which remain still The Spaniards have built many there the most considerable of which is Lima on the Sea side with a Port. This is the Residence of a Vicroy and Archbishop The other chief Towns are Arica Arcquipa St. Miguel on the Sea and in the Inland Potosi near the famous Mountain of the same Name wherein are inexhaustible Mines of Gold and Silver La Plata so called for its Silver Mines San Juan del Oro and some others The Original Natives of this Kingdom have for the most part been extirpated by their Conquerors and those that were not were converted to the Catholick Faith so that there are several of them Suffragant Bishops to the Archbishop of Lima. The Countrey of Cinnamon lies betwixt Peru and Guiana it was so called by reason that there were Trees found there whose Bark had a great affinity to the true Cinnamon There are no Towns nor Villages observed there Tucuman is between Chili and the Region De la Plata and hath St. Jago del Estero for its chief Town We must now see what are the Mountains Capes Rivers and Streights of this New World It s chief Mountains are the Andes or Las Cordilleras which lie to the East of Peru. The Ingas caused ways to be cut out in them which surpassed all that the Roman Grandure ever could do They filled up deep Valleys and cut through high Rocks the remains of which prodigious Works are still to be seen In Mexico the Mount Popochampeche continually casts out Flames The most famous Capes are Cape Breton Cape Florida the North Cape and that of St. Augustin It s greatest Rivers are that of St. Lawrence in Canada of the Holy Ghost in Florida Oranoka Maragnon the River of Amazones and Rio de la Plata in South America all which run into the North Sea no considerable Rivers fall into the South Sea The most noted Streights are towards the North those of Davies and Hudson towards the South the Streights of Magellan Le Maire and Brouvers of which we shall speak after that we have considered the Islands that lie about this Continent CHAP. IV. The Isles of AMERICA WE shall in the first place view the Isles of the North Sea which are the most considerable for there are but very few in the South Sea and we shall proceed from North to South New-Foundland is an Island near the Bay of St. Lawrence and Land of Canada upon the Banks of which there is a great Cod-fishing The Isles of Assumption is in the Bay of St. Lawrence and the Sandy Island to the South of New-foundland The Bermudas are in the middle of the Ocean and the Bahaman Islands to the East of Florida Cuba lies to the South of them and upon the Mouth of the Bay of Mexico it is above Two hundred Leagues in length and about Threescore in breadth St. Jago is its chief City and an Episcopal Seat Next to that is the Havana where the Spanish Flota Rendevouze and meets on their return homeward from America it lies on the West of the Island and almost opposite to Cape Florida Hispaniola called likewise St. Domingo and by the Natives Haity is about Three hundred Leagues in circumference and lies Eastward from Cuba The Capital City which gives it the Name is St. Domingo the Residence of a Viceroy and Seat of an Archbishop The object of Avarice is found there I mean Gold and Silver Mines The Spaniards have dispeopled these two Islands and banished the Natives as they did from most of the others Jamaica lies South from Cuba and belongs to England the Two chief Towns of it are St. Jago de la Vega otherway called the Spanish Town by whom it was built and Port Royal or the Point built by the English and an excellent Harbour the Governour of the Island resides in the former It is rich and in a flourishing condition St. John de Portorico is to the East of Hispaniola its chief Town which is that of St. John has an excellent Harbour This Island was formerly called Boriquen The Caribbe Islands are to the East of the former and as it were at the Mouth of the Gulph of Mexico which they seem to shut they lie ranked in form of a Crescent and reach from North to South The most remarkable of them are Barbadoes St. Christophers Guadaloupe Dominico Martinico Antego Grenada and the Trinity The English Dutch and French possess most part of them Margareta lies somewhat more Westerly and the Fishing of Pearls which gave it its name renders it famous The Natives of these Islands as in many places of the main Land were Man Eaters or Canibals but at present the greatest part of them are destroyed or forced to seek some other way of living The Isle of Cayenne is near the main Land upon the Coast of Guiana an Island made by the Mouth of a River called also Cayenne The French had settled there and printed Relations of it but in the late Wars the Hollanders dispossessed them and have planted a Colony of their own The Isle of Maranhaon is also at the Mouth of a River that likewise carries the same name The South Sea has very few Islands near to America these are only found there Mocha on the Coast of Chily is an Island of some consideration Califurnia hath been long taken for a Continent but it is at length found to be an Island supposed to be divided from the Land of Jesso by the Straits of Anien and from New Granada by a pretty large Channel which is called the Vermilian Sea The Isles of St. Thomas Nublada and Rocapartida are to the South of Califurnia The Isles of Salomon are in the middle of the South Sea towards the Coasts of New Guinea And now you have Reader what we thought fit to speak of this New World When it was discovered the Inhabitants were either plunged in Idolatry or void of all Religion Of this kind were the People of Brasile Those of Mexico worshiped Idols and Sacrificed Men unto them they plucked out the Hearts of those wretched Victims and threw them at the Feet of their Gods made of Gold and Silver The People of Peru were more moderate in their Worship their Sacrifices were not so cruel they chose for their God the most Glorious of all the Lights of Heaven but they believed him not the Almighty for they assigned a Father and Soveraign to him as well as to all other created Beings and called him as we have already said Pachacamac But it is strange that in all this vast Continent there was no trace of Christianity to be found all of them were ignorant of that yea and of a matter of far less importance though of great use I mean of writing They could not conceive how a piece of Paper could convey the words and thoughts of People at a great distance to one another We may affirm that these Countreys are every way far distant from ours The Beasts Plants Flowers and Fruits are quite different from what are amongst us and the People of Europe imparted theirs to them with the Religion that they profess CHAP. V. The TERRA AUSTRALIS NORTH POLE Betwixt the 30 and 40 degrees of South Latitude and the 210 and 220 of Longitude some late Maps mark a Countrey which they call New Zealand discovered in the year One thousand six hundred and fifty four Under the same Latitude but between the 160 and 170 degrees of Longitude they mark another Land discovered in the year One thousand six hundred and fourty two called Antony van Diemanland Under the same Longitude and the Tropick of Caprioorn they place a Countrey called New-Holland discovered in the year One thousand six hundred and forty four New Guinea is near the Molucca's but it is believed to be an Island and it is not certain whether the Lands we have just now named be Isles or parts of the Continent To the South of the Cape of Good Hope it is supposed that there is Land and some have called it the Land of Parrets They talk of some Kingdoms there but all the knowledge we have of those Countreys is very uncertain for no progress has been made into them some small Touches