Among the effects of Columbus’s discoveries was the necessity which was immediately found for delimiting the spheres in which Portuguese and Spanish explorations respectively should be prosecuted8. In the existing state of geographical theory it may be supposed that a satisfactory delimitation was no easy matter to obtain, and, indeed, the line which was chosen was found, in fact, impossible to demarcate. It was determined9 under the treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494), which followed upon a pronouncement contained in two papal bulls of the previous year, that to Spain should belong islands discovered west of a north-and-south line drawn10 370 leagues west of the Cape11 Verde Islands, and that Portugal might claim all lands lying east of this line. The rule gave rise to such difficulties that Portugal is found later making a claim upon Brazil, while Spain did the same upon the Moluccas.
61 In 1493 Columbus led a new and much larger expedition to the scene of his triumph. There was now no lack of enthusiasm to be of his company. On November 3 Dominica was reached; the Antilles were subsequently surveyed, and Hispaniola or Haiti, which had been discovered on the first expedition, was again visited. Jamaica was found, the south coast of Cuba was traced—though this island was taken for a peninsula—and it is possible that the mainland of Central America was seen. Columbus returned in 1496 to Spain, and set out on his third voyage in 1498. Holding a more southerly course than before, he came to Trinidad, and subsequently recognized the neighbourhood of continental12 land by observing a current of fresh water of considerable strength in the open sea; this was from the mouth of the Orinoco. The settlers in the new colonies met with many difficulties, and created more. There was much hostility13 towards Columbus, and he was doubtless restrained from accomplishing much which might have been accomplished14 if his followers15 had been wholly loyal. On his last voyage, in 1502–4, his aim was to penetrate16 right through the archipelago and to complete the circumnavigation of the world. After coasting along Cuba he turned south, and came upon the coast of Honduras, which he followed for nearly four months before he was compelled to return to Spain. Within a few days of his arrival there, he lost his great patroness by the death of Isabella, and he himself passed the remaining months of his life in comparative neglect.
Voyagers hastened to follow him across the Atlantic. The work of those who, like Cabot and Cortereal, added a knowledge of the north-eastern coasts of the new continent to the discoveries of the time, will be62 considered more appropriately in connection with the exploration of the arctic region, and the attempt to solve the long-lived problem of the north-west passage (Chapter VIII). The year 1500 and the first few years of the new century were only less notable than that of Columbus’s discovery.
Vicente Ya?ez Pinzon came of a wealthy Andalusian family, of which several members were well-known navigators—Vicente himself and two brothers, Martin and Francisco, had assisted Columbus. He, in command of an expedition in 1499–1500, was the first Spaniard to cross the Equator, discovered the Brazilian coast at Cape San Agostinho, added 300 miles to the known coast of South America, and found the mouth of the Amazon. The Portuguese Cabral, who has been commonly hailed as the discoverer of Brazil, actually reached its coast some three months after Pinzon, having been driven far from his course round the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian seas in the wake of Vasco da Gama (Chapter VII). In the following years many expeditions crossed the Atlantic for discovery and conquest. Pinzon continued his travels in 1507–09, and in the course of them, in company with Juan Diaz de Solis, sailed south along the Brazilian coast, and is said to have passed without recognizing the great estuary17 of the Rio de la Plata.
Into this period fall the much-discussed voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, who, if he were indeed a geographical charlatan18, as the greater weight of opinion (though it is rather delicately balanced) appears to stigmatize19 him, is one of the most remarkable20 examples of a type which, at periods of keen public interest in exploration, has been not uncommon21; even modern instances may come into the memory. Vespucci, a63 native of Florence (1451–1512), came into Spanish service as a naval22 contractor23, and claimed to have himself made a voyage in 1497, which, if the distances and positions quoted by him were accurate, would have extended into the Pacific and as far as the coast now belonging to British Columbia, and would moreover have brought him within sight of the American mainland before any other navigator of this period. He also gave accounts of three later voyages (two in Portuguese service), abundant in equally or more improbable statements, as that he approached within thirteen degrees of the south pole. If he lied, he was rewarded with something more than the transient fame which others of his kind have usually had to exchange for notoriety. Martin Waldseemüller, professor of cosmography at St. Dié, is credited with the first suggestion that the new continent should take its name from Amerigo, while the hero himself died in the enjoyment25 of the Spanish office of chief pilot. It must be remembered that at this period of constant fresh discoveries it was almost impossible to form any true conception of the relative importance of the work of different men; and as it was not then the habitual26 practice of explorers to address themselves immediately on their return to the task of writing down their experiences, Vespucci’s narratives27 were eagerly seized upon as furnishing a trustworthy account of the new world.
It was not until after the first decade of the sixteenth century that the Spaniards, who were to play so large a part in the history of America, began to interest themselves in the penetration28 of the continent itself, as distinct from the islands in the Caribbean Sea. The voyage of Juan Ponce de Leon, who was obsessed29 with one of the romantic stories of the period, telling of an64 island to the north which held the secret of eternal youth, resulted in the acquisition of Florida in 1512—the first Spanish possession in North America. In the next year, 1513, Vasco Nu?ez de Balboa, a Spanish adventurer who had conquered an American kingdom with his sword, almost accidentally made the great discovery of the Pacific Ocean from the elevation30 of “a peak in Darien.” After Nu?ez had triumphantly31 taken possession of the whole sea in the name of Spain, and had returned with his news, others hastened to follow him, the most successful being Gil Gon?alez de Avila, who arrived at Nicaragua in 1523. The discovery of the Gulf32 of Mexico and of Yucatan was delayed even longer than that of the Pacific shore: it was not until 1517 that Hernandez de Cordova touched at the peninsula. But in the next year it and the gulf were explored with some thoroughness by Juan de Grisalva, who brought back to the governor of Cuba the first news of a civilized33 race living in Mexico, building great cities and rich in gold, to awaken34 the cupidity35 of the Spanish adventurers.
