reader some secrets in commerce that have hitherto escaped common
observation, and which, whenever they are as thoroughly considered as
they deserve, will undoubtedly lead us to as great discoveries as those
of Columbus or Magellan.

In order to make myself perfectly understood, I must observe that it was
the finding out of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, by the Portuguese,
that raised that spirit of discovery which produced Columbus's voyage,
which ended in finding America; though in fact Columbus intended rather
to reach this country of New Holland. The assertion is bold, and at
first sight may appear improbable; but a little attention will make it so
plain, that the reader must be convinced of the truth of what I say. The
proposition made by Columbus to the State of Genoa, the Kings of
Portugal, Spain, England, and France, was this, that he could discover a
new route to the East Indies; that is to say, without going round the
Cape of Good Hope. He grounded this proposition on the spherical figure
of the earth, from whence he thought it self-evident that any given point
might be sailed to through the great ocean, either by steering east or
west. In his attempt to go to the East Indies by a west course, he met
with the islands and continent of America; and finding gold and other
commodities, which till then had never been brought from the Indies, he
really thought that this was the west coast of that country to which the
Portuguese sailed by the Cape of Good Hope, and hence came the name of
the West Indies. Magellan, who followed his steps, and was the only
discoverer who reasoned systematically, and knew what he was doing,
proposed to the Emperor Charles V. to complete what Columbus had begun,
and to find a passage to the Moluccas by the west; which, to his immortal
honour, he accomplished.

When the Dutch made their first voyages to the East Indies, which was not