of the Coast have only been discovered Time and Industry may possibly afford us greater Discoveries CHAP. VI. The Land near the ARCTICK or NORTH POLE. ABout this Pole are Greenland Nova Zembla and Spitzberge with some other Countreys of which we know very little It is certain that some have sailed within Eight degrees of the Pole and it is affirmed that the Hollanders have been under the very Pole but with what truth I shall not adventure to say It is thought by some That about that place America is joyned to the Continent either on the side of Asia or of that of Europe but nothing of it is yet certain It is to be observed that America reaches North to the 70 degree or farther and South to the 52 or 53 degree of Latitude so that it lies partly in the Torrid Zone partly in the North and South temperate Zones and partly in the Northern Frozen Zone Thus Reader I have given you a short and as exact Description of the Earth as I could and have said nothing but what I thought true The little knowledge that we have of the Inland parts of these quarters of the World together with the uncertainty of the Relations of different Travellers made me unwilling to impose upon you for truth those things that I was not well satisfied in my self which has rendred this Treatise possibly more short than the Vast tract of Land it pretends to describe may seem to require FINIS
for the use of the Eldest Son of the King of Portugal The Isle of Farnandopo is to the North of that and near the Coast of Guinea and the Kingdom of Benin Beyond the Line we find the Isle of Annobon which last the Portuguese called so because they discovered it on New-years day The Isle of Ascension discovered on Ascension day and therefore so called is farther to the South in the Ethiopick Sea and is neither inhabited nor habitable for want of Water but it is abounding in Turtle or Sea Tortoise St. Helena for a like reason so named is of all the Islands in the World the most Remote from the Continent being about Four hundred Leagues distant from it It hath excellent Fresh Water and so Salubrious an Air that the Sick who land there recover their Health quickly It belongs to the English and all the Ships that come from the East-Indies and belong to England do commonly put in and take Fresh Water there In the same Ocean and towards the Cape of Good-Hope are the small Islands of Elizabeth Cornelia and Fera. Beyond that Famous Cape and to the East of Africa in the Indian Sea lies the Isle of Madagascar called also of St. Laurence or of Laurence Armeide who discovered it in the year One thousand five hundred and six on the day of St. Laurence It is one of the greatest Islands in the World containing about Six hundred Leagues in Circuit Two hundred and sixty in Length and in some places an Hundred in Breadth It s Length reaches from North to South from the Eleventh Degree of South Latitude to the Five and Twenteth so that it is almost altogether in the Torrid Zone the Southern end of it being onely without it over which the Tropick of Capricorn passes It is very probable that they who have taken this for the Cerne of Pliny and the Menuthias of Ptolomy are mistaken and that the Ancients never knew it It hath no Towns only Villages beset with Stakes the fairest of which is Fauzaire The Inhabitants have little or no Religion they have neither Temples nor Altars they Fear a God but Worship him not The French have made some Voyages thither and printed Relations of the same There are many little Isles about this of the chief whereof we shall only speak To the East of it are the Isles of St. Mary of Bourbon Maurice and Diego Roiz To the North Gade Agulha and Natal To the West Mohila Camora Mayota Johanna and St. Christophers Near the Coast of Zonguebar is an Island of the same Name having to the South the Isle of Monfia and to the North that of Pemba Near the Cape Guardafuy lies Zocotora with a Town of the same Name This is the Dioscorides of the Ancients it produces the best Aloes and Dragons Blood between this and the said Cape lies another Island called Abba del Curia It is to be observed that the greatest part of Africa is in the Torrid Zone and that the Line cuts it so exactly in the middle that it reaches as far to the South as it does to the North of it that is to the Five and thirtieth Degree of South and North Latitude however the much greater part is to the Northwards The End of the Second Book A NEW GEOGRAPHY The THIRD BOOK AMERICA CHAP. I. AMERICA WE are now come to the New World for so Men hath been pleased to call this Continent which is divided from Europe Asia and Africa because it hath not been knowen to us much above an Hundred and four score years It is held that Christopher Columbus a Native of Genoua first discovered it in the year One thousand four hundred ninety two yet it carries not his Name but that of Americus Vespucius a Florentine who five years after Columbus in the year One thousand four hundred ninety seven discovered Brasile which was the cause that all that part of the World is called America It is likewise called the West-Indies in distinction from the East-Indies in Asia It hath to the East the Sea called the North Sea Mar del Nort to the West the South or Pacifick Sea to the South the Streights of Magellan but its bounds to the North are unknowen to us and we cannot tell whether there be Seas or Lands By the Isthmus of Panama which makes it two Peninsules it is divided into the North and South America In North America and on the North Sea are Estotiland Greenland Terra de Laborador Canada or new France New England Maryland Virginia Carolina Florida New Spain Jucatan Honduras Nicaragua Costarica and Veragua And on the Vermilian Sea Anien Quivira and New Mexico In South America are Golden Castille Guiana Brasile Plata and Terra Magellanica all upon the North Sea and on the South or Pacifick Sea Chili and Peru and Tucuman in the middle CHAP. II. North AMERICA ESTOTILAND Greenland and Terra de Labrador or Laborador have no Inhabitants but Savages who live amongst Ice and Snow with which these Countreys are covered The Reader must not expect Towns here for there are none at all We are only to observe that Greenland is a Countrey lately discovered and that there was another of the same Name which cannot now be found though the Kings of Denmark to whom it belonged have in vain sent Ships in search of it It had Towns with Churches and Monasteries but no body can tell what is become of it whether the passage to it be blockt up by the Ice or that it hath been swallowed up in the Ocean Canada is called New France because the French discovered and planted a Colony in it the chief places thereof are Quebec and Tadoussac upon the great River of St. Laurence New England is a Rich and Flourishing Countrey with many Towns the chief thereof is Boston Inhabited by the English Maryland is Peopled by the King of Great Brittain's Subjects and belongs to the Lord Baltimore who holds it of that Crown Virginia was so called by the English because they discovered it in the time of Queen Elizabeth who was never Married In it is James Town and some others the principal product of this Countrey is Tobacco which from hence is carried into most parts of Europe Carolina is a late Plantation of the English not fully settled as yet New ENGLAND VIRGINIA NEW SPAIN GUIANA New Spain is one of the loveliest Provinces in this New World There stands the City of Mexico which gave the Name to a great Empire whereof Montezuma was the last King Fernando Cortez Invaded it in the year One thousand five hundred and nineteen took that Prince and Conquered his Countrey There are many other Towns in that Countrey the chief whereof are Mechoacan Los Angelos Vera Crux Valladolid and Guatamala Mexico the Capital stands upon a Lake it is large and well peopled being the Residence of a Vice-Roy and Seat of an Archbishop Jucatan is a Peninsule on the Bay of Mexico the chief Town whereof is Merida
