"Northman" is informed, that on the discovery of America by Columbus,
when he landed at Guanahani (now called Cat Island), he thought, in
conformity with his theory of the spherical shape of the earth, that he
had landed on one of the islands lying at the eastern extremity of
India; and with this belief he gave the inhabitants the name of Indians.
The following quotations will perhaps be interesting:--

"America persæpe dicitur, sed improprie, Indiæ Occidentales,
_les Indes Occidentales_, Gallis, _West Inde_, Belgis: Non
tantum ab Hispanis, qui illam denominationem primi usurparunt,
sed etiam a Belgis, Anglis, et aliquando a Francis, quod eodem
fere tempore detecta sit ad occidentem, quo ad Orientem India
reperta est."--_Hofmanni Lexicon Univ._ 1677, sub titulo
"_America_."

"At eadem terra nonnullis _India Occidentalis_, nuncupatur, quia
eodem tempore, quo India Orientalis in Asia, hæc etiam delecta
fuit; tum quod utriusque incolis similis ac pene eadern ivendi
ratio: nudi quippe utrique agunt."--_P. Clurerii Introduct. in
Univ. Geographiam_, Cap. xi (iv.) 1711.

"The most improper name of all, and yet not much less used than
that of _America_, is the _West Indies_: _West_, in regard of
the western situation of it from these parts of Europe; and
_Indies_, either as mistook for some part of India at the first
discovery, or else because the seamen use to call all countries,
if remote and rich, by the name of _India_."--_Heylyn's
Cosmography_, 1677, Book iv., sub initio.