Drake's Island of Thieves: Ethnological sleuthing

by William Armand Lessa

During his historic circumnavigation of the globe almost four centuries ago, Francis Darke set sail across the Pacific in the Golden Hind from the California coast and did not make a landfall until several weeks later on September 30, 1579. His reception was such that he angrily called the place the "Island of Thieves". Ever since then, the identity of that island has been the subject of much speculation, with most geographers, hydrographers, explorers, and historians declaring in favor of one or another of the islands in the Carolinian archipelago of Micronesia. However, there is little agreement as to just which one of these many islands it might be. Dr. Lessa seeks to "set the record straight". With the perspicacity of the true scholarly investigator, he sifts through multitudes of applicable information from the fields of ethnohistory, ethnology, and anthropology, and relentlessly pursues the resulting clues to a fascinating resolution. Written in highly readable style, the text is augmented by illustrations, maps, and tables. A model example of cross-disciplinary scholarly research, this book will also be a bonanza to the amateur student of the great age of exploration.

289 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1975