Islands of the West Indies were discouered, and called somewhat after his name Hesperides: and he alleageth many reasons to prooue it, reporting particularly that in 40. daies they sailed from Cape Verde vnto those Islands.[1]
There are others[2] that say that the like was done from this Cape vnto the Islands of S. Thomas, and the Isle De Principe, and that they be the Hesperides, and not the Antiles: And they doe not differ far from reason:
The ancient nauigation was along the coast, and not far into the maine Ocean. seeing in those times and many yeeres after they did vse to saile onely along the coast, not passing through the maine Ocean sea: for they had neither altitude nor compasse then in vse, nor any mariners so expert.
It cannot be denied, but that there were many countries, Islands, Capes, Isthmos, and points, which now are grown out of knowledge; because the names of them are found in histories.
Length of time and force of waters haue much altered the situation of manie places. But the age of the world and force of waters haue wasted and consumed them, and separated one countrey from another, both in Europe, Asia, Africa, New Spaine, Peru, and other places.
Plato in Timæo. Plato saith in his dialogue of Timæus, that there were in ancient times in the Ocean sea Atlanticke certaine great Islands and countries named Atlantides greater then Afrike and Europe: and that the kings of those parts were Lords of a great part of this our countrey: but with certaine great tempests the sea did ouerflow it, and it remained as mud and shingle; so that in a long time after no ships could passe that way.
It is also recorded in histories,[3] that fast by the Island of Cadiz towards the Straights of Gibraltar there was a certaine Island which was called Aphrodisias, well inhabited and planted with many gardens and orchards, and yet at this day we haue no knowledge of this Aphrodisias, but only a bare mention of it in ancient authors. The said Island of Cadiz is further said to haue been so large and big, that it did ioine with the firme land of Spaine.
The Islands of the Açores were sometimes a point of the
