JAVE-LA-GRANDE. THE FIRST MAP OF AUSTRALIA.
The maps that I am going to describe in this chapter are beautiful
specimens of medieval work; they are, however, somewhat startling, for
they reveal, in a most unexpected and sudden manner, nearly the whole of
the coasts of Australia discovered, yet, without any narrative of voyage
to prepare us for the fact.
They stand alone, therefore, as the most important documents hitherto
come to light bearing on the early discovery and mapping of Australia.
They belong to a type of manuscript Lusitano-French, or Lusitano-Spanish
planispheres, which is represented by several specimens, all of which are
copies from a prototype which has either been destroyed or has not yet
been found.
As the original model, or prototype, is of a date anterior to 1536, they
may be considered collectively notwithstanding the apparent later date
of some of them.*
[* Desliens' bears the date 1566; see pages 70-71.]
The Australian portion, or Jave-la-Grande, of the oldest one, given here
first, is taken from a large chart of the world, on a plane scale,
painted on vellum, 8ft. 2in. by 3ft. 10in., highly ornamented with
figures, etc., and with the names in French.
At the upper corner, on the left hand, is a shield of the arms of France,
with the collar of St. Michael; and on the right, another shield of
France and Dauphiny, quarterly. It was probably executed in the time of
Francis I. of France, for his son, the Dauphin, afterwards Henry II.;
hence, this chart has sometimes been called the "Dauphin Chart."*
[* Another of these planispheres, belonging to the same French School of
Cartography, was presented to Henry II. of France. About that time a
movement was set on foot for the colonisation of the Great Southern
Continent, or Jave-la-Grande. The promotors failed in their endeavours,
and one of them went to England with the hopes of better success; he also
failed in his efforts, and the great colonising scheme was abandoned.]
This chart formerly belonged to Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford and one of
the principal Lords of the Admiralty, after whose death it was taken away
by one of his servants. It. was subsequently purchased by Sir Joseph
Banks, Bart., and presented by him to the British Museum in 1790.
Copies of this and other maps of the same category, have been made for
the Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Free Public Libraries, at considerable
expense. This was a wise step on the part of our governments, for the
strongest evidence of early discovery as yet brought to light is shown in
the draughting of these old charts of Australia.
Unfortunately, as I have said, they are all mere copies of copies, the
first of which were more or less altered in outline and corrupted in
nomenclature, from a prototype which has not yet been found.
But, if the internal evidence of these odd charts clearly shows the
original or originals to have been Portuguese or Spanish, one point of
the question will be settled, and the Portuguese and Spanish will
undoubtedly be entitled to the claim and honor of having discovered
Australia.
As to the matter of date, that is of less importance, and can be fixed
approximately, for the discovery must have taken place at some period
between the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish in these seas and the
draughting of the earliest known chart, that is between the years 1511
and 1536, a period of 25 years.*
[* When the Portuguese reached India and the East Indian Archipelago
(1511) they were the masters in those seas, and became the possessors of
many charts used by Javanese, Malay, Chinese, and Arabian sailors.
The great Albuquerque refers to a large chart of this description, which
was afterwards lost at sea, but of which copies had been made by the
pilot Rodriguez. It showed all the coasts and islands from China, the
Spice Islands, and Java, to the Cape of Good Hope and Brazil. It is
difficult to believe that the Javanese, Malays, Chinese, or Arabs had any
knowledge of Brazil in South America, although the Malays and Arabs had
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, coming from the east side, of course. I am
inclined to think that the term Brazil mentioned by Albuquerque refers to
Australia, which had been called _Brasilie Regio_ from an early date--a
date prior to the discovery of Brazil in the year 1500. See, on this
subject, my paper in the proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of
Australasia under the heading "Is Australia the Baptismal Font of
Brazil?" Vol. VI., No. 1, Sydney, N.S.W.]
But, after all, until the very date of the expedition which resulted in
the first discovery can be ascertained, the question of nationality of
the first discoverers is a much more interesting one.
Having no other documentary evidence except these old charts, the first
conclusion drawn was that as they are all written in French, the French
were the discoverers in spite of the fact that no French claim had been
made.
