pelsart’s voyage to avstralasia:

43,6

mature deliberation, reflefting on the number of prifoners, and the temptation thatmight arife from the vaft quantity of filver on board the frigate, they at laft came toa refolution to try and execute them there, which was accordingly done ; and they em-barked immediately afterwards for Batavia.

REMARKS.

This voyage was tranflated from the original Dutch by Thevenot, and printed byhim in the firfl volume of his collections. Pelfart’s route is traced in the map of theglobe publilhed by Delifle in the year 1700.

As this voyage is of itfelf very ffiort, I lhall not detain the reader with many remarks;but lhall confine myfelf to a very few obfervations, in order to Ihow the confequencesof the difcovery made by Captain Pelfart. The country upon which he fufferedffiipwreck was New Holland, the coalt of which had not till then been at all examinedand it was doubtful how far it extended. There had indeed been fome reports fpreadwith relation to the inhabitants of this country, which Captain Pelfart’s relation ihowsto have been falfe ; for it had been reported, that when the Dutch Ealt India Com-pany fent fome Ihips to make difcoveries, their landing was oppofed by a race of giganticpeople, with whom the Dutch could by no means contend. But our author faysnothing of the extraordinary fize of the favages that were feen by Captain Pelfart’speople; from whence it is reafonable to conclude, that this llory was circulated withno other view than to prevent other nations from venturing into thefe feas. It isalfo remarkable, that this is the very coalt furveyed by Captain Dampier, whofeaccount agrees exactly with that contained in this voyage. Now, though it be true,,that from all thefe accounts there is nothing faid which is much to the advantage eitherof the country or its inhabitants, yet we are to confider that it is impoflible to repre-fent either in a worfe light than that in which the Cape of Good Hope was placed,before the Dutch took polfeffion of it; and plainly demonllrated that indultry couldmake a paradife of what was a perfe£t purgatory while in the hands of the Hottentots.If, therefore, the climate of this country be good, and the foil fruitful, both of whichwere affirmed in this relation, there could not be a more proper place for a colonythan fome part of New Holland, or of the adjacent country of Carpentaria. I lhallgive my reafons for alferting this when I come to make my remarks on a fucceeding.voyage. At prefent I lhall confine myfelf to the reafons that have induced theDutch Eaft India Company to leave all thefe countries unfettled, after having firltfhewn fo ftrong an inclination to difcover them, which will oblige me to lay before thereader fome fecrets in commerce that have hitherto efcaped common obfervation, andwhich, whenever they are as thoroughly confidered as they deferve, will undoubtedlylead us to as great difcoveries as thofe of Columbus or Magellan .

In order to make myfelf perfectly underltood, I mull obferve, that it 'was the findingout of the Moluccas , or Spice-iflands, by the Portuguefe, that raifed that fpirit ofdifcovery, which produced Columbus’s voyage, which ended in finding America }though in fa£t, Columbus intended rather to reach this country of New Holland-The aflertion is bold, and at firll fight may appear improbable; but a little attentionwill make it fo plain, that the reader mull be convinced of the truth of what I fay-The propofition made by Columbus to the State of Genoa, the Kings of Portugal ,Spain, England and France , was this, that he could difcover a new route to the EaftIndies; that is to fay, without going round the Cape of Good Hope . He grounded