true that towards Euphrates and near the Mountains of Arabia foelix it has some few Towns resorted to by Merchants But this is only in those Parts North-West of China there 's a notable Desart a Sandy one called Xamo Desertum the Desart of Lop or Xamo through some part of which runs Hoang the great River of China As for Africk Desarts are as common there as Forrests in Europe And there is a good Part of it lying betwixt Biledulgerid Northward and the Negroes Land Southward that is but a continual Desart 'T is that we call in Latin Lybia Deserta or by the name of the Country Zara which signifies a Desart or Wilderness In America 't is said there are likewise vast Desarts but we have as yet no good Account of them So Philalethes I shall conclude with these Reflections upon the different Nature of Country's as Parts of the Earth For whereas some Country's are Flat and only set out with some pleasant little Hills here and there others are Mountainous full of huge Hills and dreadful Precipices Some are Fat and Marshy when others are Sand or Stony Some Country's are fruitful irrigated with fair and Navigable Rivers and in short bless'd with all Necessaries whilst others are barren unhappy and full of Desarts fit only to bring forth wild and venomous Beasts Some produce one Thing some another according to that of Ovid Nec eadem Tellus parit omnia Vitibus illa Convenit haec Oleis hîc bene Farra virent Some Country's injoy a Temperate Air as most Country's of Europe whilst some are e'en Scorched by an extream Heat of the Sun and others Frozen up almost all the Year round And here it is that they have almost a continual Day-light for six Months and as long a time of continual Darkness whilst most part of the World enjoys in the space of 24 hours the more convenient and daily Vicissitude of Day and Night more or less Again some Country's but Islands especially are extremely subject to Fogs Winds Rain and Change of Weather whilst Country's remote from the Sea do commonly enjoy a purer Air a more Serene Sky and such Weather as is suitable to the Season Those are commonly Unhealthful and subject to divers Diseases These nothing near so much In fine some Country's as in the East are much subject to Earth-quakes some as the Caribby Islands to Hurricanes and dreadful Tempests and others as Sicily and Iseland to Deluges of Fire The Fifth Discourse Of the Waters SOphr In our last Discourse I have given you Philalethes such an Account of the visible Earth as might fill your Expectation Now I shall make it my business to be as Accurate in the Description of the Waters which as I said before make up together with the Earth the Terr-Aqueous Globe In order to which I must tell you in the first place that as the Earth is chiefly divided into Continents Islands and Peninsules so are the Waters principally divided into Seas Lakes and Rivers By the Sea in general is meant that great Body of Waters which is thought to incompass the Earth on every side and is properly called by the Name of Ocean But there are particular Seas which flow out of the Ocean through a narrow Passage and stretch themselves a long way through several Country's therefore called Inland Seas as the Mediterranean the Baltick and Red-Sea of which more afterwards A Lake is a considerable Body of Waters having no visible Intercourse with the Sea or influx into it as the Lake of Geneva A River is a Water-course issuing from some Spring or Lake and continually running in its proper Channel till it emptys it self either into the Sea immediately or else into a greater River The Place where it begins is called Spring Head or Source where it runs into another Fall Influx or Confluence and where it loses it self in any Sea that is properly termed the Mouth of the River But next to Seas Lakes and Rivers I must explain unto you these Words Viz. Gulf. Bay Creek Streight Haven Pond Torrent Brook Spring A Gulf is properly a part of the Sea that makes a crooked or circling Shore of a large extent as the Gulf of Bengala in the East-Indies and that of Mexico in America A Bay is nothing else but a midling sort of Gulf Though I confess there are great Gulfs which bear the name of Bay as North of America Baffins Hudsons and Buttons Bay A Creek is a little Bay A Streight is an Arm or a narrow Passage of a Sea as the Streights of Magellan Gibraltar and the Hellespont A Haven or an Harbour is a safe Place for Ships to ride at Anchor A Pond or Pool is but a small Body of standing Waters apt to be dryed up in Summer if not fed with some Spring or other A Torrent is a rapid Water caused by some great Rain or Thaw and so rushing down the Hills with great swiftness A Brook or Rivulet is but a little running Stream of a small extent And by a Spring or Fountain is meant a little Stream immediately Springing out of the Ground Now to follow the same Method we used in the Description of the Earth I must give you Philalethes a particular Account of the Seas Lakes Rivers c. The Ocean which surrounds the World may be divided according to its four Quarters into Northern Eastern Southern Western The Northern Ocean is that which lies North of Europe Asia and the Northern America and so parts them from Terra Borealis But it is also called the Frozen Sea as being commonly clogged with Ice in Winter-time The Eastern lyes between Asia and America called Eastern in respect to Asia But about the Southern America it is best known by the name of Mar del zur or South Sea or by the name of Pacifick The Southern Ocean ly's South of Asia Africk and America and so parts them from Terra Australis The Western lies betwixt Europe and Africk of one side and America on the other side called Western because it ly's West of Europe and Africk But towards America it is named Mar del North or the North Sea Now the Ocean has several particular Names commonly taken from the adjacent Country's So about Brittain it is called the Brittish Sea about Ireland Irish Sea about the lower Germany the German Sea or the German Ocean and about Spain the Spanish Sea Towards the East-Indies it is named the Indian Sea On the West side of Africk from Atlas the great African Mountain it bears the name of Atlantick Sea or Atlantick Ocean and towards Aethiopia it is from hence called Aethiopick But besides the Ocean there are some Inland Seas into which the Ocean diffuses it self As the Mediterranean which runs Eastward from the Streights of Gibraltar above a thousand Leagues betwixt Europe Northwards and Africk Southwards as far as the Shore of Asia Therefore 't is called the Mediterranean that is the Midland Sea from the Latin Mare
