^ <'
Id .
McKEW PARR COLLECTION
MAGELLAN
and the AGE of DISCOVERY
PRESENTED TO
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY • 1961
CAMBRIDGE GEOGRAPHICAL SERIES
General Editor:— F. H. H. GUILLEMARD, M.D.
formerly lecturer in geography in the university of cambridge
A HISTORY
OF
GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY
IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
llontion: FETTER LANE, E.G.
G. F. GLAY, Manager
lEUinburgf) : loo, PRINCES STREET
IScrlin: A. ASHER AND CO.
ILeipjis: F. A. BROCKHAUS
i^efaj gorit: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
iJombaa anti Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.
All rights reserved
A HISTORY
OF
GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY
IN THE
SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES
BY
EDWARD HEAWOOD, M.A.
LIBRARIAN TO THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY
Cambridge :
at the University Press
1912
Cambritigc:
PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS*
PREFACE
THE period dealt with in this book Hes for the most
part outside what has been well termed the Age
of Great Discoveries, and has in consequence met with
less attention, perhaps, than it deserves. While the main
episodes have formed the theme of many and competent
writers, few attempts have been made to present such a
connected view of the whole course of Geographical Dis-
covery within the limits here adopted as might bring out
the precise position occupied by each separate achieve-
ment in relation to the general advance of knowledge.
It is this task which has been attempted in the present
volume. The reasons which give a certain unity to the
period are discussed in the following pages, but it may be
briefly characterised here as that in which, after the decline
of Spain and Portugal, the main outlines of the World-map
were completed by their successors among the nations of
Europe.
In dealing with so wide a field, both as regards time
and space, the arrangement of the subject-matter presents
considerable difficulties. To take the major portions of
the world in turn, and trace the course of discovery for
each from beginning to end, would, it was thought, lose
much by failing to bring out what may be called the
general perspective of the story. Successive periods were
marked by more or less definite characteristics all the
world over, and both the aims and methods of discoverers
1 9HK4i>
VI PREFACE
changed with the times. On the other hand a strict
chronological arrangement of the whole material would
have its own disadvantages, and a compromise between
the two methods seemed to offer the only suitable solution.
For each part of the world the whole epoch has therefore
been broken up into periods, possessing a general unity in
themselves, and sufficiently prolonged to escape the draw-
back of frequent interruptions of the story.
Whilst original sources of information have been con-
sulted as far as possible, it is obvious, in view of the extent
of the field, that this could not be done universally, in a
text-book that does not, primarily at least, profess to
present the results of original research. The contributions
of so many previous workers in the field have been drawn
upon that it is impossible to acknowledge the indebtedness
in each separate case ; more especially as the narrative is
based on notes collected during a long series of years.
A few of the more particular obligations must however
find expression. Of earlier dates, works like Burney's
classical collection of South Sea voyages, Southey's History
of Brazil, M tiller's and Coxe's accounts of Russian North-
East voyages, and Barrow's History of Voyages into the A rctic
Regions, have of course been consulted ; while, of more
recent times, Markham's Threshold of the Unknown Region,
Ravenstein's Russians on the Amur, Parkman's and
Winsor's historical works on North America, and Theal's
on South Africa, Bryce's History of tJie HiLdson Bay
Company, Burpee's Search for the Western Sea, Conway's
No Man's Land, Nordenskiold's Voyage of the Vega, and
many others, have furnished useful indications. The
publications of the Hakluyt Society, with the valuable
introductions supplied by the several editors, have also
been an important source of information.
As regards the illustrations, special thanks are due to
Mr Kitson, and his publisher Mr Murray, for permission
to utilise the chart of Captain Cook's routes, and the
PREFACE Vll
portrait of the navigator, given in the former's Captain
James Cook (which appeared, unfortunately, after the
chapter dealing with Cook's voyages was written) ; to
Sir Martin Conway for similar permission to use the re-
production of the Muscovy Company's Map of Spitsbergen
given in his No Man's Land\ and to Mr H. N. Stevens
for supplying gratuitously for reproduction a facsimile of
Foxe's Arctic Map. To Mr Addison, draughtsman to the
Royal Geographical Society, I am indebted both for the
actual drawing of the chart of Cook's routes, and also for
useful advice in regard to the preparation of the other hand-
drawn maps, for which I am myself responsible.
The Index has been m.ade as complete as possible in
the hope that it may serve as a guide, not only to the
contents of the book, but also to sources of further in-
formation. Thus even where mere mention of a place is
made in the present work, it is felt that the reference may
be of use to students desirous of tracing the fortunes of
such a place, or the course of European intercourse with it,
in the narratives of the travellers themselves.
In deference to modern usage, such forms as Hudson'^
Bay, the Strait^- of Magellan, have been discarded, though
at a certain expense of picturesqueness, and, in the second
case, even of strict accuracy.
In conclusion, my warmest thanks are due to the Editor
of the series, Dr F. H. H. Guillemard, not only for the great
interest he has taken in the book from the outset, but for
his unstinted aid in proof-reading, and for his many valuable
suggestions, which have eliminated not a few inaccuracies.
EDWARD HEAWOOD.
I Savile Row, W.
August^ 191 2.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction i
CHAPTER
I. The Arctic Regions, 1550— 1625 ... 14
II. The East Indies, 1600— 1700 .... 47
III. Australia and the Pacific, 1605—42 . . 69
IV. North America, 1600— 1700 .... 97
V. Northern and Central Asia, 1600— 1750 . 118
VI. Africa, 1600— 1700 143
VII. South America, 1600— 1700 168
VIII. The South Seas, 1650— 1750 .... 179
IX. The Pacific Ocean, 1764—80 .... 212
X. Russian Discoveries in the North-East,
1700 — 1800 256
XL The Northern Pacific, 1780— 1800 ... 273
XII. The Southern Pacific, 1786— 1800 ... 302
XIII. The French and British in North America,
1700 — 1800 322
XIV. Spanish and Portuguese America, 1700— 1800 350
XV. Asia, Africa, and Arctic, 1700 — 1800 . . 372
Conclusion 407
Supplementary Notes • 410
Index 417
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Wiight-Hakluyt Map of A.D. 1600. {Outline Sketch) Facing 11
Title of the Wright- Hakluyt Map of A.D. 1600. {Facsimile) . ii
Map of the World by Porro, 1596 — 98. {Facsimile) . . . 12
Novaya Zemlya, showing entrances to Kara Sea. {Sketch-map) . 17
Boats' Adventure with a Polar Bear. From De Veer's narrative
of Barents's Voyages. {Facsimile) . . . . . . 23
Part of Hondius's Map of r6ii, showing Barents's Discoveries.
(From the facsimile published by the Hakluyt Society) . 26
Sir Martin Frobisher. From Holland's Heroologia, 1620 . . 32
Hudson Bay and its approaches. {Sketch-map) . . . . 37
Pai-t of Foxe's Arctic Map, 1635. From North- West Foxe . . 43
The Muscovy Company's Map, 1625. From Purchas his Pilgrimes.
Reproduced from Sir Martin Conway's No Man^s Land by per-
mission of the author 45
Van Langren's Map of Eastern Asia. From Linschoten's Itinerarium,
etc., 1595 — 96. {Outline Sketch) ...... 48
Sir Thomas Roe. From the Portrait in the National Gallery . 64
Dutch Chart showing results of Vries's voyage. From the copy in
Leupe's edition of the voyage, 1858. {Oiitline Sketch) . . 87
Dutch Chart of Tasman's Discoveries. From the copy in Swart's
edition oi hh Journaal, i860. {Outline Sketch) ... 94
Samuel de Champlain. From Shea's copy of the portrait by Hamel
(after Montcornet) in the Parliament House at Ottawa. {By
permission of Mr Frajicis Edwards) 100
The Bison as figured by Hennepin. From his Notivelle Dt^couverte,
1697. {Facsimile) 113
Hennepin's Map, lower portion. From his Nouvelle D^couverte,
1697. {Facsimile) Facing 116
Sketch-map of the Upper Amur Region 124
The Rhubarb of China. From Kircher's China Illiistrata, i6b-j . 135
D'Anville's Map of the Chinese Empire. From his Atlas. {Outline
Sketch) 141
Western Portion of Ludolf's Map of Abyssinia. From his Historia
yEthiopica, 1681. {Facsimile) 147
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Xl
PAGE
Evolution of Central African Cartography in the i6th century.
{Sketch-maps) . . . . . . . . . .150
African Elephant. From Labat's Nointelle Relation de V Afriqtie
Occidentale, 1728 . . .159
D'Anville's Map of Angola, etc. From Labat's Relation de V Ethiopie
Occtdentale, 1732 164
The Galapagos, by Eaton and Cowley. From Hacke's Collection of
Original Voyages, 1699 . .185
William Dampier. After an Original in the British Museum . . 188
Dampier's discoveries in the New Guinea Region. From the chart
in his Travels. {Facsimile) 195
Surrender of Tahiti to Wallis. From Hawkesworth's Voyages,
1773 216
Carteret's discoveries East of New Guinea. From the chart in
Hawkesworth's Voyages . . . . . . . .220
Captain Cook. From a negative lent by Mr Murray of the Portrait
in Greenwich Hospital ; reproduced by permission of the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty
22
Sir Joseph Banks. From the Portrait in the National Gallery . 231
Cook's Chart of the East Coast of Australia. From Hawkesworth's
Voyages. {Ojctline Sketch) . . . . . . '233
The Resolution. From a drawing in the possession of the Royal
Geographical Society . . . . . . . -239
The Resolution among Icebergs. From the narrative of Cook's
Second Voyage ......... 241
The Sea Otter. Drawing by Webber, in the narrative of Cook"s
Third Voyage . . . . . . . . . .251
Cook's Routes. Based, by permission, on the Chart in Kilson's
Captain Cook Facing 254
Sketch-map of North-eastern Siberia . . . . . -257
Sketch-map of North-western Siberia ...... 263
The Bering Strait Region. From Miiller's Map of 1754 — 58. {Ont-
line Sketch) . . , ....... 268
Loss of boats at the Port des Fran9ais. From the Atlas to La
Perouse's voyage . . . . . . . . -275
La Perouse's routes in the seas north of Japan. {Outlijie sketch of his
chart) 276
Captain George Vancouver. From the Portrait in the National
Gallery 286
Section of Vancouver's General Chart of N.W. iVmerica. From the
Atlas to his Voyage ......... 206
Governor Arthur Phillip. From the Portrait in the National Gal-
i^^y 303
The Island Groups of the Western Pacific. {Sketch-chart) . . 307
Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Captain William Bligh. From the Portrait by Dance in the National
Gallery . . . 310
The Great Slave Lake in Winter. From Hearne's Journey to the
Norlhern Ocean . 333
Alexander Mackenzie. From the engraving by Conde, after
Lawrence, in his Vbj/ages 337
Western Portion of Mackenzie's Map, showing his routes. From
his Voya£-es. {Outline Sketch) . . . . . . .341
Kentucky and its approaches. {Sketch-7nap) ..... 347
The Jesuit Map of Southern California. From Venegas's Histoiy of
California. English edition, 1759. {Facsimile) . . . 354
The Jesuit Map of Paraguay, by D'Anville. From the Lettres
Edifiantes et Curieiises. {Outline Sketch) . . . .361
Don Felix de Azara. From the Portrait in the Atlas to his Voyages 365
Renat's Map of Central Asia, 1738. From a facsimile in Petermanns
Mitteilungen, 1911. {Outline Sketch) . . . . '375
View of Punakha, Bhutan. Sketch by Lieutenant Davis in Turner's
Embassy . . ......... 381
Carsten Niebuhr. From the Portrait in his Reisebeschi-eibting, Vol. Ill,
1837 383
James Bruce. From the Portrait in the National Gallery . . 386
Paterson's routes in South Africa. From the Map in his Narrative
of Four Journeys, etc. {Outline Sketch) 395
Constantine John Phipps, Earl of Mulgrave. From the Portrait in
the National Gallery 404
INTRODUCTION
The closing years of the sixteenth century formed an important
turning-point in the history of the world, and, as a natural conse-
quence, in the more special field of geographical discovery also.
A hundred years had elapsed since the great events which gave to
the latter end of the fifteenth century its unique influence on the
story of the nations — the discovery of America, and the first
voyage to India round the Cape of Good Hope. During that
interval Spain and Portugal, the pioneers in the new movement
towards world-wide empire and commerce, had attained a degree
of expansion unknown since the days of the Roman Empire,
and, in virtue of the famous Bull of Pope Alexander VI, had
practically divided the extra-European world between them.
Fleet after fleet had been despatched from their shores, straining
to the utmost the too scanty resources of the two nations, rein-
forced though they were by the riches of Peru, and the spices and
other valuable commodities of the East. Meanwhile, other nations
were standing forth as possible rivals, and the arrogant claims of
Spain and Portugal to exclude all others from the world's com-
merce did but hasten the downfall of their supremacy.
In the hope of securing a share in the East Indian trade the
English long expended their energies on fruitless efforts to open a
route by the frozen North, though the bold exploits of Drake and
others brought them into actual collision with Spain on the ground
claimed by her as her exclusive property. Private adventurers
also made their way to the East, but it was not until the nautical
supremacy of Spain had been broken in 1588 by the defeat of the
" Invincible Armada," that the equal rights of all to the use of the
maritime highways were vindicated.
H. I
INTRODUCTION
It was, however, not the Enghsh, but the Dutch who were
the first to avail themselves of the new opportunities. After the
voyages of the Portuguese had made Lisbon the chief entrepot
of the valuable Indian trade, Antwerp and Amsterdam rose to
importance as centres of distribution of Indian goods over
Northern Europe. Rendered desperate by Spanish oppression,
the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands in 1580 declared
their independence, and in retaliation Philip II, under whom the
whole dominions of Spain and Portugal were then united, took
the short-sighted step of forbidding the Amsterdam merchants to
trade with Lisbon. Threatened with ruin, they were of necessity
driven to more determined efforts to obtain an independent trade
with the East, and though they too, for a time, made the mistake
of searching for a northern route, they soon boldly resolved to
enter into open competition with the Portuguese, and in 1595-96
the first Dutch fleet sailed for India. An English expedition had,
it is true, made its way to the East in 1591, but it proved un-
successful, and it was not until 1599 that systematic steps for a
direct trade with India were taken by the formation of the English
East India Company.
With the change thus brought about in the distribution of
material power among the nations of Europe, it was natural that
geographical discovery should also in future follow a different
course. Whereas the great discoveries of the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries had been almost entirely the work of Spain and
Portugal, with the beginning of the seventeenth the energies of
both nations became suddenly paralysed, and after the first decade
of the new century no more great navigators set sail from their
shores. Their place was taken by the Dutch, French, and
English; the Dutch especially — who, as already stated, had gained
a start on the English in the matter of Eastern trade — leading the
way, during the early part of the new period, in the path of
maritime discovery. But although the French lagged somewhat
behind, as compared with the Dutch and English, in the prose-
cution of Eastern enterprises, they were destined to play an
important part in the exploration of the New World, especially
in North America, to which their view had been directed from
an early period, even in the sixteenth century. By a curious
INTRODUCTION
coincidence the Russians were simultaneously entering upon a new
period of activity in the broad regions of northern Asia. It was
to these four nations therefore that the principal work in com-
pleting the geographical picture of the world in its broad outlines
was now to fall.
Before proceeding to describe the course of discovery under
the new order of things, it will be well to take a rapid survey of
the state of knowledge of the globe existing at the close of the
sixteenth century, and of the ideas which then prevailed respecting
the still unknown portions.
As regards the knowledge of the general distribution of land and
water, a marked improvement had taken place during the latter
half of the century. America, after the voyage of Magellan across
the Pacific, had slowly taken its fitting place as an independent
division of the land, being now regarded neither as an insular mass
of comparatively small area, as had been supposed by the map-
makers of the opening years of the century, nor as stretching
across the North Pacific in a comparatively low latitude to join
the eastern parts of Asia, as had been shown on maps dating
from the middle of the century. The idea of a narrow strait
separating the two continents in the far north was already gaining
ground, though based apparently on a quite insufficient foundation.
Much less had been done to clear up the uncertainties
respecting the supposed Great Southern Continent, which had
from very early times appealed to the imagination of philosophers,
and the investigation of which was the most important piece of
geographical work remaining to be done. Even before the
voyage of Magellan, geographers had a strong beHef in the exist-
ence of land beyond the southern ocean, and this was greatly
strengthened by the passage of that navigator through the strait
which bears his name, as it was naturally imagined that the land
to the south of the strait formed part of a great continental mass.
Whether or not the ancient and medieval geographers had to any
extent based their ideas on vague rumours of Australia which may
have reached the countries of southern Asia, is a question which
cannot be answered; but it has been held with some show of
reason that statements of Marco Polo, Varthema, and other
travellers, point to a knowledge that an extensive land did lie to
I — 2
INTRODUCTION
the south of the Malay Archipelago. It is an almost equally
difficult matter, and one which concerns our present subject more
nearly, to decide whether the indications of a continental land
immediately to the south of the Archipelago, to be found in maps
of the sixteenth century, were based at all on actual voyages of
European navigators. The influence of the writings of former
travellers and investigators is still seen in many of these maps.
Thus the term " Regio Patalis," which occurs on many of the
earlier maps as the designation of a southern land, is known to
have been borrowed from early writers. In the maps of the
Flemish school of cartographers — Ortelius, Mercator, and others
— a continental land is vaguely shown, but the details respecting
it are merely borrowed from Marco Polo. A special point, how-
ever, about these maps is that New Guinea is correctly shown
as an island separated by a narrow strait from the main mass of
land, although it is stated in one at least that their relation was
still uncertain.
An apparently stronger argument for the view that AustraUa
had been reached during the first half of the century is supplied by
a series of manuscript maps by a French school of cartographers
(of which the best known representative was Pierre Desceliers),
the earliest possibly dating from 1530. They all show, imme-
diately to the south of Java, and separated from it only by a
narrow channel, a vast land bearing the name Jave la grande. The
details inserted on the coast line, though fairly full, are of Httle
use for purposes of identification; but from some slight resemblance
of the contours to those of Austraha, and from the vast size of
the land portrayed, it has been held that the maps in question
prove that an actual discovery had been made.
The unsupported evidence of these maps — which in other out-
lying parts of the world contain many hypothetical details — can,
however, be hardly said to justify any positive conclusion, and it
may even be possible that some rough sketch of Java (then
commonly known by Polo's designation "Java major") may have
been used to supply the outHne and terminology of the supposed
continental land^ However this may be, it is certain that such a
1 The recently discovered Carta Marina of Waldseemullei (15 16) has a
representation of Java which may be regarded as a first step towards the Great
Java of the French maps.
INTRODUCTION 5
discovery was not generally known, and we may consider that to
all intents and purposes the work of exploration in this direction
had to start from the beginning in the period with which we have
to deal. Elsewhere, though vast tracts remained a blank on the
maps, the work of discovery did not set out, at the beginning of
the seventeenth century, with quite such a clear field. We will
take the various quarters of the globe in order, and note briefly
the extent of knowledge possessed at the time with respect to
each, and the chief tasks still to be accomplished.
The (?.Ttensive exploration of Europe may be said to have been
completed by the close of the sixteenth century. Such fantastic
forms as had been given to the northern parts of the continent,
including the British Islands, in maps of the early part of the
century, and even in the famous map of Olaus Magnus of 1539
(though this showed a great improvement on its predecessors),
had given place to more correct outlines, thanks principally to the
English voyages of Willoughby, Chancellor, Burroughs and others,
and the Dutch voyages of Nai, Tetgales, and Barents in 1594-96.
