The hopes they gave rise to were, in addition, strengthened by the desire to discover the Great Southern Continent in a more effectual way than had hitherto been done: these prospects originated all the expeditions which, leaving the shores of South America, followed one after another in the same wake. The Spaniards were now firmly established in Peru and it came to pass that a certain Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, a Spanish officer of unusual erudition in maritime and other matters, having collected and translated many historical documents, or _guipus_,* relating to the Incas, became aware that one of them, their wisest and greatest monarch, named Tupac Yupanqui, had made an extensive voyage by sea towards the setting sun, which lasted over twelve months, bringing back much treasure from the countries he had visited. During the course of this voyage Tupac had discovered two large islands, named _Nina-Chumpi_ and _Hahua-Chumpi_, or _Fire-Island_ and _Outer-Island_. * The ancient Peruvians had a curious method of keeping tally of events. They had no alphabet, and instead of writing they made use of strings of various make, colour, and length, and, with the addition of knots, more or less complicated, were able to place on record any important event. Sarmiento believed that he had obtained valuable information from the Incas and their _guipus_ relative to these islands, which were also believed to be the outposts of a southern continent, and he thought that he could fix their position approximately. In consequence, in the year 1567, he made a proposal for the re-discovery by the Spaniards of these distant lands. In one of his memorials to Philip II, he represented that he knew of many islands in the South Sea which were undiscovered by Europeans until his time, offering to undertake an expedition for their re-discovery with the approval of the Governor of Peru, who was then Lope Garcia de Castro. Garcia de Castro willingly accepted Sarmiento's offer, and not only helped him in every way that lay in his power, but also offered him the sole command of the fleet. But, Sarmiento insisted that it should be entrusted to Alvaro de Mendana, a young nephew of Garcia de Castro. This was probably a mistake on the part of Sarmiento, and was, no doubt, the cause of the failure of the expedition, and we may also attribute to his refusal of the sole command, the fact that his name has hitherto remained ignored not only in connection with this initiatory voyage, but also in connection with the further voyages of Mendana, Queiroz and Torres. Sarmiento, however, stipulated that he should have the conduct of the discovery and navigation, and that no course should be altered without his consent. The two ships of the expedition sailed from Callao, the port of Lima, in Peru, on the day of the feast of Santa Ysabel, the 19th of November, 1567, and Santa Ysabel became the patroness saint of the expedition.