the Streights of Magellan whereby he at last entred from the North into the South-Sea And to give you a Description of those Streights I shall tell you in the first place that they are in the 53. Degree of Southern Latitude about 100. Leagues in length with high Hills on both sides always covered with Snow The Passage as it is tedious and unpleasant so it is very dangerous For here the Sea ebbs and flows with a violent swiftness and the very first fall into it is extremely doubtful and hazardous And then it is a Place of that Nature that which way soever a man Steer his Course as I told you before speaking of the Winds he shall be sure to have the Wind against him Besides that the Course of the Water says John Davis is so full of Turnings and Changings and those so violent that when a Ship is entred there is no returning To which add that the Channel is so very deep in some places no less than 300. fadoms that there 's no hope of Anchorage In short it was a whole month viz. from the latter end of October to the end of November before Magellan could be clear of these Narrow Seas From whence he sailed at last to the East-Indies But there he was the year following unfortunately slain And of five Ships that he set out with there was but one by a happy Omen called Victoria that returned to Spain in safety The Commander of that Ship was Sebastian del Cano who after a very long and dangerous Voyage wherein it was thought he had Sailed at least 14000. Leagues had the happiness to bring home the welcome News of his good Success But to return to our Americans they are credibly supposed to descend from the Tartars of Asia For besides that the West side of America is disjoyned from Tartary but by a very small Streight so that there is thence into these Country's a very quick and ready Passage 't is certain the Americans are most like the Tartars of any in the whole course of their Life To which add that the West side of America is far more populous than the East towards Europe or Africk Which argues that those Western Parts were first Inhabited and that from hence the rest was Peopled What remain now is to give you Philalethes first the Division of the Northern America and then that of the Southern both of them according to the present State of those two great Peninsules The Northern America may be fitly divided into these principal Parts Viz. Mexico or New Spain New Mexico Florida Virginia Canada or New France Estotiland Mexico the most Southern the best and most populous Part of all this Peninsule has on the East the Gulf of Mexico and on the West the South Sea The same reaches from the Isthmus of Panama Southward to Rio del Norte in New Mexico Northwestward above 400. Leagues but the breadth of it is not proportionable It is called Mexico from the chief Province of that name as this is from the chief City the whole Kingdom is divided into three great Prefectures or Governments called by the Spaniards Audiencas viz. of Mexico of Guadalajara or New Gallicia and of Guatimala which comprehend several Provinces And as the Gulf borrows its name from hence so the whole Peninsule is sometimes called from it Mexicana This rich Kingdom belongs solely to Spain since the Conquest of it by Ferdinand Cortez Anno 1519. North of this Mexico you will find Nuevo Mexico or the New Mexico bounded Eastward with Florida and Westward with Mare Vermejo which parts it from California Florida ly's full North of the Gulf of Mexico and Carolina is counted part of it lying near the Sea and South of Virginia By Virginia as a general Name I mean all that Sea-Coast Country which reaches North-Eastward from Florida as far as the Gulf or Bay of S. Laurence And so it contains chiefly Virginia properly so called New Sweden the New Netherlands New-England and Acadia Canada or New France ly's on both sides of the River Canada And on the West side you will find the Saguenay a part of New France so called from a River of that name which runs into the Canada Estotiland comprehends those Regions that lie most towards the North and East Bounded Eastward with the main Ocean Northwards with Hudsons Streights Westward with Hudson's Bay and on the South with Canada or New France There is nothing but the Sea-Coast of it discovered The same is also called Terra Corterealis or Corterealis Ora from Corterealis a Portugueze who in the year 1500 left his name unto it It has likewise got the name of Terra de Labrador and now the French call it Nouvelle Bretagne that is New Brittany from a French Province of that name One Thing is Observable concerning this Peninsule that most of the Western Parts as being furthest from Europe are still undiscovered But Northwards you will find some Parts of it bearing the Name of New North-wales New South-Wales and West of these New Denmark The Southern America I divide into these chief Parts Viz. Terra firma Brasil Paraguay Magellanica Chili Peru Amazonia Terra Firma in Spanish Tierra Firme comprehends those Regions which lie most towards the North. As Terra firma properly and specially so called the Governments or Country's of Popayan Cartagena S. Martha Rio de la Hacha and Venezuela the new Realm of Granada Paria Caribana and Guiana All which belong for the most part to Spain Brasil which takes up the most Eastern Parts and does chiefly belong to Portugal is divided into several Capitanias as the Portugueze call them or Prefectures the Principal of which is Capitania de Siara The Rest are of a less compass and bear for the most part the names of their chief places or Principal Rivers As Capitania de Para de Maragnan de Rio grande Parayba Tamaraca Pernambuco Bahia Ilheos Porto Seguro Spiritu Santo Rio Janeiro and S. Vincente But all this is only by the Sea-side the Inland Parts being left I suppose for our Posterity to plant Paraguay ly's South and West of Brasil and doth chiefly belong to the Spaniards It is called Paraguay from the great River of that name otherwise named Rio de la Plata which runs through the midst of it The same is at present divided into Paraguay properly so called Guayra Parana Uraguay the Province of Rio de la Plata Chaco and Tucuman Magellanica ly's South of Paraguay and reaches to the very Streights of Magellan where this Peninsule like Africk draws towards a point not unlike that of a Pyramis This wild Country has the Prospect not only of the Streights aforesaid Southwards but also of the North-Sed Eastward and part of if of the South Sea Westward Chili is a Sea-Coast Country upon the South-Sea West of Magellanica Most part of which and that towards the North is subject to the Crown of Spain Peru a Country famous for
extending from the Borders of Austria to the Black Sea and so dividing Hungary Transilvania and Moldavia from Poland 5. Mount Haemus reaching from the Gulf of Venice as far as the Black Sea and so parting Greece from Servia and Bulgaria 6. The Dofrine Hills a vast and continual Ridge of Mountains which divide Norway from Sweden In the other Parts of the World you have first in Asia Taurus of which Caucasus is a part and Imaus greater than any in Europe That running a vast way from West to East and This from North to South In Africk Atlas extending from the Atlantick Ocean a prodigious way Eastward besides the Mountains of the Moon in the South parts In the Northern America the Mountains of New Mexico which run also North of Florida And in the Southern America the Andes reaching from the North parts of Peru to the Streights of Magellan above three thousand Miles Those are Philalethes the greatest and most noted Mountains in the World All of them generally of a Rocky Substance and in most places overspread with Forests None of them free from Snow even in the heat of Summer In short they are all troublesom and very dangerous to travel over by reason of their steep and tedious Ascents narrow ways and craggy Rocks deep and dreadful Precipices fierce Whirl-winds and huge Balls of Snow which sometimes tumble down from the top with great noise and violence And yet which is Remarkable amongst some of these dreadful Hills as the Alps there are Valleys incredibly fruitful and temperate with Towns and Villages in them Generally these Hills are Impassable