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Vespuce et son Premier Voyage Author(s): M. F. A. de Varnhagen Source: Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. 3, No. 6 (1858 - 1859), pp. 389-390 Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1799186 . Accessed: 17/05/2014 11:06 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Wiley and The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.78.108.169 on Sat, 17 May 2014 11:06:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Vespuce et son Premier Voyage

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Vespuce et son Premier VoyageAuthor(s): M. F. A. de VarnhagenSource: Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. 3, No. 6 (1858 - 1859),pp. 389-390Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of BritishGeographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1799186 .

Accessed: 17/05/2014 11:06

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Wiley and The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) are collaborating withJSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London.

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This content downloaded from 195.78.108.169 on Sat, 17 May 2014 11:06:22 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: Vespuce et son Premier Voyage

ADDITIONAL NOTICES. ADDITIONAL NOTICES. ADDITIONAL NOTICES. 389 389 389 JUNE 27, t859.] JUNE 27, t859.] JUNE 27, t859.]

Asiatic people, depends on the success of their first charge; but a single Conoreve-rocket is sufficient to pllt the whole arnly to fligllt " (p. 3a). Such beint the character of the force of a leadinc state of Independent Tartary, it can scarcely Te expected to resist with success the advance of Rtlssian domi- nation into that re(rion, which has lont, been steady and progressive.

12. Die ErdAunde von Asien von Carl Ritter. Yol. IN:. Part I. Asia Minor. Berlin, 1858.

T11:E sisth division of the third book (NVestern Asia) of the eigllteenth part of Ritter's copious Geo(rrapl-ly of Asia-a tome consistinffl of 1024 closely- printed pacres is appropriated to Asia Minor; but even this abundance of letterpress does not exhaust the subject in the hands of the Prussian geo- ;rapher, since the vork before us constittltes only the first of three volumes the rest of which are to follow. It treats of little more than the northern shores and declivity of the tseninsllla of Asia Minor, after a general cleswrip- tiOIl of the central table-larld and of its crreat stleams the 'I'choruk, Yezil Irmak (Iris), Kizil Irmak (Haiys), Sakaria (Sangarias), tile river of Trebizond &c.; and its twenty-third and last chapter is devoted to a consideration of the chief tOWllS and tlade of the southern coast of the Black Sea. In addition to fulL descriptions of the physical (reocrraphy ancl commercial resources of this rez,ion, the archaeoloCry of the northerll paWrt of Asia Minor receives its full share of notice in accotlnts of the troClodytic caves and sculptures on the south bawk of the Halys and elsewllere, the ruins of Boahaz, those of the ancient Pessinus (Bala Hissar) with the temple of Cybele, the Greek colony of the ancient Trapezus (Trebizond), &c.; and dit,ressions are introduced on the An rora wool and goats' hair, the clture of saffron arollnd Zafaran-boly, arld the tunny fishery of Sinope. At the enfl are an appendis from the pen of Kiepert, and en rravinCs of Assyrian tnonulnents in Asia Minor with explana- tory notes. The work is continued after the same plan which has charac- terised it throllChout; and it is not too much to say that when teninated it wtll be a complete encyclopuadia of all that is knoxvn concernizIC the great COIl- tirlent that has been the storehouse of all the nations wllich have peopled the earth.

13. Vespuce et son Premier Voyage. Par M. F. t. de VARSHAGEN Memb. de 1a Societe de Geographie. Paris: Alartinet, 1858.

THE author remarks that since the pllblication of the illustrious Hllmboldt's Exc(men (7ritique de t'Hi.stoire Geographique du Noureat6 Continent, the con- sideration due to Amerigo Vesplloci llas been restored to his memory. lSis claims to the applause of posterity rest upon follr recorded voyacres-two n1ade in the service of Portujaal, and the other two (which were previolls) in that of Spain; but the first of the latteir named has been frequently regarded as apocryphal. The author is, however, consinced of its certainty. He says it cannot be doubted " that Vespucci left Spain on the 10th of May, 1497 - and having sailed a thousand lea-ues west-sollth-west, I)assinC consequently across the Antilles, found himself after 37 days in lat. lG? s., and lon. 75" w of the Canaries. He then discovered the new continent some darsbefole Cabot. He had attained the Bay of Hondtlras.... Thence he followed, in sight of land, the coast of Ytlcatan, towar(ls the north-east, for two days, and at lellCth, on discoverint a safe anchorage for vessels, cast anchor half a leaCue from lanel. He disembarked 40 men, who made some barter with the natives.;

Asiatic people, depends on the success of their first charge; but a single Conoreve-rocket is sufficient to pllt the whole arnly to fligllt " (p. 3a). Such beint the character of the force of a leadinc state of Independent Tartary, it can scarcely Te expected to resist with success the advance of Rtlssian domi- nation into that re(rion, which has lont, been steady and progressive.