The late R. H. Major, the author of "Early Voyages to. Australia," having
thoroughly considered the possibility of a French claim, came to the
conclusion that such a claim was untenable. Being somewhat shaken,
however, in his first belief of a Portuguese discovery, he was led to
adopt a Provençal theory to explain certain words which on these old
Gallicized charts, were neither Portuguese nor French. The whole subject
was in this state of incertitude and confusion, when, a few years ago,
having occasion to examine minutely these old documents, I discovered on
the oldest of them a phrase in Portuguese, which, curiously enough, had
escaped the notice of all the learned critics who had made a special
study of this early specimen of cartography.
The phrase I had discovered, "_Anda ne barcha_," or "No boats go here,"
situated as it is in the Gulf of Carpentaria, had, in my mind, a very
great significance, since it not only proves the Portuguese origin of the
chart, but also the genuineness of the discovery made in that as it
showed that the discoverers were fully aware of the shallowness of the
water off this part of the coast of Australia.
It must be admitted however, that on the original chart the nautical
phrase "_Anda ne barcha_," may refer to the difficulty of navigating the
strait between Java and Bali, or the one between Bali and Lomboc.
When I say that this phrase proves the Portuguese origin of the chart, I
do not mean to convey the idea that I accepted it, there and then, as a
proof of Portuguese origin, but I rather took it as a clue, for the
meaning of those words had evidently not been understood by the copyist,
since he had left them in their original form, instead of translating
them into French, and had mistaken them for the names of two islands.
This clue led me to make a special study of every word on the chart that
had proved so interesting, the result being that I came to the conclusion
that the western coasts of Australia had been chartered by the
Portuguese, whereas the eastern coasts, which fell within the hemisphere
allotted to the Spaniards, had been discovered and charted by them.
If we take for granted--and I think we may--that these charts are
unquestionably of Portuguese and Spanish origin, the next point of
importance that calls for our attention relates to the peculiar
configuration, or, to be more precise, the strange distortion which all
these specimens have undergone. This distortion is so great that one
might fail to recognise Australia within the coast line set down, were it
not for the general fitness of the terms used as descriptive of this
coast line, terms which have been handed down to us in the course of the
geographical evolution, and some of which are recorded in the very maps
we use every day.
Moreover, we have the equally important fact that within the latitudes
and longitudes charted, Australia does actually hold its place in the
vast ocean around. See map of Australia and Jave-la-Grande compared,
given here.
We must make great allowance for the measurement of longitudes as
computed in the days when the first circumnavigators were called upon to
determine whether the Moluccas fell within the Spanish or the Portuguese
territory, for, after their return, the matter was as unsettled as ever.
Albeit, the errors of these charts are far more suggestive of deliberate
distortion than, of inaccurate charting.
In describing Ribero's chart, I made some remark about Spanish
distortions. I come now to the Portuguese ones, which refer to this
subject.
For instance, the Portuguese, who were the first to make discoveries in
these seas, must have been perfectly aware that the coasts they had
charted lay more to the east, and if they dragged them out of position
and placed them under Java as shown in these maps, it was in order to
secure to themselves the lion's share, for their line of demarcation, as
fixed by Pope Alexander, did not extend much beyond the east coast of
Timor.*
[* A contemporaneous Spanish pilot named Juan Gaetan, of whom we have
already heard in connection with the Spanish voyages on the north coast
of New Guinea [see pages 25, 26, 28], and who aboard Portuguese ships
navigated all the seas to the north of Australia, has put the following
remarks on record with reference to Portuguese charts.
He says: "I saw and knew all their charts. They were all cunningly
falsified, with longitudes and latitudes distorted, and land-features
drawn in at places and stretched out at others to suit their purposes,
etc., etc., and when they found out that I understood their little pranks
they made strenuous efforts to get me to enlist in their service, and
made me advantageous offers, which, however, I scorned to accept."--In
_Ramusio_.]
They could not have believed that Timor was situated to the east of the
peninsula, now known as York Peninsula, and clearly shown in these
charts, nor that there was not an open sea to the south of Java since the
first circumnavigators, returning to Spain from Timor, with the last ship
of Magellan's fleet, sailed through it. (See track of their ship on map
of Timor, p. 40.)
