Note 83 — PRIMO VIAGGIO INTORNO AL MONDO

MS. 5,650 reads: “That place was formerly called Cape Saincte Marye and it was thought that one could pass thence to the sea of Sur, that is to say the South Sea, but it has not been ascertained that any ships have ever discovered anything farther on.” Eden (p. 251) reads: “Abowt the mouth of this ryuer are ſeven ilandes, in the byggeſt whereof, they founde certeyne precious ſtones, and cauled it the cape of Saynt Marie. The Spanyardes thought that by this ryuer they might haue paſſed into the ſouth ſea. But they were deceaued in theyr opinion. For there was none other paſſage than by the ryuer which is xvii. leagues large in the mouth.” This river was the Rio de la Plata. The “Roteiro” (Stanley, p. 2) says that Magalhães left Rio de Janeiro December 26, proceeding to the cape Santa María and the river which was called St. Christopher. There they remained until February 2, 1520. Albo (Navarrete, iv, p. 211) also mentions the river which he calls the “river of Solís.” The ships sent to look for a strait through the river were gone two days, and a careful exploration of the mouth of the river was made. Brito (Navarrete, iv, pp. 306, 307) says: “They left that place [i.e., Rio de Janeiro] and coasted along shore until they reached the river called Solís, where Fernando Magallanes thought that he could find a strait. They stayed there forty days. Magallanes ordered the ship ‘Santiago’ to sail forward for about 50 leguas to see whether there was any passage. Not finding a passage, he crossed the river which is about 25 leguas wide and found the [opposite] coast which runs northeast and southwest.” For early history of this region, see Dominguez’s Conquest of the River Plata.