12. Die ErdAunde von Asien von Carl Ritter. Yol. IN:. Part I. Asia Minor. Berlin, 1858.

T11:E sisth division of the third book (NVestern Asia) of the eigllteenth part of Ritter's copious Geo(rrapl-ly of Asia-a tome consistinffl of 1024 closely- printed pacres is appropriated to Asia Minor; but even this abundance of letterpress does not exhaust the subject in the hands of the Prussian geo- ;rapher, since the vork before us constittltes only the first of three volumes the rest of which are to follow. It treats of little more than the northern shores and declivity of the tseninsllla of Asia Minor, after a general cleswrip- tiOIl of the central table-larld and of its crreat stleams the 'I'choruk, Yezil Irmak (Iris), Kizil Irmak (Haiys), Sakaria (Sangarias), tile river of Trebizond &c.; and its twenty-third and last chapter is devoted to a consideration of the chief tOWllS and tlade of the southern coast of the Black Sea. In addition to fulL descriptions of the physical (reocrraphy ancl commercial resources of this rez,ion, the archaeoloCry of the northerll paWrt of Asia Minor receives its full share of notice in accotlnts of the troClodytic caves and sculptures on the south bawk of the Halys and elsewllere, the ruins of Boahaz, those of the ancient Pessinus (Bala Hissar) with the temple of Cybele, the Greek colony of the ancient Trapezus (Trebizond), &c.; and dit,ressions are introduced on the An rora wool and goats' hair, the clture of saffron arollnd Zafaran-boly, arld the tunny fishery of Sinope. At the enfl are an appendis from the pen of Kiepert, and en rravinCs of Assyrian tnonulnents in Asia Minor with explana- tory notes. The work is continued after the same plan which has charac- terised it throllChout; and it is not too much to say that when teninated it wtll be a complete encyclopuadia of all that is knoxvn concernizIC the great COIl- tirlent that has been the storehouse of all the nations wllich have peopled the earth.

13. Vespuce et son Premier Voyage. Par M. F. t. de VARSHAGEN Memb. de 1a Societe de Geographie. Paris: Alartinet, 1858.

THE author remarks that since the pllblication of the illustrious Hllmboldt's Exc(men (7ritique de t'Hi.stoire Geographique du Noureat6 Continent, the con- sideration due to Amerigo Vesplloci llas been restored to his memory. lSis claims to the applause of posterity rest upon follr recorded voyacres-two n1ade in the service of Portujaal, and the other two (which were previolls) in that of Spain; but the first of the latteir named has been frequently regarded as apocryphal. The author is, however, consinced of its certainty. He says it cannot be doubted " that Vespucci left Spain on the 10th of May, 1497 - and having sailed a thousand lea-ues west-sollth-west, I)assinC consequently across the Antilles, found himself after 37 days in lat. lG? s., and lon. 75" w of the Canaries. He then discovered the new continent some darsbefole Cabot. He had attained the Bay of Hondtlras.... Thence he followed, in sight of land, the coast of Ytlcatan, towar(ls the north-east, for two days, and at lellCth, on discoverint a safe anchorage for vessels, cast anchor half a leaCue from lanel. He disembarked 40 men, who made some barter with the natives.;

Asiatic people, depends on the success of their first charge; but a single Conoreve-rocket is sufficient to pllt the whole arnly to fligllt " (p. 3a). Such beint the character of the force of a leadinc state of Independent Tartary, it can scarcely Te expected to resist with success the advance of Rtlssian domi- nation into that re(rion, which has lont, been steady and progressive.

