held of the crown, under an annual rent of an ounce of gold, and of all ships taken as prizes by the ships of the said company; and the company may seize, by force of arms, all other British ships trading in those seas."

It is, I think, impossible for any man to imagine that either these limits should be secured to the company for no purpose in the world; or that these prohibitions and penalties should take place, notwithstanding the company's never attempting to make any use of these powers; from whence I infer that it was the intent of the legislature that new discoveries should be made, new plantations settled, and a new trade carried on by this new corporation, agreeable to the rules prescribed, and for the general benefit of this nation; which I apprehend was chiefly considered in the providing that this new commerce should be put under the management of a particular company. But I am very well aware of an objection that may be made to what I have advanced; _viz_., that, from my own showing, this southern continent lies absolutely without their limits; and that there is also a proviso in the charter of that company that seems particularly calculated to exclude it, since it recites that.

"The agents of the company shall not sail beyond the southernmost parts of Terra del Fuego, except through the Straits of Magellan, or round Terra del Fuego; nor go from thence to any part of the East Indies, nor return to Great Britain, or any port or place, unless through the said straits, or by Terra del Fuego: nor shall they trade in East India goods, or in any places within the limits granted to the united company of merchants of England trading to East India (such India goods excepted as shall be actually exported from Great Britain, and also such gold, silver, wrought plate, and other goods and commodities, which are the produce, growth, or manufactures of the West Indies, or continent of America): neither shall they send ships, or use them or any vessel, within the South Seas, from Terra del Fuego to the northernmost parts of America, above three hundred leagues to the westward of, and distant from the land of Chili, Peru, Mexico, California, or any other the lands or sh.o.r.es of Southern or Northern America, between Terra del Fuego and the northernmost part of America, on pain of the forfeiture of the ships and goods; one-third to the crown, and the other two-thirds to the East India Company."

But the reader will observe that I mentioned the East India and African Companies before; and that I now mention the South Sea Company, on a supposition that the two former may refuse it. In that case, I presume, the legislature will make the same distinction that the States of Holland did, and not suffer the private advantage of any particular company to stand in compet.i.tion with the good of a whole people. It was upon this principle that I laid it down as a thing certain, that the African company would be allowed to settle the island of Madagascar, though it lies within the limits of the East India Company's charter, in case it should be found necessary for the better carrying on of this trade. It is upon the same principle I say this southern continent lies within the intention of the South Sea Company's charter, because, I presume, the intent of that charter was to grant them all the commerce in those seas, not occupied before by British subjects; for, if it were otherwise, what a condition should we be in as a maritime power? If a grant does not oblige a company to carry on a trade within the limits granted to that company, and is, at the same time, of force to preclude all the subjects of this nation from the right they before had to carry on a trade within those limits, such a law is plainly destructive to the nation's interest and to commerce in general. I therefore suppose, that, if the South Sea Company should think proper to revive their trade in the manner I propose, this proviso would be explained by Parliament to mean no more than excluding the South Sea Company from settling or trading in or to any place at present settled in or traded to by the East India Company: for, as this interpretation would secure the just rights of both companies, and, at the same time reconcile the laws for establishing them to the general interest of trade and the nation, there is the greatest reason to believe this to be the intention of the legislature. I have been obliged to insist fully upon this matter, because it is a point hitherto untouched, and a point of such high importance, that, unless it be understood according to my sense of the matter, there is an end of all hopes of extending our trade on this side, which is perhaps the only side on which there is the least probability that it ever can be extended; for, as to the north-west pa.s.sage into the South Seas, that seems to be blocked up by the rights of another company; so that, according to the letter of our laws, each company is to have its rights, and the nation in general no right at all.

If, therefore, the settling of this part of Terra Australis should devolve on the South Sea Company, by way of equivalent for the loss of their a.s.siento contract, there is no sort of question but it might be as well performed by them as by any other, and the trade carried on without interfering with that which is at present carried on, either by the East India or African Companies. It would indeed, in this case, be absolutely necessary to settle Juan Fernandez, the settlement of which place, under the direction of that company, if they could, as very probably they might, fall into some share of the slave-trade from New Guinea, must prove wonderfully advantageous, considering the opportunity they would have of vending those slaves to the Spaniards in Chili and Peru. The settling of this island ought to be performed at once, and with a competent force, since, without doubt, the Spaniards would leave no means unattempted to dispossess them: yet, if a good fortification was once raised, the pa.s.ses properly retrenched, and a garrison left there of between three and five hundred men, it would be simply impossible for the Spaniards to force them out of it before the arrival of another squadron from hence. Neither do I see any reason why, in the s.p.a.ce of a very few years, the plantation of this island should not prove of as great consequence to the South Sea Company as that of Curacao to the Dutch West India Company, who raise no less than sixty thousand florins per annum for licensing ships to trade there.

From Juan Fernandez to Van Diemen's Land is not above two months' sail; and a voyage for discovery might be very conveniently made between the time that a squadron returned from Juan Fernandez, and another squadron's arrival there from hence. It is true that, if once a considerable settlement was made in the most southern part of Terra Australis, the company might then fall into a large commerce in the most valuable East India goods, very probably gold, and spices of all sorts: yet I cannot think that even these would fall within the exclusive proviso of their charter; for that was certainly intended to hinder their trading in such goods as are brought hither by our East India Company; and I must confess I see no difference, with respect to the interest of that company, between our having cloves, cinnamon, and mace, by the South Sea Company's ships from Juan Fernandez, and our receiving them from Holland, after the Dutch East India Company's ships have brought them thither by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. Sure I am they would come to us sooner by some months by the way of Cape Horn. If this reasoning does not satisfy people, but they still remain persuaded that the South Sea Company ought not to intermeddle with the East India trade at all, I desire to know why the West India merchants are allowed to import coffee from Jamaica, when it is well known that the East India Company can supply the whole demand of this kingdom from Mocha? If it be answered that the Jamaica coffee comes cheaper, and is the growth of our own plantations, I reply, that these spices will not only be cheaper, but better, and be purchased by our own manufacturers; and these, I think, are the strongest reasons that can be given.

If it be demanded what certainty I have that spices can be had from thence, I answer, all the certainty that in a thing of this nature can be reasonably expected: Ferdinand de Quiros met with all sorts of spices in the country he discovered; William Schovten, and Jacques le Maire, saw ginger and nutmegs; so did Dampier; and the author of Commodore Roggewein's Voyage a.s.serts, that the free burgesses of Amboyna purchase nutmegs from the natives of New Guinea for bits of iron. All, therefore, I contend for, is that these bits of iron may be sent them from Old England.

The reason I recommend settling on the south coast of Terra Australis, if this design should be prosecuted, from Juan Fernandez, rather than the island of New Britain, which I mentioned before, is, because that coast is nearer, and is situated in a better and pleasanter climate. Besides all which advantages, as it was never hitherto visited by the Dutch, they cannot, with any colour of justice, take umbrage at our attempting such a settlement. To close then this subject, the importance of which alone inclined me to spend so much of mine and the reader's time about it:

It is most evident, that, if such a settlement was made at Juan Fernandez, proper magazines erected, and a constant correspondence established between that island and the Terra Australis, these three consequences must absolutely follow from thence: 1. That a new trade would be opened, which must carry off a great quant.i.ty of our goods and manufactures, that cannot, at present, be brought to any market, or at least, not to so good a market as if there was a greater demand for them.

2. It would render this navigation, which is at present so strange, and consequently so terrible, to us, easy and familiar; which might be attended with advantages that cannot be foreseen, especially since there is, as I before observed, in all probability another southern continent, which is still to be discovered. 3. It would greatly increase our shipping and our seamen, which are the true and natural strength of this country, extend our naval power, and raise the reputation of this nation; the most distant prospect of which is sufficient to warm the soul of any man who has the least regard for his country, with courage sufficient to despise the imputations that may be thrown upon him as a visionary projector, for taking so much pains about an affair that can tend so little to his private advantage. We will now add a few words with respect to the advantages arising from having thus digested the history of circ.u.mnavigators, from the earliest account of time to the present, and then shut up the whole with another section, containing the last circ.u.mnavigation by Rear-Admiral Anson, whose voyage has at least shown that, under a proper officer, English seamen are able to achieve as much as they ever did; and that is as much as was ever done by any nation in the world.

It is a point that has always admitted some debate, whether science stands more indebted to speculation or practice; or, in other words, whether the greater discoveries have been made by men of deep study, or persons of great experience in the most useful parts of knowledge. But this, I think, is a proposition that admits of no dispute at all, that the n.o.blest discoveries have been the result of a just mixture of theory with practice. It was from hence that the very notion of sailing round the earth took rise; and the ingenious Genoese first laid down this system of the world, according to his conception, and then added the proofs derived from experience. It is much to be deplored that we have not that plan of discovery which the great Christopher Columbus sent over thither by his brother Bartholomew to King Henry VII., for if we had we should certainly find abundance of very curious observations, which might still be useful to mariners: for it appears clearly, from many little circ.u.mstances, that he was a person of universal genius, and, until bad usage obliged him to take many precautions, very communicative.

