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Article REVIEW OP NEW PUBLICATIONS. ← Page 4 of 8 →
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Review Op New Publications.
The work is dedicated , in a sensible address , to the King of Spain , by whom the author was directed to the uncle : taking . This is follo-ved bv a preface , in which Mr . Munoz has criticised , with great diffidence and criticil acumen , the productions of those who had-written before bin on this suhieit , in print and manuscript . J-Je shews under what circumstances they wrote , or were to write . And from his candour , learning , patience , and industry , he appears to have been well calculated for the execution of the
undertaking , which was commuted to his trust by his sovereign . This volume is divided into six bonks . ¦ The first is an introductory discourse , in which the author briefly notices the impL-rfecf knowledge of the ancients in geography , and its gradual improvement . He then shews the rise , progress , and consequences of voyages of discovery , in rather a declamatory but pleasing manner , and concludes with stating the design he has in view , and the manner in which he proposes to conduct it .
- The second book , after mentioning the discovery of tne mariner ' s compass , and its impoitanf effects , touches the discoveries of the Portugueze _ navigators on the coast of Africa . Still an immense tract of country remained unexplored ; and no small degree of resolution and skill was necessary in the man who should venture in quest of it . This leads the author to a consideration of the life and services of Christopher Columbus , which he delineates at great length , and with much discrimination . After considerable
difficulties , which " are universally known , this great man prevailed on Ferdinand and Isabella , King and Queen of Spain , to fit out a fleet under his command to make discoveries . The particulars of his first voyage occupy the third book , and though the narrative has been universally read , "our author ' s detail of it will he perused with p leasure . The subject of the first voyage is continued in the ' fourth book , with the circumstances of his reception , and the particulars of his second voyage . The following observations do great credit to the author ' s heart and understanding :
' The advice and proposals of Columbus , with respeft to another equipment , were very punctually followed . The design at present was . to fit out a great fleet , in ' order to augment and strengthen the colony of Navidad , to take possession of Espanola , . which was supposed to be larger than Spain , and from thence to pursue the discovery of the islands , and the continent towards west and south ; it was also imagined , that all the new countries which should be discovered , mig ht be subjected , without any great difficulty ,
to the crown of Spain ; and thus it was hoped , that the light of cultured Europe , and of the Christian religion , would be diffused among a number of barbarians and infidels ; an acquisition of such inestimable value , that of itself alone it was deemed sufficient to justify every war and conquest undertaken for the purpose of attaining it . This , at the time , was the universal opinion ; I will not say that it was the most consonant to reason and the spirit of Christianity , the strength of which consists in its internal divine mild exhortations and la
power , the arms of which are persuasive , , patience , - bour , and the propagation of which , I always think , should be conducted through the only medium which the heavenly Author of it prescribed , and his disciples and followers practised with wonderful success . But the established practice of the last four centuries , since the commencement of the crusades , had g iven a colour to the wars against infidels , under the pretext of removing the obstacles which impeded the . progress of the true religion . All those that did not believe in Jesus Christ were set down as enemies , and , to drive them out of their possessions , was considered as a holy , meritorious work . The
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Op New Publications.
The work is dedicated , in a sensible address , to the King of Spain , by whom the author was directed to the uncle : taking . This is follo-ved bv a preface , in which Mr . Munoz has criticised , with great diffidence and criticil acumen , the productions of those who had-written before bin on this suhieit , in print and manuscript . J-Je shews under what circumstances they wrote , or were to write . And from his candour , learning , patience , and industry , he appears to have been well calculated for the execution of the
undertaking , which was commuted to his trust by his sovereign . This volume is divided into six bonks . ¦ The first is an introductory discourse , in which the author briefly notices the impL-rfecf knowledge of the ancients in geography , and its gradual improvement . He then shews the rise , progress , and consequences of voyages of discovery , in rather a declamatory but pleasing manner , and concludes with stating the design he has in view , and the manner in which he proposes to conduct it .
- The second book , after mentioning the discovery of tne mariner ' s compass , and its impoitanf effects , touches the discoveries of the Portugueze _ navigators on the coast of Africa . Still an immense tract of country remained unexplored ; and no small degree of resolution and skill was necessary in the man who should venture in quest of it . This leads the author to a consideration of the life and services of Christopher Columbus , which he delineates at great length , and with much discrimination . After considerable
difficulties , which " are universally known , this great man prevailed on Ferdinand and Isabella , King and Queen of Spain , to fit out a fleet under his command to make discoveries . The particulars of his first voyage occupy the third book , and though the narrative has been universally read , "our author ' s detail of it will he perused with p leasure . The subject of the first voyage is continued in the ' fourth book , with the circumstances of his reception , and the particulars of his second voyage . The following observations do great credit to the author ' s heart and understanding :
' The advice and proposals of Columbus , with respeft to another equipment , were very punctually followed . The design at present was . to fit out a great fleet , in ' order to augment and strengthen the colony of Navidad , to take possession of Espanola , . which was supposed to be larger than Spain , and from thence to pursue the discovery of the islands , and the continent towards west and south ; it was also imagined , that all the new countries which should be discovered , mig ht be subjected , without any great difficulty ,
to the crown of Spain ; and thus it was hoped , that the light of cultured Europe , and of the Christian religion , would be diffused among a number of barbarians and infidels ; an acquisition of such inestimable value , that of itself alone it was deemed sufficient to justify every war and conquest undertaken for the purpose of attaining it . This , at the time , was the universal opinion ; I will not say that it was the most consonant to reason and the spirit of Christianity , the strength of which consists in its internal divine mild exhortations and la
power , the arms of which are persuasive , , patience , - bour , and the propagation of which , I always think , should be conducted through the only medium which the heavenly Author of it prescribed , and his disciples and followers practised with wonderful success . But the established practice of the last four centuries , since the commencement of the crusades , had g iven a colour to the wars against infidels , under the pretext of removing the obstacles which impeded the . progress of the true religion . All those that did not believe in Jesus Christ were set down as enemies , and , to drive them out of their possessions , was considered as a holy , meritorious work . The