The copies of Barents' own map, pubUshed at Amsterdam in
1599 and 161 1, show well the advance that had been made in the
previous half-century (see p. 26). Russia too, though still im-
perfectly known to the rest of Europe, had been rescued from the
obscurity hitherto enveloping it by the work of Von Herberstein
(1549), as well as by the travels of Giles Fletcher, Queen
Elizabeth's ambassador to the Czar (1588), and of Anthony
Jenkinson and other agents of the British Muscovy Company.
The knowledge of Asia attained before the end of the sixteenth
century may be considered under three heads. Firstly, that
acquired by medieval travellers before the voyage of Vasco da
Gama; secondly, that due to the voyages of the Portuguese and
others by the sea route to India; and thirdly, the somewhat vague
information respecting northern Asia acquired by Russian and
Finnish merchants and voyagers during the course of the century.
The first of these sources had supplied more or less detailed
information respecting the whole of Asia south of Siberia, but the
absence of accurate maps or scientific description caused much
confusion of ideas with respect to it. For the southern and
south-eastern countries, especially the coast-lines, this information
6 INTRODUCTION
was now superseded by the results of recent voyages, though, as
we have seen, the statements of the early travellers continued to
exercise a powerful influence with map-makers and cosmographers
in Europe, if not with the voyagers themselves. For the whole of
Central Asia, however, as well as the interior of China, the writings
of Friar Odoric, Willem de Rubruk, Marco Polo, and the early
missionary friars, remained the only sources of knowledge, and
could at best present a most imperfect picture of those vast
regions. In the south and east the Portuguese voyages (recorded
in the history of De Barros and the poems of Camoens) had
before the close of the sixteenth century re-opened to the world a
knowledge of the whole coast-line as far as the north of China and
the Japanese islands. The greater part of the Malay Archipelago
had become well known, including the northern coasts of New
Guinea : but whether the southern coast of the great island had
been explored is uncertain, the statement by Wytfliet that a strait
existed between it and a land to the south being possibly based
only on Mercator's theoretical representation. Some information
had also been supplied regarding the various kingdoms of India
and Indo-China by the travels of Duarte Barbosa, Caesar Frederik,
Gasparo Balbi, Ralph Fitch, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, and
others, some of these having reached India overland, and thus
contributed to a better knowledge of the countries of western
Asia. The extensive travels of Fernao Mendez Pinto, though
not pubhshed till the beginning of the next century, were carried
out during the sixteenth, and, in spite of much exaggeration on the
part of the traveller, threw considerable light on the state of the
East in his time. Lastly, in Northern Asia, the newly awakened
enterprise of Russian and other merchants had begun to make
known the western parts of Siberia, including the coasts of the
Arctic Ocean as far as the mouth of the Yenesei. The state of
knowledge of this region at the beginning of the new century is
shown by the map by Isaac Massa published in Holland in 1612.
But the great advance of fur-hunters and of others across the
wilds of Siberia was only just beginning, and the discovery and
conquest of that vast region belongs almost entirely to the period
dealt with in the following pages.
In Africa, the end of the sixteenth century marks the close of
INTRODUCTION
a period of activity, to be followed by nearly two centuries of stagna-
tion, so far as geographical discovery is concerned. The entire coasts
were of course known, and in places, such as Benin, the acquaint-
ance with the lands immediately in their rear was closer than was
the case in our own times until quite recent years. There is no
doubt, too, that some knowledge of the interior was possessed by
the Portuguese at the time we are treating of, though to determine
exactly the extent of that knowledge is a task of great difficulty, if
not impossible, with the limited material we now possess. From
the fact that maps of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries show the
African interior filled in with lakes and rivers such as are now
known to exist there, it has even been imagined that the Portuguese
of those days possessed an intimate knowledge of Central African
geography, rivalling that due to the explorers of the nineteenth
century. It is necessary briefly to examine the basis of this idea,
which we shall find a very unsubstantial one. The earlier carto-
graphers of the sixteenth century (Waldseemiiller, Ribeiro, and
others) merely followed Ptolemy's account, and made the Nile rise
from two or more lakes lying east and west a long way south of the
Equator. In course of time, however, the vague information
gleaned by the Portuguese on the east and west coasts seems to
have been combined with the older conjectural geography. From
Congo and Angola on the west, and Mozambique, Sofala, and
Abyssinia on the east, rumours of lakes and empires reached the
ears of travellers, and when these were put down on the maps
with considerable exaggeration of distances, the whole interior
became filled with detail, and names heard of from the opposite
ends of the continent became confusedly mixed in the centre of it.
The maps of Mercator (1541 and 1569), Gastaldi (1548), Ramusio
(1550), and Ortelius (1570) are among the earliest examples of this
type, all showing the Nile as rising from two great lakes lying east
and west, south of the Equator. The well-known map of Filippo
Pigafetta (1591), based on the accounts of Duarte Lopez, was
evidently evolved in much the same way, though the lakes there
appear north and south of each other. In all these maps the
greater part of the geography represented is unmistakably
Abyssinian (see sketches on p. 150).
In other quarters the knowledge of the Portuguese was
INTRODUCTION
probably confined to the districts closely adjoining their colonies
of Angola, Mozambique, and Sofala. Behind the two last named,
expeditions had been pushed to a considerable distance, and
Portuguese envoys had reached the country of the celebrated
chief known as the Monomotapa, south of the central Zambezi.
The power of this potentate became greatly exaggerated and he
was supposed to rule over an empire equal to those of Asiatic
monarchs. The Portuguese writers were acquainted with the
famous ruins at Zimbabwe, which place the Jesuit priests are even
supposed to have visited; but this appears doubtful, as the name
Zimbabwe was then applied to the residence of any important
chief. The gold-producing region of Manica had certainly been
visited before the end of the sixteenth century, and ruined forts
now existing prove that the Portuguese occupation extended to
the Inyaga country, a little further north, and was not confined to
the Zambezi valley. On that river itself their knowledge seems
to have extended about to the site of the present post of Zumbo,
at the confluence of the Loangwa.
In South America, discovery had made vast strides during the
century following the first arrival of white men. Within the first
50 years the whole contour of the coasts had been brought to
light, though as the passage round Cape Horn had not been made
before the close of the century it was still supposed by some that
Tierra del Fuego formed part of a great southern continent.
Before the new century began, the range of the Andes, with the
important empires occupying its broad uplands, had been made
known by the conquests of the great Spanish captains, while
explorers of the same nation had also traced the general courses of
the three largest rivers of the continent. By the voyage of
Orellana in 1540-41, followed twenty years later by that of the
tyrant Agiiirre, almost the whole of the course of the Amazon had
been laid down. In the system of the Plata the Spanish governors
Mendoza and Alvar Nunez had ascended the Paraguay, pene-
trating almost to the frontiers of Peru, besides forcing a way from
the coast to the upper Parana. Of the Orinoco, the shortest of
the three, less had been explored, as the cataract of Atures had
turned back more than one adventurous voyager. Its western
tributary, the Meta, had, however, been ascended for some
INTRODUCTION
distance, and the wide plains at the eastern foot of the Andes of
New Granada, about which our information is even at the present
day far from perfect, had been traversed again and again by
searchers after the fabulous city of " El Dorado" — the Golden
Monarch. These included German adventurers like Georg von
Speier, Nicholas Federmann, and Philip von Huten, as well as
Spanish captains like Hernan Perez de Quesada and Antonio de
Berrio. Under the latter the site of the city changed its locality,
and the southern tributary of the Orinoco, the Caroni, became
the imagined channel of access to its fabled lake; but little success
attended his efforts to penetrate in this direction. Nor did much
increase of knowledge result from the voyages of Ralegh and
other EngUshmen to the same regions. In spite of all this
activity vast tracts of forest, especially in the Amazon basin,
remained unexplored, and the whole southern extremity of the
continent was entirely neglected whilst, even where travellers had
penetrated, the geographical knowledge obtained was often of the
vaguest, and imaginary delineations of lakes and rivers long filled
the maps.
In North America much less progress had been made in the
work of discovery. While the coasts facing the Atlantic up to the
threshold of the x\rctic regions had gradually been surveyed by
voyagers of various nations, and a few had pushed up the remote
Pacific coasts as far as Lat. 42° N., the whole of the northern and
north-western shores — the former by reason of their icy barrier,
the latter because of their distance from Europe — still remained
unknown, though, as already stated, ideas of the existence of a
strait separating north-west America from Asia began to be current
about this time. The whole of the northern and central interior,
too, remained a blank on the map, and only on the confines of the
Spanish viceroyalty of Mexico had any progress in land exploration
been made. The example of the wealth of Mexico had led
adventurers to roam the wide plains of the southern United States
in search of fortune, and the expeditions of De Soto, Coronado,
and others had made known something of the lower Mississippi
and its tributaries, and of the more western regions up to the
Grand Caiion of the Colorado. But the absence of rich empires
in this direction soon caused these efforts to be abandoned. In
INTRODUCTION
Florida, unsuccessful attempts at a settlement had been made by
French protestants, and further north, in Virginia, the first be-
ginnings of the English settlements destined to grow in time to
such vast proportions were in existence. Still further north, off
the coasts of Newfoundland, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and
English ships frequented the banks in large numbers for the sake
of the fishery, and the French under Cartier had already led the
way in discovery by the ascent of the St Lawrence beyond the
present site of Quebec, soon to be the scene of colonising efforts
on the part of their countrymen. A wide field for discovery was
thus open in eastern North America, and the coming century was
to witness a well-sustained activity, leading to a great enlargement
of the bounds of geographical knowledge.
In the wide domain of the Pacific Ocean much remained to be
done, though fairly correct ideas as to its nature and extent had
become current. Since the voyage of Magellan many Spanish
navigators had crossed from the coast of America to the islands of
the Eastern Archipelago, to which this was their regular route,
owing to the division of the world between Spain and Portugal,
the return voyage being made across the North Pacific in fairly
high latitudes. From Callao in Peru Mendana had twice crossed
the ocean in about io° S., discovering the Solomon and Santa Cruz
groups and supplying apparent confirmation of the ideas then
current as to the existence of a southern continent. On the
second voyage he had been accompanied by the celebrated
navigator Quiros, whose own chief work fell within the new
century, and will be dealt with in the following pages. Other
Spanish navigators had crossed the ocean north of the Equator
from Mexico to the Philippines, and it has been supposed that
Gaetano — the pilot who accompanied one of these, Villalobos, in
1542 — afterwards made a voyage to the Sandwich Islands. But
this discovery, if made, was carefully kept secret, and had no
influence on the subsequent history of Pacific exploration. The
Englishmen Drake and Cavendish had likewise crossed the
Northern Pacific, and just at the close of the century the Dutch
expedition under Van Noort had followed in the tracks of
Magellan and for the fourth time effected the circumnavigation of
the globe — but this belongs rather to the new than to the old
• CArK'caJiNi
M ixj A> xyo jlfo iia iSk 27<i ao ^o jjio jxo 3^" jj" ^ 3fo J^ ^ ^ 3« -w jii tfo y» go 9a Too iv> a" 3}° Wo ij°
The Wright-Hakluyt Map of A.D. i6oo {Outliiu sketch).
INTRODUCTION
II
period. In most of these voyages certain definite routes had been
followed, which missed many of the most important groups of
islands. The information brought home with respect to those
seen was very vague and fragmentary, and for the most part they
can with difficulty be now identified. Both in the north and
south, vast expanses of ocean remained untraversed, and the
exploration of these, especially in the south, was one of the
principal tasks of the coming century.
In the Arctic regions some advance had already been made
before the close of the sixteenth century, the new period having in
TTpcu haS hart qcnie tidier ainuh;-'aro(iC(^cal_(1^crwtm cfunmchjfthe mrUtshcA
: . ieimhcdiejic t^&uatd^ tscarjteiff<xiri^ti^:'loW? m nauioi fiuhkiivapivudx,
aRflJushmmyt iemcJymethcQmep.iitwni'mi Mawsthd ih^- haue m VxalMjxnamr'
in vt^tuU infinelcn^ihJc/mdlahisiJe/ninihd-^ hmu m f!.L{dia)i;trhiJj h ihe crdmtnelai>
dart cmmrv icijeh xrixmal . TJie tray tojtn^ tSx vddiJM, or. Cimr^fvm unv ^^ b>-'
ninriorin 2ejcf^n.Mereih tu^uiintm that whai :s<-vQimmroriuua-it(ai cha-
ihe tnrnJLin Ulffi at thatkhbulc^aix ccntaynfalrtwcnte ih: ivo fiaces,Jnjo viam^t
.haqueiis^ difbaukr. ^j'hcv differ in lahtuJc^ Jxtvi.' rruiny d^/res cfro- meruHan /
^IQI akvt tixmyicp/xTi "^ifartux art cmtnmed hdrvemcdnartmAjoTtumjast
~- '.' "^ kii^itcs if the i\iftaurue . -• - "'
^^S
Title of the Wright -Hakluyt Map of A.D. 1600.
fact been ushered in by the early enterprise of the English and
Dutch in this quarter, from about 1550 onwards. In dealing with
this part of the world it will be advisable to go back to about that
date, so as to give a more connected account of the progress
achieved; and it is unnecessary to enter into the subject here.
The state of knowledge respecting the world in general at the
close of the sixteenth century is well shown by the map prepared
under the superintendence of Edward Wright, the Cambridge
mathematician, to whom the projection now known as Mercator's
is held to be really due. This map, finished in 1600, and
sometimes found inserted in the edition of Hakluyt's famous
collection of voyages completed in that year, is the earUest
INTRODUCTION I 3
English example of that projection. It differs from many maps
of the time in its careful discrimination between actual dis-
covery and conjectural geography, the latter being almost entirely
excluded. Thus no trace is seen of the hypothetical southern
continent, apart from a shght indication of land in the position of
northern Australia. The recent Arctic discoveries are well shown,
and it has been thought that John Davis had some share in its
preparation. The strait which bears his name is correctly drawn,
as well as the discoveries of Barents in Spitsbergen and Novaya
Zemlya. In the Far East, too — whence, as we shall see later,
Davis had recently returned — the map gives a very correct repre-
sentation of the Archipelago, Japan, etc. North of the Pacific
a wide blank occurs between the coasts of Asia and America, the
conjectural connection between the two, and the equally doubtful
Strait of Anian shown on so many maps of the period, being alike
omitted. xA.nother type of map^ current about this time, is repre-
sented by that of Ortelius, a reduced copy of which, prepared by
Girolamo Porro for Magini's Ptolemy of 1596, is here reproduced
from the Itahan version of 1598. It will be noticed that the
supposed southern continent here takes a prominent place.
CHAPTER I
THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625
In the remarkable outburst of maritime enterprise which
followed the discovery of America, it was the equatorial regions,
with their real or supposed wealth in the precious metals and
other valuable commodities, which above all stimulated the
energies of such nations as, by their political influence or favour-
able geographical position, had been called upon to take part in
these adventures. But, side by side with this principal current of
activity, there had begun to flow, in the course of the sixteenth
century, a subsidiary stream of enterprise in the direction of the
inhospitable North — a stream which, though at first but feeble in
comparison, was destined to lead to results of great importance
for the widening of the geographical horizon. And as it was the
more southern peoples of Western Europe who had gained the
chief glory and profit from the earfier quest, so it was the hardy
seamen of the north who, as an equally natural result of geo-
graphical position, carried off the laurels in the still more arduous
task of seeking new routes through the frozen Arctic seas.
The first beginnings of enterprise in this direction belong to
still earUer times than the search for a route to the Indies, and
are in fact to a great extent lost in obscurity. Long before the
Venetian and Portuguese navigators began to venture into the
unknown wastes of the Atlantic, the seamen of the north had
carried out voyages unsurpassed for their daring even by the more
fruitful exploit of Columbus. Before the end of the tenth century
the most northern point of Europe seems to have been rounded
by Other in the voyage narrated by him to our King Alfred, while
in the following century the Norsemen (who had already colonised
Iceland) found their way to the distant shores of Greenland,
CHAP. l] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 1 5
where, according to the story, two separate settlements were
founded and existed for some centuries. They even appear to
have reached some part of Eastern Canada or Newfoundland.
The supposed voyages of the Venetian noblemen, Niccolo and
Antonio Zeno, in the fourteenth century, have been proved almost
with certainty to have been mainly, if not entirely, fictitious ; but
that some gUmmering of knowledge of these northern regions was
possessed by the cartographers of the following century is shown
by various maps that have come down to us, especially that of
Claudius Clavus, the " earliest cartographer of the North." The
rising spirit of maritime adventure found its first outlet in England
in the voyages of the Cabots, father and son, though those of
Sebastian, the son, have not yet been satisfactorily elucidated,
and the idea once held that they reached as far north as the
mouth of Hudson Strait rests on no sure foundation. The
arguments put forward by Robert Thorne in 1527, as to the
feasibility of a north-west passage, led to no immediate result, and
it was some years later that the English merchants took the first
important step towards securing a share in the benefits of distant
trade, from which the jealousy of their continental rivals had
hitherto excluded them.
Mainly through the agency of Sebastian Cabot, an association
was formed for " the discovery of lands, countries, and isles not
before known to the English," and this received a royal charter in
1549^ At this time the thoughts of the merchants were directed
chiefly to the opening up of trade with the East by way of Northern
Russia, and for this purpose an expedition of three ships was
fitted out in 1553 and despatched under the command of Sir
Hugh Willoughby, with Richard Chancellor as "pilot-major." It
was furnished with "letters missive " from King Edward VI to
the potentates of the regions likely to be visited, and sailed from
Ratchffe on the Thames, full of high anticipation, on May 10, 1553.
^ In the successive charters granted to this association of merchants, the
title given to it varies considerably, giving rise to some confusion. It was for
a time most generally known as the " Company of Merchant Adventurers,"
but this gave place in an act of parliament of 1556 to "The Fellowship of
English Merchants for Discovery of New Trades," while the more commonly
used title was that of the Russia or Muscovy Company.
l6 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 [CHAP.
But it was doomed to meet with disaster. After sailing along
the coast of Norway the ships encountered boisterous weather,
and two of them, the Bona Esperanza and Bona Co7ifide?iiia (the
former Willoughby's own ship), were driven hither and thither,
and though they sighted land in the latitude of 72° (probably on
the south-west coast of Novaya Zemlya), were finally forced to
take refug'e in the haven of Arzina^ in Lapland, where the whole
of the crews perished miserably of cold and hunger. The third
ship — the Edward Bo?iaveniure, with Chancellor for captain,
became separated from the others and succeeded in reaching the
mouth of the Dwina in the White Sea, whence Chancellor and
some of his companions travelled inland to Moscow, and were
well received by the Emperor Ivan VassiUvich, thus paving the
way for future trade relations between Great Britain and Russia.
On his return Chancellor wrote a short account of the country
and the manners and customs of its people — the earliest first-
hand information on the subject which reached this country. He
was drowned when returning from a later voyage in 1556.
In 1555 a second voyage was made, and trade definitely
established, while in 1556 the Company despatched Stephen
Burrough, in the pinnace Searchthrift, to explore still further east
in the direction of the river Ob. Burrough reached Vaigatz Island
on July 31, and soon afterwards entered the Kara Strait between
that island and Novaya Zemlya, which has been sometimes
known, from him, as Burrough Strait. He was unable however
to advance any distance into the Kara Sea, but turned back on
August 5, wintering at Kolmogro at the mouth of the Dwina.
