ChronologicalOBSERVATIONSOFAMERICA,From the year of the Worldto the year of Christ,1673.LONDON:Printed forGiles Widdowes, at theGreen-Dragonin St.Paul’s-Church-yard, 1674.The Preface.
From the year of the Worldto the year of Christ,1673.
LONDON:
Printed forGiles Widdowes, at theGreen-Dragonin St.Paul’s-Church-yard, 1674.
The Terrestrial World is by our learned Geographers divided into four parts, Europe, Asia, AfricaandAmericaso named fromAmericus VespuciustheFlorentine,Seven years afterColumbus;althoughColumbusandCabotadeserved rather the honour of being Godfathers to it: notwithstanding by this name it is now known to us, but was utterly unknown to the AncientEuropeansbefore their times, I will not sayto theAfricansandAsians, forPlatoin hisTimeusrelateth of a great Island calledAtlantis, andPhilotheJewin his bookDe mundo, that it was over-flowen with water, by reason of a mighty Earthquake; The like happened to it 600 years beforePlato: thus was theAtlantickOcean, caused to be a Sea,if you will believe the same Philosopher, who flourished366years before the Birth of our Saviour.
Americais bounded on the South with the streight ofMagellan,where there are many Islands distinguished by an interflowing Bay; the West with the pacifique Sea, ormare-del-zur,which Sea runs towards the North, separateing it from the East parts ofAsia;on the East with theAtlantick,or our Western Ocean calledmare-del-Nort;and on the North with the Sea that separateth it fromGroveland,thorow which Seas the supposed passage toChinalyeth; these North parts, as yet are but barely discovered by our voyagers.
The length of this new World between the streights ofAnianandMagellanis2400 Germanmiles, in breadth betweenCabo de fortunanear theAnianstreights is1300 Germanmiles. About18leagues fromNombre de dios,on the South-Sea lyethPanama (a City having three fair Monasteries in it)where the narrowest part of the Countrey is, it is much less thanAsia,and far bigger thanEurope,and as the rest of the world divided into Islands and Continent, the Continent supposed to contain about1152400000Acres.
The Native people I have spoken of already: The discoverers and Planters of Colonies, especially in the North-east parts; together with a continuation of the proceedings of theEnglishinNew-England,from the first year of their settling there to purpose, to this present year of our Lord1673.with many other things by the way inserted and worth the observing I present unto your view in this ensuing Table.