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This series includes accounts, by eye-witnesses and contemporaries, of voyages by Europeans to the Americas, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific during the colonial period. Driven by the military and commercial interests of powers including Britain, France and The Netherlands, particularly the East India Companies, these expeditions brought back a wealth of information on climate, natural resources, topography, and distant civilisations. Their detailed observations provide fascinating historical data for climatologists, ecologists and anthropologists, and the accounts of the mariners' experiences on their long and dangerous voyages are full of human interest.

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112 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Maritime Exploration

Page 2 of 6

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 18
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 18 moves from South to North America, with accounts of French expeditions including that of Champlain, British planned colonies and John Smith's description of Virginia.

A Voyage round the World, in the Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV
  • Compiled from Papers and Other Materials of the Right Honourable George Lord Anson, and Published under his Direction, by Richard Walter, Chaplain to his Majesty's Ship the Centurion
  • George Anson
  • Edited by Richard Walter
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    23 October 2014
  • Compiled by the naval chaplain Richard Walter (1717–85), though the extent of his editorial contribution is not certain, this 1748 publication documents the extraordinary circumnavigation accomplished by the British naval officer George Anson (1697–1762) between 1740 and 1744. During the Anglo-Spanish conflict which Thomas Carlyle later described as the War of Jenkins' Ear, Anson was chosen to command a squadron to raid and plunder the Pacific coast of South America. After a delayed departure, the expedition struggled with terrible weather, rough seas and outbreaks of scurvy as it rounded Cape Horn. Hundreds of men were lost and eventually only the warship Centurion remained, badly battered and undermanned. Despite the disaster, the expedition became famous for its capture in 1743 of a Spanish treasure galleon laden with silver. Anson won much acclaim for this feat, and he entered into politics. This account, meanwhile, became a bestseller.

Histoire d'un voyage aux isles Malouines, fait en 1763 & 1764
  • Avec des observations sur le détroit de Magellan, et sur les Patagons
  • Volume 1
  • Antoine-Joseph Pernety
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
  • A Benedictine scholar and naturalist, Antoine-Joseph Pernety (1716–96) produced this early and invaluable description of the natural history of the Falkland Islands (or isles Malouines). He had arrived there as part of the 1763–4 expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, claiming the islands for France. A small colony was established, allowing Pernety to provide an account of an ecosystem as yet unaffected by a human population. He spent some months studying the landscape, flora, fauna and climate, and his observations and drawings were published in these two volumes in 1770 (a one-volume English translation of 1771 is also reissued in this series). Additional material from other voyages, to Patagonia and the Straits of Magellan, provides information on contact with indigenous peoples in South America. Volume 1 discusses the inspiration behind the 1763–4 expedition, detailing the journey itself before continuing to an in-depth study of the natural history of the Falklands.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 11
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 11 focuses on journeys into central Asia by Marco Polo and the less well-known Franciscan missionary William of Rubruck, and also contains an Arabic life of Tamerlane.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 2
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 2 covers the first circumnavigations, including those of Magellan and the Dutchmen Noort and Spilbergen, and the founding of the East India Company.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 12
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 12 contains Anthony Jenkinson's account of Russia, and narratives on China, Japan and the Philippines, by both merchants and Jesuit missionaries.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 10
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 10 includes voyages to India, the East Indies and Japan, as well as the notes of the famous traveller Thomas Coryat 'on his last and fatal voyage'.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 7
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 7 describes expeditions to Ethiopia, and various pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, New Holland, Cape of Good Hope, and the Interjacent Ports
  • Compiled Chiefly from Original Journals at the East India House
  • Volume 2
  • James Horsburgh
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
  • As first mate aboard an East India Company vessel, James Horsburgh (1762–1836) was shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean in 1786 after faulty charts steered the ship onto a reef. Thereafter he devoted himself to the production of accurate charts of the eastern seas, keeping meticulous notes on extensive voyages, and carefully scrutinising the accounts and journals of other mariners. For his efforts, Horsburgh was elected to the Royal Society in 1806, and appointed hydrographer to the East India Company in 1810. The present work, reissued here in its two-volume first edition of 1809–11, remained a standard navigational reference for half a century (it was aboard the Beagle during Darwin's famous voyage). For given locations, it provides a description of the area and landmarks, and lists prevailing winds and currents, as well as any navigational hazards. Volume 2 covers mainly the seas between India and China, including those around Indonesia and the Philippines.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 13
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 13 includes voyages to the north-east and Siberia, the travels of Henry Hudson, a history of Iceland, and a journey to the Crimea.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 19
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 19 continues with British exploration and settlement in North America, including Newfoundland and the colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 6
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 6 describes the relations between European and North African fleets in the Mediterranean, and goes on to consider the first European voyages down the west coast of Africa.

A Voyage to the South-Sea and along the Coasts of Chili and Peru, in the Years 1712, 1713, and 1714
  • With a Postscript by Dr Edmund Halley and an Account of the Settlement, Commerce, and Riches of the Jesuites in Paraguay
  • Amédée François Frézier
  • Afterword by Edmond Halley
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
  • The first reliable maps of the Chilean and Peruvian coasts were drawn by the French explorer Amédée-François Frézier (1682–1773). In 1712, he was sent on a spying mission to the Spanish ports and fortifications of South America, travelling along the Pacific coastline as far as Callao, the port of Lima. His maps were later used by two of France's most famous explorers, Bougainville and Lapérouse. Frézier also took a keen interest in botany, mineralogy, economics and anthropology. His most celebrated achievement is the introduction to Europe of the Chilean strawberry, which was used to create the hybrid species known today as the garden strawberry. Frézier's observations and illustrations of the people, plants and animals he encountered on his South American travels are given in this popular account, published in Paris in 1716 and reissued here in the English translation of 1717.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 16
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 16 includes accounts of the West Indies, Puerto Rico, Guiana, and Brazil, and of the discovery of the river Amazon.