to it it is Noon in that place whereof it is the Meridian for over every part of the Earth there is a Meridian so that the number of these Circles is almost infinite However out of all those there is one pitched upon which is called the great or first Meridian or the Geographers Meridian The Ancients chose the Meridian of the Canaries which they knew by the name of the fortunate Islands and some Moderns make use of it still in their Maps Others have pitched upon the Meridian of the Isles Azores or Western Islands which lie to the West of Europe From this first Meridian the Longitude of places is reckoned from West to East through the three hundred and sixty Degrees of the Equinoctial which is the circuit of the whole Earth whereas Latitude is only reckoned to ninety Degrees which make but a fourth part thereof The Tropicks are so called from a Greek Word Tropos which signifies turning because when the Sun is come to one of these Circles he returns again towards the Equinoctial The Tropick of Cancer is towards the Pole Artick and that of Capricorn towards the Antartick and both carry the names of the Signs of the Zodiack through which they pass each of them is distant from the Equinoctial three and twenty Degrees and a half which is the greatest distance of the Sun from that Circle The Polar Circles go round the Poles from which they borrow their names and are distant each from his Pole twenty three Degrees and a half Of the Zones THE four lesser Circles whereof we have been speaking divide the World into five parts called Zones that is to say Belts or Girdles because they begird the whole Globe One of them is Torrid two are temperate and two cold The Torrid Zone is comprehended between the two Tropicks and the people that inhabit it are called Amphiscians that is such as have their shadows both ways To all places of this Zone the Sun comes perpendicular twice in a year and therefore some of the Ancients believed this Zone inhabitable by reason of too much heat but we know it to be otherways now a days The Northern temperate Zone is between the Tropick of Cancer and the Artick Polar Circle The Southern temperate Zone is between the Tropick of Capricorn and the Antartick Polar Circle The Inhabitants of these Zones are termed Heteroscians that is such as have their shadow but one way The Frigid Zones are within the Polar Circles the Northern within the Artick and the Southern within the Antartick the people of those two Zones are called Periscians signifying that they have shadows round them on all sides To all places in these Zones the Sun in Summer never sets for some days and in the Winter he never rises for as long time The Inhabitants of the World are distinguished after another manner according to the different Scituation they have to one another as into Antipodes Antoecians and Perioecians The first are wholly opposite and when it it is Noon with us with our Antipodes it is midnight and they have Winter when we have Summer Our Antoecians have Noon and Mid-night when we have them but Winter for our Summer And our Perioecians have the same seasons that we have but the hours quite contrary for when we have Noon it is Mid-night with them Of Climates A Climate is a space of the Earth contained between two Circles Betwixt the beginning and end of a Climate in the length of the longest day of Summer there is half an hours difference For the clearer understanding of this it is to be observed that Countries under the Equinoctial have all the year round twelve hours day and twelve hours night but as places recede and are distant from the Equator they become more and more unequal and the days in Summer are longer than the nights This inequallity is marked by the Climats so that when on either side of the Equinoctial we find a place where the longest day of Summer is of twelve hours and a half that is the first Climate and so successively till we come to the Polar Circle where the longest day of Summer extends to twenty four hours For beyond that Circle the days encrease by whole days and months until ye come to the Pole under which the whole year makes but one day and one night six months long a piece Climats take their names from the famous places through which they pass Now to know in what Climate one is we must from the number of hours of the longest Day in Summer subtract twelve and double the Remainder that is reduce them into half hours and that will shew the Climate wherein we live CHAP. I. Of some proper terms of Geography HAVING explained the Circles that are useful to this Science we are now to consider some terms and words which are peculiar to it Continent is a vast space of Earth such as that which comprehends Europe Asia and Affrica it is likewise called the main Land Island is a piece of Land surrounded with the Sea or other Water and so divided from the Continent Peninsula that is to say almost Island is a part of the Earth encompassed by the Sea on all hands except on that part which joyns it to the Continent the Greeks call it Chersonesus a term sometimes made use of in Geography Isthmus is that Neck or Piece of Land that joyns a Peninsula to the Continent Promontory is a high Land running out into the Sea The Moderns call it a Cape Mountain is a part of the Earth higher than the rest that is about it Ocean is that vast body of Water which environs the Continents and is likewise called the Sea Gulph is an Arm of that Ocean running in between Lands The Latins call it Sinus and sometimes it has the name of Sea Bay is likewise an Arm of the Ocean but whose entrance is much wider than that of a Gulf. Port is a small part of Sea so hemb'd in by the Land that Ships may there lie in safety Harbour is the same thing almost Streight or Frith is commonly taken for a Channel that joyns one Sea to another or a Gulf to the Ocean there is also a Streight or Neck of Land which as we have said is called an Isthmus Banck is a heap of Sand in the Sea which puts Vessels in danger A Shelf is much the same on which and on hidden Rocks near the Surface of the Water Ships may split and be cast away Archipelago is a part of the Sea where many Islands are River is a running Water that loses its streams in the Sea CHAP. II. The Division of the Earth and Sea THE most common Division of the Earth is into four parts which are Europe Asia Africa and America the three first are comprehended in one Continent and is our old World and the other makes an Island of it self called the new World because it hath not been discovered but since the Year
one thousand four hundred and ninety two it is likewise called the West-Indies in distinction from the East-Indies which are in Asia Some Geographers divide the Earth into six parts adding to the four which we have named the Artick towards the Pole that gives it its name and the Antartick towards the South Pole this is called Terra Australis incognita or the Southern Land undiscovered and is thought to make a Continent as big as Europe Asia and Africa Of these two last we shall speak at the end of this Treatise Europe has Asia on the East separated from it by these limits the Egean Sea or Archipelago the Streights of the Dardanelli the Sea of Marmara the Streights of Constantinople the Black Sea the Streights of Caffa the Sea della Zabache the River Tanais and a Line drawn from its most Eastern Bank to the North Sea it hath the same Ocean on the North the Atlantick Sea on the West and the Streights of Gibraltar and Mediterranean Sea that divides it from Africa on the South From West to East that is from Cape St. Vincent in Spain to Constantinople it contains seven hundred seventy five French Leagues and from South to North that is from Cape Malee in Morea to the Northern Cape of the Laplanders eight hundred and twenty five Leagues Asia has to the West the same bounds that divide it from Europe and the Red Sea with the Streights of Suez that divide it from Africa on the South the Indian Ocean the Ocean of China on the East and on the North the Sea of Tartary called Mare Glaciale From East to West it contains seven hundred and fifty Leagues from the Archipelago to the Ocean of China and from South to North a thousand five hundred and fifty reckoning from Malacca to the Sea of Tartary Africa has on the North the Mediterranean Sea on the East the Red Sea with the Isthmus of Suez that divide it from Asia and the Indian Ocean On the South the Ethiopian Sea which with the Atlantick Ocean is likewise to the West of it From West to East that is from Cape Blank to the Cape of Guardafuy it contains a thousand six hundred and fifty Leagues and from South to North that is from the Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean Sea a thousand six hundred and seventy It is on all sides encompassed with the Sea except that narrow track of Land between the Red Sea and Mediterranean which is not above thirty Leagues in Length so that it is a perfect Peninsula America hath the North Sea to the East the South Sea to the West to the South the Streights of Magellan which divide it from the Terra del fuego and to the North unknown Lands or Seas It is divided into two great Peninsulaes by the narrow Ibstmus of Panama which is but eighteen Leagues over From South to North that is from the Streights of Magellan to the Northern Ocean it contains three thousand and fifty Leagues and from West to East towards Mexico two thousand nine hundred The Terra Australis and that of the North are so little known to us that their limits and extent cannot as yet be designed Having taken a view of the Earth let us now cast our eyes on the Sea which takes divers names according to the parts of the World where it is or the Countries it washeth That which encompasses Continents is called the Ocean and this likewise hath different appellations as on the West of Europe and part of Africa it is called the Western or Atlantick Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope the Ethiopick Ocean to the East of Africa the Indian Sea to the East of Asia the Eastern Ocean or Sea of China to the North of Asia the Sea of Tartary and on the same side and towards Europe Mare Glaciale or the Frozen Ocean to the East of America the North Sea and to the West the South These are the general denominations of the Sea but it hath also particular names from the Countreys that lie near to it The chief Gulfs or Bays of the Ocean are the Mediterranean Sea which lies betwixt Europe Africa and Asia the Red Sea betwixt Africa and Asia the Gulf of Persia and that of Bengala in the East-Indies the Baltick Sea encompassed by Germany Sweden and Denmark the Gulf of Mexico and that of St. Laurence in America These Gulfs are joyned to the Ocean by Streights the Mediterranean Sea by the Streights of Gibraltar the Red Sea by that of Babel-mandel the Persian Sea by the Streights of Bassora otherwise of Ormus The Gulfs or rather Bays of Bengala Mexico and St. Laurence have no Streights because their mouth or entry is very large The Baltick Sea has the famous Streight of the Sound The Mediterranean Sea hath some noted Bays that well deserve to be mentioned Betwixt Italy and Dalmatia is the Gulf of Venice called in antient times the Adriatick Sea In Greece is the Gulf of Lepanto heretofore of Corinth And in Macedonia that of Salonica formerly of Thessalonica Between the Egean Sea now called the Archipelago and the Propontis or Sea of Marmora there is a Streight heretofore called the Hellespont and at present the Streights of Gallipoli or the Dardanelli and St. Georges Channel between the Sea of Marmora and the black Sea formerly called the Euxin Sea is the Bosphorus of Thrace which is now a days called the Channel of the Black Sea or Streights of Constantinople because that famous City is seated there betwixt the Black Sea and the Palus Meotides at present called the Sea delle Zabache is the Streights of Caffa heretofore named the Cimmerian Bosphorus Betwixt the Island of Euboea at present Negropont and Greece there is a narrow passage of Sea by the Ancients called Euripus who have affirmed that it ebbed and flowed seven times a day There are some other famous Streights which joyn several parts of the Ocean together or to say better the Ocean to the Ocean it self Towards the Northern Ocean is the Streights of Waigatz between Tartary and nova Zembla between Cathay and the Land of Jesso is the Streights of Jesso between Japan and the Land of Jesso is the Streights of Sengar between the same Land and Califurnia is that of Anian between Estotiland and Greenland is that of Davis between Greenland and the Island of Elizabeth is that of Forbisher Towards Canada is that of Hudson which according to the new Maps is properly a Gulf. Towards the Terra Australis is the famous Streights of Magellan discovered by him who gave it the name in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty between America and the Terra del fuego Betwixt this Land and that of the States is the Streights of Le Maire discovered in the year one thousand six hundred and sixteen And between that Land of the States and the Terra Australis is the Streights of Brouvers discovered in the year one thousand six hundred and forty
three These three last Streights joyn the North and South Seas together and serve for a passage from one to the other Between Califurnia and new Mexico there is a Gut of Sea or Streights which is called the Vermeillian Sea and was taken for a Bay before that Califurnia was discovered to be an Island We must not omit a Sea that is separated from all others and which indeed is but a Lake of a vast extent and that is the Caspian Sea called at present the Sea of Bachu or Kilan The Ancients imagined it to have been a Bay or Gulf of the North Sea but it is now known to be on all sides encompassed with Land it hath Persia to the South and Tartary to the North of it In some Relations it is reckoned to be eight hundred Leagues in Circumference Let us now give a hint of the greatest Rivers in the World beginning with those that fall into the Ocean on all sides of our Continent or old World In Europe are the River Tagus the Garronne the Loyre the Sein the Scheld the Rhine and the Elbe In Asia the Oby the yellow and blue Rivers Ganges and Indus In Africa Cuama the River de Spiritu Sancto the Zaire and the Niger In America the Rivers of St. Laurence Oranoque the Amazons and Rio de la Plata Into the Mediterranean Sea on the side of Europe fall the Ebre the Rhosne and the Tiber into the Gulf of Venice the Po into the Euxin Sea the Danube and the Borysthenes now called Nieper and the River Tanais runs into the Palus Meotis On the African Shore the Mediterranean receives no famous River but the Nile In Asia Euphrates and Tygris having mingled their streams fall into the Persian Gulf and the Volga into the Caspian The Oder and the Weissel or Vistula discharge themselves into the Baltick and the Duina into the White Sea We shall not speak of the chief Lakes till we come to describe the particular Regions wherein they are But we will here subjoyn the most noted Mountains of the World such as in Europe are the Pyrenees the Alps and Appenine-Hills In Asia Taurus Caucasus and Imaus in Africa Atlas and the Mountains of the Moon and in America the Cordilleras or Andes The Islands we shall describe as we come to the several parts of the Earth near to which they lie Thus Reader you have a general description of the whole Earth and Seas that environs it or fall into its bosom We must now descend to a more particular Description and shall begin with that of Europe CHAP. III. Europe EUROPE SPAINE EVROPE whereof we have already mentioned the limits is the smallest but most considerable for Learning and Arts of the four parts of the World it comprehends the following Kingdoms and Regions Spain France Italy the Low Countries Germany Hungary Transilvania Moldavia Walachia Bessarabia Dalmatia Bosnia Servia Bulgaria Romania Greece Norway Denmarke Sweden Poland Prussia Lithuania Livonia or Liefland Muscovy and the lesser Tartary It s chief Islands in the Ocean are Great-Britain Ireland the Orcades and Hebrides Iseland and the Azores In the Mediterranean Sea Majorca Minorca and Yvica the Isle of Elbe Corsica Sardinia Sicily Candia Negropont and many more in the Archipelago We shall speak of its Rivers Lakes and Mountains when we treat of the Regions wherein they are CHAP. IV. Spain SPAIN is surrounded by Seas on three sides on the East and South it is watered with the Mediterranean and the Famous Streights of Gibraltar divide it from Africa to the West it hath the Atlantick Ocean and to the North partly the Cantabrick Ocean or Bay of Biscay and partly the Pyrenean Mountains that reach from the Mediterranean to the Ocean and divide it from France most part of its Provinces are honoured with the Title of Kingdoms On the Mediterranean are Catalonia of which the Metropolis is Barcelonna a large City with a Sea-Port the other Towns are Terragonna an Archbishoprick Tortose Gironne Lerde or Lerida The Kingdom of Valencia with a Metropolis of the same name and Alicant the Country about which produces the best Wines in Spain The Kingdom of Murcia the chief City whereof carries the same name In this Province stands Carthagena a very good Sea-Port The Kingdom of Granada that hath its name from its Metropolis lies to the West of that and hath the Cities of Malaga and Almeria Andalusia is partly on the Mediterranean and Streights of Gibraltar and partly on the Ocean It s chief City is Seville one of the loveliest Towns in the World seated on the Guadalquivir It s other Towns are Cordova the Native place of Seneca and Lucan Xeres from whence our Sherries come Saint Lucar and the Famous Port of Cadez or Cales which stands in a small Island of that name very near to the Main on its East side The Provinces washed by the Ocean are The Kingdom of Algarve its Cities are Sylvis and El Fare The Kingdom of Portugal anciently called Lusitania which hath Lisbon a large fair City and Arch-bishoprick for its Capital the other chief Cities thereof are Braga an Arch-bishops See Evora and Conimbre a Famous University this is now and for many Ages hath been subject to a King of its own independent of Spain The Kingdom of Galicia hath Compostella where the Body of St. James is for its Metropolis and Corunna a good Sea-Port this is the North-West corner of Spain Asturia whereof Oviedo is the Metropolis lies to the East of Galicia fronting the Bay of Biscay and yet more Easterly on the same Coast lies Biscay whereof the chief City is Bilboe And to this is adjoyned Guipuscoa whereof Tolose or Tolosette is the Capital City it s other Cities are St. Sebastian which hath a good Port and Fontarabie At the foot of the Pyrenees are the Kingdoms of Navarre and Arragon Pampelonna is the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Navarre it s other Cities are Victoria and Estella Sarragossa is the Capital City of the Kingdom of Arragon and a University the others are Huesca Alharazin Calatayud which some take for the ancient Bilbilis the Native Town of the Poet Martial In the heart of Spain are Leon the two Castilles the old and new and Estremadura The Metropolis of the Kingdom of Leon bears the same name Astorga and Semora are its other Cities Bourgos an Archbishops seat is the Capital City of old Castille it s other chief Towns are Valladolid where some Kings of Spain have kept their Courts Palenca Salamanca a famous University Numance that heretofore resisted the Roman Forces so long was in this Province but there remains no Footstep of it at present Toledo is the Metropolis of new Castille and the Archbishop of it is Primate of all Spain it is a stately and large City The other chief Towns of that Province are Madrid the usual Residence of the Kings of Spain and five Leagues West from that the famous Monastery of St. Laurence called the
46 2 Medwish 47 2 47 4 Stephunople 47 1 49 1 Vasarl el 47 3 49 2 Czyck 47 4 48 4 Kisdy 47 3 48 0 Newmark 47 3 47 2 Torda 47 2 46 5 Dees 43 3 46 2 Chiche 47 4 46 1 Zatmurbania 48 0 46 0 Rodna 48 0 46 2 Tekendorph 47 4 46 5 Rothmburn 46 4 48 2 Moldavia Soczowa 47 3 50 3 Targored 46 5 50 3 Jassy 47 3 51 5 Sereth 46 5 50 0 Pudna 45 3 51 1 Burlach 46 2 51 4 Walachia Orano 45 0 47 0 Zelatna 45 3 47 5 Tarvis 45 5 49 4 Ermistat 45 0 50 1 Braislaw 46 3 49 3 Bessarabia Tekyn 47 4 54 1 Bicelegrod 47 3 56 3 Kilia Nova 46 0 55 2 Kiliastry 46 4 55 4 Tartars upon the mouth of the Nieper     Gracow     Kudack     Stirlnicza     Crim Tartars neer the Lake Maeotis or Petlt Tartary     Tartaria Precop Capha Turk 47 1 64 4 Basiesara 47 5 63 5 Strayt or Precop 49 0 63 3 Kerci 47 5 66 5 Azow or Asack Turkish 51 2 73 0 CHAP. XII Sclavonia Bosnia Servia Bulgaria and Romania LIburnia and Dalmatia are but a part of that which was anciently called Illirium and since Sclavonia from the Sclavonians that seated themselves there it comprehended besides Croatia Stiria Carinthia Carniola and many other Provinces bordering on the Danube and Adriatick Sea Dalmatia hath to the West Istria to the North Croatia to the East Albania and to the South the Gulf of Venice the most remarkable Towns of it are Zara Sebenieo Spalatro which belong to the Venetians and Raguza which is taken for the ancient Epidaurus and is a small Republick Tributary to the Turk The Capital City of Croatia is Gradischia of Bosnia Belgrade Servia hath Semandria and Bulgaria Sophia for its Capital these two Provinces are the ancient Moesia Romania heretofore called Thrace hath Constantinople for its Metropolis it was anciently called Bizantium and was the Seat of the Grecian Emperors as it is at present of the Ottoman it is Situated on the Bosphorus of Thrace called now the Channel of the Black Sea and is one of the fairest and largest Cities in the World The stately remains of the Church of St. Sophia built by Justinian and now converted into a Mosque are to be seen there with the Seraglio which is the Palace of the Grand Seignior and one of the fairest in the World The other Cities of that Country are Adrianople Philippopoli Philippi Trajanopoli Gallipoli and Sestos on the Hellespont opposite to Abidos in Asia where are two Castles called the Dardanelli which defend the passage to the Sea of Marmora and Constantinople CHAP. XIII Greece UNDER the name of Greece were anciently comprehended Macedonia Epirus Thessaly Phocis Baeotia Achaia Peloponesus and some other Provinces which have now lost both names and their limits they are environed by the Egean Sea or Archipelago on the East by the Cretan or Sea of Candy on the South by the Ionian and Adriatick Seas on the West and Maesia on the North. The chief Towns of Macedonia are Salonichi heretofore Thessalonica Pella famous for the birth of Alexander and Stagira for that of Aristotle Mount Athos now called Monte-Santo and the River Strimon are in this Province Croia is the Capital of Albania heretofore called Epirus it s other Towns are Durazzo La Valona and Scutari The Cities of Thessaly are Larissa and Pharsalia whose Fields were dyed with the Roman blood in that famous Battel wherein Caesar overcame Pompey there is the River Peneus and the Valley of Tempe the Mounts Olympus Ossa and Pelion so Celebrated in the Writings of the ancient Poets Phocis had in ancient times the City of Delphos with the Temple of Apollo renowned for its Oracle all the World over there you may see the Mount Parnassus heretofore Sacred to the Muses and so Celebrated by the Poets now inhabited by nothing but ignorance and Barbarism Thebes was the Capital of Baeotia where Bacchus Hercules and Pindaer were born Attica was the chief Province of Achaia and in it was Athens the Nursery of many great Men it was the Residence of the Learned and the Heroes there remain in it now but some pitiful ruinous places which are called Setines Megara Eleusis and some others Pelopenesus called at present Morea is almost and Island joyned to Achaia by a Neck of Land which was called the Isthmus of Corinth from the adjoyning City of that name the other Towns were Mycene Argos Sycione Pisa where the Olympick Games were Celebrated and where that famous Statue of Jupiter Olympus stood which was reckoned one of the seven wonders of the World Sparta or Lacedaemon all Famous and Learned Cities but now buried under their own Ruins and Barbarity as all Greece is which though heretofore the School of the Liberal Arts and Sciences is now plunged into an abyss of ignorance and groans under the Tyranny of the Turks These follow the Religion of their Prophet Mahomet and the Native Greeks that of the Greek Church A Table of the Longitudes and Latitudes of the principal places of Turky in Europe In Bosnia  Lat. Long. Saraio 44 4 42 4 Jaicza 44 4 41 4 Bagnialuo 44 0 42 2 Ternovzza 44 2 43 2 In Servia Pristina 43 2 44 1 Novibazur 43 2 46 5 Drin 43 3 45 0 Semandrie 44 2 47 4 In Bulgaria Nizza 43 4 47 3 Guistadile 44 0 48 2 Viddin 44 5 47 4 Nigeboli 44 0 51 3 Vzckub 43 0 48 0 Sosie 43 0 50 3 Haresgred 44 0 50 2 Axiopoli 45 0 51 2 Silistra 43 3 50 3 In Romania Constantinople or Stamboli 43 0 56 2 Chiorkick 43 0 55 0 Gallipoli 41 4 55 4 Adrianople 43 1 53 0 Eschibaba 44 1 53 2 Trajanople 42 3 53 2 Nicopoli 42 2 51 2 Kirkliss 43 3 50 4 Caridio 41 3 55 0 Mesembria 44 4 54 4 Sost 41 1 55 2 Varna 45 0 54 4 Tomi 45 4 55 0 Silistria 45 2 52 3 Zelmi 44 4 52 2 Asperosa 41 4 52 2 In Macedonia Phillippi 41 4 51 5 Cavula 41 5 50 4 Strimon 42 2 50 2 Heraclia 42 2 40 2 Middle of Mont Sabo or Mont Athos 41 0 52 0 Cassandria 50 4 50 1 Saelonichi 41 2 49 0 Veria 41 0 48 0 Contessa 41 3 51 2 Acomania 40 4 50 1 In Thessaly Larissa 39 3 48 4 Armiro 38 5 49 2 Tricca 39 1 47 5 In Achia I. Negropont 38 1 51 0 Corone 38 0 50 0 Stives or old Thebes 38 0 50 0 Marathron 37 4 50 5 Setines or Athens 37 1 50 4 Megara 37 2 49 3 Solona or Delph 37 5 48 2 Lepanto 37 3 47 5 In Morea or Peloponesis Patras 37 0 47 4 Coranio     Pylos 36 3 47 0 Sangaenico 36 1 47 4 Arcadia 35 2 47 3 Coron 35 0 49 1 Modon 34 5 48 2 In
Converted many of them to Christianity and are very Active in making Proselytes in those Parts CHAP. VII TARTARY THE greater Tartary is one of the vastest Regions of the whole Earth It hath to the West the States of Muscovy the Ocean to the North to the East the Streights of Anian or Jesso according to some Maps and to the South Persia India and China Several Princes have Dominions in that great space of Land and among others the Prince of Niuche on the East-side who Invaded and Conquered China But the most considerable of all is the Great Cham. One of his chief Provinces in Cathay which some take for China and its City of Cambalu for that of Pequin so uncertain Men are in the knowledge of those distant Countries It is nevertheless sure that there are Vagabond Tartars divided into Societies called Hordes They Inhabit that place which is called Tartary Desert near which is the Kingdom of Astracan with a Town on the same Name on the Volga In these Countreys as 't is reported grows the Boranetz which is a Plant Animal that is half a Plant and half an Animal It is in Shape like a Lamb and fastned to a stalk about which it Nibbles and Eats the Grass which once failing it withers and dies The other parts of Tartary are Turquestan and Zagathy the chief City whereof is Samarkand the Imperial Seat of the Victorious Tamerlan Most part of the Tartars are Mahumetans there are many Idolaters some Jews and very few Christians among them CHAP. VIII The Isles of ASIA in the Ocean IN treating of the Tetritories of the Turk we spake of the Isles of Asia that are in the Mediterranean We must now mention those in the Ocean which belong to that part of the World but seeing they are so numerous that a large Volume would be too little to describe them all in we shall only touch at those which are the most considerable and of greatest Note amongst them The Maldives lie towards the Cape of Comorin to the South and West thereof there are many of them and they reach to the Line being divided into certain Parcels which are called Attollons and contain many small Islands separated by verry narrow Channels they are full of Coco-trees the Inhabitants are Mahumetans and subject to a King Zeilan or Zeilon is near Cape Comorin being Two hundred and forty Leagues in Circumference The Indians call it Tenasirim that is a Paradice of Delights there grows the Tree whereof Cinnamon is but the Bark and that in such plenty that there are whole Forrests of them Fair Emeralds and fairer Elephants are likewise to be had there Some would have it to be the Taprobane of the Ancients which others think to be Sumatra One of its chief Towns is Sitavaca the Residence of a Prince who takes the Title of Emperor of Zeilan to whom the other Kings are Tributary It is divided into several Kingdoms of which Candy that is in the middle of the rest is one of the chief The Portuguese had formerly some places there of which Columbo was the most Important But at present the Hollanders are possessed of that and much more than ever the Portuguese had The Natives are either Mahumetans or Idolaters Sumatra is divided by the Streights of Sincapura from the Peninsula of Malaccra Most part of the Modern Geographers take it for Taprobane the Equinoctial cuts it almost in the middle it is very large and some assign to it Thirty Kingdoms It s chief Towns are Achein Pedar and Batham The Inhabitants profess Mahumetanism and many of them are still Idolaters Great Java is near to Sumatra and is seperated from it but by an Arm of the Sea called the Streights of Sonda This Island is about Two Hundred Leagues in Length but not above Forty in Breadth It is Subject to several Princes who are Tributaries to another by them called Mataram that is to say Emperour It hath considerable Towns such as Bantam Palambuam Japara and Batavia called so by the Hollanders being formerly called Jacatra They took it in the Year One thousand six hundred and seventeen and have strongly fortified it and made it the Residence of their General and Principal Seat of their great East-India Trade The Inhabitans of the Island are for the most part Mahumetans Little Java is now called Cumbava and but little known some of its Inhabitans are Idolators Borneo lies to East of Malacca and Sumatra and to the North of Java This is one of the greatest Islands in the Ocean it is almost round and hath above 200 Leagues in Diameter It s Principle Town carries its Name Most part of the Inhabitans profess Mahumetanisme and the rest are plunged in Idolatry Celebes is to the East of Borneo and is much less than it the chief