except in a few Places which therefore were by the Romans called Portae or from the Greek Pylae or Thermopylae And as from Lakes so from these Mountains spring many of the greatest Rivers Some produce Metals as Gold Silver Iron c. and others produce none at all Now the lesser sort of Hills are commonly Sandy Chalky or Clammy And some of these as Mount Aetna in Sicily Vesuvius in the Kingdom of Naples and Hecla in Iseland are famous for those dreadful Fires which sometimes do break out of them Phil. Pray what 's the cause of those frequent Eruptions of Fire and Vomiting of Flames Sophr. The great Abundance of Sulphureous Matter contained in the bosom of those Hills the Wind which gets in at the chinks blowing the Fire and the Water on the other side adding to the force of it Phil. Then 't is to be supposed that when the Combustible Matter shall be wasted the Conflagration shall cease Sophr. Sure enough And therefore in Tercera and St. Michael two of the Azores Islands there are now no such Fires to be seen as there has been formerly but only now and then a Smoak And 't is observable that in the Ascension Island and St. Helena the Soil is so like Ashes that it may be credibly supposed there have been formerly some Fires of this kind Phil. But do you think Sophronius the Hills are of as old standing as the World Sophr. For my part I am inclined to believe the greatest Hills were created at first as they are Not that I think as some do that God having first made the Earth perfectly Round without any hollowness or one part higher than another and then contrived hollow places in the Earth to contain the Waters the Hills came of that Earth which made room for the Waters For certainly as many more Mountains as there are in the World could not fill up all those Concavities And yet I am apt to think that some Hills have been raised accidentally as those Sandy Hills near the Sea in the Low Countreys wherein are found many shells For 't is very probable those Shells were carried thither with the Sand by some violent Winds and afterwards compacted together by succeeding Rains and so hardened in process of time Phil. I confess 't is not unlikely Now I would sain know Sophronius whether or no there be Concavity's or hollow places Windings and Turnings Precipices and the like in the Bowels of the Earth Sophr. There 's no doubt of it if you consider the nature of Earth-quakes and those Rivers that having run a good way under ground come up again Phil. What have you now to say as to Forrests and Desarts Soph. In Europe the Forest of most note was the Hercynian Forest which over-run not only a great part of Germany but following the course of the Danube spread it self over Hungary and Transilvania and from thence on the left hand over Poland and Moscovy A Wood so formidable to the Romans that when they had gone 60. days Journey through it they came back and durst not venture to search the end of it But in Germany the greatest part thereof is long since consumed and no place there so much overspread with it as Bohemia In Poland and Moscovy this Forrest is the most visible and in the last especially Which is so over-run with it that when I was there an Attendant on the Right Honourable the Earl of Carlisle his Majesties Embassador to the Court of Moscovy we travelled 15 hundred miles through that Countrey and all within that Forrest Next to which for Fame was the Forrest called Ardennes in the Lower Germany Which in the time of Caesar extended from the Rhine one way as far as Tournay in Flanders and was in Compass at least 500. miles An inconsiderable Length you will say in comparison to that of Hercynia But now 't is not above 30. Leagues in length reaching but from Thionville in Luxemburg to Liege And yet not all that Woodland neither though within the Verge of that Forrest there being in that Tract of Ground many Villages and a great deal of Arable Land In short I shall observe to you that most of our European Forrests are of Fruitless Tree as Oak Beech Pine Juniper Alder and Maple-tree of Elm Ash and Poplar-tree but above all of Firr Though there are some indeed of Olive Orange and Myrtle-trees But in Asia there are whole Forrests of Cedar Cinamon Nutmeg and Clove-trees In Africk of Limon Orange Palme and Tamarind-trees And lastly America is famous for its Cedars but particularly for that red and exceeding hard Wood called Brasil from the name of a Country there which has whole Forrests thereof As to Desarts or Wildernesses properly so called they are either Sandy Stony or Moorish In Europe we are little troubled with them But in Asia there 's enough of 'em and especially in that part of Arabia which from hence is called Arabia Deserta A Countrey say's Melchior who had travelled in it where are sound neither Men nor Beasts no not so much as Birds or Trees Grass or Pasture but only Stony High and Craggy Mountains In short 't is a wild Place and full of vast Desarts so wast and desolate that such as travel there must carry their Provisions with them and guide themselves in their Journey by the course of the Stars 'T is
from those which are in the same condition or from them who being in health do but make sport with the. Sick What Cordial think ye is the smell of Pitch and Tar What Lodging a Hammock hung up in the Air or a close and fusty Cabbin It makes me dry to think of their Salt Vittles and my Teeth as strong as they are tremble with the very Thoughts of cracking a Stone-hard Bisket when I might have a new Roll at home And to digest those hard Vittles what Place is there to walk in A Deck so tossed to and fro that every step one runs the hazard of a fall and of a boisterous rude Sea about ones ears into the Bargain Sophr. What a fine Speech you made now Philalethes I see you can make the worst of any Thing But I am sorry to see you so unmanly and all your Rhetorick serves only to set out your Faint-heartedness I wonder how you dare venture to go along the Streets for the Tiles may chance to tumble upon your head and how can you with a safe conscience walk the length of your Room when who knows but that you may shake the Foundations of the House I see you are in a Fright and therefore let us leave the Sea to take a view of the chief Lakes and Rivers But you must know before-hand Philalethes that some of them are like so many Seas Phil. 'T is no matter Their Name is not so formidable Sophr. What think you then of the Caspian Sea in Asia which in truth is but a Lake but bears the name of Sea by reason of its vast Compass being no lest than 260 Leagues long and at least an 100 broad Phil. This is a fine Lake indeed Sophr. The Greatest we know of Next to which there is another according to Sansons Maps about half the bigness of that called by the name Carantia which he places almost in the heart of the Asian Tartary In Africk you will find the grat Lakes of Zaire and Zaflan In the Northern America the Karegnondi and other Lakes adjoyning to it the length of which is not yet fully discovered And. in the Southern America the great Lake of Parime through the South part of which runs the Equinoctial This is at least 120 Leagues in length and 50 where broadest Our Europe also is stocked with a great many fine Lakes As in Moscovy the Ladoga and the Onega and in Sweden the Wener And about the bigness of these are the Beruan in the Asian Tartary Chiamay in the East Indies the Lakes of Niger Borno and Guarda in Africk Ontorio Eric and the Lake of Nicaragua in the Northern America Lago de los Xarayes Cassipa and Titicaca in the Southern America I pass by the Lakes of Constance and Geneva of Ilmen in Moscovy the Dead Sea in Palestine and a great many other of good note in all Parts of the World Which though they be lookt upon as great Lakes if compared to those of the lesser sort yet are much inferiour to the foresaid in bigness And as Lakes differ in Bigness so they do in Figure For some are Round some Long and others Oval Phil. Is their Water sweet or not Sophr. It is sweet for the most part But there are some indeed whose Water is Salt as the Caspian Sea aforesaid and the Dead Sea in Palestine And this must be either by some secret Intercourse they have with the Sea or else by some Salt Springs thereby these Lakes are fed One Thing Philalethes is remarkable about the Lake Leman otherwise called the Lake of Geneva which is about 16 Leagues in length and 4 broad where it is broadest That whereas both Lakes and Rivers do generally decrease in Summer-time this Lake swells most in the heat of that Season And the chief reason they give for 't is the Thawing of the Snow which comes down into it from several parts of the Alps. Phil. But how came the Dead Sea in Palestine by that name Sophr. 'T is thought it came to be called Sea by reason of its Length and Saltness being about 70. miles long and 16. broad and furnishing with Salt the whole Country But it is called the Dead Sea in Latin Mare Mortuum either because it has no visible Efflux or because no living Creature is nourished in it by reason of the bituminous savour it sendeth forth from whence it has been called Asphaltis and Asphaltites Near this Lake it was that stood once the infamous City's of Sodom and Gomorrah before they were consumed with Fire and Brimstone Now you must know that many Rivers spring from Lakes and that Lakes are fed with Rivers So that there is a great and perpetual Intercourse betwixt Lakes and Rovers Phil. I am now pretty well acquainted with Lakes and I would gladly know what you have to say about the Rivers Sophr. The Principal Rivers of Europe are in Spain the Douro Tajo Guadiana Guadalquivir and Ebro in France la Loire la Seine le Rhone la Garonne in Italy the Po in Germany the Danube the Rhine the Elb the Oder and the Wesel in Poland the Nieper and the Duna in Moscovy Volga Tanais Duina In Asia there is the Euphrates in the Turks Dominions Indus Ganges and Menan in the East-Indies Kiang and Hoang in China Ghammas according to Sanson Oby and the Volga aforesaid in Tartary In Africk you will find Nilus Nubia Niger Zaire Zambeze Zambere and Rio de Spiritu Santo or the Holy-Ghost River In the Northern America the Canada or St. Laurences Rives Chucagua and Rio del Norto or the North River And in the Southern the Orenoque the Amazone Rio de la Plata Rio Parana and Rio Desaguadero Amongst which the Amazone is a most prodigious River and the greatest of the Known World Now there is this common amongst Rivers I mean their Windings and Turnings whereby the Land is most conveniently watred and irrigated And the great Rivers which are only to be found in Continents swell into their bigness by the continual Influx of lesser Rivers that empty themselves into them as they run down their Channels towards the Sea the general Rendezvous of all Rivers From whence it comes to pass most commonly that further a River runs from its Spring the larger it grows still Again as some Rivers are remarkable for their Length and Breadth so there are some of a notable Swiftness as the Rhone the Rhine and Danube in Europe the Euphrates and Tigris in Asia the Zaire in Africk the Saguenay a River of New France in the Northern America and the Amazone in the Southern Amongst which the Saguenay though but a mean River is reported to be of so strong a Current that it suffers not the Sea to flow up its Channel so deep that in many places it attains to a 100. fathoms And which is observable the same is narrower at the Influx of it into the great Canada than it is at the very head A Thing quite contrary
its Gold and Silver Mines lies Northward of Chili East of the South or Pacifick Sea and is parted from North to South almost in the midst by the huge Mountains called Andes The Country is about 600. Leagues in length from North to South but the breadth from East to West is not proportionable From hence it is that some can the whole Peninfule by the name of Peruana as they call the other from Mexico Mexicana This great and rich Kingdom was Conquered by the Spaniards ten years after that of Mexico viz. in the year 1522. Pizarro was the Man imployed in Chief in the Conquest of it a Man basely extracted and as sordidly brought up who was fain at last to steal for shelter into America Where being grown Rich and Bold by his Adventures and being well informed of the Wealth of Peru he undertook the Conquest of it and at last per fas nefas got it for the Crown of Spain Since which Time the Spaniards have divided it into three Audiencas or Prefectures Viz. Audienca de Quito which takes up the Northern Parts Audienca de los Reyes which contains the middle Parts where you will find Peru properly so called and Audienca de los Charcas which takes up the Southern Parts By Amazonia I mean all those Inland and Unknown Countrys which lye betwixt Peru on the West and Brasil on the East bounded North-wards with Terra-firma Southward with Paraguay and Part of Peru. Called Amazonia from the Amazone that great and prodigious River which runs through the North Parts of this Country from West to East into Mar del Nort or North Sea Thus you have Philalethes a general Account of the Known Parts of the World In Terra Polaris Arâ—ctica you will find Greenland first discovered in the year 982 by Ericus Rufus but little of it besides the Sea-Coast is known Famous most of all for the Fishing of Whales hereabouts East of Greenland lies Nova Zemla of which nothing is discovered as yet besides the Western Shore So that it is not known whether it be an Island or part of the Continent In Terra Australis or towards it you will find these Country 's as imperfectly discovered as those Viz. the Land of Papous East of the Molucca's and New Guinea East of that But some take the Land of Papous to be part of New Guinea South of these is New Holland not long since discovered by the Hollanders But whether it is an Island or Continent we are as yet to seek Phil. I think we have run pretty well over the World It is high time for us to rest our selves But I desire next time we meet to learn the Meaning of the Circles that so I may understand the use of Globes and Maps Sophr. With all my heart The Seventh Discourse Of the Vse of Globes and Maps with their several Circles SOphronius In our former Discourses you have had a general Account of the Real Parts of the Earth Now I come to the Imaginary ones I mean those Lines or Circles supposed to go about the World and accordingly drawn in Terrestrial Globes and Maps for the better teaching and learning of Geography Phil. Pray let me have their Definition Sophr. A Globe is a compendious Representation of the Earth in its round Figure with several Circles and an exact Situation with the Names of its several Country's Seas chief Lakes and Rivers Hills Towns or City's A Map is either general or particular By a general Map is meant a Planisphere