All the Islands situated Eastward of the Philippines, to as far as thirty-five degrees of longitude, and between the parallels of 5° N and of the Island Guahan, for considerably more than a century past have been distinguished by the general name of the Carolinas, or Caroline Islands. They have also been called the New Philippine Islands, a name which is of later date, but has not superseded the other. The situations of the Islands of this large range which have not been determined or verified by European voyagers within our own time, cannot be supposed to be known with accuracy; and accordingly the best chart that can be made of them is to be regarded as composed of authorities differing much in character with respect to correctness of situations, although satisfactory to the general fact of the existence of the Islands named.

The first Europeans who saw land within the above space, were Diogo da Rocha, a Portuguese, and Alvaro de Saavedra, a Spaniard. In 1526, da Rocha discovered Islands Eastward of Mindanao, in latitude 9° or 10° North, which were named Sequeira, after the Pilot of his vessel. The Isles de Sequeira have been supposed to be the Pelew Islands; but very lately, Islands have been found better corresponding with the account of da Rocha's discovery.

In the year 1735, M. Lozier Bouvet, a French Sea Officer, presented a memorial to the French Compagnie des Indes, recommending to them to cause search to be made for the countries long before discovered by the Sieur de Gonneville, which were supposed to lie to the South of the Cape of Good Hope, not many degrees distant from the same meridian; and offering to undertake the search if they would furnish the means. The Company conceived that an establishment on a land so situated, would be convenient for the refreshment of their ships bound to or from India, that thence they might hold commerce with the Brasils, or the South Sea; and that in times of war, it would give them a general controul over the Southern navigation. On these considerations, they appointed two ships to be fitted out under the command of M. Bouvet, for making the proposed discovery, which equipment took place in the year 1738.

A short abstract of M. Bouvet's journal was printed at Paris in les Journaux de Trevoux, for February 1740; from which M. de Brasses inserted an account in his Navigations aux Terres Australes, since which time, Mr. Dairymple published the sea reckonings kept day by day in the ships under Bouvet, which were communicated to him by M. D'Apres de Mannevillette, the editor, and of the greater part author, of the well known and serviceable book of charts, entitled le Neptune Oriental.

Some Explanations which occurred too late to be introduced in their proper places, will be given in this Chapter, according to the order in which the subjects stand in the Work.

1. In Volume II, at chap. 3, in the description of the navigation of Francisco de Gualle, or Gali, from China to New Spain, in 1584. Gali is said to have made the coast of America in 37½° N latitude; and a note is added, remarking, that the editor of the Spanish Voyage made in 1792 to examine the Strait of Juan de Fuca, appeared to have met with an edition of Gali's Voyage, in which Gali is represented to have made the American Coast in 57½° N. This has proved to be the fact. Francisco de Gualle's account of his navigation was published in the Dutch language by J. Huighen Van Linschoten, in his descriptions of the navigation of the Portuguese in the East Indies. Linschoten's work has been translated into the English and French languages. The French translation (at least the edition of 1638, and perhaps the same in other editions) makes de Gualle say he made the coast of New Spain in 57½ degrees North; the number being expressed in figures.

In 1745, a Voyage was ordered by the Spanish Government, to examine the Coast of Patagonia, principally with the design of obtaining communication with the natives, to learn how they were disposed for receiving the light of the Gospel.

For this voyage a frigate named the Sant Antonio, commanded by D. Joachim de Olivarez, was sent from Spain, first to Buenos Ayres. A Jesuit named Josef de Quiroga, who had many years, previous to his entrance into the Holy Order, followed the profession of a mariner, embarked in the Sant Antonio on this expedition, at the express desire of the Catholic King, and he was especially charged with the care of making observations. The distance of time is much too great for this Josef de Quiroga to be the person of that name who, in 1680, desolated the Ladrone Islands. Other Fathers of the same Order were joined to Quiroga at Buenos Ayres, one of whom, Thomas Falkner, a native of Great Britain or of Ireland, afterwards published in England, A Description of Patagonia, and the adjoining parts of South America. The instructions given to those entrusted with this expedition directed them to make a settlement at Port San Julian. On the 17th of December 1745, the Sant Antonio sailed out of the Rio de la Plata.

The unlicensed commerce which was carried on, mostly in British bottoms, between subjects of Great Britain and Spanish colonists in the West Indies, and the means resorted to by the Spanish Government for its prevention, had long furnished matter for complaint to both nations. The Spanish armed ships employed to watch the coasts, were authorised and directed to stop and search all British merchant vessels which should be found near any of their settlements; an extent which might be construed to comprehend every avenue to the Caribbean Sea. These orders gave opportunity to the guarda costas, when nothing contraband was found, to plague, detain, and in various ways to incommode, the ships that fell under their examination, and by that means to extort presents, as was practised by Shelvocke with the Portuguese ship on the coast of Brasil. Several English vessels were also wrongfully carried into Spanish ports and condemned. After much mutual remonstrance, the British Government peremptorily demanded that Spain should relinquish all claim to a right of visiting British ships except in her own ports. Spain, on the contrary, insisted on a general right to search suspected vessels, as the only way by which a contraband trade could be prevented. In 1739, these disputes ran so high, that letters of reprisal were issued by both parties, and declarations of war soon followed.