Mr. Salmon’s “Modern History,” London, 1744, Vol. I, pp. 92–93.

The Portuguese were no sooner in possession of Malacca, but they discovered the Moluccas or Spice islands; at which time Magallanes returning home and not being rewarded according to his expectations, as has been hinted above, offered his service to the Emperor Charles the Fifth, proposing to discover a passage to these very Spice islands by sailing westward, which he apprehended would bring them within the Emperor’s share, according to the agreement above mentioned, that all countries which should be discovered westward should belong to Spain, as all the discoveries eastward were to belong to Portugal.

The Spaniards who lived to return home again, gave a very extravagant account of the inhabitants which has since appeared to have little truth in it. They afterwards sailed into the 50th degree of South latitude, where they pretended to meet with a monstrous race of giants, which have never been heard of since; and, among other improbable stories, tell us that their way of letting blood there was by chopping a great gash in their arms and legs with a hatchet, instead of using a lancet; and the way of vomiting their patients was by thrusting an arrow a foot and a half long down their throats.

So little credit is to be given to some discoverers, especially where they happen to be people of no judgment, and who have little regard for truth, as it happened in this case where the commander, Magellan, and most of the officers died in the voyage, and very few besides the common sailors returned to give an account of the expedition.

Magellan was killed in a skirmish with the natives; having a little before his death received intelligence that the Molucca islands, which he came out in search of, were not far distant; and his ships, afterwards pursuing the voyage, arrived at Tidore, one of the Moluccas, on the 8th day of November, 1521. In these islands they were kindly received by the respective Princes and suffered to build a fort and erect a factory at Tidore; they also left one of their ships which was leaky there to be refitted, which the Portuguese afterwards took as a prize and ruined their factory.

These islands were probably first peopled from the continent of China, being formerly under the Emperor of China’s government; who deserted them, it seems, on account of their being too remote from the rest of his dominion; but their religious rights, as well as several other customs they retained when the Spanish came thither, show that the people were of Chinese extraction.

The Mindanayans are said to be an ingenious, witty people and active enough when they have a mind to it; but for the most part very lazy and thievish, and will not work unless compelled to it by hunger; but our author attributes their want of industry chiefly to the tyranny of the government, which will not suffer them to enjoy the wealth they acquire, and therefore they never endeavor to lay up anything.