or a Map of the whole Earth describing the Old and New World by themselves the first on the right hand and the other on the left A particular Map is a Representation of a particular Part of the World as of Europe Asia on Africa the Northern or Southern America Which are but particular Maps in respect of a Map of the whole World 'T is true there are Maps indeed more particular such as give an account of a particular Country or of one Province or more of that Country In which respect the Maps of Europe Asia Africk and America be said to be general And so I come to the Circles But first I begin with the Axel-tree of the World which is a right Line imagined to pass through the Center or midst of the World from one end of it to the other The upper end of which Axel-tree is called the Pole Arctick or North Pole and the nether end opposite to that the Pole Antarctick or South Pole Phil. How many Circles are there Sophr. There are eight principal Circles four greater and four lesser The greater Circles are The Equinoxial The great Meridian The Zodiack The Horeon The lesser Circles The Tropick of Cancer The Tropick of Capricorn The Arctick The Antarctick The Equinoctial otherwise called Aequator and by Mariners the Line is a great Circle going round the. Globe in the very midst betwixt the two Poles It is called Equinoctial because when the Sun is come to this Circle then is the Equinox that is the day and night are of an equal length And it hath the name of Aequator because it divides the World into two equal Parts the one Northwards the other Southwards From whence comes the Distinction of Northern and Southern Latitude that reaching from this Circle as far as the North Pole and this from the same Circle as far as the South-Pole Now this Circle is divided into 360. Parts called Degrees of Longitude as shewing the Length of the World Whereof the first 90. Degrees run from West to East then 180. Degrees by the back-side of the Globe from East to West and at last 90. Degrees more from West to East all which make up the number of 360. Degrees The great Meridian is a Circle that go's round the Poles and so divides the World likewise into two equal Parts In Globes it is made commonly of Brass The same has got the name of Meridian from the Latine Meridies that is Noon day because when the Sun is come to that Circle then 't is Noon in the Place whereof it is the Meridian And it is called great Meridian in opposition to those lesser Meridians which are to be seen in Globes and Maps This is the Circle wherein are set down the 360. Degrees of Latitude or Breadth of the World divided into four times 90. Now the Question is which is the most proper place for the great or first Meridian to pass through For our Modern Geographers differ much about it which causes a great Confusion Some follow still Ptolomy who placed it in the Canary Islands others have removed it more Westward to the Azores Neither do these agree amongst themselves For some will have it pass through S. Michael and S. Mary others through Corvo and Flores For my part I don't admire an Innovation that causes so much Distraction and whatever they pretend to the Remedy to be sure is worse than the Disease Therefore it were much to be wished
Rhodes lying Westward from it But in the Ocean you will find besides Ceylan a considerable Island in the East-Indies these following incomparably bigger viz. Borneo Sumatra Java Celebes Mindanao Lucon or Manille and East of China Japan Africk cannot boast of any great Island besides that of Madagascar which indeed is a vast Island lying South-East-ward In the New World or America you will find near the Month of the River Canada a great Island called New-found-Land and in the Gulf of Mexico Cuba and Hispaniola West of Mare Vermejo or the Vermilion Sea there 's an Island as big as those three which is called California and South of the Streights of Magellan is also a large Island called Terra del Fuego or the Land of Fire The Rest are not to be compared in bigness to any of those But towards Terra Borealis North of America you will find three great but wild Islands called Cumberlands Isles lying betwixt the Streights of Hudson and Davis and another near Furbisher's Streights Further towards the East is Iseland another great Island belonging to the King of Denmark which is but thinly Inhabited The Arctick Circle passes through the middle of it Phil. What do you think Sophronius of Europe Asia and Africk Are they not surrounded with the Sea Sophr. They are so But because of their vast Extent they are usually called by the name of Continents Phil. I have heard say of Sicily that it was credibly supposed to have been in former times joyned to Italy Pray what ground is there for it Sophr. The Narrowness of the Streights and the Shallowness of it besides that the Land on both sides is very brittle First the Streight is so narrow that where narrowest it is not above a mile and a half broad and 't is observed that at the taking of Messina by the Carthaginians many of the Inhabitants saved themselves by swimming over into Italy Secondly It is so Shallow that upon a diligent Sounding 'tis found not to be above eight Fathom deep Thirdly the Land on both sides is so very brittle and so full of hollow Caverns and Chinks that it is lookt upon as the effects of a working Sea on this separation To which add that on the Italian Coast there stands a City of old called Rhegium and now Regio from the Greek Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to break off or pull asunder supposed to be so called upon this occasion The Poets themselves give us to understand as much when they tell us that Neptune with his Trident broke this Island off from the Continent in savour of Jocastus the Son of Aeolus that so he might Inhabit there with the greater safety And indeed if by Neptune we understand the Sea and by Aeolus the Winds we may easily with some help from the Mythologists make a Story good enough of that Poetical Fiction Phil. By what you said the Thing seems very probable And who knows but that our Island here was once joyn'd to the Continent of France and broke off from it by the violence of the Sea and the fury of blustering Winds or perhaps by some Earthquake 'T is you know but twenty miles over Sophr. That 's a great way Philalethes and I look upon that distance as the greatest Argument against it though I know there be those who are apt to believe it But let there be a Demurr upon that Subject and if you will let us now take a Survey of the chief Peninsules First I begin with Africk the largest and truest Peninsule of all being every where surrounded with Seas except where it joyns to Asia by the narrow Isthmus of Sues As for Europe and Asia you may call them if you will Peninsules but not so properly as Africk For though they be almost surrounded with Seas yet there is more than an Isthmus in the case Europe being joyned to Asia a good way by Land and this last besides to Africk by the aforesaid Isthmus But the Northern and Southern America make of themselves two large and perfect Peninsules every where incompassed with Seas but where they joyn together in the middle by the Isthmus of Panama Besides those great Peninsules there are others of a less compass and yet much taken notice of As 1. Jutland in Denmark known amongst the Ancients by the name of Cimbrica Chersonesus Chersonesus being Originally a Greek