A rare German language edition, translated from the even rarer Italian edition printed in Ferrara in 1521 (only known in one example at the British Library).

Since "Juan de Angliara" is otherwise unknown to New World scholarship, and given that his name is very similar to Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, it is very likely that authorship of this little pamphlet is misleadingly pseudonymous. Nevertheless, the author describes himself, as an Italian captain of a Spanish ship bound for Calcutta. As in the best traditions, after a violent storm, they find shelter on an unknown island, on April 23rd, 1519. They meet the inhabitants, who lead them to a city full of gold,... after which they return to Spain with the good news. Some say the island was actually Peru, others that it was Cuba.

The latter theory is borne out by the similarity of this text to Juan Diaz's 'Littera mandata dell insula de Cuba de India', an account of Juan de Grijalava's expedition to the Yucatan, first published in Italian (probably Venice, c.1520). Juan de Grijalba (c.1480-1527) was a conquistador, and nephew of the great Diego Velázquez, whom he accompanied to Cuba in 1511. In 1518, Velázquez, as governor of Cuba, "sent Grijalba to explore the Yucatán Peninsula. Setting sail from Cuba with four ships and about 200 men, Grijalba became the first navigator to set foot on Mexican soil and the first to use the term New Spain. He and his men mapped rivers and discovered Cozumel Island. During their explorations, the men heard tales of a rich civilization in the interior. At last Grijalba met with its representatives, thus becoming the first European to learn of the existence of the Aztec empire farther to the north. When he returned to Cuba, his uncle was furious that his nephew had made no attempt at settlement, although Grijalba's orders had been to explore only. As a result, Grijalba was passed over and the job of colonization was given to Hernán Cortés. Grijalba accompanied Cortés on his expedition (1519), but it was Grijalba's explorations that paved the way for Cortés, thereby leading to the conquest of Mexico" (Britannica online).

Rare: one of only a handful of institutional examples known.