12. Die ErdAunde von Asien von Carl Ritter. Yol. IN:. Part I. Asia Minor. Berlin, 1858.

T11:E sisth division of the third book (NVestern Asia) of the eigllteenth part of Ritter's copious Geo(rrapl-ly of Asia-a tome consistinffl of 1024 closely- printed pacres is appropriated to Asia Minor; but even this abundance of letterpress does not exhaust the subject in the hands of the Prussian geo- ;rapher, since the vork before us constittltes only the first of three volumes the rest of which are to follow. It treats of little more than the northern shores and declivity of the tseninsllla of Asia Minor, after a general cleswrip- tiOIl of the central table-larld and of its crreat stleams the 'I'choruk, Yezil Irmak (Iris), Kizil Irmak (Haiys), Sakaria (Sangarias), tile river of Trebizond &c.; and its twenty-third and last chapter is devoted to a consideration of the chief tOWllS and tlade of the southern coast of the Black Sea. In addition to fulL descriptions of the physical (reocrraphy ancl commercial resources of this rez,ion, the archaeoloCry of the northerll paWrt of Asia Minor receives its full share of notice in accotlnts of the troClodytic caves and sculptures on the south bawk of the Halys and elsewllere, the ruins of Boahaz, those of the ancient Pessinus (Bala Hissar) with the temple of Cybele, the Greek colony of the ancient Trapezus (Trebizond), &c.; and dit,ressions are introduced on the An rora wool and goats' hair, the clture of saffron arollnd Zafaran-boly, arld the tunny fishery of Sinope. At the enfl are an appendis from the pen of Kiepert, and en rravinCs of Assyrian tnonulnents in Asia Minor with explana- tory notes. The work is continued after the same plan which has charac- terised it throllChout; and it is not too much to say that when teninated it wtll be a complete encyclopuadia of all that is knoxvn concernizIC the great COIl- tirlent that has been the storehouse of all the nations wllich have peopled the earth.

13. Vespuce et son Premier Voyage. Par M. F. t. de VARSHAGEN Memb. de 1a Societe de Geographie. Paris: Alartinet, 1858.

THE author remarks that since the pllblication of the illustrious Hllmboldt's Exc(men (7ritique de t'Hi.stoire Geographique du Noureat6 Continent, the con- sideration due to Amerigo Vesplloci llas been restored to his memory. lSis claims to the applause of posterity rest upon follr recorded voyacres-two n1ade in the service of Portujaal, and the other two (which were previolls) in that of Spain; but the first of the latteir named has been frequently regarded as apocryphal. The author is, however, consinced of its certainty. He says it cannot be doubted " that Vespucci left Spain on the 10th of May, 1497 - and having sailed a thousand lea-ues west-sollth-west, I)assinC consequently across the Antilles, found himself after 37 days in lat. lG? s., and lon. 75" w of the Canaries. He then discovered the new continent some darsbefole Cabot. He had attained the Bay of Hondtlras.... Thence he followed, in sight of land, the coast of Ytlcatan, towar(ls the north-east, for two days, and at lellCth, on discoverint a safe anchorage for vessels, cast anchor half a leaCue from lanel. He disembarked 40 men, who made some barter with the natives.;

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.169 on Sat, 17 May 2014 11:06:22 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 3: Vespuce et son Premier Voyage

He continued to sail for some days, frequently landinc, and at length arrived at a port, in the midst of which was seen an assemblaCe of houses built in the water, and defended with drawbridges. According to the relation of Vesptleci this port was 80 leagues south of that where the fleet subsequently arrived, anfi which +ras placed under the Tropic of Cancer. We are inclined to think that this port with its dwellings built in the water was no other than Vera Cruz, with the Isle of Sacrifices, and that which Erijalva called San Juan de Ulua, and of which Herrera gives an idea in no wise contradictino the impression that Vespucci had received in likelaing it to Venice. Thence he sailed to another port 80 leagues distant, well watered, aboullding in fish and in birds, amongst which Vespucci mentions parroquets. This port was situate(l in a country which, according to the Italian text by Ban(lini and Canovai, is desiglwated by the name of Lariab."

This Lariab, M. Varnhaoen contends, is Caric6 or Cari,ah, disfigured by the transcriber, and is the port of Tampico. From this point, he says, Vespucci proceeded northwardy " COaStillg along an exterlt estimated at 870 leaaues. By a comparison of his narrative with other documents, it wotlld appear that he well recoonised the Mississippi, and that he pursued his course to Florida the southern extremity of which peninsula he reached tomTards the end of April, 1498. From this point he must have passed throuoh the Bahama channel and continued to coast alono the shores of the United States for more than thirty clays, until after a navigation of thirteen months, conseqvlently in the month of June, we find him not far from the port called by Vespucci the best in the world. This port could be nowhere except in the Gulf of St. Law- rence. After thirty-seven days it was decided to leave it- but the natives havinC a feud with certain others who inhabited an island a hundred leaCues distant, the navigators considered themselves obliCed to take part with the former in return for the treatment they had received. After a sail of seven days east-north-east they arrived at al1 island named Iti. They took some prisoners there, a part of whom sz7ere given over to the natives of the Gulf who returned to their own country. Notwithstandint, the resemblance of the names, we must be careful not to confound, as has been done, this isle of Iti surrolanded by other islands, inhabited or desert, with that of Haiti or His- paniola. This expedition did not return to Cadiz until the month of October 1498, after a voya(re of eighteen months."