It was from this plan, as it had been communicated to the Portuguese court, that the famous Magellan came to have so just notions of the possibility of sailing by the West to the East Indies; and there was a great deal of theory in the proposal made by that great man to the Emperor Charles V. Sir Francis Drake was a person of the same genius, and of a like general knowledge; and it is very remarkable that these three great seamen met also with the same fate; by which I mean, that they were constantly pursued by envy while they lived, which hindered so much notice being taken of their discourses and discoveries as they deserved. But when the experience of succeeding times had verified many of their sayings, which had been considered as vain and empty boastings in their lifetimes, then prosperity began to pay a superst.i.tious regard to whatever could be collected concerning them, and to admire all they delivered as oraculous. Our other discoverer, Candish, was likewise a man of great parts and great penetration, as well as of great spirit; he had, undoubtedly, a mighty genius for discoveries; but the prevailing notion of those times, that the only way to serve the nation was plundering the Spaniards, seems to have got the better of his desire to find out unknown countries; and made him choose to be known to posterity rather as a gallant privateer than as an able seaman, though in truth he was both.

After these follow Schovten and Le Maire, who were fitted out to make discoveries; and executed their commission with equal capacity and success. If Le Maire had lived to return to Holland, and to have digested into proper order his own accounts, we should, without question, have received a much fuller and clearer, as well as a much more correct and satisfactory detail of them than we have at present: though the voyage, as it is now published, is in all respects the best, and the most curious of all the circ.u.mnavigators. This was, very probably, owing to the ill-usage he met with from the Dutch East India Company; which put Captain Schovten, and the relations of Le Maire, upon giving the world the best information they could of what had been in that voyage performed. Yet the fate of Le Maire had a much greater effect in discouraging, than the fame of his discoveries had in exciting, a spirit of emulation; so that we may safely say, the severity of the East India Company in Holland extinguished that generous desire of exploring unknown lands, which might otherwise have raised the reputation and extended the commerce of the republic much beyond what they have hitherto reached.

This is so true that for upwards of one hundred years we hear of no Dutch voyage in pursuit of Le Maire's discoveries; and we see, when Commodore Roggewein, in our own time, revived that n.o.ble design, it was again cramped by the same power that stifled it before; and though the States did justice to the West India Company, and to the parties injured, yet the hardships they suffered, and the plain proof they gave of the difficulties that must be met with in the prosecution of such a design, seem to have done the business of the East India Company, and damped the spirit of discovery, for perhaps another century, in Holland.

It is very observable that all the mighty discoveries that have been made arose from these great men, who joined reasoning with practice, and were men of genius and learning, as well as seamen. To Columbus we owe the finding America; to Magellan the pa.s.sing by the straits which bear his name, by a new route to the East Indies; to Le Maire a more commodious pa.s.sage round Cape Horn, and without running up to California; Sir Francis Drake, too, hinted the advantages that might arise by examining the north-west side of America; and Candish had some notions of discovering a pa.s.sage between China and j.a.pan. As to the history we have of Roggewein's voyage, it affords such lights as nothing but our own negligence can render useless. But in the other voyages, whatever discoveries we meet with are purely accidental, except it be Dampier's voyage to the coasts of New Holland and New Guinea, which was expressly made for discoveries; and in which, if an abler man had been employed in conjunction with Dampier, we cannot doubt that the interior and exterior of those countries would have been much better known than they are at present; because such a person would rather have chosen to have refreshed in the island of New Britain, or some other country not visited before, than at that of Timer, already settled both by the Portuguese and the Dutch.

In all attempts, therefore, of this sort, those men are fittest to be employed who, with competent abilities as seamen, have likewise general capacities, are at least tolerably acquainted with other sciences, and have settled judgments and solid understandings. These are the men from whom we are to expect the finishing that great work which former circ.u.mnavigators have begun; I mean the discovering every part and parcel of the globe, and the carrying to its utmost perfection the admirable and useful science of navigation.

It is, however, a piece of justice due to the memory of these great men, to acknowledge that we are equally encouraged by their examples and guided by their discoveries. We owe to them the being freed, not only from the errors, but from the doubts and difficulties with which former ages were oppressed; to them we stand indebted for the discovery of the best part of the world, which was entirely unknown to the ancients, particularly some part of the eastern, most of the southern, and all the western hemisphere; from them we have learned that the earth is surrounded by the ocean, and that all the countries under the torrid zone are inhabited, and that, quite contrary to the notions that were formerly entertained, they are very far from being the most sultry climate in the world, those within a few degrees of the tropics, though habitable, being much more hot, for reasons which have been elsewhere explained. By their voyages, and especially by the observations of Columbus, we have been taught the general motion of the sea, the reason of it, and the cause and difference of currents in particular places, to which we may add the doctrine of tides, which were very imperfectly known, even by the greatest men in former times, whose accounts have been found equally repugnant to reason and experience.