Histoire d'un voyage aux isles Malouines, fait en 1763 & 1764
  • Avec des observations sur le détroit de Magellan, et sur les Patagons
  • Volume 2
  • Antoine-Joseph Pernety
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
  • A Benedictine scholar and naturalist, Antoine-Joseph Pernety (1716–96) produced this early and invaluable description of the natural history of the Falkland Islands (or isles Malouines). He had arrived there as part of the 1763–4 expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, claiming the islands for France. A small colony was established, allowing Pernety to provide an account of an ecosystem as yet unaffected by a human population. He spent some months studying the landscape, flora, fauna and climate, and his observations and drawings were published in these two volumes in 1770 (a one-volume English translation of 1771 is also reissued in this series). Additional material from other voyages, to Patagonia and the Straits of Magellan, provides information on contact with indigenous peoples in South America. Volume 2 includes this material from other authors. A series of detailed maps and drawings conclude the volume.

An Account of a Voyage in Search ofLa Pérouse
  • Undertaken by Order of the Constituent Assembly of France, and Performed in the Years 1791, 1792, and 1793
  • Volume 2
  • Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    23 October 2014
    First published in:
    1800
  • Following the mysterious disappearance of the La Pérouse expedition after it sailed out of Botany Bay in 1788, the French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755–1834) took part in the search that departed in 1791 from Brest in two ships, Recherche and Espérance. In the space of three years, the expedition's naturalists collected numerous specimens, with Labillardière focusing on Australian flora, but their missing countrymen were never found. Notwithstanding the later confiscation of the scientific collections by the British - Sir Joseph Banks helped to secure their return - Labillardière was able to publish this narrative to great acclaim in 1800. Reissued here is the English translation of the same year, complete with a volume of finely engraved plates. The work is especially notable for its descriptions and illustrations of the indigenous peoples of Australasia. Volume 2 includes discussion of Tasmania, New Caledonia and the Friendly Islands, along with vocabulary lists.

Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes
  • Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and Others
  • Volume 20
  • Samuel Purchas
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt's 12-volume Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, originally published at the end of the sixteenth century, and reissued by the Cambridge Library Collection in the edition of 1903–5, was followed in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or, Purchas his Pilgrimes, now reissued in a 20-volume edition published in 1905–7. When first published in four folio volumes, the work was the largest ever printed in England. An Anglican priest, Samuel Purchas (1577–1626) was a friend of Hakluyt, and based his great work in part on papers not published by Hakluyt before his death. As well as being a wide-ranging survey of world exploration, it is notable as an anti-Catholic polemic, and a justification of British settlement in North America. Volume 20 covers the capture of Cadiz by the earl of Essex in 1596, and a voyage to the Azores; it concludes with an index to all twenty volumes.

A Narrative of Four Voyages
  • To the South Sea, North and South Pacific Ocean, Chinese Sea, Ethiopic and Southern Atlantic Ocean, Indian and Antarctic Ocean
  • Benjamin Morrell
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
  • Based on his journals, with literary assistance provided by a ghostwriter, this 1832 publication gives an account of the early life and later voyages of the American sealer and explorer Benjamin Morrell (1795–1839). The titular adventures consisted of explorations of the Pacific and Antarctic between 1822 and 1831. The text describes unfamiliar bodies of land, sometimes violent interactions with native populations (several of Morrell's crew were killed in the Carteret Islands), and encounters with the slave trade. Morrell also claimed to have been the first American captain to cross the Antarctic Circle. However, there are doubts about the veracity of his narrative, as reported distances, times and locations, particularly in the Antarctic, have proven to be inaccurate. This has been attributed variously to error, exaggeration or outright deception. Morrell himself admits to enhancing his narrative by drawing on information furnished by other navigators.

The Principal Navigations Voyages Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation
  • Volume 12
  • Richard Hakluyt
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
  • Richard Hakluyt (1552?–1616) was fascinated from his earliest years by stories of strange lands and voyages of exploration. A priest by profession, he was also an indefatigable editor and translator of geographical accounts, and a propagandist for English expeditions to claim new lands, especially in the Americas. His most famous work was first published in 1589, and expanded in 1598–1600: reissued here is the twelve-volume edition prepared by the Scottish firm of James MacLehose and Sons and first published between 1903 and 1905, which included introductory essays and notes. Hakluyt's subjects range from transcriptions of personal accounts and 'ruttiers' (descriptive charts of voyages) to patriotic attacks against rival nations (especially Spain). Volume 12 contains an essay on sixteenth-century voyages by the scholar Walter Raleigh (1861–1922), a general index to all the volumes, and an index to the individual ships referred to.

Journal of Captain Cook's Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, on Discovery
  • Performed in the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780
  • John Rickman
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
  • John Rickman, second lieutenant on one of the two ships commanded by James Cook on his last expedition, wrote this journal during the voyage. It was first published anonymously in 1781, because the Admiralty embargoed all personal accounts until an official report of the voyage was released. Rickman apparently wanted to anticipate any attempt to blame him (a party under his command had killed a Hawaiian chief) for precipitating Cook's death. This revised edition, 'compared with, and corrected from, the voyage published by authority' was published - again anonymously - in 1785. After an editorial preface and an introductory account of earlier voyages to the South Seas, the journal itself offers a detailed first-hand narrative of the four-year voyage, including the deaths of Cook and of Captain Clerke, who took over command of the expedition but died of tuberculosis while searching for the western entrance to the North-West Passage.

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