Discovery of Australia by de Quiros in the Year
Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, a Portuguese navigator serving under the Spanish crown, led the 1606 expedition whose discovery of the Great Austral Land is documented in his Memorials to the Spanish King and in accounts by his companions. Cardinal Moran argues, against the prevailing view that De Quiros's discovery was merely the Island of Santo in the New Hebrides, that the land he found was in fact the Australian continent, specifically the region of Port Curtis and the adjoining Queensland coast. De Quiros's own Memorials describe a land of continental scale, "as much as all Europe and Asia Minor," antipodal to Africa, Europe, and Asia, with wooden houses roofed in palm leaves, pottery, woven cloth, worked stone and marble, abundant root-bread, six kinds of bananas, almonds, "obos" like peaches, oranges and lemons, silver and pearls seen by De Quiros himself, and gold reported by his Admiral, Luiz Vaez de Torres. He describes the Bay of SS. Philip and James (20 leagues of shore) and the port of Vera Cruz, capacious enough for 1000 ships, anchored between two rivers — the Jordan, as large as the Guadalquivir at Seville, and another, the Salvador — with black-pebble ballast strand, healthy climate, abundant birdsong, and nearby islands totaling 200 leagues in circuit, one of them 50 leagues around. He proposes naming the land "Australia del Espiritu Santo." Moran presents corroborating extracts: the secretary Belmonte Bermudez's narrative of the anchoring on 3 May 1606, the finding of a flute and marble/jasper objects, the raising and later ceremonial delivery of a cross to the Franciscans at Acapulco; De Torres's 1607 letter describing the Bay of San Felipe y Santiago and his voyage south to 30° S before turning northwest to New Guinea; the diary of chief pilot Gaspar de Leza detailing daily events from 1 May to 5 June, including the naming of the rivers Jordan and Salvador, earthquakes, and preparations for a city; Torquemada's 1614 account naming the port La Vera Cruz and the land La Austral del Espiritu Santo; and the memorial of Juan Luis Arias describing "the Austral hemisphere." Moran contends these details are irreconcilable with the small Island of Santo (per Findlay's Directory and Sir Clements Markham), whose bay, rivers, and resources are far smaller than described, lacking marble, gold or silver traces, the port of Vera Cruz, and matching fish species — whereas Port Curtis, Keppel Bay, the Boyne and Calliope Rivers, and Gladstone's marble deposits correspond closely. He addresses counterarguments (the recorded latitude, and Diego de Prado y Tobar's map of Santo, whom Moran characterizes as a hostile, discredited critic of De Quiros) and answers objections regarding land quality, native weapons, and river size, citing Oxley's and Colonel Barney's reports and testimony from the "Gladstone Advocate." The work closes with an account of De Quiros's 1600 pilgrimage to Rome, his audience with Pope Clement VIII and consultation with astronomers including Christopher Clavius, his 1605 departure from Callao with the ships San Pedro y San Pablo, San Pedro, and the launch Los Tres Reyes, the 1 May 1606 discovery, and the festivities inaugurating the discovery — the Pentecost Sunday taking-of-possession with the cross of orange wood and Relic of the Holy Cross, the founding of a municipality (naming magistrate Julian Real), and the elaborate Corpus Christi procession on 21 May with triumphal arches, sword-dances, and hymns, which Moran calls "the first festive celebrations which marked the discovery of our Australian Continent."
By Cardinal Moran · First published 1900 · Genre: Historical Non-Fiction, Biography, Travel Writing · 7 chapters · 13,381 words
First lines
[Author: Patrick F. Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney.]
Pedro Fernandez de Quiros was the least of the brilliant galaxy of Portuguese and Spanish explorers who throughout two centuries, by their maritime skill and enterprise, won immortal fame for their respective countries, and extended far, to the east and to the west the limits of Christian civilisation. He was a Portuguese by birth, but at the period of which we treat Portugal and Spain were united under the Spanish sceptre, and hence it was under the Spanish flag and by the aid of the Spanish court that he achieved his discoveries.
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Discovery of Australia by de Quiros in the Year 1606 is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Cardinal Moran, dated 1900 CE.
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- Work type: Historical account
- Author: Cardinal Moran
- Date: 1900 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Non-Fiction, Biography, Travel Writing, Adventure
- Length: 13,381 words
- Structure: 7 chapters, 151 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Genres
- Historical Non-Fiction — The book is based on the true story of the discovery of Australia by de Quiros in 1606, and is written by Cardinal Moran, a historian.
- Biography — The book is about the life and accomplishments of de Quiros, and is written by Cardinal Moran, a historian.
- Travel Writing — The book is about the journey of de Quiros to Australia in 1606, and is written by Cardinal Moran, a historian.
- Adventure — The book is about the adventure of de Quiros to Australia in 1606, and is written by Cardinal Moran, a historian.
Tags
Australia · exploration · history · 1606 · de Quiros · colonization · Pacific · navigation · European exploration · indigenous peoples · voyages · cartography