The success of the trade with Russia diverted the energies of
the merchants from the search for a north-east passage for some
years, and it was not until 1580 that any serious attempt was
made to prosecute discovery in this direction, attention having
meanwhile been once more directed to the north-western route.
Yearly voyages were however made to Kolmogro, and agents were
regularly established in Russia to buy up commodities in readiness
for the arrival of the ships, while some made their way on behalf
of the Company as far as Persia and Central Asia. Hakluyt
^ The Varzina river debouches on the north side of the Kola peninsula in
about 38^° E. It is already shown on Ortelius's map of Europe.
I]
THE ARCTIC REGIONS, I550-1625
17
prints the commission issued in 1568 (given as 1588 by a
misprint) to three servants of the Company — Bassendine, Wood-
cocke, and Browne — to explore eastwards beyond the Pechoray
but nothing is known of the result. In 1580 the Company
determined to renew their efforts for the discovery of a north-
eastern route to Cathay, and commissioned two captains, Arthur
Pet of Ratcliffe and Charles Jackman of Poplar, to sail for that
purpose, in the barks George and William of London, the former
O OrarijieLslaiids/k^^^ Tp
Novaya Zemlya, showing entrances to Kara Sea.
of 40, the latter of 20 tons only. In spite of the ill-success of
Burrough's attempt, it was still hoped that by passing through the
strait between Vaigatz and Novaya Zemlya, a passage might be
found to China in a generally eastward direction, as indicated on
a chart which had been drawn by William Burrough. With our
present knowledge of the difficulties to be encountered — difficulties
1 8 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, IS50-1625 [CHAP.
so great that the wished-for passage was not made until three
centuries after Pet and Jackman's time — we can only wonder at
the sanguine spirit which regarded it as possible that China could
be reached, in the small and frail vessels employed, during the
same summer in which they set out, or at worst after one winter
had been spent on the northern coast of Asia\ It was only in
case the land should be found to extend to 80° N., or even nearer
the Pole, that the impossibiHty of the passage was thought
probable. In such a case, after as much of the coast as possible
had been explored during the first summer, the explorers were
recommended to winter in the Ob, and ascend it the next summer
to the "City of Siberia." In any case all possible care was to be
taken to enter into friendly relations with the inhabitants, and
lay the foundations of future trade. A point to be specially kept
in view, either on the outward or return voyage, was the examina-
tion of " Willoughby's land," and its relation with Novaya Zemlya.
Notes for the guidance of the voyagers were also supplied by
William Burrough, Dr Dee, and Richard Hakluyt, the last dealing
particularly with the commodities to be taken as specimens of
English wares, and the points on which information was needed
in regard to the countries visited.
Although the amount actually accompHshed fell very far short
of these expectations, the two captains made a determined fight
against heavy odds, and only turned back after trying every means
in their power of pushing east across the Kara Sea. The ships
separated, after passing the " Wardhouse " (Vardoe), owing to the
bad sailing of the William, but a rendezvous was arranged at
Vaigatz. The first land sighted by the George seems to have been
the south-west coast of Novaya Zemlya, but after vainly searching
for a passage Pet went south and explored the mainland coast east
of the Pechora, a part of which he took to be the island of Vaigatz.
^ A representation of the northern coast of Asia current about this time, as
seen in Mercator's map of 1569, was still to a large extent based on the old
classical writers. It showed one decided promontory — Cape Tabin — running
up into the Arctic Sea, but, beyond this, little further hindrance to a voyage
to China in latitudes far lower than the reality. Cape Tabin still appears in
the map of Barents's discoveries drawn by Hondius for Pontanus's History of
Avjsterdam (r6ii), of which a portion is shown on p. 26.
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 19
Going north again a meeting was happily effected with the
William^ and the two ships entered the Kara Sea either through
Yugor Shar, the narrow strait between Vaigatz and the mainland,
or through the broad opening north of Vaigatz already discovered
by Burroughs They were constantly beset by ice and baffled
by fog, till at length, after vain endeavours to make headway, the
navigators turned their faces homewards, only escaping from the
ice with much difficulty. Further dangers were encountered on
the shoals of Kolguev Island, and the ships again separated, the
George safely reaching Ratcliffe on December 26, 1580, while
Jack man. in the William, after wintering on the coast of Norway,
set out in the following February towards Iceland in company
with a Danish ship, and was never again heard of.
Pet and Jackman deserve great credit for the boldness with
which they fought their way through the ice-pack of the Kara Sea,
as well as for their judgment and resource in avaihng themselves
of any opening which promised to afford a passage. The difficulties
of this navigation have baffled many a voyager even in modern
times, and it is no matter for surprise that with their small
advantages they were unsuccessful in pushing further east. Little
serious effort in this direction seems to have been made by the
Muscovy Company for some years after this, though a rumour
was current about 1584 that an English vessel had previously
been lost at the mouth of the Ob, and its crew murdered; while
information obtained in that year by Anthony Marsh, one of the
Company's factors, points to a knowledge on the part of the
Russians at this time of Matyuskin Shar, the strait between the
two large islands of Novaya Zemlya.
The search for the north-east passage was now taken up with
much zeal by the Dutch, whose heroic attempts to open up the
much desired route must now be spoken of, before recurring to
the efforts of the Muscovy Company. The first Dutch voyage to
the extreme north of Europe seems to have been made in 1565,
when a trading post was established at a spot to which the name
^ It has been generally held by English writers that the passage was made
by Yugor Shar, which has therefore been often known as Pet's Strait, but
reasons were put forward by Baron von Nordenskiold for supposing that the
route was to the west and north of Vaisratz.
20 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, I55O-1625 [CHAP.
Kola was given. It is but little after this that we first meet with
Olivier (or Oliver) Brunei, a man who took no small part in the
further prosecution of Dutch northern enterprise, though himself
a native of Brussels. Having undertaken a voyage from Kola to
Kolmogro on the White Sea, he was made prisoner by the
Russians, apparently at the instigation of the English, and remained
so for several years. Being at last liberated through the good
offices of the Anikieffs, Russian merchants associated with the
Strogonoffs, he made several journeys of exploration on their
behalf in the direction of the Ob, visiting Kostin Shar on one
occasion. He helped to establish mutual trade relations between
Holland and Russia, and eventually secured the support of the
famous merchant De Moucheron for a voyage of discovery.
Brunei set out in a ship of Enkhuysen in 1584, but met with
no success, being baffled in an attempt to pass through Yugor
Shar, and losing his ship, with a cargo of furs, etc., in the mouth
of the Pechora. He is said to have afterwards entered the
service of the King of Denmark, and possibly took part in the
voyage of John Knight to Greenland in 1606.
The town of Enkhuysen, which thus had the honour of leading
the way in the Dutch voyages of northern discovery, was not long
in organising another attempt in the same direction. Among
its citizens were several men who had interested themselves
in geographical and commercial matters, including the famous
Linschoten (whose long residence in the East Indies made him
the foremost authority on all matters connected with the eastern
trade of the Portuguese) and Cornells Nai, an experienced
seaman. The Middelburg merchant De Moucheron continued
to turn his thoughts to the north-eastern route, and the divine
and geographer Peter Plancius was a zealous advocate of further
enterprise. He did much to improve his countrymen's knowledge
of navigation, and among his pupils were Willem Barents and
Jacob van Heemskerk, each destined to play an important part
in northern discovery. Both were capable seamen, especially
Barents, who seems, like John Davis in England, to have been
well versed in the science of navigation \ In 1594 two vessels
^ Either he, or a contemporary of like name, was author of a saiHng
directory for the coasts of the INIediterranean.
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 21
were fitted out — the Swan, commanded by Cornells Nai, and the
Mercury, by Brant Tetgales, both natives of Enkhuysen. With
Tetgales Linschoten went as commercial agent. At the same
time the merchants of Amsterdam decided to take part in the
enterprise, and fitted out a third vessel — also named the Mercury —
and this was placed under the command of Barents^, with whom
a small fishing-boat from Terschelling also sailed. The plans
laid down by the Amsterdam adventurers differed from those
of the men of Enkhuysen, the former considering that a route
round the north coast of Novaya Zemlya would offer the greatest
prospects of success, while the latter adhered to the idea of
entering the Kara Sea through one of the straits separating the
several islands. As we have seen, some knowledge of Matyuskin
Shar seems to have been gained by the Russians before this date,
but the greater part of the coasts of the northern island were
certainly unknown, so that the attempt to sail round its northern
end betokened great hardihood, though quite justified by the
measure of success now and subsequently attained by this route.
Almost the whole of the voyage was made independently by
the two parties, though all the vessels met at a rendezvous at
Kildin, in Lapland, towards the end of June. On the 29th,
Barents sailed for Novaya Zemlya, which was sighted on July 4
in 73° 25' N., and followed northward to Cape Nassau, which was
reached on the loth. Now began a heroic struggle to advance
through the ice, which was here encountered in great quantities.
It has been calculated that the various courses run by Barents
on this coast make up a total of over 1600 nautical miles, the
furthest point reached (July 31) being near the Orange Islands.
The men now grew discouraged, and seeing but slight probability
of accomplishing the object of the voyage, Barents reluctantly
agreed to turn back. On August 15 he reached the islands
" Matfloe and Dolgoy " (Matthew Island and Long Island) to
the SSW. of Vaigatz, and fell in with the other captains, who
had hkewise returned from an ineflfectual attempt to push eastward
to the Ob. They had sailed through Yugor Shar, to which they
^ The full name of the navigator was Barentszoon, contracted by the Dutch
to Barentsz, but the form Barents may conveniently be retained in English.
Nai is sometimes spoken of merely as Cornells Corneliszoon.
22 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP.
gave the name Nassau Strait, being the first navigators, with the
doubtful exception of Pet, to pass through this passage into the
Kara Sea. They claimed to have sailed eastward as far as the
meridian of the mouth of the Ob, but as the distance given is only
50 to 60 Dutch miles (each equal to four geographical miles), this
can hardly have been the case. All four vessels now sailed home
together, reaching their respective destinations about the end of
September.
The report made by Linschoten after the return of the
voyagers estimated the chances of future success more favourably
than was perhaps justified, and this encouraged the merchants to
set on foot a more ambitious undertaking for the following year.
Seven vessels took part in it, and this time the Amsterdam
merchants were willing to combine with those of the other towns
interested, their two ships being placed, like the rest, under the
command of Nai, who was appointed admiral of the whole fleet.
He sailed in the Griffin of Zeelandt, while Tetgales and Barents
commanded, respectively, the Hope of Enkhuysen and the
Greyhound of Amsterdam (both new war pinnaces), Barents also
undertaking the post of chief pilot of the fleet. The chief com-
mercial agents were Linschoten, who again represented the
merchants of Enkhuysen, etc., and Francois de la Dale, who
looked after the Moucheron interests. It was arranged that one
of the smaller vessels, a yacht of Rotterdam, should return alone
with the news, in case of a successful rounding of Cape Tabin,
still supposed to be the crucial point of the whole navigation, the
remainder of the passage to China being thought comparatively
short and easy. As on the former voyage, a Slav named Spindler
went as interpreter, to facilitate the hoped-for intercourse with the
peoples of Eastern Asia. The fleet sailed on July 2, 1595, and
on the 19th of the same month approached Yugor Shar, having
the day before passed Matthew Island ("Matfloe"). The strait
was blocked by immense masses of ice, and it soon became
evident that its passage would be a matter of unusual difficulty, if
not quite impossible. The ships anchored in a bay on the
Vaigatz side, behind the point known to the Dutch as Idol Point
(not to be confounded with the spot at which Samoyed idols were
found by Burrough, which was at the northern end of Vaigatz),
I]
THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625
23
and thence an examination of the strait was made both by sea
and land, but with little success. Barents appears to have been
the most energetic of the captains in his efforts to find a passage,
and he repeatedly renewed his attempts when the rest were ready
to abandon the task as hopeless. But after immense exertions,
which brought the ships only a small part of the way through the
strait, the outcome of various councils was that the men of
Amsterdam, whose obstinacy seems to have given some offence to
Boats' adventure with a polar bear.
{From De Veer's narrative of Barents' s Voyages.^
their fellow-adventurers, at last agreed to turn back and joined in
a protest signed by all the captains and the two commercial
agents, declaring that all had done their utmost to fulfil their
commission, and that the only course open to them was to sail
homewards. Thus ended the voyage on which such great expecta-
tions had been built, but which had in reality met with much less
success than many of the previous ventures, owing, it is true, to
the unusual severity of the season, which had kept the ice in the
Yugor Strait packed into a solid mass throughout the summer.
24 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 [CHAP.
In spite of the ill-success of the expedition of 1595, the
merchants of Amsterdam, encouraged no doubt by the ardour
and sanguine spirit shown by Barents, were ready to make yet
another attempt in the following year. It was the belief of
Barents, founded on his experiences during the voyage of 1594,
that the greatest chance of success lay with the route round the
north of Novaya Zemlya, and in this he had the support of the
opinion of Plancius. Being now independent of their former
associates, the Amsterdam merchants were able to form their
plans in accordance with these views. Two ships, the names of
which are not recorded, were fitted out, and placed under the
command of Jacob van Heemskerk and Jan Corneliszoon Rijp,
who had been associated with Linschoten and De la Dale as
commercial agents during the second voyage, Heemskerk having
Barents with him as pilot and apparently leaving to him a large
share in the direction of the voyage. The expedition sailed from
Vheland near Amsterdam on May 18, 1596, and in deference to
the opinion of Rijp a course was steered further to the west than
on the previous voyages, and this led to the discovery, on June 9,
of Bear Island, long called Cherie Island by the English, being
so named by Stephen Bennet seven years after its discovery by
the Dutch. Here the voyagers landed, and gave the island
its name from an encounter they had with a bear. Continuing
their voyage towards the north, they reached the ice-pack on
June 16, and after tacking to keep clear of it, found the latitude
on the 17th to be 80° 10'. On the same day high, snow-covered
land was sighted, which was evidently the coast of Spitsbergen,
east of Hakluyt Headland (as the extreme N.W. point of the
group was afterwards named by Hudson), this island group being
thus brought to light for the first time in the history of discovery.
Before the end of the month the west coast was explored, south-
wards, to 76° 50' N., the name still in use for the whole group
being applied to the newly discovered land by reason of its sharp
summits (though it was taken to be part of Greenland), while that
of Vogel Hoek was given to the north point of the Foreland (the
long island lying a Httle off the coast) on account of the multitude
of birds there seen. The mouths of Ice Fjord and Bell Sound
were also noted. Bear Island was once more reached on July i.
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 25
and here the two ships parted company, Rijp returning along the
coast of Spitsbergen after a fruitless effort to push north through
the sea to the east, while Heemskerk, yielding no doubt to
Barents's persuasion, sailed for Novaya Zemlya\ The farthest
point of the voyage of 1594 was successfully passed, the north-
eastern promontory of the group being rounded and a bay reached
on the east coast which received the name of Ice Haven. Here
the ship was beset, and the navigators were forced to spend the
winter in great misery. A house was built of drift-wood, which
gave them some shelter from the cold, but scurvy broke out and
caused much suffering, Barents himself being one of those most
severely attacked. Time wore on, but summer approached without
any prospect of the release of the ship. It therefore became
necessary to attempt the homeward voyage with no better resource
than two open boats, in which, on June 13, they embarked,
fifteen in all, Barents and another man being still very ill. On
June 20, when with incredible difficulties they were making their
way down the west coast of Novaya Zemlya, the indomitable
navigator, who had done more than any other to keep alive the
hope of effecting the north-east passage, breathed his last, and
two others of his comrades soon shared his fate. The survivors at
length reached open water, and having obtained some help from
two Russian vessels met with on July 28, made their way to Kola,
where they found three Dutch ships, one of them commanded by
their old comrade Rijp, who took them home to Holland.
The feat thus accomplished ranks among the hardiest achieve-
ments of Polar exploration. For the first time a party of men
had wintered far within the Arctic Circle, suffering all the hardships
inseparable from such a first experience, without any of the
comforts enjoyed by those who have since followed in their
footsteps. No other navigator visited their desolate wintering
place until nearly three centuries later, when, in 187 1, Captain
Carlsen landed there and found the hut still standing, and various
relics which had been left in it when abandoned by the early
explorers. The death of Barents — perhaps the most hardy and
capable navigator ever produced by Holland — was a great loss to
^ See additional note on Rijp at the end of the volume.
CHAP. I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 2/
the cause of Polar discovery, and the small success achieved
naturally led to a cessation, for the time being, of the Dutch
search for a passage. The next attempt was to be made by the
English in the person of Henry Hudson.
Of the early life of this enterprising seaman we know absolutely
nothing, and doubts have even been thrown, though with no
sufficient reason, on his Enghsh nationality. In 1607 we find
him in command of one of the Muscovy Company's ships — the
Hopeivell—vfhich. was to renew the search for a northern route to
the East, on which so much energy had already been expended
by the Company. The idea seems to have been to attempt the
passage right across the polar area, according to a suggestion
made many years earlier by Robert Thorne. Thus instead of
steering for Novaya Zemlya, or even for Spitsbergen, Hudson,
who sailed from Gravesend on May i, directed his course towards
the east coast of Greenland, which was sighted on June 13. The
southern part of this land had already been touched at more than
once during the north-west voyages — which we shall have to
consider presently — as well as by Cortereal in the i6th century.
But even the point where it was first struck by Hudson was some
way to the north, and a still higher latitude was attained during
the further voyage ; though the observations of the coast,
hampered as they were by the ice^ did not supply any clear idea
of its configuration, the land being still shown in subsequent
maps as it had been in that of the Zeni and others of its type.
Hudson, however, did a useful piece of work in following the
edge of the ice-barrier which extends between Greenland and the
neighbourhood of Spitsbergen, and proving that there was Httle
likelihood of a passage being found through it. Spitsbergen
seems to have been struck near the Vogel Hoek of Barents,
while during subsequent cruises a good part of the west and
north-west coasts was examined, and the names Hakluyt's Head-
land, Collins Cape, and Whales Bay assigned to localities on the
west coasts On July 23 an astronomical observation, as recorded
in the journal of John Playse (practically the only authority for
1 Whales Bay was the opening in 79° just north of Prince Charles Foreland,
Collins Cape being on its northern side.
28 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP.
the voyage), gave the latitude as 80° 23', but the correctness of
this is doubtful. In any case enough was done to show that no
prospect offered of a passage through the ice-pack, and after
sailing to and fro for some time, Hudson was forced to turn
homewards, falling in accidentally during the voyage with an
island (in Lat. 71°) which must have been that of Jan Mayen,
but which was named by him " Hudson's Tutches " (Touches).
Tilbury was finally reached on September 15. Besides the
negative result as regards the wished-for passage, the voyage was
important for the attention called by it to the great number of
whales and walrus in the Spitsbergen-Greenland Sea, the capture
of which formed the incentive for so many subsequent enterprises.
