History of a Voyage to the Falkland Islands

through slight pleasures.
At the time of the conquest
of this America, whose existence
the unique genius of Columbus alone suspected, there
occurred a kind of re-
volution in Europe, in re-
lation to morals, to the spirit, and to
government; the same fermen-
tation is felt among us
today, now that we are on
the verge of discovering those vast
regions situated beyond the south-
ern points of the known world,
whose extent is estimated at
eight million square leagues,
and which form an immense
counterweight in the balance of the globe. The author refers to the "Terra Australis Incognita," a theoretical southern continent that 18th-century geographers believed must exist to balance the weight of the northern landmasses.

If ever there were a
favorable occasion to penetrate into the
Southern World, it is now
that Europe is certain of the exis-

tence and the position of the Ma-
louine Islands original: "Isles Malouines." These are now known as the Falkland Islands.; and it would be a great ser-
vice rendered to Navigation, to
Commerce, and to Philosophy,
to extend one's research into
these regions, and to attempt to add
a fifth part to the Universe.
Alexander desired that
New Worlds might be formed, so that he
might have the glory of conquering them; the
wishes of the King of Macedonia have
been fulfilled in favor of mod-
ern Sovereigns; it only remains
for them to penetrate into a
New World, and to surpass Alexander,
not by conquering the foreigners
who inhabit it, but by making them
happy.

The precise and interesting
voyage of which I am the Editor,
does not lead simply to the recogni-
A ij This is a printer's signature mark, used to keep the pages in the correct order during binding.