Mendana, with intention to settle these islands,
sailed from Callao, with four ships; and his discoveries in his route to
the west, were the Marquesas, in the latitude of 10 deg. S.; the island of St
Bernardo, which I take to be the same that Commodore Byron calls the Island
of Danger; after that, Solitary Island, in the latitude of 10 deg. 40' S.,
longitude 178 deg. W.; and, lastly, Santa Cruz, which is undoubtedly the same
that Captain Carteret calls Egmont Island.

In this last island, Mendana, with many of his companions, died; and the
shattered remains of the squadron were conducted to Manilla, by Pedro
Fernandes de Quiros, the chief pilot.

This same Quiros was the first sent out, with the sole view of discovering
a southern continent, and, indeed, he seems to have been the first who had
any idea of the existence of one.

He sailed from Callao the 21st of December, 1605, as pilot of the fleet,
commanded by Luis Paz de Torres, consisting of two ships and a tender; and
steering to the W.S.W., on the 26th of January, 1606. being then, by their
reckoning, a thousand Spanish leagues from the coast of America, they
discovered a small low island in latitude 26 deg. S. Two days after, they
discovered another that was high, with a plain on the top. This is probably
the same that Captain Carteret calls Pitcairn's Island.

After leaving these islands, Quiros seems to have directed his course to
W.N.W. and N.W. to 10 deg. or 11 deg. S. latitude, and then westward, till he
arrived at the Bay of St Philip and Jago, in the Island of Tierra del
Espirito Santo. In this route be discovered several islands; probably some
of those that have been seen by later navigators.

On leaving the bay of St Philip and St Jago, the two ships were separated.
Quiros, with the Capitana, stood to the north, and returned to New Spain,
after having suffered greatly for want of provisions and water. Torres,
with the Almiranta and the tender, steered to the west, and seems to have
been the first who sailed between New Holland and New Guinea.[4]

The next attempt to make discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean, was
conducted by Le Maire and Schouten. They sailed from the Texel, on the 14th
of June, 1615, with the ships Concord and Horn. The latter was burnt by
accident in Port Desire. With the other they discovered the straits that
bear the name of Le Maire, and were the first who ever entered the Pacific
Ocean, by the way of Cape Horn.

They disco