The first Latin edition of the first circumnavigation to have the official support of the Dutch government. A book of primary importance in the history of Dutch navigation, with descriptions of the Straits of Magellan, and (amongst others) Concepcion, Valparaiso, Callao and Acapulco, with engraved views of their harbours.

Joris van Spilbergen (1568-1620) sailed from Texel in August 1614 with 800 men aboard six ships. Although his voyage was sponsored by the VOC, with a merchant aboard each ship, this was a privateering voyage. Landing first in Brazil, the fleet went on to sail through the Straits of Magellan and into the Pacific. Travelling up the coast of South America towards Acapulco, Spilbergen raided Spanish settlements along the way. He saw himself as taking the war for Dutch independence from the Spanish to a new theatre, one of his prizes being the pearl fishing vessel the San Francisco captured at Zacatula, just North of Acapulco

Crossing the Pacific to the Mariana Islands and then Philippine Islands, Spilbergen continued to harass Spanish ships, netting a considerable amount of prize money before arriving in Batavia in September1616. Transferring to the Amsterdam for the voyage home via the Cape of Good Hope, Spilbergen was accompanied by Le Maire and Schouten who had been tried for infringing the VOC's monopoly. Le Maire subsequently died on the voyage home, and the others arrived in the Dutch Republic in July 1717.

The plates for this edition, a translation of the Dutch 1617 edition, are the same as found in the Dutch editions. They include images of Concepcion, Valparaiso, Acapulco, Manila, and Amboyna.

First Latin edition. Landscape 4to, large engraved view to title, 25 engraved plates of charts and views (including a large folding engraved world map and a similar map of the East Indies, along with 5 double-page plates); some occasional light spotting, very small paper repair to leading edge of title page, also to outer edge of plate 3, upper and lower edge of margin of final leaf of text, lower corner of penultimate leaf repaired. Contemporary limp vellum, recased with new endpapers, lettering on spine faded, some light soiling to covers, with contemporary ink marks. [vii], [i](blank), 9-175, [1](blank)pp.

European Americana, 619/133; Sabin, 89450; Tiele, 66; Shirley, 304; Landwehr (VOC), 361.