"294
rather Behaiin *, fhould have been denied by Mr.de Mur, on publifhing a work inhonour of him f. An examination into this difputed point, materially connected as itis with the molt interefting part of the voyage I am about to publilh, will not here bemifplaced. M. Otto, in a memoir inferted in the fecond volume of the PhilofophicalTranfadtions of the Society of Philadelphia , has fought to prove that Colon was notthe firft who difeovered America, nor Magellan the firft explorer of the ftrait whichbears his name ; and that the honour of both thefe difeoveries is peculiarly due toMartin Behaim of Nuremberg. In fad, this Martin Behaim was one of the firft geo-graphers of his age ; and one of the firft who, in 1492, formed a map of the world,which he bequeathed to his country, and in which it is vet preferved ; was one of thefirft who crofted the line with the famous navigator Jaques Cano in 1482 ; who,having married the daughter of Huerter, a feudatory of the ifland of Fayal , one of theAzores , paffed feveral years on that ifland, occafionally at different times making voy-ages to Europe ; and who, efteemed and confulted by the learned men of his time, aswell as by the court of Lifbon, had ample means of acquiring the moft rare, as well as,for that age, the moft extenfive information with refped to what relates to geography.Still there is no foundation for pretending that Colon difeovered America pofteriorlyto Behaim , as was clearly demonftrated by the prefident Count Carlij loft to the republicof letters and Milan, in 1795 {. M. Otto refts his opinion on a chronicle of Nurem-berg, which ftates that “ he difeovered the iflands of America before Colon, and theftrait, which afterwards was called the Magellanic, even before Magellan himfelf;” andon the teftimony of Hartman Schedel, who fays, that Magellan and Cano in courfe oftheir failing found themfelves in another world. But the prefident Carli obferves thatthe chronicle of Nuremberg is not contemporary; and Mr. de Murr convincedhimfelf that the ftatement aferibed to Schedel is interpolated in the manufeript indifferent hand-writing. In fad it is not found in the firft edition of his work, whichis in our library. Add to this, the expreflion, “ In alterum orbem accepti funt,” mayindicate their having paffed the line.
XII. With ftill lefs reafon does Mr. Murr affume that Martin Behaim never had theleaft idea of the Strait of Magellan . “ Having had the means,” fays Mr. Murr, “ ofexamining the archives of his heirs, I found among them no trace of this dicovery. More-over, the terreftrial globe which he prefented to the city of Nuremberg fufficiently provesthat Martin Behaim did not even fufpect the exiftence of America .” This globe, thehemifphere of which, comprifing the weftern part of Europe and Africa and theeaftern part of Afia, was publilhed by Mr. Murr, this globe, I fay, fhews, that at thattime it was conceived a veffel might proceed diredly from the Azores to the kingdomsof Tungut, Cambalu, and Thibet , without meeting with any other land than the iflandof Cathay, in the whole extent of ocean to be crofted in the voyage. From theCanary iflands likewife it was imagined a courfe was open to the ifland Antilia, andon this account Colon gave the name of Antilles to the iflands in front of America .From the Cape Verd iflands, on the globe of Behaim , the courfe was deferibed as openand with no land intervening to Cipangu (Japan), made known to Europe by MarcoPolo, and mentioned by Pigafetta , who fancied he paffed at but a fhort diftance from
* It is well known that his real name was Behaim. Cluverius fays he was called of Bohemia becaufehis anceftors came originally from that country, or had fettled there for the purpofe of carrying ontraffic.
■f Notice fur le Chevalier Martin Behaim, celebre navigateur Portugal ’s; avec la defeription de (on --globe terreftre. See the Difiertation at the clofe of this work.
4 See Opufcoli Scelti di Milano, tomo xv. p.72.
it.