Van Diemen's Island former name for Tasmania.
varlet a scoundrel; knave.
veracity habitual truthfulness; honesty.
the verge the edge; here, meaning the edge of the Flying Island.
the vortices of Descartes, were equally exploded in Descartes' philosophy, a vortex is a whirling movement about an axis, that accounts for differences in kinds of material bodies, etc.; the meaning here is that Descartes's philosophical positions were refuted.
wattled built with wattles, a sort of woven work made of sticks intertwined with twigs or branches.
wen a benign skin tumor, especially of the scalp, consisting of a fatty cyst.
wherry a light rowboat used on rivers.
young princes of the blood the nobility; here, meaning the succession of royalty.
