Oceans and Continents

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Further reading

South Seas

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

South Seas, the old term for the Pacific Ocean. It was given this name by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1513 when, after sighting the ocean from the top of a mountain range, he reached the coast near Panama and took possession of the ‘Great South Sea’ in the name of King Ferdinand of Spain. The expression occurs in most of the books of voyages at least up to the middle of the 18th century. It embraced the whole of the Pacific Ocean, purely from the fact that the only means of reaching it from the east was round Cape Horn or through the Magellan Straits.

See also exploration by sea.

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South Seas

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

South Seas name given by early explorers to the whole of the Pacific Ocean. In recent times the name has been used to mean only the central Pacific, the S Pacific, and the SW Pacific. More particularly it is applied to the South Sea Islands (see Oceania ) and the waters about them.

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"South Seas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"South Seas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-SthSeas.html

"South Seas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-SthSeas.html

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