Word for a Peninsule 2. The Taurick Chersonese from the Latin Taurica Chersonesus which is properly the European Tartary lying betwixt the Black Sea and Palus Maeotis 3. The Thracian Chersonese from the Latin Thracica Chersonesus a Peninsule which runs North from the Hellespont in Greece 4. Morea formerly called Peloponesus in the Southern parts of Greece this Peninsule being joyned but by a very little Isthmus called the Corinthian Isthmus to the Continent of Greece 5. The Golden Chersonese from the Latin Aurea Chersonesus a famous Peninsule in the East-Indies where now lies the Kingdom of Malacca and the South part of that of Siam 6. The Peninsule of Corea in the North-East parts of China 7. Those of Acadia Florida and Yucatan in the Northern America the first lying Southward of St. Laurence's Gulf the second in Florida North of the Island Cuba and the third being part of Mexico or New Spain Now among the Istmus's that joyn these Peninsules to their several Continents there are three of special note viz. the Isthmus of Sues the Corinthian Isthmus and that of Panama And it is observable first as to the Corinthian Isthmus that there was a Design of old to cut it through being but six miles in breadth and so make a perfect Island of Morea This was attempted but in vain first by Demetrius King of Macedon then by Julius Caesar afterwards by Caius Caligula and most of all by the Emperour Nero. Who to hearten his Soldiers took himself a Spade in hand and began the Work But at last they being frighted with the Blood which abundantly broke forth with the Groans and Roarings they continually heard and with the Hobgoblins and Furies which were always in their sight as if God had not been pleased with so proud an Enterprize perswaded the Emperour to give over this unprofitable Design as had done the former Princes on the like Discouragements As to that of Panama which is twenty Leagues in breadth a small Ligament for so great a Body as the Northern and Southern America there has been also some thoughts of cutting a Navigable Channel through that Isthmus whereby those two Peninsules should be turned into Islands and the long Voyages to China and the Molucca's might be very much shortned The Thing it self has been oftentimes moved to the Council of Spain But it was not thought convenient to attempt it In Aegypt Sesostris King of that Countrey attempted to cut a main Channel from the Red Sea to the River Nilus fit for Ships of great Burthen the marks of which proud Attempt are remaining still His Project was seconded
Armiro Salonichi Aiomama or St. Anna Monte Santo Contessa and Caridia all upon the Coast of Greece As to the Baltick Sea besides the great Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland in which it ends those of most note are the Gulfs of Lubeck Dantzick and Riga And so I proceed to Streights From what has been said before it doth appear that there are three sorts of Streights Some that afford a Passage out of one part of the Ocean into another some out of the Ocean into an Inland Sea and others out of one Inland Sea into another Phil. Pray let us have them all together Sophr. As to Those that make way from one part of the Ocean into another there is none of note either in Europe or Africk Unless we should reckon in Europe the Channel for one and the Irish Sea for another In Asia there are many as the Streights of Weygatz betwixt Nova Zemla in Terra Borealis and some North Parts of the Asian Tartary of Uriez near the Land of Jesso of Zungar betwixt Japon and Yupi in Tartary of Manille South of a great Island of that name the chief of the Philippine of Macassar South of Celebes another great Island in the Indian Sea of Palambua East of the great Island called Java of Bantam betwixt Java and Sumatra of Malacca betwixt Malacca in the Golden Chersonese and the Island Sumatra and lastly of Chilao betwixt the Indian Peninsule on this side Ganges and the Island called Ceylon In America there 's the Streights of Magellan betwixt the Southern America and del Fuego To which we may add Mare Vermejo or the Vermilion Sea betwixt New Mexico an Island of California which though never so long is properly but a Streight of this nature Those that make way from the Ocean into Inland Seas are in Europe the Sund which gives an entrance into the Baltick and betwixt Europe and Africk the famous Streights of Gibraltar otherwise called only the Streights which is an Inlet into the Mediterranean In Asia there is the Streights of Babelmandel which afford a Passage into the Red Sea and of Mossandan into the Persian Gulf North of America you will find the Streights of Davis that lead into Baffin's Bay and That of Hudson which brings one into Hudson's Bay Lastly there are three Streights that afford a Passage out of one Inland Sea into another Viz. the Hellespont now called the Streights of Gallipoli and by the French les Dardanelles or le Bras S. George betwixt the Archipelago and the Propontis or Sea of Marmora Then the Thracian Bosphorus or the Streights of Constantinople betwixt the said Propontis and the Euxine or Black Sea Thirdly Bosphorus Cimmerius now the Streights of Caffa betwixt that Sea and Palus Maeotis Phil. Is not the Hellespont that little Channel about a mile broad over which the Persian King Xerxes intending to Invade all Greece made a Bridge of Ships and so wasted over his propigious Army of above two Millions of Men Sophr. The very same But a Sudden Tempest being risen whereby this Prodigious Bridg was dangerously battered Xerxes was so incensed against this Sea that he caused it to be beaten with 300. Stripes and cast a pair of Fetters into it to make it know to whom it was Subject Yet at last his Fleet was so broken both by the Valour of the Greeks and the Fury of the Sea that he was fain to fly away over this Hellespont and to make use of a poor Fisher-boat Phil. So the proud King was fain to stoop at last and run away with shame A very fit Reward for so extravagant a Pride Sophr. Thus having taken a Survey of the Seas Gulfs and Streights now we shall make if you think fit some Useful Reflections upon the Sea and examine its Height Depth Colour Tast and several Motions Phil. Do you believe Sophronius the Sea is higher than the Land or no Sophr. There are many that do and who conclude it therefore a Miracle that the Land is not overflown For my part I do allow of a Globosity in the Sea but not such as may indanger the Land except where the Ground by the Sea-side is lower than ordinary And in such a case the Inhabitants truly don 't rely upon Miracles but are fain to raise Banks in order to prevent an Invasion of the Sea which never fails to incroach upon the Land when there is any way for it But the very Course of the Rivers down to the Sea does manifestly prove the Sea to be no higher than the Land but rather lower In short we must conclude that if the Sea were higher than the Rivers that would certainly come down into their Channels and drown not only the Land but the Rivers So natural it is for Water where there is the least descent to move that way one part following still another without intermission Phil. I am very well satisfied as to this Point Let us now proceed if you please to the Depth of the Sea Sophr. It s Depth is very unequal For as the Land has Hills both great and small Valleys and Precipices so there are in the Sea Shelves Rocks Whirl-pools and Places