The failure of this attempt to pierce the northern ice-barrier
did not deter the Company from renewing the search in the
following year, when trial was once more made of the old route
by Novaya Zemlya, Hudson being again in command, with
Robert Juet as mate. SaiUng from the Thames on April 22, and
passing the North Cape on June 3, he navigated the sea between
Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, the first ice being seen on June 9,
in 75° 29'. The day before, the change in the colour of the sea
to a blue-black had been noted — a change which Hudson had
already, in 1607, connected with the neighbourhood of ice, though
the coincidence is now said to be purely accidental. For the
greater part of this month the voyagers continued to beat about
in this sea\ constantly hindered by ice from making any advance
northwards. As they increased their longitude easterly, they
were, in fact, compelled to lose some of their northing, and when
Novaya Zemlya was sighted on June 26 near the point called
Swarte Klip by the Dutch, they were as low as 72° 25'. Some
time was now spent on this coast, landings being effected on
several occasions and observations made of the general nature of
the country, which they found less inhospitable than previous
accounts had led people to suppose. Bird life was plentiful, and
many deer, bears, and a fox were seen, the sea also abounding
with walrus. Still going southward, they came to Kostin Shar,
an inlet with an island dividing it into two branches, which
^ An occurrence often referred to in connection with this part of the voyage
was the supposed sighting of a mermaid — in reality, no doubt, a seal
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 29
had been reached by Brunei, but placed too far north and cor-
rupted by map-makers into Costing Sarch. Here the powerful
set of the current outwards gave Hudson great hopes of finding
a passage to the Kara Sea, but an exploration by boat proved
them fallacious. Therefore being, as he says, " out of hope to
find passage by the north-east," Hudson reluctantly gave up the
attempt, being "not fitted to try or prove the passage by Vaigatz,"
though on the return he hoped to ascertain whether Willoughby's
land "were as it is layd in our cards." He also had some idea
of making an attempt by the north-west, hoping to be able to
run a hundred leagues or so within the sound then known as
Lumley's Inlet — which may either have been Hudson Strait itself
or a passage further north-^and the "furious overfall " which had
been seen by Davis (see p. 35). But the time being now far
advanced he considered it his duty to the Company not to run
unnecessary risks, and returned home, reaching Gravesend on
August 26.
It was not many months before the indefatigable navigator was
once more negotiating with a view to a third northern voyage, but
not now under the auspices of the EngHsh Company, which seems
to have lost heart after such repeated failures. The circumstances
attending the inception of Hudson's voyage for the Dutch East
India Company are not fully known, but the main facts can be
pieced together from scattered sources. Either at the end of 1608
or the beginning of 1609 he was invited to Amsterdam to give an
account of his northern experiences, and had interviews with
Plancius and others; but though the Company thought that a
further attempt would be worth making, they came to no imme-
diate arrangement. Meanwhile a scheme, favoured by Isaac Le
Maire, had been set on foot for the establishment of a rival
company under the patronage of Henry IV of France, and the
employment of Hudson on a northern venture. This led the
existing company to reconsider their decision, with the result that
a ship or ships ^ were equipped at once, and were ready to sail by
^ The greater part of the voyage was made in the Half Moon, but according
to statements in the minutes of meetings of the council of the Company,
Hudson's ship was the Good Hope, and it has been thought that this may have
sailed also, but it seems more probable that a confusion had arisen with the
name of the ship in which he made his earlier voyage.
30 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP.
April 6, 1609. The greater part of the crew were Dutchmen,
who seem to have been indisposed to accept Hudson's authority,
for after sailing for Novaya Zemlya to make trial, as a last hope,
of the passage by Vaigatz, he found disaffection existing, and, the
ice giving no greater promise of success than in the previous year,
he decided to search for a passage along the American coast,
being encouraged to do this by letters and maps sent him from
Virginia by Captain Smiths The result was the examination of
a stretch of coast extending as far south as 37° 45', and the visiting
and naming of the Hudson River. During the return dissension
again prevailed, and on reaching Dartmouth on November 7,
Hudson and the other Englishmen on board — among whom
was Juet, to whom we owe the only detailed narrative of the
voyage — were ordered by the English authorities not to leave
England, but to remain to serve their own country. It was not
long before arrangements were made for an English voyage to
the north-west, but before speaking of this we must go back some-
what, and take up the thread of former attempts in this direction.
The voyages of the Cabots, which led the way to the north-
eastern coasts of America, were not, as we have seen, followed up
for a number of years by any further efforts on the part of the
British merchants. The chief credit of re-directing public attention
to this route seems to belong to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, though
there is little doubt that the idea of renewing the search where it
had been broken off by Sebastian Cabot had been working in the
minds of others, among them Martin Frobisher, to whom fell the
actual task of carrying it out. In 1574 Gilbert wrote a learned
discourse to show the probability that an easy route to India
would be found by the north-west. While based to a large extent
on mistaken premisses, it contained some shrewd ideas, and the
argument for a north-west passage based on a study of oceanic
circulation had in it something more than mere plausibility. In
the then existing state of knowledge it was certainly more justifi-
able to conclude that an easy passage might be found on this than
on the opposite side of the Atlantic; and that the Muscovy
^ A renewed Dutch attempt by the north-east route, in 1611-12, is referred
to at the end of the volume.
l] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 3 1
Company, which had all Cabot's experience at its disposal, should
have so long persisted in its preference for the north-east route
would be matter for surprise, were it not for the encouragement
offered by the rapid development of trade with northern Russia.
Gilbert's treatise was not printed till 1576, by which year Frobisher
had already gained so much support, that he was able to sail from
Ratcliffe on the Thames on June 7, the expedition consisting of
the Gabriel, Frobisher's own ship, the Michael (Captain Matthew
Kindersly), and a pinnace. The Queen had taken much interest
in the preparations, and among the supporters were Michael Lok,
a prominent merchant, Richard Willes^, and others. Having
reached Foula, the westernmost of the Shetland Islands, Frobisher
sailed slightly north of west, and on July 11 sighted land, which
was taken to be the Frisland of the Zeno map, the observed
latitude of 61° corresponding to that assigned in this to the south
end of Frisland. In reality it was the southern point of Green-
land, and when this had been passed, a course somewhat north of
west brought the ships to a new land, with much ice along its
coast. On August 11, in d'})' N., Frobisher entered what he took
to be the desired strait leading to the Pacific, but which was
really the bay, since known by his name, running into the south-
eastern extremity of Baffin Land. This was explored during
several days, and communication was opened with the Eskimo of
that region, who are described as " like to Tartars." But it was
found impossible to proceed to the end of the bay, and on the 26th
the homeward voyage was begun, Harwich being reached early in
October. The new land received, from the Queen herself, the
name " Meta Incognita," or the Unknown Bourne.
Frobisher renewed the search in the two succeeding years
(1577 and 1578), in the latter with as many as 13 ships, but with-
out materially adding to his discoveries. His ill-success in the
primary object of his voyages made him catch at any chance of
deriving a profit from the venture, and he brought home a cargo
of a shining mineral which he thought to contain gold, but which
^ Willes, like Gilbert, wrote a treatise to prove the probability of a north-
west passage, in which he endeavoured to answer the objections of those who
took the opposite view. He states these with great clearness, but his own
arguments seem hardly calculated to carry conviction.
32
THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625
[CHAP.
proved quite worthless. The promoters naturally lost heart, and
Gilbert was soon occupied with the colonising schemes in the more
southern parts of North America, in the prosecution of which he
Martin Frobisher.
lost his life in 1583. But the efforts put forth were not without
their ultimate result, for it was not long before others came forward
to renew the enterprise, for which the discoveries of Frobisher,
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, I55O-1625 33
scanty though they had been, supplied both incentive and
encouragement.
John Davis, the able navigator who was to take up the task
where it had been left by Frobisher, was the son of a yeoman
landowner at Sandridge in the parish of Stoke Gabriel on the
Dart. Here he was a neighbour of the Gilberts, and was Hkewise
brought into the society of their half-brother, Sir Walter Ralegh.
Having probably been accustomed to the sea from his early
youth, his advice was naturally sought by the promoters of voyages
of discovery, among whom Adrian Gilbert, the younger brother of
Sir Humphrey, took a prominent place after his brother's death.
Another associate was Dr John Dee, the mathematician. In 1585
a new scheme took shape, the necessary funds being provided by
various merchants of London and the West Country, principally
Mr William Sanderson, a wealthy and influential citizen of London^
while the voyage had also the support of Sir F. Walsingham,
Secretary to the Privy Council. Davis was placed in command^
and sailed from Dartmouth on June 7, with two vessels, the
Sunshine of London, a bark of 50 tons, and the Moo7ishine of
Dartmouth, somewhat smaller. On the 28th they left the Scilly
Islands — a survey of which was made during an enforced deten-
tion— and sailed across the Atlantic without sighting land until,
on July 20, the east coast of Greenland was struck, some distance
north of Cape Farewell. From its barren and inhospitable nature,
the land received the name of Desolation, being considered a new
discovery, distinct from the land sighted by Frobisher and by him
identified with Frisland. Rounding the southern extremity and
resuming his north-west course, Davis again sighted the coast just
north of 64°, the extensive opening where Godthaab now is being
named Gilbert Sound. Hence he crossed the strait which has
since borne his name and examined the opposite coast north of,
and within, Cumberland Gulf, which seemed to offer good hopes
of a passage westwards. But finding it too late in the season to
continue the survey, he decided to return to England and arrived
at Dartmouth on September 30.
Davis soon persuaded the merchants to fit out another expedi-
tion, the men of Devon, especially the Exeter merchants, con-
tributing the greater part of the cost. Four ships were made
H. %
34 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP.
ready — the Mermaid^ Sunshine^ Moonshine, and the North Star,
a pinnace — and sailed from Dartmouth on May 7, 1586. The
Swishitie and North Star were sent under Captain Pope to survey
the east coast of Greenland, while Davis with the other two
vessels made his way to Gilbert Sound, where friendly intercourse
was maintained with the Eskimo. The Menyiaid was sent home
hence, owing to sickness among the crew, while Davis in the
Moonshine resumed his examination of the American shore of the
strait, but without adding materially to his knowledge. He sailed
south along the Labrador coast, and secured a large number of
cod, which were salted and taken home, a way being thus
suggested of recovering some at least of the expense incurred.
The Sunshine had already arrived in safety, but the pinnace had
unfortunately been lost in a storm
Little had been done on this voyage in the way of exploration,
and the Exeter merchants did not care to risk another venture.
But Davis still found support from Walsingham, Gilbert,
Sanderson, and others. Three ships were equipped for a third
voyage in 1587, but two of these were to prosecute the fishery
only, while Davis in the third attempted further discovery. They
were the Elizabeth (of Dartmouth), the Sunshine, and the Ellen (a
"clincher" or clinker-built pinnace of London). Davis seems to
have sailed in the Elizabeth but to have afterwards transhipped
into the Ellen. The voyage yielded greater geographical results
than any of the previous searches for the north-west passage, and
forms the best title to fame of the bold and skilful seaman who
conducted it. Dartmouth was left on May 19, and though the
start was in some ways unpropitious, the crossing of the Atlantic
was successfully accomplished, and mountainous land was sighted
on June 14. This was on the west coast of Greenland, for two
days later communication was opened with the Eskimo who had
been visited on former voyages, with whom the explorers now had
some difficulties. The Ellen sailed north, alone, on June 21, and
continued to follow the land (which they named London Coast),
with an open sea to the west and north, up to 72° 12', when a
course was shaped to the west. The highest point reached — a
bold headland over 3000 feet high — had been named Hope
Sanderson, in honour of the London merchant who had given
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 35
Davis so much encouragement. While crossing the gulf since
known as Baffin Bay, they fell in with the ice-pack, which for
some time baffled their efforts to reach the western shore, forcing
them southwards, so that when land was sighted they were near
the narrows of Davis Strait. Making their way through this on a
southward course they passed the mouth of an inlet between 62°
and 6^" N., which may have been that explored by Frobisher, but
which they named Lumley's Inlet, and on the 31st came to a
spot where the water was in great commotion, " whirling and over-
falling as if it were the fall of some great water through a bridge."
They noticed here a great gulf which can have been no other than
Hudson Strait, and named the cape to the south Chidley's Cape.
Reaching 51° without seeing anything of the other ships, they
sailed homewards, and arrived at Dartmouth on September 15.
By this time the small likeHhood of making the whole passage
through to the Pacific in one voyage must have been fairly
evident, and any results would be welcomed which, by extending
the bounds of the known area, might pave the way for ultimate
success. It was from this point of view that Davis's services were
particularly valuable, for by his three voyages, especially the last,
he had thrown more new light than any of his predecessors on the
general outHnes of land and sea in the far north-west. Yet there
were not wanting those who blamed him for not accomplishing
more, and the failure to find a passage discouraged the promoters
from continuing the quest in the years immediately following.
Although Davis had shown the great probability that openings
existed in the American coast-line, in comparatively low latitudes,
the next serious attempts, both of Dutch and Enghsh, were, as we
have seen, by the north and north-east. Only when Hudson had
proved by actual experience the hopelessness of finding a way to
China by these routes did he in turn devote his energies to the
north-west, where, in 1610, he took up the search almost from the
point at which it had been left by Davis \
Several voyages had, it is true, been made to the north-west in
the interval between 1587 and 1610, but of these either the results
were practically nil, or the objects were other than the search for
1 The later voyages of Davis, to the East Indies by the Cape route, are
spoken of in Chapter 11. pp. 49, 53.
?—2
36 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 [CHAP.
a passage. In 1602 the English East India Company sent out
George Weymouth, who quickly returned owing to a mutiny
among his crew, and has left no clear account of the voyage,
though it is probable that he entered Hudson Strait. The ill-
fated voyage of 1606 under John Knight, supported both by the
East India and Muscovy Companies, had still less result. Knight
had the year before taken part in the earlier of two expeditions
sent out from Denmark in search of the lost colonies of that
nation on the coast of Greenland, the command of the whole
being entrusted to a Scotsman, John Cunningham, while the
important post of chief pilot was held by a Yorkshireman, James
Hall, who subsequently commanded an English expedition to the
same region. Hall went in the same capacity in 1606 (Cunning-
ham also going as captain of one of the ships), and it is to him
that any results of value seem to have been due. They consisted
chiefly in a fuller examination than had been made by Davis of the
west coast of Greenland.
We may now return to Henry Hudson, whose voyage of 16 lo-
was supported by several of the merchant princes who did so
much at this time to encourage geographical discovery. The most
prominent of these were Sir Thomas Smith, a zealous member
both of the Muscovy and East India Companies; Sir Dudley
Digges, son of the noted mathematician Thomas Digges, and
himself a man of great ability and determination ; and Sir John
Wolstenholme. A single vessel, which bore the name Discovery,
since so honoured in the annals of exploration, was fitted out, the
object, according to Purchas, being " to try if, through any of those
inlets which Davis saw but durst not enter, any passage might be
found to the other ocean called the South Sea." Robert Juet
once more sailed as mate, and soon began to display the in-
subordination which had in the end such tragic consequences.
Robert Bylot or Byleth, who later took a prominent part in Arctic
exploration, was also of the number. Sailing on April 17, the
voyagers passed in view of Iceland, where they saw Hekia in
eruption, sighted Greenland, in about 65°, on June 4, and passed
its southern point, "Desolation" of Davis, on the 15th. Sailing
thence north-west and west, they entered Hudson Strait on the.
I]
THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625
37
night of June 24-25. Continuing to sail west amid much ice,
and sighting the land on either side from time to time, they passed
the '' Islands of God's Mercy," '' Hold with Hope," " Salisburies
Fore-land" (on Salisbury Island), and other points, and, after
covering about 250 leagues, entered the narrow passage between
Digges Island and Cape Wolstenholme which led into the broad
waters of Hudson Bay, called by the explorer " the bay of God's
Hudson Bay and its approaches.
great mercies." Keeping to the east side of the bay, they went
generally south until further advance was barred on reaching the
extremity of James Bay. The account written by Abacuk
Prickett, the only at all complete narrative of the voyage that we
possess, does not permit the further course of the Discovery to be
followed in detail, but after beating up and down James Bay in
the vain hope of finding a way out to the west the ship was frozen
in on November 10, and it became necessary to pass the winter in
this inhospitable region without a possibility of replenishing the
38 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 [CHAP.
fast-dwindling supplies. It was spent in great discomfort, the
only resource afforded by the country being a limited quantity of
fish and fowl. Discord also prevailed and, when the food was all
but spent, open mutiny broke out. Hudson and a few who stood
by him were placed in an open boat and mercilessly abandoned
to their fate, while the mutineers sailed homeward in the ship,
experiencing great difficulties owing to their lack of the necessary
quahfications for navigating these all but unknown seas. Among
them was Prickett, the writer of the narrative referred to, who
though according to his own account not implicated in the mutiny,
was kept on board by the ringleaders apparently with a view to his
influencing his master, Sir Dudley Digges, in their favour.
Thus perished miserably one of the most persevering and
meritorious of the old Arctic voyagers, but his important dis-
coveries were followed up two years later by Sir Thomas Button,
who, with Captain Ingram, was sent out in 161 2 by the same
enterprising adventurers, then incorporated as a company for the
discovery of the north-west passage. Button reached the mouth
of the Nelson river (where he wintered in much privation), thus
defining approximately the limits of Hudson Bay to the west,
though in spite of a renewed examination to the north of this in
the ensuing spring the wished-for passage still eluded his search.
Still less was achieved in 16 13 by Captain Gibbons, who never
advanced beyond the Labrador coast. In 16 14 the Discovery was
sent a fourth time with Robert Bylot or Byleth as master. He had
taken part in the three previous voyages, and was a capable
navigator, though his fame has been overshadowed by that of his
better-known chief pilot, William Baflin, who is entitled to rank
with seamen Hke Davis and Hudson.
Baffin had already been employed in responsible positions,
and had made three voyages to various parts of the Arctic regions.
We first hear of him in 161 2, when James Hall — the Yorkshire-
man already referred to in connection with the Danish voyages,
who had returned to England on their termination — induced Sir
Thomas Smith and others to join in a venture to the west coast of
Greenland, himself sailing as commander in the Patience^ while
a second ship, the Heart's Ease, had as master Andrew Barker.
Baffin went as chief pilot in the Patience, and wrote the narrative
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 1550-1625 39
of the voyage, of which a portion has been preserved by Purchase
The expedition sailed from the Humber on April 22, 161 2, but
was unfortunate, Hall being murdered by the Eskimo in retaliation
for wrongs done by the Danes, with whom he had been associated.
The Greenland coast, however, was examined for some distance
north of Gilbert Sound. During the next two years Baffin took
service under the Muscovy Company and did some good work in
Spitsbergen, but, as we have seen, joined the north-west voyage of
1614 under Bylot.
In this voyage, Hudson Strait was again the Hne of approach
to the unknown region, and though much hindrance was experi-
enced from ice, certain new coast-lines were brought to light to the
north-west of the strait, while careful observations of the tides
were made throughout. The general set of the flood from the
south-east was fully estabHshed, and though the navigators' hopes
were temporarily raised when some distance north-west of Seahorse
Point" on Southampton Island by its coming from the north, these
proved fallacious, as it was soon found that further advance was
blocked by land, ice, and shoal-water, which seemed to form an
enclosed bay. It was therefore soon afterwards decided to sail
home, and Plymouth was reached on September 8, wdthout the
loss of a single man.
During this voyage Baffin had done his best to obtain an
accurate representation of the coasts sighted, by means of
astronomical and other observations, and his carefully drawn map,
which has come down to us, gives an excellent idea of the region of
Hudson Strait. On one occasion he attempted — for the first time,
so far as records exist — to put in practice the method of finding the
longitude by means of lunar distance. As a general result of his
observations, he gave it as his opinion (in which he was not far
wrong), that any passage which might exist by way of Hudson
Strait must be by means of a narrow inlet, while the main channel
probably opened out of Davis Strait.
