THE NEW WORLD

This entire hemisphere (which is today called America, and because of its immense size, the New World) remained unknown to the ancients until the year 1492 after the birth of Christ. At that time, it was first discovered by Christopher Columbus of Genoa, a feat that seems to exceed the bounds of human wonder. When we consider the diligence of the ancients in describing the world, and the resources and opportunities available to the greatest empires for exploring new regions, we are amazed. Furthermore, given the terrible and insatiable greed of the human race, which gapes for gold and silver and leaves nothing untried to obtain that which these regions possess in such incredible abundance, we have marveled more than once that this land could remain hidden from our world for so long. There are some who believe this continent was described by Plato under the name of Atlantis. Marinæus Siculus Lucio Marineo Siculo, a Sicilian humanist and historian at the Spanish court. says in his Chronicle of Spain that an ancient coin, marked with the image of Augustus Caesar, was found here in the gold mines. He claims this was sent to the Pope as proof of the truth of the matter by Lord John Rufus, the Archbishop of Cosenza. Others believe that Seneca, moved by a poetic inspiration, predicted the discovery of this land in these prophetic verses:

A time will come in the later years,
When the Ocean shall loosen the bonds
Of the world, and a vast

Land shall be opened. A pilot shall
Discover new worlds,
And Thule shall no longer be the furthest land.
original: "Venient annis sæcula seris, quibus Oceanus vincula rerum laxet & ingens pateat tellus..." from Seneca's tragedy, Medea. Thule was the classical name for the northernmost point of the known world.

There is also that Sibylline song A reference to the Sibylline Oracles, legendary prophetic texts. which Jacobus Nauarchus writes was found in the year 1505 at the foot of the Promontory of the Moon (commonly called Roca de Sintra) on the shore of the Ocean. It was inscribed on a square column during the reign of Manuel, King of the Portuguese:

Rocks will be turned over with letters in right order,
When you, the West, shall see the wealth of the East.
The Ganges, the Indus, and the Tagus will be a marvel to see,
Each will exchange its own goods with the other.
The Tagus is the river that flows through Lisbon, Portugal. This poem suggests a global trade link between Europe and India.

All of this part of the world has been circumnavigated today, except for that stretch which faces the North, the coasts of which have not yet been fully explored. From the North it descends to the South in the form of two peninsulas, which are separated by a thin Isthmus a narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses. That peninsula which is further North includes New Spain, the province of Mexico, Florida, and Newfoundland. The southern one (which is called the Mainland by the Spaniards) contains Peru and Brazil. A student of geography can read about the knowledge of all these regions in the works of Levinus Apollonius, Peter Martyr of Anghiera, and Maximilianus Transsylvanus, who wrote about them in the Latin language. Many things not to be neglected are also to be seen among the letters of the Jesuits. Postellus also promises his commentaries on Atlantic matters.

The following authors have written specifically about it: but they all wrote in the vernacular language, which for the most part is Spanish; however, many also exist translated into Italian.

PEDRO CIEZA DE LEÓN,
GONZALO FERNÁNDEZ DE OVIEDO,
HERNÁN CORTÉS,
PEDRO DE ALVARADO,
DIEGO GODOY,
ÁLVAR NÚÑEZ Cabeza de Vaca,
NUÑO DE GUZMÁN,
FRANCISCO DE ULLOA,
FRANCISCO VÁZQUEZ de Coronado,
ANTONIO DE MENDOZA,

FRIAR MARCOS DE NIZA,
FERNANDO DE ALARCÓN,
FRANCISCO DE XEREZ,
GIOVANNI DA VERRAZZANO,
AMERIGO VESPUCCI,
FRANCISCO LÓPEZ DE GÓMARA,
GIROLAMO BENZONI, wrote in Italian,
JACQUES CARTIER, and
ANDRÉ THEVET, wrote in French,
HANS STADEN, wrote in German.