In this work, Buschmann incorporates neglected Spanish visions into the European perceptions of the emerging Pacific world. The book argues that Spanish diplomats and intellectuals attempted to create an intellectual link between the Americas and the Pacific Ocean.

Introduction 1. On Shrinking Continents and Expanding Oceans 2. On Chronometers, Cartography, and Curiosity 3. On Narrating the Pacific 4. On Useful Information 5. On History and Hydrography 6. On the Rediscovery of the Americas Epilogue: On the Lingering Spanish Lake Bibliography Endnotes

Rainer F. Buschmann is professor and founding faculty member of history at the California State University Channel Islands, USA. He has formerly taught at Hawaii Pacific University and Purdue University, USA. He has written extensively on the European interactions with the Pacific Ocean.