rariety in his
names for tribes and islands. Since dark complexion was observed
on individuals in certain tribes and in defined areas, and light
complexion on others, here abundantly, there quite exceptional,
writers applied Old World names to the new phenomena without further
thought. The Philippines set the decisive example in this. Fernando
Magellan first discovered the islands of this great archipelago in
1521, March 16. After his death the Spaniards completed the circle
of his discoveries. At this time the name of Negros was fixed, which
even now is called Islas de los Pintados. For years the Spaniards
called the entire archipelago Islas de Poniente; gradually, after the
expedition of Don Fray Garcia Jofre de Loaisa (1526), the new title
of the Philippines prevailed, through Salazar.

The people were divided into two groups, the Little Negros or Negritos
and the Indios. It is quite conceivable that involuntarily the opinion
prevailed that the Negritos had close relationship with the African
blacks, and the Indios with the lighter-complexioned inhabitants of
India, or at least of Indonesia.

However, it must be said here that the theory of a truly African
origin of the Negritos has been advanced but seldom, and then in a very
hesitating manner. The idea that with the present configuration of the
eastern island world, especially with their great distances apart, a
variety of mankind that had never manifested any aptitude for maritime
enterprises should have spread themselves over this vast ocean area,
in order to settle down on this island and on that, is so unreasonable
that it has found scarcely a defender worth naming. More and more the
blacks are coming to be considered the original peoples, the "Indios"
to be the intruders. For this there is a quite reasonable ground,
in that on many islands the blacks dwell in the interior, difficult
of access, especially in the dense and unwholesome mountain forests,
while the lighter complexioned tribes have settled the coasts. To
this are added linguistic proofs, which place the lighter races, of
homogeneous speech, in linguistic relations with the higher races,
especially the Malays. Dogmatically it has been said that originally
these islands had been occupied entirely by the primitive black
population, but afterwards, through intrusions from the sea, these
blacks were gradually pressed away from the coast and shoved back
into the interior.

[Complicated Pacific problem