November 1504, I have been sailing for five months now on my fourth voyage, which may be my last. I have contracted an illness, from where I do not know. As of right now, only the king and queen know of my absence, of my fourth voyage. They wanted it secret, and I obliged. After all, they sponsored this voyage. I know I will not survive much longer with this illness, so I write this to leave my legacy. Other than this, there is only the letter I recently sent to Soderini, though I cannot say for certain that he has reached it. The only other evidence of this I did not bother to mask was the natives I discovered on the coast where I harbored. They speak a completely different tongue and they do not seem intelligent enough to understand the situation, and even if they did, their different tongue handicaps them from telling others. Also, the duration of this visit, I have sent my scouts to observe the landmass whilst I stay belowdecks, as to make sure my face isn’t seen, only theirs. This way, I can be as discreet as possible. Perhaps this voyage will be my last, but my crew will survive, for they haven’t contracted my illness. If they survive, they can deliver my notes to more prominent explorers of my time, so as to help them navigate better than me. Perhaps, with this voyage, the explorers of my time will understand that that naive fool Colombo didn’t anchor in India, and in fact discovered a completely new land mass! If my legacy lasts, I can make the future of my descendants a better place where they can live in land filled with opportunity. With this as my hope and this breath most likely my last, I take my leave, hoping my life’s work makes a difference. ~ Vespucci