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But the sixteenth century was allowed to pass without any definite step to increase the knowledge of the new country being taken. That there were courageous spirits imbued with a thirst for discovery, who sought greater fame than the mere accumulation of wealth, is not to be doubted, but there is no record that Australia ever claimed their attention. The great majority of the adventurers, however, whether Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, or English, found more than sufficient occupation in exploiting the treasures of the Indies, and preferred rather to gather in the riches that were certain than undertake the search for

those which were vague and problematical. Those who were not content with the mild excitement of profitable trade found ample employment for their buccaneering tendencies in looting one another.

Still, the spirit of discovery was not dead, and the seventeenth century had barely opened when the tale was once more taken up—this time by the Spanish. From the time (1527) when Alvaro de Saavedra, dispatched from New Spain to the Moluccas, had touched upon the coast of New Guinea there is no record until toward the end of the century of any exploratory voyages made by the Spanish in the Southern Seas. Political embarrassments and a depleted treasury had caused the Emperor to renounce his pretensions to the Moluccas in 1529 in favour of the Portuguese for a certain consideration in money, although in accordance with the decree of Pope Alexander VI, he retained control over the islands to the East. In 1542 an attempt was made by Spain to establish a colony in the Philippines. Although this was not successful, a further essay made some twenty years later resulted in the foundation of a settlement at Zebu. It is not inconceivable that this settlement brought about in those regions further voyages of discovery, of which there are no records remaining. Of one, however, we have certain particulars, and mention of it is important, as it indirectly became the means of definite information concerning the new continent being secured. Alvaro de Mendana sailed from Callao on a voyage of exploration in 1567, during the course of which he discovered the Solomon Islands. Nearly thirty years later (1595) he left Peru with the intention of founding a colony on