A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 03 - Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Robert Kerr
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navigation. It is not much to be wondered that Justiniani should be guilty
of untruth in this circumstance, which is hidden, since he has inserted above a dozen falsehoods in half a sheet of paper in his Psalter, in matters concerning this discovery and navigation, which are well known. These I shall briefly mention, without staying to give him any answer, that I may not interrupt the series of the history; and because from its tenor, and by what has been written by others on that subject, the falsehood of his writing will distinctly appear. The _first_ falsehood is, that the admiral went to Lisbon to learn cosmography from a brother of his own who was settled in that place. This is utterly contrary to the truth; since he lived in that city before the arrival of his brother, and taught his brother what he knew instead of learning from him. The _second_ falsehood is, that their Catholic majesties Ferdinand and Isabella accepted his proposal at his first coming to Castile, after it had been seven years bandied about and rejected by all men. The _third_, that he set out upon his discovery with two ships; whereas the truth is, that he had three caravels in his first voyage. The _fourth_, that his first discovery was Hispaniola; whereas the first land he came to was Guanahani, which he named St Salvador, or St Saviour. The _fifth_, that the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by cannibals; while the truth is, that its inhabitants were the best and most civilized people in all those parts. The _sixth_, that he took the canoe or Indian boat which he first saw by force of arms; whereas it is certain that he had no hostilities in the first voyage with any of the Indians, and continued in peace and amity with them until his departure from Hispaniola. The _seventh_, that he returned by way of the Canary Islands, which is by no means the proper route. The _eighth_, that he dispatched a messenger from the Canaries to their Catholic majesties; whereas it is certain he was not at these islands on his return, and that he was his own messenger. The |
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