But the secret was so well kept, that seventy-eight years after
Magellan's voyage round the world, Java and Australia were still believed
to be one and the same continent by certain otherwise well-informed
navigators, as will be seen by Linschoten's "Discours of Voyages into ye
East and West Indies," published in London, in the year 1598, in which
the following description, from Portuguese sources, occurs:
"South, south-east, right over against the last point or corner of the
Isle of Sumatra, on the south, side of the equinoctial line, lyeth the
island called JAUA MAIOR, or Great Java, where there is a strait or
narrow passage, called the strait of Sunda, of a place so called, lying
not far from thence within the Isle of Java. The island beginneth under 7
degrees on the south side, and runneth east and by south 150 miles long;
but touching the breadth it is not found, because as yet it is not
discovered, nor by the inhabitants themselves well known."
"Some think it to be firme land* and parcel of the countrie called TERRA
INCOGNITA, which, being so, should reach from that place to the _Cape de
Bova Sperace_ [Cape of Good Hope]; but as [?] it is not certainly known,
and, therefore, it is accounted an island."
[* The term implies continental land]
The above passage [shows?] that the author was uncertain as to whether
Australia, which he calls the Great Java, was connected or not with
ANTARCTICA, which he terms TERRA INCOGNITA; and his hesitation may be
readily understood when we consider that some maps of the period
disconnected Java-la-Grande from the TERRE AUSTRALLE INCOGNEUE; whereas
others connected it with Kerguelen and Tierra del Fuego.
THE ILLUMINATIONS.
I shall say a few words now about the illuminations. They form a
conspicuous feature in these old maps, and lend a great charm to such
productions of a bygone age; it would be a useless task, however, to seek
in these quaint devices a strict pourtrayal of the scenes appertaining to
the countries they might be supposed to illustrate; to do so would be to
forget their chief purpose, the decorative. But, allowing for the liberty
usually granted to the artist, nay, often exacted by him, the scenes
depicted are not borrowed from the realms of "Idealism" to the extent
that has been supposed by certain commentators.
The kangaroo is not represented; no, nor the gum-tree either, perhaps!
But that clump of bamboos* on the top of a hill is not a volcano in full
eruption, as a learned critic once ventured to assert.
[* Bamboos are plentiful on the north-western coasts of Australia,
planted, no doubt, by Malay fishermen in search of trepang, who from time
immemorial frequented those shores.]
We see, on these charts, fairly correct presentments of that animal seen
for the first time by the Spaniards in the straits to which Magellan gave
his name, and described by the Italian narrator, Pigafetta, who
accompanied the first circumnavigators.
Pigafetta says:--
"This animal has the head and ears of a mule, the body of a camel, the
legs of a stag, and the tail of a horse, and like this animal it neighs."
The animal thus described by Pigafetta is the Guanaco, _Camelus
huanacus_, and it is not astonishing to find it represented on the
Australian continent, for we know* that this continent was supposed to be
connected with _Tierra del Fuego_ and was sometimes called _Magellanica_,
in consequence. In the chart that I am describing, Australia is called
Jave-la-Grande--La Grande Jave would have been the proper French
construction; but the term Jave-la-Grande is merely the translation of
Java Maior, the Portuguese for Marco Polo's Java Major.
[* See remark above.]
The great Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, described Java from hearsay as
being the largest island in the world, and the Portuguese finding this to
be incorrect, as far as their knowledge of Java proper was concerned, but
finding nevertheless, this "largest island in the world" to the
south-east of Java, in fact, approximately in the longitudes and
latitudes described by Polo; the Portuguese, I say, did the best thing
they could both for Marco Polo's sake and their own, when they marked it
on their charts where it was said to be, and with the name given to it by
Polo, for he calls it Java Major to distinguish it from Sumatra, which
island he named Java Minor.
The channel or river, marked between Java and Australia, is evidently a
concession due to the fact that a passage was known to exist. This
channel, which is left white in the chart I am describing, is painted
over in the specimen dated 1550 [see map pp. 68-69], as though it were
blocked, and two men are represented with pick and shovel as in the act
of cutting it open.
Curiously enough, in both maps, the upper silhouette of the landscape in
this part defines the real south shore of Java.
On the continental part, the Australian Alps, the range of hills on the
western and north-western coast, and the great sandy interior of
Australia, are also roughly sketched in. Was it all guess-work?
PLACE-NAMES.
It will not be necessary, I think, to give an elaborate description of
the place-names that occur on this map; those who wish to know more about
them may consult my larger work on "The Discovery of Australia."
We need not dwell either on those that are inscribed along the northern
shores of Java, well-known to the Portuguese twenty years at least before
these maps were made.
The southern shores of Java are joined to Australia, or, at least, only
separated from it by a fictitious river named Rio Grande, the Great
River, which follows the sleek curve of the "pig's back" described by D.
do Couto, the Portuguese historian.
In the Portuguese sphere some of the more salient features of the coast
lines bear the following names:--
_Terre ennegade._ Ennegade has no possible meaning in French.
It is a corruption of Terra Anegada which means submerged land, or land
over which the high tides flow considerably. It refers to a long stretch
of shore at the entrance to King Sounds, where the tides cover immense
tracts of country, and which has, in consequence, been called Shoal Bay.
_Baye Bresille;_ Brazil Bay, corresponds with King Sound.
The islands on the western coast, known as Houtman's Abrolhos,* and those
near Sharks' Bay, are all charted with the reefs that surround them,
although they bear no names on this map.
[* _Abrolhos_ is a Portuguese word applied to reefs; literally, it means
"open your eyes."]
Lower down, there is a strange name, that has led to some stranger
mistakes; it is LAMA, or LAME DE SYLLA, written HAME DE SILLE on another
of these maps. It is a curious jumble that I have not been able to
decipher; it occurs close to the mouth of the Swan River of modern
charts.
Later French and Dutch map-makers took it for the name of an island in
that locality.
Now, in those days, navigators and geographers were constantly in search
of certain more or less fictitious islands, among which, the "Island of
Men" and the "Island of Women," had been sought for in vain.
Could this be one of the lost islands? The old-fashioned letter s,
resembling an f, made _Hame de sille_ look like _Hame de fille_, and a
French geographer jumped at the conclusion that the word was _fille_, and
that he had found the long lost island.
He called it accordingly _I. des Filles_,* Island of Girls. The Dutch
translated the name on their charts where a _Meisje Eylandt_ may be seen;
but, instead of the girls that they expected to see the island peopled
with, they found it overrun by beautiful creatures, it is true, but,
alas! of the small wallaby kind, peculiar to the outlying islands of
Western Australia.
[* See Vangondy's map of Australia (1756).]
It goes without saying that they did not know of the term _wallaby_, and
taking those pretty creatures for overgrown rats, they called the island
Rat Island or Rat's Nest, and Rottnest is the Dutch form thereof,
preserved to this day.
Let us now turn to the eastern shores of Australia, for we need not
trouble about the southern shores as they are connected with the
Antarctic continent.
We notice first, _Simbana_, one of the original names of the island of
Sumbawa.
You will remember that there are several islands left out in Ribero's map
[see pp. 28-29]. Now the principal one between Java and Timor is Sumbawa,
and, strangely enough, we find that island grafted on here, and thus
forming the northernmost part of York Peninsula, with Timor to the east
of it in its actual position with reference to Sumbawa and smaller
islands around, although out of place with reference to Australia. We
next come to _Coste Dangereuse_, Dangerous Coast. It is situated in the
locality of the Great Barrier Reef, not far from the spot where, nearly
three hundred years later, Lieutenant Cook, in the _Endeavour_, was
almost wrecked. The name speaks for itself; it appears along a coast
lined with reefs, clearly shown on this map. _Baye Perdue_, Lost Bay, a
broad bay with an island in mid-channel, the modern Broad Sound and Long
Island. This name suggests a double voyage, a bay that was once
discovered and could not be found again.*
[* Many years ago an old cannon, supposed to be of Spanish origin, was
dug out of the sand a little to the south of Broad Sound, and near Port
Curtis. It may be connected with this Lost Bay.]
_R. de beaucoup d'isles_; the letter R, in Spanish, meant either river or
coast. This appellation refers to the locality of the Burnett river,
where the coast is lined with numerous islands. The term may, therefore,
mean either "coast of many islands," or "river of many islands." _Coste
des Herbaiges_, Coast of Pastures; it has been suggested that this name
gave rise to the term Botany Bay, chosen by Sir Joseph Banks,* instead of
Stingeray Bay, given by Cook. The locality, however, corresponds to a
stretch of coast further north than Botany Bay.
[* It will be remembered that this chart once belonged to Sir Joseph
Banks. See above.]