One great question, however, remained unsolved: the western route to Asia was still to seek. To the voyagers of the early sixteenth century it must have seemed as though the oceans of the world were divided in two by a mighty36 land barrier, stretching from pole to pole. Apart from the unexpected glimpse of the seas on the other side obtained at the isthmus37, nothing was known of the length or width of the new continent, until the problem was solved by Fernao de Magalh?es (Magellan) in one of the most remarkable voyages recorded. He set sail from Spain in 1519, and after arriving at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, which was already known, he began a careful search of the65 unknown coast to the south, always looking for the opening which might lead him to the west. In November of the same year Magellan rounded the southern extremity38 of the mainland, and sailed joyfully39 through the straits which bear his name, between the continent and the Fuegian archipelago. He and his men believed that now their journey lay behind them; a few days more with a favouring wind, and they expected to see again lands known to men, some point of the islands of eastern Asia. The wind favoured them indeed, and the name “Pacific,” given by Magellan5 to the ocean, records his gratitude40; but the land was far to seek, and it was not until ninety-nine days had passed, and his crew were come to the last stages of starvation, that he reached the Mariannes, and from thence came in ten days to the Philippines. Not only had he sailed half round the globe since he left the shores of the New World, but he had passed among the many scattered41 groups of islands in that part of the ocean without ever sighting land. He was not destined42 to enjoy his success, for he died in a skirmish on Matan, one of the Philippine Islands, and the news of the first circumnavigation of the globe was brought home by his subordinate, Sebastian del Cano.
5 Another story attributes this name to Vasco Nu?ez’ native informant.
Now that the sea-way to the western coasts of America was pointed43 out, the outline of the continent became fairly known, and the interior was being gradually covered with landmarks44, by the end of the sixteenth century. Under the energetic direction of Cortez, the Spaniards had conquered Mexico. By 1533 his emissaries had arrived at the Gulf of California; in 1541 New Mexico was explored, and by 1571 it was66 possible to construct the admirable map of Mexico which figures in Ortelius’s Atlas45 (1579). In South America Francisco Pizarro and his three brothers, with Diego Almagro and Hernando de Luque, had worked with such daring good-fortune that the whole of the Empire of the Incas was conquered for Spain, and in 1535 Chile was added to it. After the first conquest, great tracts46 of country were explored and taken possession of—first the valleys of the Andes and the country which was named New Granada, then the whole coast between the Straits of Magellan and Peru; and in 1541 Francisco de Orellana, who had separated himself from a disastrous47 expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro over the Andes from Quito, made a stupendous journey right down the River Amazon. In 1539 Hernandez de Soto, longing24 for another Peru to conquer, and full of the fables48 of treasure and precious metals which were rife49 everywhere in those days of great discoveries, started on a long and courageous50 battle to win for himself and his followers the land lying between the Gulf of Mexico and the River Ohio. He penetrated51 Arkansas; but he was eventually killed, and his followers driven from the country.
Other nations were working to conquer territories for themselves in other parts of the continent. The King of France, Francis I, sent Jacques Cartier on four separate voyages between 1533 and 1543, and he sailed up the river of St. Lawrence to the spot where Montreal now stands; but little colonization52 was done till the beginning of the following century. From France also came several colonies of Huguenots, sent out by Admiral Coligny between 1555 and 1564, one to Brazil and two to Florida, which were all attacked and destroyed. To England belongs the honour of the67 second circumnavigation of the world. Francis Drake rounded Cape Horn, and proved that Tierra del Fuego did not form part of the southern continent, as suggested by Magellan’s discovery. He sailed up and down the whole of the western coast, and across the Pacific to the Philippines, returning to England in 1580. He was followed in 1585 by another Englishman, Sir Thomas Cavendish, who also sailed round the world.
Although there remained vast tracts unknown in America, the main features of the continent had been determined. The French, under the able guidance of Samuel Champlain, were rapidly settling in Canada, and exploring far and wide, from Hudson Bay to Louisiana. England was occupying the country between the Alleghany mountains and the sea. The Spaniards were multiplying in South America. But the only expedition undertaken in a scientific spirit which resulted in the acquisition of valuable knowledge was the exploration of the Amazon by Pedro Texeira in 1639. The history of America after the end of the sixteenth century is concerned rather with colonization than with discovery. It was rapidly partitioned among English, French, Spaniards, and Portuguese. Occupation of North America was slowly pushed forward, and the continent more or less provisionally mapped. For many years the United States and Canada have had their regular surveys, and in time the northern half of America will be as well mapped as Europe. The States of South America, with the exception of the Argentine and Chile, are much more backward, and there remain, notwithstanding the work of Humboldt (1799–1804) and other scientific explorers in later years, especially around the Upper Amazon, large areas which are still a virgin53 field for the explorer.
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1
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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estuary
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| n.河口，江口 | |
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charlatan
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| n.骗子；江湖医生；假内行 | |
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stigmatize
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| v.污蔑，玷污 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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cupidity
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| n.贪心，贪财 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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atlas
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| n.地图册，图表集 | |
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tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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rife
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| adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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51
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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colonization
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| 殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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