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Were the Hawaiian Islands Visited by the Spaniards Before Their Discovery by Captain Cook in 1778?

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Erik Dahlgren has written a definitive historical analysis that
thoroughly disproves the popular myth that Hawaiian had been
visited and charted by Spanish explorers. This myth was mentioned as fact in W D Alexander's "A Brief History of the Hawaiian People" published over 100 years ago. It was perpetuated by a Spaniard living in Hawaii, Francisco de Paulo
Marin ("manini").
The argument in favor of the Spanish discovery rests in some
part on the Spanish charts which were seized by Anson when he
captured a treasure ship in the Phillipines. Certainly this
chart was known to Cook, and it does show islands at approximately the same latitude as Hawaii, but well to the east
of Hawaii's actual location.
Dahlgren carefully sorts through the facts and demonstrates that
this Spanish chart was not based on any known observattions,
furthermore he shows that the Spaniard who supposedly made the discovery was in fact not even a competent navigator.
It is a serious historical work, carefully written, and 100%
convincing.