Accordingly when the Discovery was once more sent out by
the same adventurers in 16 16, Bylot and Baffin occupying the
same respective positions, the search was renewed in the more
^ Another account was written by John Gatonby of Hull.
'^ So named by Baffin from the number of walrus seen.
40 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP.
northerly direction, and bore fruit in the discovery of the whole
extent of Baffin Bay up to the entrance of Smith Sound in 78° N.,
or over 5° north of the furthest point reached by Davis. For a
time the sea was filled with heavy pack-ice, but towards the end of
June this rapidly disappeared, and good progress was made, giving
the voyagers hopes of a passage. But after reaching Hakluyt
Island, between Whale Sound and Smith Sound, the land was
found to be closing in on the north, and the ship ran to the west-
ward in an open sea with a stiff gale of wind. Bending round to
the south, Baffin passed in succession the openings of Jones
Sound and Lancaster Sound, but these seem to have offered no
chance of a passage, being probably blocked by ice. The west
coast, too, was much encumbered with ice, so that it was im-
possible to keep it in sight, and having come down to the latitude
of 65° 40', Baffin finally abandoned all hopes of success.
It may be thought strange that, having seen the entrances to
Jones and Lancaster Sounds, Baffin never considered the possi-
bility of an advance through either of these. But it is evident
that, as on the voyage of the year before, he was in search of
a wide passage such as is afforded by Baffin Bay itself, narrow
straits encumbered with ice being naturally considered unfit to
supply a practicable commercial route to the Pacific. Having
therefore proved that no such wide opening existed to the west,
Baffin regarded the problem as virtually solved in the negative
sense, and he held out no inducements to his employers to
continue the enterprise. He had now seen his last of polar
exploration, and the rest of his voyages were made in the service
of the East India Company, in which he met his death during an
attack on Ormuz in 1622.
Several more attempts were made by the Hudson Bay route
before the search was given up — if not finally, at least for a century.
In 161 9 a Danish expedition was despatched under Captain Jens
Munk, one of the most capable seamen in the Danish navy, who
had previously had some Arctic experience in the Novaya Zemlya
seas. A Danish East India Company had been formed in 16 16,
and had received warm support from King Christian IV, who
likewise, three years later, encouraged the idea of a voyage in
search of the north-western route, the command of which was
I] THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 4I
entrusted to Munk. The locality which was thought to offer most
likelihood of a passage seems to have been that part of Hudson
Bay near the mouth of the river now known as the Churchill,
where observations of the tide during Button's expedition had
suggested the existence of some connection with the Pacific, and
had been named Hubbart's Hope, after a member of that expe-
dition. Munk (who had with him two EngHshmen, one at least
of whom may have been in Hudson Bay before) began by
examining Ungava Bay, and then, after traversing Hudson Strait,
of which he made a map, sailed south-west to a point near
the Churchill, where he wintered. Misfortune soon assailed his
party, the greater part of which succumbed to scurvy, while the
survivors — Munk himself and two others — with difficulty made
their way home in the smaller of their two vessels. Apart from
some mapping of the coasts, the voyage had achieved little in the
way of geographical discovery.
More was done by the EngHsh expeditions of Captains Luke
Foxe and Thomas James, who both sailed in 1631, and examined
the whole south-west shores of Hudson Bay, showing that con-
tinuous land blocked the way. Foxe was an experienced seaman,
hailing from Hull, who had long been interested in Arctic
discovery, and after many efforts succeeded in gaining the
support of Sir John Wolstenholme, Sir Thomas Roe, and other
influential men, the result being that the Charles, a pinnace
belonging to the navy, was placed at his disposal. James was
a man of more education, but less nautical experience, who
persuaded the merchants of Bristol to fit out an expedition in
rivalry to that of Foxe. The two vessels sailed almost simul-
taneously, and both carried out much the same programme,
though they did not meet till well on in the season. Both traced
the south-west shores of Hudson Bay until they Hnked their
surveys with those of Hudson, but whereas Foxe then returned
north and explored the channel now called after him, beyond the
turning-point of Bylot and Baffin, James decided to winter in the
bay which has ever since borne his name. He and his men
suffered many hardships, and judging from his own account, he
was unusually unfortunate in the difficulties from ice and other
obstacles which he encountered. In 1632 he too searched for the
42 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP. I
northern channel out of the bay, but failed to find an outlet and
returned home without accomplishing anything very important.
The result of the two expeditions was, however, to show that no
way out of the bay existed to the west, and though the possibility
of a passage to the north-west was not disproved (Foxe seems on
the contrary to have still felt confident that one existed), the
patrons of discovery were not encouraged to make any more
efforts. Both Foxe and James wrote accounts of their voyages, that
of Foxe — which embodied also narratives of former attempts in
the same direction — bearing the quaint title North- West Fox, or
Fox from the North- West Passage. It contains a famous map,
which shows the Arctic regions as then known with a remarkable
degree of accuracy. A portion is here reproduced in facsimile.
While Foxe's narrative was somewhat rugged in style, that of
James, who was a man of some culture, possessed a good deal
of literary merit, and from the first attracted some attention.
We must now return to Spitsbergen, to which the large number
of whales and other marine animals reported by Hudson attracted
adventurers of various nationalities in increasing numbers during
the early part of the seventeenth century, leading incidentally to a
considerable increase of geographical knowledge. The English
were first in the field, though they were driven to seek the aid of
the Biscayans as experts in the fishery. From 1610 onwards the
Muscovy Company sent up vessels yearly, the earliest voyages
being made under Captains Jonas Poole and Thomas Edge
(1610-1612), who examined various bays on the west coast. An
EngUsh interloper. Captain Marmaduke, was also hunting walruses
in the Spitsbergen seas during these years, and in 161 2 visited
some of the bays on the north coast, besides going north to 82°.
A Dutch and a Spanish ship — the former commanded by Willem
van Muijden— also found their way there, piloted by Englishmen,
former employes of the Muscovy Company. In 16 13 — a charter
giving this company exclusive rights to the fishery having been
obtained from King James — a fleet of seven vessels was despatched
under Captain Benjamin Joseph, and this, as we have seen, had
as chief pilot Baffin, who wrote the account of the voyage.
The " Vice- Admiral " was commanded by Thomas Marmaduke of
Part of Foxe's Map, 1635.
44 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP. I
Hull. In the following year a still larger fleet was sent under
Joseph and Edge, Baffin holding the same position as before. A
narrative was written by Robert Fotherby, master's mate in the
Thoftiasine (in which Baffin also sailed), who took a foremost
part in the endeavour to explore new portions of the coast-
line. Several attempts were made by himself and Baffin to
trace the northern coast, and, pushing their way partly by boat
partly on land, they at last succeeded in reaching the entrance to
Wijde Bay, which they called Sir Thomas Smith's inlet. The ice
was particularly close inshore during this year, and it was only at
the close of the season that they were able to bring their ship
round to the same point. The Dutch were also in full force, and
established their claim to a share in the fishery, which had been
successfully resisted by the English the year before. Two ships,
in one of which was the pilot Joris Carolus, were specially set
apart for discovery, but the ice apparently prevented them from
effecting much. From a map drawn by Carolus, which shows
land to the east of Spitsbergen, it has been thought that some
exploration was done in this direction, but this is exceedingly
doubtful.
From this time onward the Dutch, as represented by the
*' Noordsche Compagnie," were more and more active, and in
time established a virtual monopoly of the fishery, their chief
quarters being at Smeerenberg, at the south-east end of Amsterdam
Island. The Muscovy Company continued to send ships for a
time, and in 16 16 Thomas Edge was active in the south-east,
where the small Hope Island seems to have been already reached
in 1613. Besides Edge Island, "other islands lying to the north-
wards as farre as 78°" are said to have been discovered in 16 16,
while in 161 7 the adventurous explorers pushed still farther,
reaching 79° or thereabout, probably by way of the Great Sound,
afterwards called Wijbe Jans Water. The narrow passage by
which this communicates at its upper end with the open sea to the
east must have been visited, for it received the name Heley Sound
from one of the most active captains in the Company's fleet. From
some point in this neighbourhood the third large island of the
group — North-east Land — seems to have been sighted. It was
named Sir Thomas Smith's Island, and so appears in the map
The Muscovy Company's Map of Spitsbergen, 1625. [From Piirchas.)
46 THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 155O-1625 [CHAP. I
printed by Purchas in 1625, which is reproduced on the previous
page. Some doubt exists whether the islands now called Kong
Karl's Land were discovered in this year. Purchas states that
an island was discovered, which Edge named Witche's Island
{i.e. Wyche's, from Sir Peter Wyche, a leading member of the
Muscovy Company), and this is marked on the map just alluded
to as stretching from north to south for a long distance, to the
east of Edge Island. The latitude here assigned is too low for
Kong Karl's Land, so the idea that this was reached has been
discredited, but it is possible that, though not actually visited, it
was sighted, like North-east Land, from some point of vantage
near the head of Wijbe Jans Water.
As time went on the Dutch became more and more powerful
relatively to the English, and the latter suffered much at their
hands. The energies of all were concentrated on whaling opera-
tions, and few important additions to geographical knowledge
were made for many years, though the coasts of the various
islands became in course of time more accurately represented on
the maps. Hinlopen Strait, between the two largest islands, must
have been discovered fairly early, as it is named after a director of
the Dutch Company who held office from 161 7 onwards. Events
worthy of mention were the accidental wintering of an English
party (among whom was Edward Pelham) in 1630-31, and that
carried out of set purpose, by a Dutch party under Van der
Brugge, in 1633-34. The last event of geographical importance
connected with the early whaling enterprise was the voyage of
Cornells Gilies, or Giles, round the northern and eastern sides of
the group in 1707. But this, as well as one or two isolated
attempts at discovery in the direction of Novaya Zemlya towards
the close of the 17th century, must be left for a later chapter (see
p. 400).
CHAPTER II
THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO
Although little positive geographical discovery resulted from
the early trading voyages of the Dutch and English to the Eastern
seas, it will be necessary briefly to refer to them, as they were of
considerable importance in familiarising the navigator^ of those
nations with voyages to the newly discovered regions, and so
leading the way to a future extension of knowledge.
After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English were the
first to make the voyage by the route opened by the Portuguese,
but the first enterprise resulted in failure, although one of the
three ships engaged in it reached the Eastern seas. The fleet was
commanded by Captains Raymond and Lancaster, and set sail on
April 10, 1 59 1. Raymond's ship was lost on the voyage, but
Lancaster in the Edward Bonaventure, after touching at Zanzibar,
doubled Cape Comorin in May 1592, and after sighting the coast
of Sumatra reached Penang in June. After touching at St Helena
on the return voyage the ship encountered baffling winds and was
forced to run for the West Indies. Here the crew met with many
adventures, and, after losing his ship, Lancaster returned home
in a ship of Dieppe, over three years having been spent on the
voyage. In 1594 Lancaster undertook a voyage to Pernambuco,
but no further effort to open an intercourse with the East was
made by the English until the closing year of the century, before
which the Dutch had already secured a share in the Indian trade.
Like the English, the Dutch had begun by attempting the
discovery of a route to the East by way of the Arctic seas, and it
was only after the first unsuccessful voyage of Barents for this end
that the voyage to India by the Cape was determined on. In
48
THE EAST INDIES, 160O-170O
[CHAP.
February 1594-5 the first fleet, consisting of four ships, sailed
from the Texel under the command of Cornelis Houtman and
reached Bantam in Java in 1596. Here a long time was spent
Linschoten's Map of Eastern Asia. {Outline sketch, reduced.)
in negotiations for a cargo of spices, but, owing apparently to
the machinations of the Portuguese, difficulties arose with the
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO 49
governor, leading to Houtman's temporary imprisonment, and
eventually to open hostilities. The fleet sailed along the coast
of Java eastward, and again became mvolved in hostilities, but
was able finally to refresh on the east coast between Java and
Bali. The return was made along the south coast of Java, this
being the first recorded occasion on which any European vessel
had taken this coursed The voyage was therefore useful as
giving a more correct idea of the width of the island than had
before prevailed. Among the curiosities brought home to Holland
was a specimen of the cassowary, presented to one of the cap-
tains while on the north coast of Java, which must have been
brought from Ceram or the Papuan group.
Fleets now sailed in quick succession from the various Dutch
ports, whose merchants vied with each other in their efforts to
secure a share in the new trade. In 1598 a number of expeditions
sailed under different commanders. The merchants of Amsterdam
and Rotterdam despatched a fleet of eight ships under J. van Neck
and W. van Warwijck, which reached Banda, Amboina, and the
Moluccas, besides visiting Java. A part of the fleet, including
van Warwijck's vessel, touched on the voyage at Mauritius, which
then first received that name. No inhabitants were seen, but the
island proved a convenient halting-place, and a garden was fenced
in and planted for the benefit of future voyagers. The merchants
of Middelburg and Veere, headed by the family of the Moucherons,
fitted out two ships (the Lion and Lioness)^ which they placed
under the command of the brothers Cornelis and Frederik Hout-
man. This expedition is of interest from the fact that the great
Arctic navigator, John Davis, was engaged to act as chief pilot, and
the account of the voyage written by him is the only one extant.
^ The avoidance of the south coast of Java is attributed by the Portuguese
historian Joao de Barros to the violent currents to which ships are there
exposed. This fact accounts for the exaggerated notions which had prevailed
as to the extent of the island. The sea south of Java had been traversed, out
of sight of land, by the remnant of Magellan's expedition, which steered for
the Cape of Good Hope from the west end of Timor. According to Hondius's
map, both Drake and Cavendish traversed the same sea, passing between Java
and Bali, and this is confirmed by the accounts received by Houtman of the
arrival of European ships at the south-east end of Java at dates corresponding
to those of Drake's and Cavendish's voyages.
H. 4
50 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I70O [CHAP.
Ill-luck attended the expedition, which reached Atjeh in Sumatra
after touching at Fernando Noronha, Table Bay (then called
Saldanha Bay), Madagascar, the Comoros, Maldivhs, and the coast
of India near Cochin. Davis's narrative contains interesting
particulars respecting the countries visited, mentioning among other
points the peculiar clicking sounds of the Hottentot language,
which are likened to the clucking of a brood-hen. It appears that
the fame of Queen Elizabeth as the successful rival of Spain had
already reached the East, and the Raja of Atjeh was particularly
anxious to see Davis and to learn about the English nation, but the
Dutch commander did all he could to keep him in the background.
During the stay there a treacherous attack was made upon the
expedition, during which Cornells Houtman was killed and the
ship only saved by the gallantry of Davis and two comrades, one of
them an Englishman named Tomkins, who successfully defended
the poop\ After a vain attempt to make the port of Tennasserim,
which Davis speaks of as a place of much trade, a course was
shaped for the Nicobars and the homeward voyage soon afterwards
commenced. In July 1600 Middelburg was reached and Davis
returned to England, where his services were soon secured by the
English East India Company for their first voyage.
During the year 1598 various Dutch ships were also sent out
to attempt the passage to India via the Strait of Magellan. On
June 27 a fleet of five ships set sail from Rotterdam under the
command of Admiral James Mahu. Several Englishmen accom-
panied the fleet — among them the pilot, William Adams. From
the outset the expedition was unfortunate, for soon after leaving
the Cape Verde Islands the Admiral died of fever, by which a
large proportion of the crews were disabled, while scurvy soon
added to their distress. A landing was eff"ected on the coast
of Lower Guinea and a camp formed for the sick ; but few sup-
plies were available and the fleet sailed for Annobom. Here the
Dutch came into collision with the Portuguese and also suffered
severely from fever, so it was resolved to steer for the Strait of
Magellan. Here the ships encountered very severe weather and,
^ There appears to be no foundation for the story that the elder Houtman
escaped with his life and lived some years among the natives.
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO 5 1
after reaching the Pacific, soon became scattered. Two were
forced to re-enter the straits, and of these one eventually crossed
the Pacific to the Moluccas, where she fell into the hands of the
Portuguese. The other, under Sebald de Weert, fell in with the
outward-bound fleet of Olivier van Noort, but returned home after
visiting some small islands, probably outHers of the Falklands.
A single unsupported document has it that a third ship — that
commanded by Dirck Gerritsz — was driven south to 64°, where a
snow-clad mountainous land was sighted ; and on this insufficient
basis some have claimed for her commander the discovery of the
South Shetlands. This ship was taken by the Spaniards after
reaching Peru.
Meanwhile the rest of the fleet, under the command of Simon
de Cordes, and with the EngHsh pilot, William Adams, on board,
proceeded up the coast of Chile. No full account of the voyage
is in existence, but we are able to gather some details as to its
occurrences from the letters of Adams, written some years later
from Japan, and from the facts gleaned by Van Noort's squadron.
Misfortune still attended the voyagers. Landing at the island of
La Mocha, de Cordes and a number of his men were slain by
the natives', while the same fate befel the other captain and a
portion of his crew at Punta de Lavapie, opposite Santa Maria
Island. Not venturing to meet the Spaniards in their weakened
condition, and having on board a large supply of woollen cloth
which they hoped to dispose of in Japan, the newly elected
captains resolved to steer for that country (November 1599).
After crossing the Line some islands were met with, inhabited
by cannibals. They are placed by Adams in 16° N., or three
degrees south of the Sandwich group, which might otherwise
seem to be indicated. They were no doubt units of the Ladrone
or Marianne group, though in this case the length of time
occupied by the further voyage to Japan — almost equal to that
taken up by the voyage from Chile to the islands — is only
to be accounted for by the storms encountered in the Western
Pacific. These led to a parting of the ships, and only that in
^ In the account given to Van Noort it was said that Simon de Cordes was
slain at the Punta de Lavapie, but Adams gives Mocha Island as the scene of
his death.
52 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
which Adams sailed reached Bungo (the modern Oita) in Japan,
the crew being then at the last extremity. Adams was im-
prisoned for a time, but afterwards rose high in the Emperor's
favour, and was largely instrumental in throwing open the trade
with Japan to the Dutch. He was never allowed to return to
Europe, but died at Firando (Hirado Island) about 1620.
The four ships of Van Noort already alluded to sailed from
Goeree only three months after the Rotterdam fleet (September
1598). Like the latter they touched at the coast of Lower Guinea
and then twice visited the coast of Brazil before proceeding to the
Strait of Magellan. Arrived in the South Sea, Van Noort was
attended with better success than his predecessors, taking a
Spanish ship on the coast of Chile, and then crossing over to the
Ladrones and PhiHppines by a route apparently diverging little
from Magellan's. Off the Philippines a Spanish ship was defeated
after a hot encounter, and a course was then shaped for Borneo^
where a halt was made at Brunei. Van Noort then pro-
ceeded to the north coast of Java, and passing through the
strait between that island and Sumatra, steered for the Cape of
Good Hope. He arrived in Holland with one ship on August 26,
1 60 1, being thus the first Dutch captain to complete the circum-
navigation of the globe — a feat which it had taken full three years,
to accomplish. Although Van Noort had not passed out of the
tracks of previous navigators, his voyage was of service to his
countrymen, as much information was collected about countries of
the East, including Japan, not visited by his squadron.
The subsequent trading voyages of the Dutch to the East^
while of importance as tending to establish the supremacy of that
nation in the Archipelago, and so paving the way for the discovery
of Australia, lack the interest of novelty which attaches to their
earlier efforts. Li pursuance of their object the merchant adven-
turers showed no abatement of energy. Trading companies had
been formed at the various Dutch ports, whence fleet after fleet
was despatched to the East. In 1602 the various companies
were united to form the Dutch East India Company, with an
exclusive charter prohibiting other Dutch subjects from trading to
the East, either by the Cape or by the Strait of Magellan. The
company's fleets engaged in open hostilities with the Portuguese,.
J
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I70O 53
while trading stations were rapidly established in Java and Ceylon,
as well as on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. By 1607 the
Dutch had gained possession of the Spice Islands and had factories
in all the countries of the East from Persia to Japan. In 161 1
Pieter Both, the first Governor-General, established a post at
Jacatra in Java, some distance east of Bantam, giving it the
name Batavia ; and in 1619 the Residence was transferred by
the fourth governor, Jans Pieterszoon Coen, to this site, which
thenceforth became the capital of the Dutch possessions. Some
of the voyages thus undertaken were of interest from the point
of view of geographical discovery, but before speaking of them
we must resume the thread of English adventure.
In spite of the ill-success of the first English voyage to the
East, the wish to establish a direct trade with India still animated
the English merchants, but nothing was done until 1599 when,
the Dutch having raised the price of pepper from 3^-. to 6s. and Ss.
a pound, a memorial was addressed to Queen Elizabeth on the sub-
ject of the formation of an association for the object in view. The
Queen favoured the proposal, and on December 31, 1600, granted
a charter of incorporation to the English East India Company as
^'The Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading
into the East Indies." She also sent Sir J. Mildenhall to the court
of the Great Mogul to solicit his favour for the company. Before
the signing of the charter preparations for an expedition had been
pushed forward, Captain James Lancaster being again placed at
its head. Four "tall" ships — the Drag07i, Hector^ Ascension^ and
Susan, besides a victualler, the Guest — were employed. As before
mentioned, the services of John Davis were secured for the
expedition, which left Woolwich on February 13, and Tor Bay
on April 18, 1601. After touching at the Canaries and suffering
much from scurvy and from adverse winds during the passage
across the Atlantic, it put in at Saldanha Bay (Table Bay) on
September 9. The great use of lemon-juice as a preventive of
scurvy was fully demonstrated on this voyage, as the crew of
Lancaster's ship, who were provided with it, suffered far less than
those of the others. After a stay at Table Bay, and another on
the coast of Madagascar, the ships set sail for India on March 6,
1602, and fell in with an island called Roquepiz, the identification
54 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
of which is a matter of some difficulty. Then, after passing
amongst the Chagos Islands and banks, where the ships were in
much danger from sunken reefs, the Nicobar Islands were reached
on May 9, and Atjeh on May 29. A letter from the Queen was
presented to the King of Atjeh, who gave the voyagers a cordial
reception. Some pepper was obtained, but owing to the bad
season it was very scarce. More, however, was obtained at
Priaman, and at Bantam, whither the ships afterwards proceeded,
having first taken a merchant ship, saiHng under Portuguese
colours, in the straits of Malacca. Agents were left at Bantam
and others despatched to the Moluccas, to establish a factory
there in readiness for the next arrival of ships from England. On
February 20, 1603, the homeward voyage commenced, the ships
passing through the Sunda Strait. Before rounding the Cape
great storms were encountered, in which the rudder of Lancaster's
ship was lost, and the voyagers were driven southwards into the
hail and snow of the South Atlantic ; but after great exertions a
temporary rudder was arranged, and St Helena sighted on June t6,
the ships having been three months out of sight of land. Finally
they anchored in the Downs on September 11, and the voyage
was brought to a successful termination, two and a half years
from its commencement.
The second expedition was placed under the command of
Captain Henry Middleton, who had accompanied Lancaster in
1 60 1, and the same four ships were again sent out. Again the
crews suffered severely from scurvy, and on this account the
General put in, contrary to his instructions, at Table Bay, after-
wards crossing the Indian Ocean without touching anywhere until
the island of Engano, off the south coast of Sumatra, was sighted.
From Bantam, where the merchants left on the preceding voyage
were established, the Hector and Susan were sent home after
loading with a cargo of pepper, while Middleton proceeded (Jan.
1605) with the other two ships to the more eastern parts of the
Archipelago. During this time great mortality prevailed among
the crews owing to an outbreak of dysentery brought on by
drinking the Bantam water. A large Dutch fleet under Van der
Hagen had arrived at Bantam two days before the EngHsh, and it
soon followed them on their eastward voyage. At Amboina,
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO 55
where, owing to the peace lately concluded (1604) between
England and Spain, Middleton had established friendly relations
with the Portuguese governor, all hope of trade was removed by
the arrival of this fleet and the surrender of the Portuguese fort.
Middleton therefore resolved, much against the views of his
associates, to send the Asce?isio7i to Banda, while he himself pro-
ceeded to the Moluccas proper, to try for a cargo of cloves. Here
too the arrival of the Dutch, followed by the destruction of the
Portuguese fort at Tidor, and the surrender of the survivors of
its garrison, put many difficulties in his way, but a certain amount
of trade was done, and in spite of some rather high-handed pro-
ceedings on the part of the Dutch, the English commander was
able to remain on fairly friendly terms with both factions. On
the return voyage the Hector was found in a disabled condition off
the Cape, having lost the greater part of her crew, which it had
been necessary to reinforce with a number of Chinamen before
leaving Bantam. The Susan had been lost during the passage.
The three remaining ships continued the voyage in company, and
reached the Downs on May 6, 1606.
By opening a trade with the Moluccas, which had not been
visited by EngHshmen since Drake's time, Middleton had done more
than the company had ventured to expect, and he was knighted
for his services immediately on his return. The company now de-
termined to extend their operations, and turned their eyes to the
mainland of India, whither one of the ships of the next voyage was
commissioned to proceed. The three vessels sent out in 1607 were
under the command of Captain Keeling, who had accompanied
Sir Henry Middleton in 1604. In the new voyage he sailed in
the Dragoti, while the Hector and Conse?tt were commanded
respectively by Captains Hawkins and David Middleton, the
latter of whom, as it turned out, made the voyage independently.
The course taken by the Dragon and Hector differed from that
followed in previous voyages, for they put in at Sierra Leone for
the purpose of watering, and here a stone was set up, engraved
with the names of Captains KeeHng and Hawkins, near another
which bore the names of Drake and Cavendish. After refreshing
at Saldanha, and again touching at St Augustine's Bay, Madagas-
car, they proceeded to Abd-el-Kuri and Sokotra, where valuable
56 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
information was collected as to the system of the monsoons and
currents, and the navigation to Aden, Surat, and Cambay. After
leaving Sokotra, the ships parted company, the Hector- proceeding
to Surat, whence Hawkins sent his ship on to Bantam, and travelled
overland to the court of Jehangir; his journey resulting in the
acquisition of information, of much value to the company, regarding
the state of affairs in India. Keeling proceeded to Priaman and
Bantam, and afterwards to Banda ; some useful hydrographical
observations being made during the voyage. Trade was again
hampered by the arbitrary proceedings of the Dutch, who were
then at war with the natives. Since Middleton's voyage they had
been driven out of Ternate and Tidor (1606), and their admiral,
Paul van Caerden, was in 1608 taken prisoner there, remaining
in captivity over a year.
The fourth voyage, under Captains Sharpeigh and Rowles, was
unfortunate. After visiting Aden, and Mokha on the Red Sea,
Sharpeigh proceeded to India, where his ship was wrecked in the
Gulf of Cambay. Sharpeigh visited Agra, while others of his crew
travelled in various directions, a sailor named Nichols making
his way across the peninsula to Masulipatam, while Captain
Robert Coverte returned to Europe through India, Persia, and
Turkey. The latter wrote an account both of the voyage and of
his own travels. The fifth voyage sent out by the East India
Company was under the command of Captain David Middleton,
who in t6io obtained a cargo of spice at Pulo Way, being, Hke
KeeHng, hindered by the Dutch from loading at Banda. In the
sixth voyage Sir Henry Middleton was general, the second in
command being Captain Nicholas Downton. The ships proceeded
to Aden, which was found to have lost much of its former import-
ance, and to Mokha, where Middleton was made a prisoner, and
taken inland to Sana. Having at length effected his escape, he
sailed for Surat, where many impediments were put in his way by
the Portuguese. Subsequently reaching the Archipelago, his ship,
the Trade's Increase, the largest English merchant vessel of the time,
capsized while being repaired, and Middleton soon afterwards died
of grief at the partial failure of the voyage. It was, however, im-
portant as leading the way to the English intercourse with Western
India, which subsequently attained such great proportions.
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-17OO 57
Of the subsequent voyages only those can be spoken of which
were especially noteworthy as leading in new directions. During
the seventh, which sailed in t6ii under Captain Hippon, the
Globe visited the Coromandel coast and Siam, where factories
were established both at Patani — then an important trade centre —
and at Ayuthia, the capital. Two of the factors were even sent
inland to Chieng-mai or Zimme, which had been visited in the
previous century by Fernao Mendez Pinto and by Ralph Fitch,
and which has come into prominence in modern times in con-
nection with railway projects in Siam. One of these agents,
Thomas Samuel, was a year or two later (161 5) taken prisoner
to Pegu on the capture of Chieng-mai by the king of that country,
and died there.
The eighth voyage (1611-13), under Captain John Saris in
the Clove^ w^as important as leading further afield than any of the
previous ventures, Japan being for the first time reached by an
English vessel. After visiting Sokotra and cruising for some time
in the Red Sea, where Saris met Sir Henry Middleton, the Clove
sailed for Bantam, and thence for the Moluccas, where, after
touching at various points, anchor was finally cast in the road of
Pelebere (or Poliweri) off Makian. Here, as usual, some opposi-
tion was met with from the Dutch, who at the time had forts on
Ternate, Tidor, and Makian, though the Spaniards still main-
tained a footing in Tidor. Continuing his voyage towards the north,
and touching to refresh on the northern portion of Jilolo, Saris
set sail for Japan, and passing among the Liu-kiu Islands, reached
Firando (Hirado) after a month's voyage. Here Saris received a
visit from William Adams, and leaving Richard Cocks, the principal
merchant of the voyage, to establish a factory, proceeded via
Osaka and the overland route to Yedo (Tokio) to hand over the
presents sent by the Company to the Emperor. His journal gives
interesting particulars respecting the Japanese cities, of which
Kioto or Miako was then the largest. On Saris's departure Cocks
was left at Firando to superintend the factory, which he did for
seven years. During this time the establishment of trade between
Japan and Siam was kept constantly in view, and Adams more
than once sailed for the latter country, but the efforts of the
merchants met with slight success. Saris's voyage resulted in
58 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
a considerable improvement in the knowledge of the navigation
of the Eastern seas, and his journal contains instructive remarks
on the currents, monsoons, etc., as observed by him. He was
able to introduce many corrections into the charts, his latitudes
for Cape Comorin, the island of Batjan, and other places, being
nearer the truth than those previously accepted. Between Sokotra
and Bantam he sailed through the 8° channel between the Mal-
divhs and Minicoy, and was thus able to define correctly the
termination of the Maldivh group towards the north, while Firando
in Japan, the terminus of his voyage, is given within 8' of its true
latitude.
The only other voyage to which separate allusion can be made
is that of Captain Best, which was begun in 161 2, and by the
victory gained over an overwhelming Portuguese fleet at Swally,
the port of Surat, opened up Western India to British enterprise.
A result of this victory was the despatch of Sir Thomas Roe, in
1 61 5, as ambassador to Jehangir. To his travels reference will
be made presently. A few years later trade was opened with the
Persian Gulf, but Bantam in Java still remained the Company's
principal factory in the East, until, between 16 18 and 1623, the
British merchants were expelled from all their posts in the
Archipelago by the Dutch, who thus became supreme in that
quarter, and were for a long time practically alone in carrying on
the work of exploration in the regions beyond.
It remains to speak of the attempts — insignificant compared
with those of the Dutch and English — made by the French at
this time to open up intercourse with the East. iVlthough this
nation was the first to encroach upon the grounds occupied by
the Portuguese, the early enterprises of Gonneville, Parmentier,
and others, in the first half of the sixteenth century, led to no
practical result, and not till the next century had commenced did
the French merchants again bestir themselves to secure a share
in the eastern trade. A company was then formed by some
citizens of St Malo, Laval, and Vitre, and two vessels were fitted
out and placed under the command of Michel Frotet de la
Bardeliere, who sailed in the Croissa?it. The other ship, the
Corbin^ was commanded by Francois Grout, and an Englishman
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I70O 59
was included among the crew as pilot. The expedition sailed in
1 60 1, but was unfortunate from the first owing to severe attacks
of scurvy and want of discipline. The Croissajit reached Atjeh
in July 1602, but left again without doing much trade. The
General died on December i, and after reaching the Azores the
enfeebled remnant of the crew were rescued from their sinking
ship by some Dutch vessels. The voyage is principally re-
markable for the adventures of Francois Pyrard, who sailed in
the Corbin, and after his return wrote a full account of his
experiences, together with valuable information on the countries
visited. The Corbin was wrecked on one of the Maldivhs,
and the crew made prisoners. Pyrard soon acquired the lan-
guage and gained favour with the king, but had not obtained
leave to depart when at length, after five years, a hostile ex-
pedition arrived from Chittagong. The king was slain, and
Pyrard with three companions, the sole remnant of the crew,
was taken to India. He gives a most valuable account of the
Maldivhs, and of the manners and customs of the people ; and so
few have been European visitors to the islands that this re-
mained practically the standard authority on the subject down
to our own times.
Pyrard's stay at Chittagong was brief, but it enabled him to
collect a few particulars respecting Bengal and its productions,
the river Ganges, etc. On the Malabar coast, whither he then
proceeded, he went through many adventures and was for some
time kept a prisoner by the Portuguese. After his release he
collected much information respecting Western India and its
inhabitants, and particularly about Goa and the Portuguese
government in India — then hopelessly corrupt — and the growing
encroachments of the Dutch. His account is of special value
from the fact that this period is little touched upon by Portuguese
historians. He accompanied Portuguese expeditions to Cambay
and the Moluccas, and gives a full account of the trade of south-
eastern Asia, which still centred in the great emporium of
Malacca; describing also the Portuguese possessions on the
African coasts. At last, in the winter of 1609-10, Pyrard, with
other foreigners, whose numbers had become inconvenient to the
authorities, was placed on board the homeward-bound fleet, and
6o THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
reached Europe, not without further adventures, after an absence
of ten years. The ship in which Pyrard sailed was wrecked on
the coast of Brazil, and his sojourn at Bahia, whilst waiting for
an opportunity to return to Europe, gave him the means of
gathering some information on the Portuguese possessions in
that part of the globe.
Two other French travellers, mentioned by Pyrard in his
book, may be briefly referred to here. Jean Alocquet, apothecary
to Henry IV of France, travelled extensively both in the East and
West (West Africa, Guiana, Morocco, India, and the Holy Land)
between 1601 and 161 1 — exactly the period occupied by Pyrard's
voyage — and in 16 17 published in Paris an account of his travels.
He had sailed to Goa as apothecary to the Conde de Feira, and
returned in that capacity, in the same fleet as Pyrard, with the
great captain Furtado de Mendoga. The other traveller was the
Sieur de Feynes, Comte de Montfart, who in 1604 had reached
Goa by the overland route via Aleppo, Isfahan, and Ormuz.
The first account of his journeys was published in English in
1 615 by a French resident in London. Doubt has been thrown
on the genuineness of his travels, but the references of Pyrard
and Mocquet confirm the general truth of his account.
No further attempt to open up trade with the East was made
until 1 6 16, when some merchants of Paris and Rouen formed
a company and fitted out two ships for a voyage to India. The
command was given to a captain named De Nets, the smaller
ship sailing under Augustin de Beaulieu, who had already in
161 2 accompanied a French expedition to the Gambia, and had
shown himself a skilful seaman. The expedition met with only
partial success, one of the ships being abandoned for want of
sufiicient hands. In 16 19 Beaulieu sailed again with three ships,
and though the results from a commercial point of view were not
great, the voyage has attained a considerable degree of celebrity
by reason of the careful observations on the countries visited
made by the commander, and contained in his journal, published
in Thevenot's celebrated collection of voyages. The variation of
the compass engaged the special attention of Beaulieu, who was
able to show that the variations were less regular than had been
supposed. An accurate description is given of the narwhal, two
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO 6 1
of which were seen on the voyage. Some time was spent at the
Cape on the way out, and an interesting reconnaissance made
of the district behind Table Mountain. The modern Table
Bay already receives that name in Beaulieu's narrative, although
the old name Saldanha Bay is retained by contemporary, and
even by some subsequent writers. During a stay of 15 days at
St Augustine's Bay, Madagascar, Beaulieu attempted an ex-
ploration of the valley of the river which enters the head of the
bay ; and though hindered by the thickness of the brushwood, he
climbed to a certain height and assured himself of the importance
of the river, which, he says, seemed as broad as the Seine a
league below Rouen. This must have been the Onilahi, the
principal river of south Madagascar. After correcting the position
on the chart of the Angoche and other small islands on the African
coast, BeauHeu sailed for the Comoro Islands, of which he gives
a fuller account than is found in most of the early narratives.
This is especially the case of Angasija, or Great Comoro, which
on account of its want of good anchorages has down to the
present day been less visited than the other islands of the group.
Having at length reached Sumatra, a long time was spent at
Atjeh in wearisome negotiations for a cargo of pepper. Bantam
being inaccessible owing to its investment by the Dutch. One
of the ships, which had proceeded to Jacatra (Batavia), was burnt,
apparently through Dutch treachery, but Beaulieu at length set
sail for France with a fair cargo, passing through the Mentawei
(" Montabay ") Islands off the south-west coast of Sumatra, and
introducing some corrections into the charts of that locality. He
reached France in December, 1622.
Before continuing the story of maritime discovery in the far
East, we may close this chapter by referring to some of the most
famous travellers to southern Asia — chiefly by the overland route
— during the seventeenth century, although by so doing it will be
necessary to anticipate somewhat the progress of events in other
quarters. With the opening of maritime trade to the East by the
rivals of the Portuguese, the love of adventure led a host of
travellers — Dutch, French, English, and German, as well as some
of nationalities previously represented — to visit the famous empires
62 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I70O [CHAP.
of those regions; and as many of them pubhshed narratives of
their journeys, the result was a decided spread of knowledge
respecting those countries, although strictly geographical dis-
coveries could hardly be expected.
Of all the narratives of eastern travel which appeared during
the seventeenth century, the first in point of date of the journeys
was that of the French adventurer Vincent le Blanc, who during
forty years ranged over most of the eastern world, from Syria,
Arabia, and Samarkand, to Pegu, Siam, and Java, and in Africa
gained acquaintance with Abyssinia, Egypt, and Morocco. But
the greater part of his journeys were made before the end of the
sixteenth century, while his narrative — first published, after his
death, in 1648 — shows much ignorance and want of discrimina-
tion, even if it be not — as some have thought — largely fictitious.
A Portuguese traveller, Pedro Teixeira, whose wanderings were
almost as extensive, published his narrative in 16 10, but he too
started on his travels before the end of the previous century. Of
his first journey nothing is known except that after residing for
some time in Persia and Ormuz, he found himself at Malacca
in 1600, and returned to Portugal by way of the Archipelago
(Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines) and Mexico. He set out
again in 1604, and after visiting Maskat and Ormuz returned by
Baghdad to Aleppo, and thence through Cyprus, Rhodes, etc., to
Venice, and ultimately to Antwerp. The desire of seeing foreign
countries led an eccentric Englishman, Thomas Coryat, to the
East a few years later. Coryat had held a small post in Prince
Henry's establishment, but in 1608 started on a tour through
Europe, which he described in a book bearing the quaint title
Coryat his Crudities hastily gob led up etc. In spite of the
eccentricities of the author, this was of some real value as one
of the first detailed descriptions of European countries published
in England. In 1612 Coryat started on more extended travels,
which took him through Asia Minor, the Holy Land, and Meso-
potamia, to Persia and even to Kandahar, whence he reached
India in 161 6. Here he died the following year, and therefore
never wrote a narrative of these journeys, but some of his letters
to friends from the East were pubfished, the last being dated
from Agra, October, 1616.
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-17OO 63
Disappointment in a love affair was the cause of the travels,
about the same time, of an Italian, Pietro della Valle, who in
16 14 left Venice on a pilgrimage to the holy places of the East,
taking the title "II Pellegrino" by which he was afterwards
generally known. From Jerusalem he went by Damascus to
Aleppo, and on to Baghdad and the ruins of Babylon. At
Baghdad he married a beautiful Circassian, who accompanied him
on his travels till her death, and whose body was embalmed and
taken to Italy. Delia Valle made his way to the court of the
Persian Emperor, and in 162 1, after a visit to the ruins of
Persepolis, reached Shiraz, and Lar on the Persian Gulf, whence
he made his way to India. After extensive travels in that
country he sailed for Maskat in 1624, and returned to Europe
via Bassora and Aleppo. His voyages, the publication of which
was completed at Rome after his death in 1652, contain many
interesting particulars concerning the countries through which he
passed.
The above were private adventurers, but others of the number
held more or less official positions as envoys to the courts of
Eastern monarchs. Such was Sir Thomas Roe, whose embassy
to the court of the Great Mogul in the interests of British trade
has already been referred to. Roe, who had previously made
a voyage up the Amazon and on the coast of Guiana, was one of
the most capable agents employed by the East India Company.
He arrived at Swally Road in September, 16 15, and after much
obstruction on the part of the authorities, made his way to the
court of Jehangir at Ajmere before the end of the year, passing
through Burhanpur, where he suffered a severe attack of fever.
He spent nearly three years in wearisome negociations with the
Emperor and his ministers, and his journal, first published by
Purchas, contains, besides the narrative of his journey, much
valuable information as to the events then going forward in India.
During Roe's residence in India, Edward Terry, an Oxford
graduate — who had sailed in 16 16 in one of the East India
Company's fleets, and who, after his return to Europe, also wrote
an account of his experiences — joined him as chaplain. Another
of the Company's servants who travelled in India at this time
was William Methold, who in 1622 visited the diamond mines of
64 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-17OO [CHAP.
Golconda, and gave the first account of them ever published by
an English writer.
Persia, too, was the goal of various embassies during the early
part of the seventeenth century. In 1599 Sir Anthony Shirley,,
Sir Thomas Roe.
a relative by marriage of the Earl of Essex, had received from
the latter an informal mission to tliat country, whither he
proceeded with his brother Robert by the overland route via
Aleppo so often followed at this time. Sir Anthony soon re-
turned to Europe, where (liaving fallen into disfavour in England)
Il] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-170O 65
he wandered from one court to another, sometimes well received
but finally discredited ^ Robert (afterwards Sir Robert) Shirley-
stayed longer in Persia, and subsequently undertook various
embassies, on behalf of the Shah, to the countries of Europe,
including Great Britain, where he was well received by James I.
He returned to Persia for the last time in 1627 in company with
the English agent Sir Dodmore Cotton, but was coldly received
on his arrival at Kasvin, and died shortly afterwards. Cotton
had another companion on his mission to Persia, whose account
of his travels attained considerable celebrity. This was Sir
Thomas Herbert, who after reaching Kasvin (where Cotton too
died), made extensive journeys in Persia, afterwards visiting India
and Ceylon, whence he returned to Europe in 1627, by
Mauritius and St Helena. His narrative contains many curious
observations on the countries visited, and the objects of interest
observed. Among the latter was the dodo, Herbert's quaint
account of which is one of the earliest we possess.
The next embassy to Persia which need detain us was that
sent through Russia by the Duke of Holstein in 1633, with a
view to opening up a trade with the East for his subjects. The
secretary to the ambassadors was the celebrated Adam Olearius,
while another of the party was J. A. de Mandelslo, an intimate
friend of the former and previously page to the Duke. The
ambassadors proceeded no further than Persia, but Mandelslo,
who had obtained leave to go on to India, embarked at Ormuz
in 1638, and landing at Surat, travelled first to Agra, and
afterwards made the voyage to Goa and Ceylon, returning to
Europe by the Cape. The account of his journeys was published
after his death (1644), from his letters, by Olearius, as a
supplement to the latter's own description of Russia and Persia.
It contained information collected by Mandelslo respecting
countries of the East not visited by him personally, and in
a subsequent edition was enlarged by the addition of extraneous
matter. Both Olearius and Mandelslo were men of education,
and made astronomical observations during their journeys.
^ The Emperor Rudolf II, by whom he was well received at Prague,
despatched him in 1605 on a mission to the court of Morocco, an account
of which appeared in 1609.
H.
5
66 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
In the second half of the century a Russian embassy to Persia
was accompanied by a Spaniard, Don Pedro Cubero, who
likewise visited India but returned to Europe by the Philippines
and Mexico, publishing an account of his nine years' travels at
Madrid in 1680. The Swedish embassy to the same country
in 1683, under Louis Fabricius, may also be mentioned here.
It is noteworthy through the part taken in it by the cele-
brated traveller Engelbrecht Kaempfer, a German physician
and naturalist, who after crossing Persia to Gombrun joined
a Dutch fleet as surgeon (1688), visited north and south India
and Batavia, and thence went to Japan, where he remained three
years, collecting valuable material for an account of that country.
After his return to Europe in 1693 ^"'^ published an account of
his travels under the title Amoenitates Exotkae, which ap-
peared in 17 1 2. His history of Japan, the best known of his
works, was published, after his death, from his MSS.
The work of missionary travellers to the far East will be
spoken of in another chapter, but the journeys of one of their
number, as concerned also with western Asia, may be suitably
touched upon here. Pere Alexandre de Rhodes, a French
Jesuit, started for the Indies in 16 18, and a few years later was
sent to labour in Cochin China. Here and in Tongking he
maintained an uphill fight for many years against difficulties and
persecutions, until finally obliged to abandon the country. After
visiting the Archipelago he returned to Europe through Persia,
Armenia, and Asia Minor, returning in 1660 to Persia, where he
died. He published an account of his travels in 1653.
As time went on, travellers to the East became more and
more numerous, and only the most famous can be briefly
mentioned. Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the son of a Dutch map-
seller settled in Paris, began his extensive travels by visiting most
of the countries of Europe, and in 1631 joined a caravan to
Persia, where his trading ventures met with such success that he
devoted himself for the future to eastern commerce, buying
diamonds and other precious stones to dispose of in Europe.
After various journeys he fell ill on the Volga and died at
Moscow in 1689. His Voyages, published in Paris in 1677-79,
are a valuable authority on the trade and trade-routes of the
II] THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO 6/
East at the time, and especially on the diamond and other mines
of India. Another famous French traveller, Francois Bernier,
started for the East in 1654, and after visiting Syria and Egypt
made his way to India, where he resided some years as physician
to Aurungzeb. His accounts of the political affairs of the Mogul
empire, first published in 1670-71, give a valuable insight into
the events of the time, while his description of Kashmir, which
he visited himself, is the earliest, in any detail, that we possess.
Jean de Thevenot, nephew of the celebrated collector of
travels, Melchisedek Thevenot (himself, too, a traveller of some
note), made two extensive tours in the East, and died at Tauris in
1667 on his final return from India through Persia. His travels
were afterwards published at Paris in 1684. Sir John Chardin,
who, like Tavernier, was interested in the diamond trade, was the
son of a Paris jeweller. During two separate visits to the East,
he resided many years in Persia, and paid some attention to its
antiquities and history. He was knighted by Charles H during
a residence in London, where he commenced the publication
of his memoirs in 1686. The list may be closed with the
name of Dr John Fryer, a Cambridge graduate, who between
1672 and 1682 travelled through India and Persia in the interests
of the East India Company, and wrote a New accoufit of East
India atid Persia (1698), one of the most readable descriptions
of India in the seventeenth century that we have.
A word or two must be devoted in conclusion to European
travellers in Further India during this period. The establishment
of English trade in Siam has already been spoken of. The Dutch
too devoted some attention to that country as well as to the
neighbourmg kingdom of Cambodia, and their agents are said
even to have made journeys into the Laos countries on the
Mekong. After the early attempts of Pere de Rhodes to found
a mission in Cochin China, these regions were the scene of much
missionary enterprise on the part of the French Jesuits. Be-
tween 1660 and 1662, three bishops in turn set out for Siam and
the first and third of these, Mgr de la Mothe, bishop of Beirut,
and Mgr Pallu, bishop of Persepolis, reached their destination in
safety, taking the overland route to the Persian Gulf, crossing
India to MasuHpatam, and the Malay Peninsula near Tenasserim.
5—2
68 THE EAST INDIES, 160O-I7OO [CHAP. II
The overland passage from the Bay of Bengal to Siam via
Tenasserim, though involving many difficulties, was often used
at the time — among others by the servants of the East India
Company. It led up the Tenasserim river to Jelunga, whence it
crossed the watershed and debouched near the north-west corner
of the Gulf of Siam. An account of the journey of Mgr de la
Mothe was written by his companion M. de Bourges in 1666
while Pallu, who after returning to France went out again in
1670-73, published an account of his own journeys in 1682.
Other missionaries soon made their way to Siam, but French
intercourse with the country was not kept up only by these, for
various embassies were about this time exchanged between
Louis XIV and the king of Siam. The first French mission was
headed (1685) by the Chevalier de Chaumont, in whose company
various ecclesiastics sailed, including the Jesuit Tachard, and five
others of his order destined for China. Two accounts of the
embassy were written, one by the Jesuit just mentioned. In
1687-88 another French embassy reached Siam under M. de la
Loubere, whose account of the country, published in 1691, is the
best that has come down to us from this period. M. Tachard
made the voyage a second time with La Loubere, and again
published an account of his experiences. After this second
embassy, French interest in the affairs of Siam seems to have
declined.
For the neighbouring countries on the east coast of Further
India the various missionary reports, beginning with those of
Pere de Rhodes, contain the best contemporary information.
Many of the later accounts of the Jesuits were included in the
Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses of Legobien and Du Halde.
CHAPTER III
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42
We have reserved for a separate chapter the continuation of
our narrative of Dutch voyages to the East, from the importance
which attaches to them as finally setting at rest the question of
the existence of a continental land to the south-east of Asia — the
last great question of the kind to attain solution if we except the
Antarctic problem, still but partially solved in our own day. The
rapidly-narrowing Hmits of the unknown gave, in fact, little room
for uncertainty as to the broad distribution of land and water on
the globe, except just in the quarter where Australia was soon to
be disclosed in its main outlines. We have already referred to the
general belief in the existence of a Southern Continent, to which
the discovery of the Strait of Magellan — apparently separating
South America from another land-mass to the south — seemed to
give confirmation, and which led all navigators who lighted upon
new lands to the south to connect their discoveries with the same
mysterious land. The old notion that Java formed the northern
extremity of this supposed continent had not completely died out
at the close of the sixteenth century^ in spite of the fact that
Del Cano, Drake, and Cavendish had all passed to the southward
of the island. As we have seen, the first Dutch Eastern voyage,
under Houtman in 1595-96, finally set this doubt at rest as
regarded Java, but it was not until many years later that the
insular character of New Guinea was fully recognised, although
the existence of a strait separating it from a larger land to the
south had been surmised if not actually proved before the
^ Thus Linschoten, whose great work was published in 1595-6, still
expressed a doubt as to the insular character of Java.
/O AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAR
sixteenth century closed, as is seen from maps of Mercator,
Hondius, Wytfliet and others. When therefore the Dutch
applied themselves to southern discovery soon after their arrival
in the East, a practically untouched field lay before them in the
direction of Australia, for even conceding the possibility that its
coasts had been sighted during the early part of the sixteenth
century — and of this no satisfactory proof exists — there is no
doubt that geographers generally, and those of Holland in par-
ticular, were totally ignorant of any such discovery at the end of
the same century.
The point to which attention was first directed was New
Guinea. On the despatch of a vessel, the Duifken or "Little
Dove," in 1602 for the purpose of opening up trade with Ceram,
the Dutch authorities in Banda had already in mind the ac-
quisition of fuller knowledge respecting " Nova Guinea," and
although little was then accomplished, more success attended the
voyage of the Duifken in 1605^ The vessel, commanded by
Willem Janszoon of Amsterdam, sailed from Bantam on
November 28 of that year, bound for the eastern parts of the
Archipelago. After touching at the Ke and Aru groups the
Duifketi appears to have reached the coast of New Guinea in
Lat. 5° S. and to have followed the shores round Prince Frederick
Henry Island as far as the beginning of Torres Strait. Then
steering south the Dutch vessel traced the eastern shores of the
Gulf of Carpentaria, as far as 13° 45' S., having thus — for the first
time so far as record exists— sighted the coasts of Australia.
The true nature of Torres Strait — owing no doubt to the islands
with which it is strewn — was not recognised, but the whole of the
land seen was supposed to form part of New Guinea. The
greater part was uninhabited, but on one or more occasions
natives were seen, who are described as wild and black savages.
Nine of the crew were murdered by them while attempting to
1 The instructions to Tasman for his voyage of 1644, which constitute one
of the principal sources of information for previous Dutch voyages to New
Guinea and Australia, have been called in to support the opinion that the
Duifken sailed on this voyage in 1606. But from entries in Captain Saris's
journal, published by Purchas, there is no doubt that 1605 was the year.
Saris, using the old style, gives the date November 18.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 7 1
open up trade. The farthest point reached was named Cape
Keerweer ("Turn-again"), while — as we learn from a map of
Janssonius first published in 1633, which embodies the results of
the voyage — other names were given to points touched at, Prince
Frederick Henry Island and the opposite coast being laid down
respectively as Tyuri and Modder Eylandt. Some doubt has
been thrown on the statement that the Duifke?i reached the
latitude mentioned, and the attempt has been made to prove
that the ship did not even reach the entrance to Torres Strait.
This is due to the fact that subsequent explorers placed a
"Cape Keerweer" in the vicinity of Prince Frederick Henry
Island; but as the instructions to Tasman make mention of
a chart by the officers of the Duifken showing the Cape in
13° 45' S., while we learn from the journal of a subsequent voyage
(that of Carstenszoon in 1623) that the Duifken had at least been
in 11° 48' S., the objection has little weight.
The Duifken was back in Banda, as we learn from Saris,
before June 15, 1606, and the priority of discovery thus un-
doubtedly belongs to the Dutch as compared with the Spaniards
under Torres, who, as we shall shortly see, was still in the New
Hebrides towards the end of June of the same year. It has been
supposed, but on hardly sufficient evidence, that a second voyage
to New Guinea was made by the Duifken in 1606-7.
We must now turn to the Spanish Expedition, which left
Callao in Peru on December 21, 1605, under Pedro Fernandez de
Quiros, and formed, it may be said, the closing episode of the
great epoch of Spanish maritime discovery^ The expedition
consisted of two ships and a launch, the second ship being
commanded by Luis Vaez de Torres. Quiros had accompanied
Alvaro de Mendana as pilot on his second expedition of 1595,
during which, in the search for the Solomon Islands, the Santa
Cruz group had been reached. On this voyage his imagination
had been fired by the idea of the great southern continent, which
he imagined to lie in the neighbourhood of Santa Cruz, and
which he thought would offer a magnificent field for colonisation.
This idea took so much hold of Quiros that he devoted the rest
^ Although in the service of Spain, Quiros, like Magellan, was a Portu-
guese by birth. His native place is said to have been Evora.
72 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
of his life, though without success, to the task of discovering this
land. Among his associates Quiros was regarded more or less as
a visionary, and was besides unpopular as a Portuguese, a fact
which must have greatly stood in the way of success.
The object of the expedition of 1605-6 was the colonisation
of Santa Cruz as well as the search for the great southern land.
By the help of the various accounts which have come down to
us^ — which are in many ways fuller than those of other early
Pacific voyages — we are able to trace Avith some precision the
course followed, which brought the voyagers in view of many
more islands than had been seen in most previous voyages. For
800 leagues Quiros steered S.W. by W., but on reaching the
latitude of 26° began, contrary to the advice of Torres, to reduce
his latitude, and thus appears to have passed through the centre
of the Low Archipelago. The islets seen were for the most part
uninhabited, and afforded no anchorage. On February 10,
however, in about i8°io' S., a "flat island with a point to the
south-east full of palm trees " was found to be inhabited, and the
people proved friendly, though timid. Two days later the ships
ran along an island described by De Leza as sunk in the middle
like a piece of sea surrounded by land. It was 25 leagues long
and six broad, and lay in 16° 30' S. This latitude is that of the
typical atoll Fakarava, with which the description is in striking
agreement, though from the length assigned to it it is possible that
other atolls running in the same general direction were included
in the estimate^. Still making northing, the ships reached Lat.
10° 45', and for more than a month the direction varied little from
west, the ships passing north of Samoa and the Fiji group. The
crew of Quiros's vessel were now inclined to mutiny, and the
failure to take prompt measures seems to have ultimately led to
the partial failure of the enterprise. Another inhabited island
was passed, and in the endeavour to obtain a much needed
^ These include, besides the memoirs of Quiros himself, narratives by
Torres, by the pilot De Leza, and by the accountant Juan de Iturbe, with
some other contemporary documents. The voyage is also described by
Torquemada in his Monarquia Indiana.
2 The first inhabited island has been identified, by the late Admiral Sir
W. J. Wharton, with the atoll of Anaa (or Chain Island), in which case the
atoll sighted on February 12 would be one of those to the N.W. of Fakarava.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 73
water-supply some slight collisions occurred. At length the high
island of Taumaku, 60 leagues short of Santa Cruz, was reached,
and after friendly dealings with the natives a more southerly
course was steered, which led past the northern outliers of the
New Hebrides to the largest island of the group, traversed by
lofty chains of mountains, which received the name of Espiritu
Santo. The ships anchored in the bay on the northern coast,
which was named after St Philip and St James. Quiros appears
to have made plans for the establishment of a settlement, which
was to be called New Jerusalem ; but being forced during a squall
to run out of the bay, and the weather not suffering him to
return, he after a few days steered north, and when in the latitude
of Guam shaped a course for Acapulco, which was reached on
November 23, 1606.
This proceeding of Quiros in abandoning the enterprise
without a more serious attempt to communicate with his second
in command has been much criticised, and the reasons for such
a course are by no means obvious. One explanation is found in
a letter of Don Diego de Prado, who accompanied Torres on his
further voyage and who states that Quiros had virtually been
carried a prisoner to Mexico by a mutinous crew. No such
reason is given by either De Leza or Juan de Iturbe, which
would be intelligible enough if, as is possible, these were in-
culpated in the mutiny. Quiros returned to Spain and urged on
the government, but without success, the desirability of further
efforts for the discovery of the southern lands, which he variously
names Austr(i)alia del Espiritu Santo, Indias Australes, or by
analogous terms. Setting out in 16 14 to make a last attempt,
independently of government aid, he died without proceeding
further than Panama.
