RELATION OF THE WESTERN ISLANDS
CALLED FILIPINAS
(Captain Artieda, who went to those islands for the king, wrote this relation.)[1]
Nueva España has two ports in the South Sea. That which is called Acapulco is [very] good and can give shelter to many ships, no matter how large they may be; it is in seventeen and one-half degrees of north latitude. The other is called Puerto de la Navidad; its entrance is shallow, and it can therefore give shelter to small ships only. It is in nineteen and one-third degrees of north latitude. From whichever of these ports one goes to [any of] the Western Islands, the best route is to sail strictly in the latitude in which lies the island that one wishes to reach; for in the season of the brisas, which is the right time to make the voyage, favorable stern winds are never wanting. The season for the brisas lasts from the end of October to the end of April. From the end of April to the end of October the vendaváls
- ↑ Regarding the authorship of this document, see Bibliographical Data. In its presentation here, we have interpolated in brackets the additional matter found in the Sevilla copy; and likewise words which alter the sense, prefixing to these "S:", to indicate the different reading of the Sevilla document. Matter in the Madrid copy which would give a different meaning from that at Sevilla is indicated by "M:". The title of the latter is: "Relation of the Western Islands, and the route thither from Nueva España."
