South Seas

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South Seas

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 Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Â© The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) 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 Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (December 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-SouthSeas.html

"South Seas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-SouthSeas.html

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