A Compendium of Authentic and Entertaining Voyages, Digested in a Chronological Series. 2nd ed. Vol. VII

1766

de Beer Eb 1766 S

London: Printed for W. Strahan; [and ten others]

After Magellan’s tragic voyage – when he lost his life and from which only 18 men (of 280) returned – there was no serious geographical discovery in the Pacific for nearly 100 years. One place that was ‘bumped’ into was the Juan Fernández Islands, an archipelago some 600 kilometres off the coast of Chile, which was first discovered by accident on 22 November 1574 by the Spanish sailor Juan Fernández. These islands often proved a safe haven: Jacob Roggeveen stopped there in 1721 on his way to discovering Easter Island (Paasch Eyland); George Anson’s two rotten, scurvy-ridden ships rested there in 1740; and Italian-born Alejandro Malaspina confirmed their location in 1790.