not to be fadomed To be short the further from Land is the Sea the deeper it is commonly and in some places it has been found no less than five or six miles deep As for the Colour of the Sea it appears generally to be of a Sky-colour But Northward it looks darkish in the Torrid Zone Brownish and in some other Places Whitish and Yellowish Phil. I wonder Sophronius you should forget the Red Colour amongst all the rest Or else how comes the Red Sea to be so called Sophr. Not from the Redness of the Waters nor from that of the Sands as some conceiv'd the Sea and Sands being found by latter Observation to be coloured here as in other places But you must know this Sea was originally called the Sea of Edom because it took beginning on the Coasts of that Countrey Now Edom in Hebrew signifies Red as appears Gen 25.30 A Nick-name first given to Esau and from him afterwards to Mount Seir or the Land of Edom Gen. 36.31 and then to the Neighbouring Sea Which by the Greeks was rendred Erythraeum and by the Latines Rubrum Whence the Name of the Red Sea became known to all but the Reason of the Name to few So the White Sea in the Northern Parts of Europe is probably so called because it washes the Shore of White Russia or Moscovy For I guess it must be from hence the Moscovites call it Bella More and we accordingly White Sea I am sure by my own Experience that it cannot be from any Whiteness it has Neither has the Black Sea took that Name from its Blackness but either from the great Mists that arise from thence or from the frequent Shipwracks that happen there the Shore being very dangerous by reason of its Rocks and Sands How Mare Vermejo or the Vermilion Sea that
to the general Rule Some Rivers run under Ground more or less in the midst of their Course and at last come up again as new Rivers Such are the Guadiana and the Rhone in Europe Tigris in Asia Niger and Nubia in Africk Some spread themselves into the form of a Lake as the Tanais and Oby And others cross a Lake with so swift a course that they preserve themselves distinct from the Waters of it as the. Rhone aforesaid which coming down the Alpes falls into the Lake Leman and having run through the whole length of it from East to West comes out at Geneva Some Rivers have great Cataracts or Falls as the Rhine betwixt Bilefelt and Shaffausen the Rhone betwixt Geneva and Lyon and la Somme betwixt Amiens and Abbeville So 't is said of the River Nilus in Africk that in two several places it falls amongst Rocks with so terrible a noise that the Neighbouring People grow deaf with it Phil. Pray let us hear something of their Fall into the Sea Sophr. Many of the greatest Rivers fall in through several Mouths as the Danube and Nilus which have no less than seven each of them And Olearius in his Travels through Tartary to Persia tells us of 70. Mouths through which the River Volga that I have been upon several times disburdeneth it self after a winding Course of a thousand leagues into the Caspian Sea But there are some Rivers and commonly small ones that neither fall into other Rivers nor yet into the Sea but either lose themselves in the Ground or turn into a Lake Phil. Are all Rivers of the same Colour as ours are Sophr. They are generally so But yet there be some of a blackish colour some whitish and others reddish Of this last sort was the Adonis a River of Phaenicia in Syria which rises out of Mount Libanus and falls into the Sea 6. miles South of Barut This River in Summer-time used to contract a kind of Redness occasioned by the Winds which then blowing most vehemently did thereby carry down the Stream a great quantity of minium or red Earth from the sides of the Hills wherewith the Water was discoloured Phil. Is not this the River which was reported as Lucian has it to stream blood when the obsequies of Adonis the Darling of Venus were yearly celebrated Sophr. The very same Thus a natural Accident was made use of to give the better colour to the Superstition as if Adonis's Wounds did bleed every year Phil. Now as to the Tast of River-Water are all Rivers sweet as ours are Sophr. 'T is to be observed first that all Rivers subject to the Tide have a Tast of the Sea-water especially near their Fall into the Sea and so far as the Tide go's they have a brackish kind of Tast But there are other Rivers that have a brackish and mineral Tast upon another Account that is from such Minerals as they meet in their Course Phil. You know that Rivers are apt to overflow after a great Rain or Thaw as it frequently happens either at the beginning or at the latter end of Winter But I have heard of a more general and constant Overflowing of some great Rivers beyond Sea which I much admire at Sophr. 'T is this overflowing upon which depends the Want or Plenty of those Countrys And the River Nilus amongst others is as famous for that as it is for its Crocodiles In May says Thevenot it begins to flow and so increases every day some Inches till die latter end of September or the beginning of October At which time it begins to fall and is as long ebbing as flowing In the Year 1658. it increased according to the same Author who was then in the great Caire to the height of almost 22 Pics each Pic at 24 Inches And then the River began to decrease the 23d of September Phil. What becomes in the mean time of the Inhabitants and their Cattle during this great Land-Flood For Egypt at that time must needs look like a Sea Sophr. They retire upon Hills and there abide till the decrease of the Waters holding still a Commerce by the Intercourse of Boats Now as it happens sometimes that we have some Years too wet and others too dry so if Nilus overflows too much or too little Aegypt do's suffer for 't Unless it rise to 16 Pics 't is a bad Year and when it do's rise to 24. 't is as bad But if it chance at any time not to overflow at all 't is worst of all For then it does not only presage a Famine in Egypt but as some will have it prognosticates a Change in the State And accordingly 't is said that in the tenth and eleventh Years of Cleopatra a little before her Fall with her Sweet-heart Antonius the River increased not at all Phil. This is indeed very Remarkable But when the Water of Nilus is withdrawn to its natural Channel I suppose the Ground is very Slimy having lain so long under Water Sophr. So very Slimy that whereas we are fain to dung our Grounds the Egyptians throw Sand upon theirs before they Sow or Plant any thing And of this Slime is ingendred many living Creatures and as some say such innumerable heaps of Frogs that if the Country were not furnished as it is with a proportionable number of Storks by whom they are greedily devoured the Plague of Frogs would come a second time upon the Inhabitants Phil. Is it true that it never rains in Egypt Sophr. T is a Vulgar Error strongly confuted by Monsieur Thevenot Who affirms that it rains much in Alexandria and Rosetta but not indeed so much in the City of Caire However he says that he has seen it rain there two days together very hard and with great Thunder-claps in the Month of December The Sixth Discourse Of the National Tarts of the Earth SOphr Besides the Natural Division of the World into Earth and Waters there is a National Division of it which is to be the Subject of our present Discourse And to make it clear to ye you must know first the World is divided into two Principal Parts the Known and the Unknown World The Unknown World or that Part of the World which is yet Unknown to us lies about the Poles but the greater Part towards the Southern Pole That Part which lies towards the North Pole is called in Latin Terra Borealis or Terra Polaris Arctica and the other Part that lies towards the South Pole Terra Australis or Terra Polaris Antarctica The Known World is usually divided into four Parts Europe Asia Africk and America But it is a most unequal Division and I think it more rational to divide it thus Viz. the Known World first into two Parts the Old and the New World then the Old World into three Europe Asia and Africa and the New into two the Northern and Southern America For as the Old World do's visibly consist of three distinct Peninsules so is