By their observations we have acquired a great knowledge as to the nature and variation of winds, particularly the monsoons, or trade winds, and other periodical winds, of which the ancients had not the least conception; and by these helps we not only have it in our power to proceed much farther in our discoveries, but we are likewise delivered from a mult.i.tude of groundless apprehensions, that frightened them from prosecuting discoveries. We give no credit now to the fables that not only amused antiquity, but even obtained credit within a few generations.

The authority of Pliny will not persuade us that there are any nations without heads, whose eyes and mouths are in their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, or that the Arimaspi have only one eye, fixed in their forehead, and that they are perpetually at war with the Griffins, who guard hidden treasures; or that there are nations that have long hairy tales, and grin like monkeys. No traveller can make us believe that, under the torrid zone, there are a nation every man of which has one large flat foot, with which, lying upon his back, he covers himself from the sun. In this respect we have the same advantage over the ancients that men have over children; and we cannot reflect without amazement on men's having so much knowledge and learning in other respects, with such childish understandings in these.

By the labours of these great men in the two last centuries we are taught to know what we seek, and how it is to be sought. We know, for example, what parts of the north are yet undiscovered, and also what parts of the south. We can form a very certain judgment of the climate of countries undiscovered, and can foresee the advantages that will result from discoveries before they are made; all which are prodigious advantages, and ought certainly to animate us in our searches. I might add to this the great benefits we receive from our more perfect acquaintance with the properties of the loadstone, and from the surprising accuracy of astronomical observations, to which I may add the physical discoveries made of late years in relation to the figure of the earth, all of which are the result of the lights which these great men have given us.

It is true that some of the zealous defenders of the ancients, and some of the great admirers of the Eastern nations, dispute these facts, and would have us believe that almost everything was known to the old philosophers, and not only known but practised by the Chinese long before the time of the great men to whom we ascribe them. But the difference between their a.s.sertions and ours is, that we fully prove the facts we allege, whereas they produce no evidence at all; for instance, Albertus Magnus says that Aristotle wrote an express treatise on the direction of the loadstone; but n.o.body ever saw that treatise, nor was it ever heard of by any of the rest of his commentators. We have in our hands some of the best performances of antiquity in regard to geography, and any man who has eyes, and is at all acquainted with that science, can very easily discern how far they fall short of maps that were made even a hundred years ago. The celebrated Vossius, and the rest of the admirers of the Chinese, who, by the way, derived all their knowledge from hearsay, may testify, in as strong terms as they think fit, their contempt for the Western sages and their high opinion of those in the East; but till they prove to us that their favourite Chinese made any voyages comparable to the Europeans, before the discovery of a pa.s.sage to China by the Cape of Good Hope, they will excuse us from believing them. Besides, if the ancients had all this knowledge, how came it not to display itself in their performances? How came they to make such difficulties of what are now esteemed trifles? And how came they never to make any voyages, by choice at least, that were out of sight of land? Again, with respect to the Chinese, if they excel us so much in knowledge, how came the missionaries to be so much admired for their superior skill in the sciences? But to cut the matter short, we are not disputing now about speculative points of science, but as to the practical application of it; in which, I think, there is no doubt that the modern inhabitants of the western parts of the world excel, and excel chiefly from the labours and discoveries of these great and ingenious men, who applied their abilities to the improvement of useful arts, for the particular benefit of their countrymen, and to the common good of mankind; which character is not derived from any prejudice of ours, either against the ancients or the Oriental nations, but is founded on facts of public notoriety, and on general experience, which are a kind of evidence not to be controverted or contradicted.

We are still, however, in several respects short of perfection, and there are many things left to exercise the sagacity, penetration, and application of this and of succeeding ages; for instance, the pa.s.sages to the north-east and north-west are yet unknown; there is a great part of the southern continent undiscovered; we are, in a manner, ignorant of what lies between America and j.a.pan, and all beyond that country lies buried in obscurity, perhaps in greater obscurity than it was an age ago; so that there is still room for performing great things, which in their consequences perhaps might prove greater than can well be imagined. I say nothing of the discoveries that yet remain with regard to inland countries, because these fall properly under another head, I mean that of travels. But it will be time enough to think of penetrating into the heart of countries when we have discovered the seacoasts of the whole globe, towards which the voyages recorded in this chapter have so far advanced already. But the only means to arrive at these great ends, and to transmit to posterity a fame approaching, at least in some measure, to that of our ancestors, is to revive and restore that glorious spirit which led them to such great exploits; and the most natural method of doing this is to collect and preserve the memory of their exploits, that they may serve at once to excite our imitation, encourage our endeavours, and point out to us how they may be best employed, and with the greatest probability of success.

AN ACCOUNT OF NEW HOLLAND AND THE ADJACENT ISLANDS. 1699-1700.

BY CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER.

Having described his voyage from Brazil to New Holland, this celebrated navigator thus proceeds: