Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

CHAPTER XI. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. The Falkland Islands, lying between the parallels of 51° and 53° S., and extending from near 57° almost to 62° W., are in number about two hundred, but only two are of considerable size. Between these latter, called East, and West Falkland, is the channel to which our counti-yman, Strong, gave the name of Falkland Sound, he himself calling the adjacent country Hawkins' Land. Plausible assertions have been made by parties anxious to disprove the claim of Great Britain to these islands, and so few persons, excepting those immediately concerned, have inclina- tion to refer to original documents, that I may be pardoned for recalling to the recollection of those to whom the subject is still interesting, a few well-known facts, which, if fairly con- sidered, place the question above dispute. It has been asserted, that Americus Vespucius saw these islands in 1502,* but if the account of Americus himself is authentic,-[- he could not have explored farther south than the right bank of La Plata. In 1501-2 Americus Vespucius, then • II me parott qu'on en peut attribuer la premiere d^couverte au cel^bre Americ Vespuce, qui, dans son troisi^me voyage pour la decouverte de I'Amerique, en parcourut la c6te du nord au mois d'Avril 1502, 11 ignoroit a la verite si elle appartenoit a une i\e, ou si elle faisoit partie du continent ; mais il est facile de conclure de la route qu'il avoit suivie, de la latitude a. laquelle il etoit arrive, de la description meme qu'il donne de cette c6te, que c'etoit celle des Malouines. J'assurerais, avec non moins de fondement, que Beauchesne GoUin, revenant de la nier du Sud en 1700, a mouille dans la partie orientale des Malouines, croyant ^tre aux Sebaldes. — Voyage de Bougainville, 2d edit. 1772, torn. i. p. 63. t Letters of Americus Vespucius, in Ramusio's Collection, vol, i. fol. 128,