This extract of the narrative of Sir Richard Hawkins follows the wording of his voyage as published in "Purchas his Pilgrimes" in 1622
. . . . In the end of the yeere 1588, returning from the journey against the Spanish Armardo, I caused a Ship to be builded in the River of Thames, betwixt three and foure hundred tunnes, which was finished in that perfection as could be required. For she was pleasing to the eye, profitable for stowage, good of sayle, and well conditioned. On the day of her launching, shee was named, The Repentance.
The Repentance being put in perfection, and riding at Detford, the Queens Majestie passing by her, to her palace of Greenwich, commanded her Barge-men to rowe round her, and viewing her from Poste to Stemme, disliked nothing but her name, and said shee would bee called the Daintie; which name shee brooked as well for her proportion and grace, as for many happie Voyages she made in her Majesties services:
The eight of April, 1593, I caused the Pilot to set sayle from Black-wall, and to vaile downe to Gravesend, whither that night I proposed to come.
The 18th of December we set sayle1 the winde at North-East and directed our course for the straits of Magelianes.
In out Navigation towards the straits, by our observation wee found that our compasse varied a point better to the Eastwards.
In the height of the River of Plate, we being some fiftie leagues off the coast, a storme tooke us Southerly, which endured fortie eight houres:
The storme ceasing, and being out of all hope, wee set saile and went on our course . . . . . . .
The wind continued good with us, till we came to 49° and 30' where it took us Westerly, being (as we made our account) some fiftie leagues from the shoare. Betwixt 49. and 48. degrees is Port Saint Julian, a good Harbour, and in which a man may grave his shippe, though shee draw fifteene or sixteene foot water: But care is to bee had of the people called Patagones, They are treacherous, and of great stature, most give them the name of Giants.
The second of February, about nine of the clock in the morning, wee descried land, which bare South-West of us, which we looked not for so timely! and cumming neerer and neerer unto it, by lying, we could not conjecture what land it should be, for we were next of anything in 48 degrees, and no Plat nor Sea-card which we had, made mention of any land, which lay in that manner, neere about that height; In fine wee brought our Lar-boord tackle aboord, and stood to the North eastwards all that day and night, and the winde continuing Westerly and a faire gale, we continued our course alongst the Coast the day and night following. In which time we made account we discovered well neere three-score of leagues off the Coast. It is bold, and made small shew of dangers. The land is a goodly Champion Countrey, and peopled: wee saw many fires2, but could not come to speake with the people; for the time of yeere was farre spent to shoote the Straits, and the want of our Pinnasse disabled us for finding a Port or Road; not being discretion with a ship of charge, and in an unknown coast, to come neere the shoare before it was sounded; which were causes, together with the change of winde (good for us to passe the Strait) that hindered further discovery of this Land, with its secrets: This I have sorrowed for many times for that it had likelihood to be an excellent Countrey. It hath great Rivers of fresh waters: for the out-shoot of them coloures the Sea in many places, as we ranne alongst it. It is not Mountaynous, but much of the disposition of England, and as temperate. The things we noted principally on the Coast are these following: the Westermost point of the Land, with which wee first fell, is the end of the land to the Westwards3, as wee found afterwards. If a man bring this point South-West, it riseth in three Mounts or round Hillockes: bringing more Westerly, they shoot themselves all into one; and bringing it Easterly , it riseth two Hillockes. This we called Point Tremountaine. Some twelve or fourteene leagues from this point to the Eastwards faire by the shoare, lyeth a low flat Iland4 of some two leagues long; we named it Faire Iland; for it was all over greene and smooth, as any Meddow in the Spring of the yeare.
Some three or foure leagues Easterly from this Iland, is a goodly opening5, as of a great River, or an arme of the Sea, with a goodly low Countrey adjacent. And eight or tenne leagues from this opening, some three leagues from the shore, lyeth a bigge Rocke, which at first we had thought to be a ship under all her sayles6; but after, as we came neere, it discovered it selfe to bee a Rocke, which we called Conduit head; for that howsoever a man commeth with it, it is like the Conduit-heads about the Citie of London. All this coast so farre as we discovered lyeth next of anything East and by North, and West and by South. The Land for it was discovered, in the Reigne of Queen Elizabeth, my Sovereign Lady and Mistris, and a Mayden Queene, and at my cost and adventure, in a perpetuall memory of her chastitie, and remembrance of my endeavours, I gave it the name of Hawkins Maiden Land. Before a man fall with this land, some Twenty or Thirty leagues, he shall meet with beds of Oreweed driving to and fro in the Sea, with white flowers growing upon them, and sometimes farther off; which is a good shew and sign the Land is neere, whereof the Westermost part lyeth some three score leagues from the neerest land of America
With our faire and large wind wee shaped our course for the straits, & the 10th of February wee had sight of Land, and it was the head-land of the Straits to the Northwards, which agreed with our height, wherein wee found our selves to bee, which was 52 degrees and 40 minutes.
