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Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.Major, Richard Henry

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Name: Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.
Author: Major, Richard Henry

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

Meanwhile Your Majesty might not apprehend how that this proposition is
the most important that could be made for the welfare of your crown, and
that its most speedy and faithful execution should be carried out with
the same fervour and zeal as was shown at the commencement by your most
Christian predecessors the Catholic kings, who frequently declared that,
when other means failed, they themselves would go forth to carry it into
effect. By this means will Your Majesty return to find the road which
they followed, and by which they brought their kingdom to so great a
height of prosperity, from which exalted height it has, through the loss
of time and through repeated blunders and hindrances, continued falling,
until we have reached such a point that the most inconsiderable nations
of Europe, whom we formerly held beneath our feet, now look upon us as
an oppressed and afflicted nation and of small account, which is a
horrible fact, and an easily recognizable effect of the divine
indignation for the aforesaid cause, and there is no one who correctly
reasons upon this subject but will come to the same conclusion.

Let me also invite Your Majesty’s attention to the words of the Apostle
in the passage quoted above: “How shall they believe in Him of whom they
have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how
shall they preach except they be sent?” And let Your Majesty take into
account that the Apostle is speaking with Your Majesty yourself, and
with your kingdoms, with reference to this very point, in as much as the
charge has been given for preaching to the entire southern hemisphere,
and especially to that which lies in the Pacific Ocean, and without
allowing that any other Christian prince should go or send preachers
hither.[12] If Your Majesty do not send them, how shall they have any
knowledge of their Redeemer and be converted to Him? And as the charge
was given that these gentiles were to be converted, Your Majesty and
your Crown will be principally responsible for their conversion, for you
will be the immediate cause of that infinite number of gentiles not
hearing the word of the gospel or knowing their Redeemer; for as they
should know Him, who is it that, if preachers are not sent, has the
guilt of not sending them, and not allowing others to send them? May
Your Majesty ponder much upon this matter, for it touches nothing less
than your salvation and the final loss of your crown, if we do not
perfectly discharge this most righteous duty, and acquit this most heavy
debt to our Lord and Redeemer, by sending, as speedily as possible to
the southern hemisphere, a sufficient number of preachers of the gospel.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

Meanwhile Your Majesty might not apprehend how that this proposition is
the most important that could be made for the welfare of your crown, and
that its most speedy and faithful execution should be carried out with
the same fervour and zeal as was shown at the commencement by your most
Christian predecessors the Catholic kings, who frequently declared that,
when other means failed, they themselves would go forth to carry it into
effect. By this means will Your Majesty return to find the road which
they followed, and by which they brought their kingdom to so great a
height of prosperity, from which exalted height it has, through the loss
of time and through repeated blunders and hindrances, continued falling,
until we have reached such a point that the most inconsiderable nations
of Europe, whom we formerly held beneath our feet, now look upon us as
an oppressed and afflicted nation and of small account, which is a
horrible fact, and an easily recognizable effect of the divine
indignation for the aforesaid cause, and there is no one who correctly
reasons upon this subject but will come to the same conclusion.

Let me also invite Your Majesty’s attention to the words of the Apostle
in the passage quoted above: “How shall they believe in Him of whom they
have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how
shall they preach except they be sent?” And let Your Majesty take into
account that the Apostle is speaking with Your Majesty yourself, and
with your kingdoms, with reference to this very point, in as much as the
charge has been given for preaching to the entire southern hemisphere,
and especially to that which lies in the Pacific Ocean, and without
allowing that any other Christian prince should go or send preachers
hither.[12] If Your Majesty do not send them, how shall they have any
knowledge of their Redeemer and be converted to Him? And as the charge
was given that these gentiles were to be converted, Your Majesty and
your Crown will be principally responsible for their conversion, for you
will be the immediate cause of that infinite number of gentiles not
hearing the word of the gospel or knowing their Redeemer; for as they
should know Him, who is it that, if preachers are not sent, has the
guilt of not sending them, and not allowing others to send them? May
Your Majesty ponder much upon this matter, for it touches nothing less
than your salvation and the final loss of your crown, if we do not
perfectly discharge this most righteous duty, and acquit this most heavy
debt to our Lord and Redeemer, by sending, as speedily as possible to
the southern hemisphere, a sufficient number of preachers of the gospel.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

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