The Americana collection begins with accounts of early voyages and tales of exploration, which includes a copy of Antonio Pigafetta's account of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe and rare tracts relating to the settlement of Virginia. The books are complemented, as is every other aspect of the collection, by manuscript material. This includes letters of Cortés, Pizarro and de Soto, including the 1532 letters of Cortés to the Council of the Indies seeking permission to form an expedition to explore the coast of California. The period of colonial settlement is well represented by early accounts and important religious tracts, particularly those relating to the various missions of the Indians, as well as a collection of Indian Captivity Tales.