1 This was from Isla Grande just about 20 miles South-West of Rio de Janeiro.
2 The land was not peopled but fires can be started by natural causes and often burn, in the peat, for a very long time, even years, this is probably what they saw. The land in those days had much more vegetation around the coast therefore providing more fuel than exists today
3 This would have been the what we now know as the Jason Islands. Their distance off shore (they would have been very cautious and as mentioned "not being discretion with a ship of charge" would have kept some distance off) would make it difficult to see that they were separate islands
4 This would have been Pebble Island, it's not exactly flat but in those days would have been covered with Tussac grass making it appear "greene and smooth". It should also be noted that in the late 1500's any telescope that they had would have been rudimentary
5 This would have been the North opening of Falkland Sound
6 This is the rock now Known as the "Eddystone Rock". Hawkins would not be the first to describe it's appearance as that of a ship under full sail.
I took this version of the account from the "Falklands Islands Journal" of 1969 (hope they don't mind?) and added notes two to six myself. The following interpretation by the famous Conor O'Brien was reprinted in the same Journal
Notes on Hawkins's Discovery by captain Conor O'Brien
From the Falkland Islands Magazine and Church Paper
for March 1925. No XI. VOL. XXXVI.
As some doubts have been cast on the identification of this land with the Falkland Islands, it is necessary to reconstruct Hawkins track from Rio Janeiro to 'Point Tremountaine' and then to Cape Virgins. He does not appear to have sighted any other land, but estimated he was generally about 50 leagues from the mainland. The compass shewed Easterly variation from 1 point off the River Plate to 2 or more near the islands (Note: Strong in 1690, gives the course along the N. Coast also as E. by N. In Freziers map, circ. 1716, the variation changes from 21° off the Horn to 27° off Port Louis).
From the former position, about Lat. 35° S. and Long. 51° W., he was driven South by the storm for two days. Probably running before it under bare poles he would do 7 or 8 knots; say to 4°7 S. and 53° W., whence he shaped his course for the Straits (about S. 40° W. true)8 till he reached 49° 30' S. in about 62° W., when he was driven to the Westward. He apparently contemplated going into Port San Julian, for which he now had a fair wind, but evidently did not do so, and we are not told how far he went in that direction; probably not far as he would take advantage of the first shift of wind to get on the starboard tack; and thus approached the land from the N.E.' close hauled on a N.W.' wind, being 'next of anything in 48°'. How this obvious error9 has got into the text is immaterial. The cross staff of the period was divided into minutes, and possibly it is a mistake for 50° 48'. Being unable apparently to weather the point he tacked and stood to the N.E., till next morning, when the wind backing to the West he ran along the North coast of which he 'discovered 60 leagues'. This does not necessarily mean that he sailed that distance in a straight line; he probably measured roughly the coast-line.
Next day an Easterly wind 'goode for us to passe the Strait' allowed him to retrace his course and take his departure from Point Tremountaine in about 5 days, estimating the distance at 60 leagues (Note: so also de Weert. Davis '50 or better'. He had just cleaned his ship in P. Desire and made an unexpectedly quick passage. Freziers map scales just under 200 miles).
The only possible 'end of the land to the Westward' which one can approach from the N.E., is Steeple Jason. Seen in one with Grand Jason it does make 3, 2, or 1 hill. Of the coast Eastwards he says nothing: he was standing off the land and too far to observe it. When he ventured in shore again he was further to the east then he thought: 'Faire Island' must be the Eastern part of Pebble Islands. Falkland Sound and Eddystone are described, and probably Salvador as well as Tamer Pass which on the ebb tide are certainly like great rivers.
Apart from discrepancies in the distances along the coast, very hard to estimate on account of the rapidity of the streams, the chief difficulty is that Hawkins describes the Jasons as a point of the mainland, for when leaving at any rate he was close enough in to bring them bearing more Westerly than S.W. (Note: Niether de Weert or Dampier say anything except three islands. Rogers saw them as islands at first, subsequently joining wit the low lands.) As to the other objections: this was a'goodly champion country' for centuries after Hawkin's time; he only infers rivers of fresh water from the discolouration fo the sea, which may also be caused by the strong tidal streams. And the correctnees of his distance from C. Virgins, 60 leagues, depends on the length of the league, which varied considerably in those days
To find any point on the mainland, in 48° S. or any other latitude, which will satisfy the known navigational data is impossible. Certainly C. Tres Puntas will not do; for it is so called not from three hillocks but from three white rocks projecting from the cliff.
7 I believe this is a typo in the either the original article or the reprint in the Journal. It should read 40° S.
8 This 220° in modern notation. In O'Brien's day compasses were marked with North and South both as zero and then in degrees towards East and West. To read the course you read North or South whichever was closer then the amount of degrees to East or West. Hence North East would be "North by 45° East"
9 O'Brien says this is an obvious error because even in the 1500's it was possible to measure latitude reasonably accurately and 48° S. puts the latitude about 180 miles North of the Falklands