The author cites various proofs in fa+7our of the authenticity of the first voyaCe of ATespucci; he afterwards directs his attention to overthrow objec- tions made against it; and he qllotes an important document in support of his positions, in the shape of a letter, dated in 1506, which was discovered by Ranke at Vienna, aIld pub]ished by Bumboldt at p. 157 of the fifth volume of his Examex Crittgue. In addition, he aSords us at the end of his pamphlet facsimiles of three notes attributed to Columbus, and bearing closely on the subject. The ultimate conclusion to which M. Varnhagen arrives is, that Vespucci undotlbtedly accomltanied Pinzon and Solis, and with a fleet of follr ships, between 1497 and August, 1498, discovered and explored all the eastern coast of North Amelica from Yucatan and the Gulf of hIexico to the most northern parts of the United States.

14. Notes on Ghitan.* By KEITH E. ABBOTT, 13sq., H.M. Consul, Tehran.

(SHILAN iS a narror strip of col-lntry- sitllated on tlle sollth-Xvestern side ot the Caspian, and enclosed by a lofty range of mountains, measuring from 6000

[JUNE 27? 1859

* See Paper by General Monteith, vol. iii. Journal R.G.S.-ED.

He continued to sail for some days, frequently landinc, and at length arrived at a port, in the midst of which was seen an assemblaCe of houses built in the water, and defended with drawbridges. According to the relation of Vesptleci this port was 80 leagues south of that where the fleet subsequently arrived, anfi which +ras placed under the Tropic of Cancer. We are inclined to think that this port with its dwellings built in the water was no other than Vera Cruz, with the Isle of Sacrifices, and that which Erijalva called San Juan de Ulua, and of which Herrera gives an idea in no wise contradictino the impression that Vespucci had received in likelaing it to Venice. Thence he sailed to another port 80 leagues distant, well watered, aboullding in fish and in birds, amongst which Vespucci mentions parroquets. This port was situate(l in a country which, according to the Italian text by Ban(lini and Canovai, is desiglwated by the name of Lariab."

This Lariab, M. Varnhaoen contends, is Caric6 or Cari,ah, disfigured by the transcriber, and is the port of Tampico. From this point, he says, Vespucci proceeded northwardy " COaStillg along an exterlt estimated at 870 leaaues. By a comparison of his narrative with other documents, it wotlld appear that he well recoonised the Mississippi, and that he pursued his course to Florida the southern extremity of which peninsula he reached tomTards the end of April, 1498. From this point he must have passed throuoh the Bahama channel and continued to coast alono the shores of the United States for more than thirty clays, until after a navigation of thirteen months, conseqvlently in the month of June, we find him not far from the port called by Vespucci the best in the world. This port could be nowhere except in the Gulf of St. Law- rence. After thirty-seven days it was decided to leave it- but the natives havinC a feud with certain others who inhabited an island a hundred leaCues distant, the navigators considered themselves obliCed to take part with the former in return for the treatment they had received. After a sail of seven days east-north-east they arrived at al1 island named Iti. They took some prisoners there, a part of whom sz7ere given over to the natives of the Gulf who returned to their own country. Notwithstandint, the resemblance of the names, we must be careful not to confound, as has been done, this isle of Iti surrolanded by other islands, inhabited or desert, with that of Haiti or His- paniola. This expedition did not return to Cadiz until the month of October 1498, after a voya(re of eighteen months."

The author cites various proofs in fa+7our of the authenticity of the first voyaCe of ATespucci; he afterwards directs his attention to overthrow objec- tions made against it; and he qllotes an important document in support of his positions, in the shape of a letter, dated in 1506, which was discovered by Ranke at Vienna, aIld pub]ished by Bumboldt at p. 157 of the fifth volume of his Examex Crittgue. In addition, he aSords us at the end of his pamphlet facsimiles of three notes attributed to Columbus, and bearing closely on the subject. The ultimate conclusion to which M. Varnhagen arrives is, that Vespucci undotlbtedly accomltanied Pinzon and Solis, and with a fleet of follr ships, between 1497 and August, 1498, discovered and explored all the eastern coast of North Amelica from Yucatan and the Gulf of hIexico to the most northern parts of the United States.

14. Notes on Ghitan.* By KEITH E. ABBOTT, 13sq., H.M. Consul, Tehran.

(SHILAN iS a narror strip of col-lntry- sitllated on tlle sollth-Xvestern side ot the Caspian, and enclosed by a lofty range of mountains, measuring from 6000

[JUNE 27? 1859

* See Paper by General Monteith, vol. iii. Journal R.G.S.-ED.

390 390 ADDITIONAL NOTICES. ADDITIONAL NOTICES.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.169 on Sat, 17 May 2014 11:06:22 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions