Appendix C

　　It would have been so natural to give the name of Columbus to thenew world which he gave to Castile and Leon, that much wonder has beenexpressed that America was not called Columbia, and many efforts havebeen made to give to the continent this name. The District of Columbiawas so named at a time when American writers of poetry, were determinedthat "Columbia" should be the name of the continent. The ship Columbia,from which the great river of the West takes that name, had received thisname under the same circumstances about the same time. The city ofColumbia, which is the capital of South Carolina, was named with thesame wish to do justice to the great navigator.

　　Side by side with the discussion as to the name, and sometimesmaking a part of it, is the question whether Columbus himself was reallythe first discoverer of the mainland. The reader has seen that he first sawthe mainland of South America in the beginning of August, 1498. It wason the fifth, sixth or seventh day, according to Mr. Harrisse's accuratestudy of the letters. Was this the first discovery by a European of themainland?

　　It is known that Ojeda, with whom the reader is familiar, also saw thiscoast. With him, as passenger on his vessel¹, was Alberico Vespucci, and atone² time it was supposed that Vespucci had made some claim to be thediscoverer of the continent, on account of this voyage. But in truth Ojedahimself says that before he sailed he had seen the map of the Gulf³ of Pariawhich Columbus had sent home to the sovereigns after he made thatdiscovery. It also seems to be proved that Alberico Vespucci, as he wasthen called, never made for himself any claim to the great discovery.

　　Another question, of a certain interest to people proud of Englishmaritime science, is the question whether the Cabots did not see themainland before Columbus. It is admitted on all hands that they did notmake their first voyage till they knew of Columbus's first discoveries; butit is supposed that in the first or second voyage of the Cabots, they saw themainland of North America. The dates of the Cabots' voyages areunfortunately badly entangled⁴. One of them is as early as 1494, but this is generally rejected. It is more probable that the king's letters patent,authorizing John Cabot and his three sons to go, with five vessels⁵, underthe English flag, for the discovery of islands and countries yet unknown,"was dated the fifth of March, 1496. Whether, however, they sailed in thatyear or in the next year is a question. The first record of a discovery is inthe account-book of the privy⁶ purse of Henry VII, in the words, "August10th, 1497. To him who discovered the new island, ten pounds." This isclearly not a claim on which the discovery of the mainland can be based.

　　A manuscript known as the Cotton Manuscript says that John Cabothad sailed, but had not returned, at the moment when the manuscript waswritten. This period was "the thirteenth year of Henry VII." The thirteenthyear of Henry began on the twenty-second of August, 1497, and ended in1498. On the third of February, 1498, Henry VII granted permission toCabot to take six English ships "to the lands and islands recently found bythe said Cabot, in the name of the king and by his orders." Strictlyspeaking, this would mean that the mainland had then been discovered;but it is impossible to establish the claim of England on these terms.

　　What is, however, more to the point, is a letter from Pasqualigo, aVenetian merchant, who says, writing to Venice, on the twenty-third ofAugust, 1497, that Cabot had discovered the mainland at seven hundredleagues to the west, and had sailed along it for a coast of three hundredleagues. He says the voyage was three months in length. It was made, then,between May and August, 1497. The evidence of this letter seems to showthat the mainland of North America was really first discovered by Cabot.

　　The discussion, however, does not in the least detract from the merit dueto Columbus for the great discovery. Whether he saw an island or whetherhe saw the mainland, was a mere⁷ matter of what has been called landfallby the seamen⁸. It is admitted on all hands that he was the leader in allthese enterprises, and that it was on his success in the first voyage that allsuch enterprises followed.

The End

1 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

2 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

7 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

8 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。