The Voyage made by M. de Bougainville to the Southern Islands of John Davis, commonly called by the French the Malouines, and by the English the Falkland Islands, is neither a Voyage of Discovery, nor a South Sea Navigation; but having some affinity to the latter, a brief account of it is inserted here.

On the establishment of peace between Great Britain and France in 1762, after what has been called the Seven Years War, M. de Bougainville, a Chevalier of the Order of Saint Louis and Colonel of Infantry, formed the project of a settlement on the Malouines, in the hope that it would be an inducement to the French East India Company to direct their Chinabound ships to navigate by the South Sea, making the Malouine Settlement serve them for a place of refreshment. This was a revival of Lozier Bouvet's scheme. M. de Bougainville communicated his project to the French Ministry, who so far approved it as to allow him to build two vessels at his own expence for carrying it into execution.

The vessels were built and equipped at St. Malo in the summer of 1763; the largest was a Ship mounting 24 guns, and having a crew of 100 men; she was named the Aigle, and commanded by le Sieur Ducloz Guyot of St. Malo.

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 They have also been called the New Philippine Islands, a name which is of later date, but has not superseded the other.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.