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Europe。 Vasco Nunez de Balboa had crossed the Isthmus of
Panama； had climbed the famous peak in Darien； and had
looked down upon a vast expanse of water which seemed to
suggest the existence of another ocean。
Finally in the year 1519 a fleet of five small Spanish ships
under command of the Portuguese navigator； Ferdinand de
Magellan； sailed westward （and not eastward since that route；
was absolutely in the hands of the Portuguese who allowed no
competition） in search of the Spice Islands。 Magellan crossed
the Atlantic between Africa and Brazil and sailed southward。
He reached a narrow channel between the southernmost point
of Patagonia； the ‘‘land of the people with the big feet；'' and
the Fire Island （so named on account of a fire； the only sign of
the existence of natives； which the sailors watched one night）。
For almost five weeks the ships of Magellan were at the mercy
of the terrible storms and blizzards which swept through the
straits。 A mutiny broke out among the sailors。 Magellan
suppressed it with terrible severity and sent two of his men
on shore where they were left to repent of their sins at leisure。
At last the storms quieted down； the channel broadened； and
Magellan entered a new ocean。 Its waves were quiet and
placid。 He called it the Peaceful Sea； the Mare Pacifico。
Then he continued in a western direction。 He sailed for
ninety…eight days without seeing land。 His people almost
perished from hunger and thirst and ate the rats that infested
the ships； and when these were all gone they chewed pieces of
sail to still their gnawing hunger。
In March of the year 1521 they saw land。 Magellan called
it the land of the Ladrones （which means robbers） because the
natives stole everything they could lay hands on。 Then further
westward to the Spice Islands！
Again land was sighted。 A group of lonely islands。 Magellan
called them the Philippines； after Philip； the son of his
master Charles V； the Philip II of unpleasant historical memory。
At first Magellan was well received； but when he used
the guns of his ships to make Christian converts he was killed
by the aborigines； together with a number of his captains and
sailors。 The survivors burned one of the three remaining ships
and continued their voyage。 They found the Moluccas； the
famous Spice Islands； they sighted Borneo and reached Tidor。
There； one of the two ships； too leaky to be of further use；
remained behind with her crew。 The ‘‘Vittoria；'' under Sebastian
del Cano； crossed the Indian Ocean； missed seeing the
northern coast of Australia （which was not discovered until
the first half of the seventeenth century when ships of the
Dutch East India Company explored this flat and inhospitable
land）； and after great hardships reached Spain。
This was the most notable of all voyages。 It had taken
three years。 It had been accomplished at a great cost both of
men and money。 But it had established the fact that the earth
was round and that the new lands discovered by Columbus were
not a part of the Indies but a separate continent。 From that
time on； Spain and Portugal devoted all their energies to the
development of their Indian and American trade。 To prevent
an armed conflict between the rivals； Pope Alexander VI （the
only avowed heathen who was ever elected to this most holy
office） had obligingly divided the world into two equal parts
by a line of demarcation which followed the 50th degree of
longitude west of Greenwich； the so…called division of Tordesillas
of 1494。 The Portuguese were to establish their colonies
to the east of this line； the Spaniards were to have theirs
to the west。 This accounts for the fact that the entire American
continent with the exception of Brazil became Spanish and
that all of the Indies and most of Africa became Portuguese
until the English and the Dutch colonists （who had no respect
for Papal decisions） took these possessions away in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries。
When news of the discovery of Columbus reached the
Rialto of Venice； the Wall street of the Middle Ages； there
was a terrible panic。 Stocks and bonds went down 40 and 50
percent。 After a short while； when it appeared that Columbus
had failed to find the road to Cathay； the Venetian merchants
recovered from their fright。 But the voyages of da Gama and
Magellan proved the practical possibilities of an eastern water…
route to the Indies。 Then the rulers of Genoa and Venice；
the two great commercial centres of the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance； began to be sorry that they had refused to listen
to Columbus。 But it was too late。 Their Mediterranean became
an inland sea。 The overland trade to the Indies and
China dwindled to insignificant proportions。 The old days
of Italian glory were gone。 The Atlantic became the new
centre of commerce and therefore the centre of civilisation。
It has remained so ever since。
See how strangely civilisation has progressed since those
early days； fifty centuries before； when the inhabitants of the
Valley of the Nile began to keep a written record of history；
From the river Nile； it went to Mesopotamia； the land between
the rivers。 Then came the turn of Crete and Greece and
Rome。 An inland sea became the centre of trade and the cities
along the Mediterranean were the home of art and science and
philosophy and learning。 In the sixteenth century it moved
westward once more and made the countries that border upon
the Atlantic become the masters of the earth。
There are those who say that the world war and the suicide
of the great European nations has greatly diminished the
importance of the Atlantic Ocean。 They expect to see civilisation
cross the American continent and find a new home in the
Pacific。 But I doubt this。
The westward trip was accompanied by a steady increase in
the size of ships and a broadening of the knowledge of the navigators。
The flat…bottomed vessels of the Nile and the Euphrates
were replaced by the sailing vessels of the Phoenicians； the
AEgeans； the Greeks； the Carthaginians and the Romans。
These in turn were discarded for the square rigged vessels of
the Portuguese and the Spaniards。 And the latter were driven
from the ocean by the full…rigged craft of the English and the
Dutch。
At present； however； civilisation no longer depends upon
ships。 Aircraft has taken and will continue to take the place
of the sailing vessel and the steamer。 The next centre of
civilisation will depend upon the development of aircraft and
water power。 And the sea once more shall be the undisturbed
home of the little fishes； who once upon a time shared their deep
residence with the earliest ancestors of the human race。
BUDDHA AND CONFUCIUS
CONCERNING BUDDHA AND CONFUCIUS
THE discoveries of the Portuguese and the Spaniards had
brought the Christians of western Europe into close contact
with the people of India and of China。 They knew of course
that C