the Ancients under the name of Aethiopia Inferior Zanguebar and Abissinia under that of Aethiopia Superior Congo contains several Kingdoms which I forbear to mention because of no great Note Cafraric is a Sea-Coast Country that extends it self from Angola part of Congo as far as the Cape of Good Hope Southward and from thence as far as Zanguebar Eastward Monomotapa and Monomugi are two Inland Country 's of Africk lying within the Compass of Cafraria But Zanguebar is a Sea-Coast Country towards the East Abissinia is a vast Empire divided into several Kingdoms and whereof the Western part is watered by the River Nilus Nubia ly's West and North of Abissinia and the Desart of Barca or Libya Marmarica North of Nubia Egypt which next to Barbary is the most noted and frequented Country of Africk is bounded Eastward with the Isthmus of Sues and the Red-Sea Westward with Barca and the Desart of that name Northward with the Mediterranean and Southward with Nubia and Abissinia Thus much for the Old World And now I come to the New otherwise known by the Name of America or else the West Indies Phil. I remember you told me before the New World was called New for the late Discovery and World for the vast Greatness of it Pray how long is it since it was first discovered Sophr. 'T is almost two hundred years ago and the first Discoverer of it was Christopher Columbus an Italian born of Genoa He being a Man of great ability's and born to undertake great Matters could not perswade himself when he considered the Motion of the Sun but that there was another World to which this Glorious Planet did impart both his Light and Heat when he went from us This World he resolved to seek after and accordingly in the year 1486. he opened his Design to the State of Genoa But the business being slighted there he sent his Brother to the Court of England Who unluckily fell in his way hither into the hands of Pirates and was by them detained a long while However he got his Liberty at last and so came over to England where his Proposition was so well relished that Columbus was sent for to take measures with him But he not having heard a long time from his Brother conceived the Offer of his Service to have been neglected and had already made his Address to the Court of Spain At that time Reigned King Henry VII here and Queen Isabella in Spain Where Columbus at last with much ado and after many delays had three Ships furnished not so much for Conquest as for Discovery Phil. How came he at last to compass his Design Sophr. Being furnished with the Ships aforesaid he ventured upon the main Ocean steering his Course to the Westward Two whole Months did he float upon this unknown Sea before he could see any Land Insomuch that his Men began to Mutiny and refused at last to go on He promised them to return again if they did not see Land in three days They agreed And as Providence would have it on the third day they discovered the Island Guanahani in the 24th Degree of Northern Latititude There having Landed he took possession of it for the Crown of Spain October 11. Anno 1492. and called it St. Salvador which is S. Saviour Afterwards he discovered and took possession of Hispaniola and with much treasure and applause returned into Spain Preferred for this good Service first to be Admiral of these Indies and afterwards to a Coat of Arms with this Motto For Castille and Leon Columbus has got a New World and in conclusion to the Title of Duke de la Vega. The next year he returned thither discovered the Islands of Cuba Jamaica and Hispaniola and in this last built the Town now called St. Domingo In the Year 1497. the same year that Vasquez de Gama found out the Passage by Sea to the East Indies a happy Time for Discovery's he went another Voyage in which he discovered amongst other Places Paria in the Firm Land And in the year 1500. he began his fourth and last Voyage which he performed without adding much to his former Discoveries At last he died in Spain in the year 1506 and was honourably Interred at Sevil. But though Columbus be dead yet Columbus's Fame shall live to all Posterity's 'T is he we are indebted to for the Advantage we have of seeing clearly those Things which either were Unknown or but blindly guessed at by the Ancients Next to Columbus John Cabot a Venetian the Father of Sebastian Cabot discovered a great part of this Continent in behalf of Henry VII of England For in the year 1497. he found out all the North-East Coasts hereof from Florida Southward to New-found-Land and Terra di Laborador in the North. Then came Americus Vesputius a Florentine imployed therein by Emanuel King of Portugal Anno 1501. on a design of finding out a nearer way to the Molucca's than by the Cape of Good Hope And though he passed not further than the Cape of St. Augustine in Brasil yet from him to the great Injury and Neglect of the first Discoverers this Continent has got the Name of America Sic Vos non Vobis fertis Aratra Boves Phil. Indeed this is a great piece of Ingratitude But Usus invaluit and now it is past cure Sophr. I have but this more to tell you upon the Subject of this Discovery that after Americus there came several private Adventurers and Undertakers out of all parts of Europe bordering on the Ocean Amongst whom Magellan was the first that compassed the whole World and found the South Passage called from him the Streights of Magellan Wherein he was followed by Drake and Cavendish of England Thus this New World became a Prey to Europe but to Spain especially Thus the Natives were invaded and till the time of Charles V. Millions of them destroyed by the Spaniards Cruelty who to secure their Usurpation and satiate their Avarice laid aside all sense of Religion and Humanity it self and so made Christianity a Bug-bear to those naked Heathens Auri Sacra Fames quid non mortalia cogis Pectora But the Blood of these poor People cry's for Vengeance still And 't is observable already how the Monarchy of Spain which was so formidable but in the last Century has been almost ever since Charles the Fifth's time in a declining condition First overpowred by the Hollanders then by the English and lately by the French Phil. I love to take notice of great Men. Pray what was that Magellan who first Sailed round about the World Sophr. He was a noble Portugueze well skilled in Navigation Who upon some Discontents received in the Court of Emanuel King of Portugal made offer of his Service to Charles the fifth King of Spain and undertook the finding out a shorter cut to the Molucca's than had been discovered Which he effected in the year 1520. by his Discovery of those narrow Seas from him called