Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands
Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands

Author: Max Quanchi

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2005-10-18

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 0810865289

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The South Seas, as this region used to be called, conjured up images of adventure, belles and savages, romance and fabulous fortunes, but the long voyages of discovery and exploration of the vast Pacific Ocean were really an exercise in amazing logistics, navigation, hard grit, shipwreck and pure luck. The motivations were scientific and geographic, but at the same time nationalistic and materialistic. A series on global exploration and discovery would not be complete without this book by Quanchi and Robson. It is ambitious and informative and includes the familiar names of Laperouse, Bougainville, Cook and Dampier, as well as the intriguing stories of the Bounty Mutiny, scurvy, and the mysterious Northwest Passage, Terra Australis Ignotia and Davis Land. There are entries on first contacts, ships, navigational instruments, mapping, and botany. The scene is carefully set in the introduction, the chronology spans several centuries, and the extensive bibliography offers a guide to further reading. There are more than just dry facts in this book. It has a whiff of salt air, the clash of empires, cross-cultural beach encounters and personal adventure.

A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean
A Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean

Author: James Burney

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1806

Total Pages: 542

ISBN-13: 1108024092

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Captain James Burney (1750–1821), the son of the musicologist Dr Charles Burney and brother of the novelist Fanny Burney, was a well-travelled sailor, best known for this monumental compilation of voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean. After joining the navy in 1764, he sailed on Cook's second voyage between 1772 and 1774, and was also present on the ill-fated third voyage. He retired from the navy in 1784 and turned to writing works on exploration. These volumes, published between 1803 and 1817, and regarded as the standard work on the subject for much of the nineteenth century, contain collected accounts of European voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean between 1492 and 1764. Burney provides summaries of Spanish, Dutch and English accounts, which include descriptions of voyages to China, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia. These volumes also encompass voyages to California and the Western coast of America, Mexico, Peru, Chile and other Central and South American destinations -- including islands in the vicinity of these locations, such as the Galapagos archipelago. While the main focus is on exploration in the Pacific some content includes Atlantic content covering the Falkland Islands, Patagonia and the West Indies.