

"At the death of Hakluyt there was left a large collection of voyages in manuscript which came into the hands of Purchas, who added to them many more voyages and travels... Purchas followed the general plan of Hakluyt, but he frequently put the accounts into his own words... The main divisions of the work fall into two parts: the first covering the world known to Ptolemy, the second coming down to Purchas' own day. This fine collection includes the accounts of Cortés and Pizarro, Drake, Cavendish, John and Richard Hawkins, Queirós, Magellan, van Noort, Spilbergen, and Barents, as well as the categories of Portuguese voyages to the East Indies, Jesuit voyages to China and Japan, East India Company voyages, and the expeditions of the Muscovy Company. The fifth volume of this set of the Pilgrimes is in reality the fourth and best edition of the Pilgrimage" (Hill).