Towns thereof are one that goes by the same Name and Durate Gilolo is to the East of the former and is not so great it hath a Town of its own Name and another called Tolo The Molucca's so Famous for the Cloves Nutmegs and Mace which they disperse through the whole World lie under the Equinoctial betwixt Celebes and Gilolo The chief are Ternate Tidor Motir Machian and Bachian The Portuguese have had some places there which have been disputed by the English and Dutch and finally carried by the latter who have Engrossed the Trade of those Rich Spices Banda is to the South of Gilolo and furnishes also Nutmegs The Hollanders have the Possession thereof The Philippine Islands called so by the Spaniards in Honour of their King Philip the Second are so many in number that some Authors reckon above Ten thousand of them They lie Northward from the Mollucca's and Eastward from Cochinchina The greatest and most considerable of them is Luconia where the Town of Manilha is The other that are remarkable are those of Mindanao which hath a Town of its Name the Isles of St. Juan of Cebu Matan and Tandayo Betwixt this last and the Isle of Lucon is the Streights of Manilha Famous amongst Navigators Amacao or Macao is a small Island on the Coast of China where the Portguese have a Town of the same Name The Isle Formosa the Lucaios and some others are to the East of China The Empire of Jappan is composed of several great Islands on the the East of China the chief of which is called Niphon and its Capital Town Meaco though this present Emperour hath his Court at Jedo in the East part of the Island Many Jesuites have here lost their lives for Preaching Christ to that Idolatrous People To the North of this Countrey the Land of Jesso hath been lately discovered divided from it by the Streights of Sangar The chief Mountains of Asia are Taurus Libanus Caucasus and Imaus It s chief Capes are that of Comorin in the Indies Liampo in China Fartach Razalgate and Monzandaon in Arabia the happy and the Promontory of Tabin in Tartary It s principal Rivers are the Volga Araxez
we can say nothing with any certainty of them These People as well as those of Biledulgerid are Mahumetans and some of them Idolaters CHAP. XIII The Countrey of Negres and Guinea THat Countrey which is called the Countrey of Negres or Nigritia hath on the West the Atlantick Ocean on the North the Desarts of Lybia on the East Egypt Nubia and the Empire of the Abysins and on the South Guinea and the Kingdom of Congo It is about a Thousand Leagues in length and of a very considerable breadth The River Niger waters it and over-flowing like the Nile renders it fruitful It is divided into several Branches whereof the two chief are Senega Gambao or Riogrande which fall into the Ocean near Cape de Verd. That great Countrey is divided into several Kingdoms of which the most remarkable are Genehoa Tombut Senega Gago Gualata Melli Cano Agadez and betwixt the Branches of the Niger the Kingdom of the Jaloffes and Gambea They have generally either given or taken their Names from their chief Towns The People are of different Religions a great many of them are Idolaters and some few are Mahumetans they are subject also to different Princes Guinea hath to the East and North the Countrey of Negres in which some Geographers also place it towards the West and South the Ethiopick Ocean It contains the Kingdoms of Sierra Leona Sabon and Benin It hath no Towns of any note The Coast there is called by several Names as the Grain Coast the Quaqua Coast and the Gold Coast upon which the English Dutch and some other Nations have their Forts and Factories The Natives drive a great Trade with the Europeans who transport yearly into the West-Indies several thousands of these wretched Animals sold to them by their inhumane Lords and sometimes by their own Parents into perpetual Slavery This Countrey abounds in Gold the Natives for the most part are Idolaters and some of them worship their Kings CHAP. XIV The Kingdoms of Congo Cacongo Angola Malemba and Mataman THese Kingdoms are by some Geographers placed in Ethiopia but we distinguish them because under that name the Countrey of the Abyssins is chiefly understood The Kingdom of Congo hath to the East the Empire of Prester John to the North the Countrey of Negres to the West the Ocean of Ethiopia and to the South the Kingdom of Angola It is divided into several Provinces and its chief Town is called St. Salvador Next to that the most remarkable are Panho Batta Sanho Sunde Pemba which take or give their Names to their Provinces The River Zaire that comes from a Lake of the same Name runs through this Kingdom with a Stream famous for its swiftness and breadth That of Coanza makes the Isle of Loanda at its Mouth there is another River likewise called Lelunde In the Northern part of this Countrey there are People called Anzicains who are reported to eat Mans Flesh which is sold in the Shambles as Beef and Mutton with us COAST OF BARBARY From Tanger to Cape Bōn COAST OF BARBARY From Cape Bon to Damieta MALTA LEEWARD Islands SIAM MALACCA and the Indian ISLANDS The MOLVCCA Isles Isles of IAPAN The PHILIPPINE Islands FRANCHE CONNTY SAVOY TERCERA Islands CANARY Islands Islands of CAPE VERD PERU CHILI and MAGELLANICA ZANGUEBAR MONOMOTAPA The Kingdom of Caconga is to the Eastward of the former and there is no Town observed in it That of Angola is to the South of Congo its chief Town is Dongo Here are the Mountains of Cambambe Rich in Silver Mines and Cape St. Mary The Kingdom of Malemba is to the East of Angola and near the Lake Zambre that of Mataman is to the South of it The People of these Kingdoms are Idolaters but the Jesuites daily endeavour their Conversion CHAP. XV. Caffreria Sofala Zanguebar and some other Countreys THE Countrey of the Caffres or Hottentots named Caffreria hath to the East and North Monomotapa to the West and South the Ocean and reaches to the Cape of Good Hope Along the Coasts of it are good Ports No Towns are to be seen here the People are altogether barbarous having neither Laws Kings or Religion Near the Cape of Good Hope the Hollanders have planted a very Noble Colony which supplies in great abundance all Necessaries to their Ships as they go and come from the East-Indies The Kingdom of Sofala is upon the Indian Ocean its chief Town bears its Name and is built in an Island made by the River of Cuama Some Authors take this Countrey for the Land of Ophir whither Solomon sent to fetch Gold for Adorning of that stately Temple which he Built Zanguebar is to the North of it and extends it self upon the Indian Ocean which it hath to the East as far as the Kingdom of Adea which it hath on the North side and the Empire of the Abyssins to the West It comprehends Six Kingdoms to wit Mongalo Mozambique Angothe Quiloa Mombaza and Melinde each of them having a Capital Town bearing its Name The Inhabitants are Idolaters or Mahumetans with some few Christians The Portuguese possess Mozambique and Mombaza with some other places Continuing still Northward and along the Indian Sea we find the Republick of Brave consisting onely in one Maritime Town of the same Name which was pretty Rich before it was sacked by the Portuguese Next we find the Kingdoms of Magadoxo and Adel with their Capitals of the same Name the latter reaches to the Cape Guardafuy and the Streights of Babel mandel which Joyns the Ocean to the Red Sea The Kingdom of Abex is upon that Sea and under the Ottoman Empire It s chief Towns are Arguico Doncale and Suguam all three Maritime If there be any other little States they are so inconsiderable that it is not worth our while to stop and view them just when we are about to consider larger and more Famous Territories in the middle of Africa whereof we have now Surveyed the Confines CHAP. XVI NUBIA NUBIA hath the Nile on the East which divides it from Ethiophia that is likewise to the South of it The Countrey of Negro's on the West and Egypt on the North. Its Metropolis of the same Name is upon the Nile and the others deserve not the Name of Towns being but pitiful Villages The Inhabitants have been Christians and according to some Authors are so still but without any Exercise of Religio of which they retain nothing but the shadow and confused Knowledge CHAP. XVII Ethiopia or the Empire of the Abyssins SOme Geographers divide Ethiopia into the Upper and Lower and under this comprehend the Kingdoms of Congo Angola and some others whereof we have treated and those of Monomotapa and Monoemugi of which we shall speak And under the other they place the Empire of the Abyssins but because this retains particularly the Name of Ethiophia we shall use the same without perplexing our selves about that Division Ethiopia has to the North Nubia and Egypt to the
East the Kingdom of Abex and Zanguebar to the South Monoemugi and to the West the Kingdome of Congo and the Countrey of Negro's That vast Tract of Land which makes the Empire of the Abyssins is all in the Torrid Zone and reaches almost from the one Tropick to the other It s length from North to South is Six hundred Leagues The Nile crosses it and forms therein a Famous Island which the Ancients Named Meroe and the Moderns Gueguerre This great State is divided into a great many Kingdoms or Provinces which bear that Name The next to Egypt is the Kingdom of Cansila then streatching Southward these following are to be seen Barnagasso Tigremahon Bagamidri Amara Roxa Narea Zet and several others which I mention not as judging it useless to fill this Description with barbarous Names that are good for nothing The Towns here are mean and inconsiderable having neither beauty nor extent with pitiful Houses built of mud or clay and straw because there is but very little wood or lime in the Countrey Nor hath the King of Ethiopia fixed upon any Town for his usual Residence but goes from Province to Province having all his Court lodging in Tents of which he hath always Five or Six thousand carried about with him in his Retinue This is an odd way of living and yet he is one of the greatest Princes in the World he hath vast and large Dominions great Treasures rich Furniture and can send numerous and strong Armies into the Field He is abusively called Prester John his Subjects call him Adubvegue which signifies Emperour and some Moderns Negus as much as to say Monarch That Powerful Prince and all his Subjects profess Christianity but with some mixture of Jewish Ceremonies for they retain both Circumcision and Baptism Their Priests Marry but yet they have Monks They have a Patriarch who is the Head of their Church whom they call the Abuna and their Country is full of Monasteries CHAP. XVIII The Kingdoms of Monoemugi and Monomotapa THE Kingdom of Monoemugy hath to the North the Empire of the Abyssins to the East Zanguebar and Sofala to the South Monomotapa and to the West Congo Sofala whereof we have spoken depends on it and belongs to the same Prince His other Countreys are inconsiderable and the Towns that are more so are Beif Agag Camar To the Northward of this State rise above the Clouds the high Mountains of the Moon The Inhabitants are almost void of all Religion The Kingdom of Monomotapa hath the last Kingdom we spake of to the North and on all other sides the Countrey of the Caffres The chief City of it and Seat of the Prince is of the same Name it s other Towns are Mogar Mosata and Gale Under it are comprehended the Kingdoms of Toroa Inhambane and Inhamior Its Inhabitants are Idolaters whom the Jesuits labour to convert to Christianity This Rigion is watered with the Rivers of Cuama and Spiritu Sancto These are the more known Regions of Affrica which yet are so little so that what we can say of them deserves not the Name of a Description The chief Mountains are Atlas Sierra-Liona Mount Amara and the Mountains of the Moon The chief Capes thereof are Cape Verd the Cape of Good Hope and Guarda-fuy Its Rivers are the Nile that runs into the Meditarranean after it hath watered Ethiopia and Egypt The Niger that runs through the Countrey of Negres and falls into the Atlantick Ocean near the Cape Verd where it makes many Branches The Zambre that proceeds from a Lake of the same Name runs through the Lake of Zachaf and dividing it self into two Branches one whereof is called Cuama and the other de Spiritu Sancto both whereof are discharged into the Indian Sea and the River Zaire which falls with great Impetuosity into the Ethiopian Sea CAHP. XIX The Isles of AFRICA IN the Miditerranean are first the Isle of Malta the Melita of the Ancients Famous for the Shipwrack of the Apostle St. Paul and the Residence of the great Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem which bears its Name It is Seven Leagues Long and Four Broad Its Towns are the Valette the City the Bourg and St. Michael with the Castle St. Elme The Isles of Comin and Comminet Forfora Goze Lampadosa and Limosa belong likewise to the order of Malta The Isle of Pantalarea belongs to the Portuguese and that of Zerbi to the Turks In the Atlantick Ocean are the Canaries that belong to the Spaniards Porto Santo Madera and the Cape De Verd Islands which belong to the Crown of Portugal Porto Santo is near to Madera and in respect of it inconsiderable for Madera is large and fruitful producing good Wines and that Sugar which goes by its Name The chief City of it is Funchall and has a Bishop Suffragant to the Archbishop of Lisbonne The People are Civil and Roman Catholicks The Canaries which the Ancients called the Fortunate Islands because of the goodness of the Air and Soil are to the West of the Kingdom of Morocco they reckon Seven of them that are the chief to wit the Grand Canaries the Isle of Ferro the Isles of Taneriffe Lacerotte Palma Gomera and Fortventura The great Canary which hath given its Name to all the rest and got it from the abundance of Dogs that were found there hath a Town of the same Name which is a Bishoprick The Island of Ferro is considerable for that we have from thence taken our beginning of Longitude it being the most Westerly of these Islands There is here a Tree which so condenses the Air that it furnishes the Inhabitants with Water which is otherwise scarce enough with them Taneriffe is remarkable for a great Mountain which is thought to be the highest in the World called by the Spaniards Pico from thence we have the best Canary Wine The rest are but inconsiderable The Cape De Verd Islands so called because they are opposite to that Cape were known to the Ancients by the Name of Hesperides Gorgoniae and Gorgades The chief of them are Eight to wit St. Anthony St. Vincent St. Luce St. Nicholas St. Jago del Sal Mayo and Fuego That of St. Jago or St. James is the most considerable It hath a City of the the same Name the Bishop whereof is Suffragant to the Arch Bishop of Lisbon It s other Towns are Ribera a great place and much frequented St. Thomas St. Michael and La Praya which is its best Port. The Air of this Island is extreamly bad In the Ethiopick Ocean and near Sierra-Liona are the little Isles of Farellon and Massacoya Somewhat farther in the bottom of the Bay or Bight of Guinea is that of St. Thomas discovered on that Saints day whose Name it bears It is directly under the Equinoctial It s chief Town is Pavoasan Inhabited by the Portuguese The Princes Island is near to the former and was so called because the Revenue thereof was appointed