Through the return of Quiros from Espiritu Santo it came
about that the most important discoveries of the voyage fell to
the share of Torres, whose subsequent achievements entitle him
to a high place among the navigators of the seventeenth century.
They are clearly described in the letter addressed by him from
Manila to the Spanish king on July 12, 1607. The separation of
the ships occurred on June 11, 1606, after which date Torres
waited 15 days in the bay of St Philip and St James, in the
74 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
expectation of Quiros's return. It was then decided to proceed
without the flag-ship, and the island of Espiritu was coasted for
some distance, although the strong currents prevented its circum-
navigation. Having sailed on a south-west course for a consider-
able distance without sign of land, Torres turned N.N.W. and
fell in with land in 11^30', which he took for the beginning of
New Guinea. In reality it would seem to have been one of the
islands of the Louisiade group, possibly Tagula or Sudest^ For,
from a legend on Don Diego de Prado's chart of the lands
about China Strait (named by him Tierra de la Buenaventura)
we learn that this strait — at the extreme east of New Guinea —
was reached on July 18, after vain endeavours to approach the
land during the preceding five days by reason of the dangerous
reefs. This shows that land had been previously sighted, as is
also indicated by the latitude of the first landfall, and the name
applied to the whole country, this being derived from a festival
falling on July 14. The further course is somewhat uncertain, as
the distances given are exaggerated and the latitudes do not
always fit in with any possible course. Torres seems to have
sailed along the Louisiade reef and the south coast of New
Guinea (where the first navigators to follow him were Bougain-
ville and Cook), as far as g'' S., where shoals compelled him to
resume a south-west course as far as 11° S.- Here large islands
^ Torres uses an ambiguous phrase with regard to the distance sailed on a
south-west course, saying that he passed " the latitude " by a degree. He had
already spoken of " the order " for the regulation of the voyage, so that the
phrase would seem to refer to the latitude fixed upon to be reached towards
the south after leaving Santa Cruz. From Quiros's memoirs we know that this
was 20°, so that, passing this by a degree, Torres would reach 21°, which is in
fact stated to have been the case in the memorial of Arias. A S.W. course to
this latitude, followed by a N.N.W. one, would just bring the navigator to
Sudest Island.
2 Torres's latitudes have caused commentators some difficulty here. He
says the shoal which commenced at 9° S. stretched along the coast until
7° 30' S., and "the extremity is 5" [degrees?], whereas the head of the Gulf
of Papua is hardly so far north as 7° 30'. The difficulty is removed if we con-
sider that 5° gives the latitude of the final termination of shoal water north of
the Aru Islands, and this fits in well with the subsequent statement, that after
going along the shoal for two months the voyagers (after the passage of Torres
Strait) found themselves in 25 fathoms and in 5° latitude. In this case it would
be possible that the head of the Gulf of Papua was not reached.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 75
were seen, which must have been in the neighbourhood of Cape
York Peninsula — itself possibly sighted. After two months' coast-
ing of the shoal, the latitude of 5° S. was reached, and here the
coast trended north-east and could not be followed on account
of shoal water. Apart from the latitude this point would agree
well with False Cape, the south-west point of Prince Frederick
Henry Island, the shoal water recalling the Modder (Mud)
Eylandt and Modder Grondt of Dutch navigators in this locality.
A northerly course brought the voyagers to another coast
running east and west in 4°, which was rightly considered to be
still a part of New Guinea. It was followed to the W.N.VV., and
near its termination clothed " Moors " were met with, who gave
information regarding affairs at the Moluccas. Leaving New
Guinea and passing through a sea strewn with islands, Torres
reached Batjan and proceeded via Ternate to Manila, where he
seems to have arrived in May, 1607.
By this voyage Torres had conclusively proved the insular
character of New Guinea, of the southern portions of which he
had taken formal possession in the name of the King of Spain.
In the state of decadence into which that empire had now
entered, these important discoveries were, however, little heeded,
and the world at large remained in total ignorance of them for
nearly two centuries. The Dutch still believed in a connection
between New Guinea and Australia, or at least regarded the
question as still open, even their great navigator Tasman re-
maining in ignorance on the subject. It was not until the
narrative of Torres had fallen into the hands of Alexander
Dalrymple after the capture of Manila by the English in 1762,
that full justice was done to the merits of Torres, and his name
applied to the strait discovered by him \
Another Pacific voyage, of some importance in the history of
discovery, was that of the Dutch navigators Willem Corneliszoon
^ A map, now lost, showing the results of Torres's discoveries, was prepared
by Don Diego de Prado, already alluded to. Plans by the same hand of bays
and harbours on the coasts visited have, however, come down to us, and are
generally accurate in their delineation. They were first reproduced in the
Boletin of the Madrid Geographical Society, Vol. 4, 1878, and subsequently
in Collingridge's Discovery of Atisiralia, chapter XL], and elsewhere.
y6 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, which belongs to the second
decade of the seventeenth century. This expedition, which
sailed from the Texel on June 14, 161 5, was not carried out
under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company, although
the latter had obtained the monopoly of all trading voyages to
the east of the Cape, or through the Strait of Magellan. To
elude the restrictions thus imposed on outsiders, a company of
merchants headed by Isaac Le Maire (father of Jacob) fitted out
two ships, the Eendracht and Hoorn, to search for a passage to
the South Sea south of Magellan's Strait. It was regarded as
possible that rich countries, with which trade might be opened
up, might be found in the supposed Southern Continent beyond
Tierra del Fuego. The insular character of the latter had already
been virtually proved by the voyages of Drake and others, which
had in fact much shaken the grounds for the belief in any
continental land immediately to the south of America ^ The
conservatism of geographers, however, had refused to abandon
the old idea. On January 24, 1616, the Dutch captains sighted
the passage between Tierra del Fuego and the smaller island to
the east, and conferred on it the name Le Maire Strait. To the
island — not recognised as such at the time — the name Staten Land
was given, in honour of the States General of the Netherlands.
On January 29, the ships were off Cape Horn, the southernmost
point of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, which received its
name from the town of Hoorn, the birthplace of Schouten, and
the port where the expedition had been equipped". Soon after-
wards the voyagers had before them the wide waters of the South
Sea.
Before continuing the narrative of Schouten's voyage, the
later explorations in this region may be briefly referred to. In
1618-19 an expedition to examine Le Maire Strait was undertaken
by the brothers Bartolome' Garcia and Goncalo de Nodal, who
sailed from Lisbon for the purpose. The strait was also navigated
^ So early as 1525, one of the ships of the squadron of Garcia de Loaysa
had found an open sea in latitude ^1°, and the crew even imagined they
discerned the termination of Tierra del Fuego.
- It is possible that Drake had already seen Cape Horn, as he is said by
his chronicler to have reached " the uttermost part of those islands."
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 J J
by the Dutch "Nassau" fleet under Jaques I'Heremite (or le
Hermite) in 1624. On this occasion, after doubling Cape Horn,
the Dutch navigators examined and named Nassau Bay to the
north of the Cape Horn group of islands, which seems to have
been considered a single island. It was named Le Hermite, a
name now borne by the westernmost of the group. The insular
character of Staten Land was discovered by Hendrik Brouwer —
at one time Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies — during
his voyage to Chile in 1643.
To return to Schouten's expedition, the principal objective of
which was, as we have seen, the supposed continent to the south
of the Pacific Ocean. In accordance with his instructions,
therefore, Schouten did not, Hke most of his predecessors, steer
a northerly course along the coast of South America, but after
refreshing at Juan Fernandez (discovered during the previous
century by the Spanish navigator of that name) struck north-west
and followed in the main the track of Magellan, crossing the
tropic of Capricorn on March ii^ The reason for coming
northward to this latitude was the necessity for obtaining the help
of the trade winds in the voyage across the ocean. By April 3
the navigators had reached 15° 12' S. and found that the compass
showed no variation^ The first island — one of the northernmost
of the Low Archipelago — was here sighted, and named Dog
Island. From this point the course for several weeks diverged
1 The year before Schouten and Le Maire sailed, another great Dutch
expedition under Joris Spilbergen had proceeded to the East by the Pacific
route, and thus effected the second Dutch circumnavigation of the globe.
Spilbergen sailed up the American coast to Acapulco before crossing the
Pacific, and his voyage brought little addition to geographical knowledge.
It is interesting, however, as supplying the first record of an eruption of the
great volcano Mayon (" Albaca " or Albay) in the Philippines.
- The Dutch voyages supply the means of reconstructing the isogonic chart
for the period, which has been done by Prof. W. van Bemmelen in an
appendix to Tasman's journal, edited in 1898 by Prof. J. E. Heeres. The
passage from westerly declination (which seems to have prevailed throughout
a closed area in the Eastern Pacific) to easterly had been recorded, at a point
a little to the south-west of that here reached, during the voyage of Quiros and
Torres. The latter found the variation to be nil on the south coast of New
Guinea, this marking the commencement of the great area of westerly declina-
tion occurring in the Indian Ocean.
78 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP,
little from 15° S., and, after some of the large western atolls of
the Low Archipelago had been passed, led them for a time south
of the tracks of all previous voyagers. Islands were still seen
and some of the well-known double canoes of the Polynesians
were met with. On May 11, the Samoan group having been left
on the north, two small islands were seen in 16° 10' — the one
high, being formed of a single mountain, the other somewhat
lower, and lying two leagues to the southward. These islands —
named by the Dutch Cokos (Coconut) Eiland, and Verraders
(Traitor's) Eiland respectively — are the modern Tafahi or Bos-
cawen and Niuatabutabu or Keppel, lying centrally between the
Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa groups.
Having held to the south of west to the latitude named
without finding any signs of a continent, Schouten now sailed
north and north-west so as to make the north coast of New
Guinea. Several other small islands having been passed, the
coast of New Ireland, never before visited, was struck, and taken
to be the termination of New Guinea. Passing to the northward
of this island and New Hanover, the ships made the coast of
New Guinea near Vulcan Island, and followed it westward to its
termination, finally, after being tossed about by contrary winds,
anchoring off Jilolo on September 5. On the north coast of
New Guinea the Dutch had of course been preceded by the
Spaniards and Portuguese (Jorge de Meneses in 1526-27, Saavedra
in 1528, and Ynigo Ortiz de Retes in 1545), but some additions
were made to the knowledge of its geography, and the nomen-
clature of our maps still bears traces of the voyage in Vulcan and
Schouten Islands, and in the Cape of Good Hope, the north-
west point of the main island. On reaching Jacatra (Batavia) the
Eendracht and her cargo (the Hoorn having previously been
burnt) were arbitrarily seized by the Governor Jans Pieterszoon
Coen on the ground of infringement of the Company's mono-
poly. Jacob le Maire died — of vexation it is said — during the
homeward voyage with Spilbergen.
The next Dutch voyage of circumnavigation — that of the
"Nassau" fleet under Le Hermite in 1623-26 — accomplished little
in the way of geographical discovery. After an attempt, attended
with little success on the Spanish possessions in Peru, the fleet
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 79
proceeded to Acapulco after Le Hermite's death, and crossed the
Pacific in about 17^ N. Observations for magnetic declination
were made during the voyage.
The expedition of Schouten and Le Maire had been un-
successful with regard to the discovery of the Southern Continent.
Nor did more success attend another scheme for the examination
of the supposed continental lands to the south of the Atlantic.
Either in 161 5 or quite early in 16 16 a Dutch ship, the Mauritius
de Nassau^ appears to have sailed for Angola under the command
of one Jan Remmetszoon, with the ultimate aim of exploring the
Terra Australis westward, and if possible discovering a new
passage to the South Sea. Nothing is known, however, of the
voyage of this ship.
We have seen that the first part of the shores of Australia to
be visited by the Dutch was the eastern shore of the Gulf of
Carpentaria, reached by the Duifkeji in 1606. It was some
years before exploration was carried farther in this direction, and
meanwhile other discoveries had been made in a totally different
quarter of the island continent. In 16 16 the Directors of the
Dutch East India Company, wishing to find a better route to
Java than that usually followed, had given orders to captains
saihng to the east by the Cape route to take a more southerly
course across the Indian Ocean than had hitherto been the
custom. In following these directions the Ee?idrackt, commanded
by Dirk Hartogszoon of Amsterdam, unexpectedly fell in (October,
161 6) with the west coast of Australia, or rather with the ad-
jacent island, in Lat. 26° S., still known as Dirk Hartog Island.
During the further voyage to Bantam the neighbouring coast was
examined in a northerly direction and soon received the name
Eendrachtsland after the ship which made the discovery, being at
once regarded as part of the long-sought Southern Continent.
Further discoveries along the same coast were soon made. In
161 7 the Zeewolf, with Haevick Claeszoon as skipper and Pieter
Dirkszoon as supercargo, sailed east in 39° N. and, turning north,
struck land in about 21° 20' S., which was thought to be probably
a mainland coast. A year later Lenaert Jacobszoon in the
Mauritius reached the same coast in about 22° S., but took it for
80 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
an island. He seems to have discovered a river, which was
named Willems Revier {sic). Again in 161 9 the Dordrecht and
Amsterda??i, two of the ships of the fleet of Frederik Houtman
(who sailed in the Dordrecht) struck the south land in 32° 20' S.
on July 19. Steering north and sighting various points along the
coast until 27° was reached, the commanders came to the con-
clusion that all the land seen formed part of the mainland
discovered by Dirk Hartogszoon. The rocks subsequently known
as Houtman's Abrolhos were discovered on this voyage, while the
land first seen received the name Dedelsland after the supercargo
of the Amsterdam. The most southerly portion of the west coast
was discovered in 1622 by the Leeiavm, which name is still borne
by the cape which marks the final change of direction of the coast.
Of the subsequent voyages to this western coast, which
continued to be made during another decade and more, we can
refer to two only — that of Gerrit de Witt in 1628, and that of
Francois Pelsaert in 1629. The former, during the homeward
voyage from Java, was carried southward and reached that part
of the coast (at the beginning of the north-west section) afterwards
known as De Witt's land. The latter in 1629 lost his ship, the
Batavia, on the Houtman's Abrolhos, and, during a voyage to
Batavia in one of the boats, surveyed the coast from 28° 13' to
22° 17'. After many attempts, rendered ineffectual by the pre-
cipitous nature of the coast, and the breakers which beat against
it, a landing w^as at last effected. The land was utterly barren,
but natives were seen, though no communication could be opened
with them. Pelsaert returned from Batavia to rescue those of
the crew left at the Abrolhos, but discovering a plot, executed
some of the conspirators and abandoned two others on the
mainland. In the space of 13 years almost the whole western
coast had thus been visited from Cape Leeuwin to about 21°, and
the results of most of the voyages are well shown in the chart of
Hessel Gerritz, cartographer to the East India Company, compiled
in 1627 from the journals and drawings of the pilots.
Meanwhile the voyage of a single ship, the Gulden Zeepaard,
had in 1627 resulted in a knowledge of the whole southern coast
as far east as 133° — a distance exceeding that covered by the
whole series of voyages to the west coast already described.
in] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 8 1
Unfortunately, hardly anything is known of the details of this
voyage. The Zcepaard^ commanded by Frangois Thijszoon, and
having on board Pieter Nuyts, member of the Indian Council^
appears to have been separated from the rest of an eastward
bound fleet which sailed in 1626, and to have surveyed the soutb
coast of Australia between January and April 1627, arriving at
Batavia on the loth of the latter month. Of the reality of the
discovery there can be no doubt, from the comparative accuracy
of the delineation of the coast visited, on charts of a slightly later
date, before any other vessel had followed in the track of the
Zeepaard. These show in their proper places both the Recherche
Archipelago and that still known by the name of Pieter Nuyts,
which formed the eastern limit of discovery. The islands of
St Peter and St Francis, which still figure in our maps as the
principal units of the latter group, received their names on this
occasion, while the land to the north of the Great Australian
Bight was long known as that of Pieter Nuyts.
While these discoveries were being made — more by accident
than design — in the south and west, exploration had already been
resumed in the extreme north. On January 21, 1623, Herman
van Speult, Governor of Amboina, despatched two ships, the
Arnhein and Pera, under the chief command of Jan Carstenszoon,
to continue the work of the Duifkefi on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
New Guinea was reached in a^ 17' S. and the coast followed in
an easterly direction. A collision — fatal to several Dutchmen —
again took place with the natives \ On February 16, high
mountains, streaked with snow, were seen in the interior —
evidently the central snowy chain of Western New Guinea, the
exploration of which, entirely neglected down to our own day, has
been taken up energetically since the beginning of the present
century. Its highest known peak — over 15,000 feet in height —
has been named Mount Carstensz, after the old Dutch navigator
now claiming our attention. On reaching 7° S. the coast was
found to trend to the S.W.-, and on this account a point of land
^ It will be remembered that nine of the crew of the Dtiifken lost their
lives in a similar way.
- Prince Frederick Henry Island was taken for a part of the mainland^
though its insular character had been recognised during the voyage of the
Duifken.
H. 6
82 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
was named Cape Keerweer — not to be confounded with the cape
of the same name on the Gulf of Carpentaria, reached by the
Didfkeji. The shallows in Torres Strait — mistaken for a bay —
again proved a hindrance to eastward progress, and the ships
turned south along the Australian coast, supposed to be still part
of New Guinea. On reaching 17° 8', where the Staten river was
discovered and named, it was resolved to turn back and explore
the coast more carefully. The two ships became separated, and
Carstenszoon in the Pera, after discovering and naming other
rivers on the coast of the Cape York Peninsula, made his way
back by way of the Aru islands. Of the proceedings of the
Arnheni after the separation, little certain information is avail-
able. However, from the instructions drawn up for the next
voyage in this direction it appears that that vessel had, between
9° and 13°, discovered new lands, not recognised as forming part
of the mainland, which received the names Arnhem's and Speult's
lands. Although these cannot be strictly identified, there can be
little doubt that they were projecting points (or possibly islands)
of that part of the Northern Territory of Australia which still
bears the name Arnhem Land\
It was not until 1636 that further steps were taken to extend
the discoveries in this direction. In that year Gerrit Thomaszoon
Pool and Pieter Pieterszoon sailed from Banda for New Guinea,
which was struck at a point more to the west than had been the
case in the previous expeditions. The islands and bays of a part
of the western peninsula of the island were thus explored'-. As
on the former voyages, the natives proved treacherous, and Pool
and several of his crew lost their lives at or near the scene of the
former disaster. Pieterszoon, who succeeded to the command,
soon proceeded to the Aru and Ke islands, whence, standing
south, he advanced as far as 11° 8', discovering two stretches of
coast, east and west of each other, and separated by a channel.
These can l)e no other than Melville Island and a part of the
^ The question has been discussed by Prof. Heeres in the editorial portion
of his edition of TasmaiCs loiirnal, pp. roi-2. The position generally
assigned to Arnhem Land is confirmed by the facts connected with Pool's
voyage, and by contemporary charts.
'^ This coast had already been visited by Torres, as is shown by De Prado's
charts. But the Dutch were in ignorance of the results of his voyage.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 83
adjacent mainland. The new coastline received the names of
Van Diemen's and Maria's land — the former name being still
applied to the north-west point of Melville Island — though the
conjecture was made by the Dutch authorities that it was
identical with Arnhem's or Speult's islands already discovered ^
The voyages of Carstenszoon and Pool had thus resulted in
some new discoveries, but had not succeeded in clearing up the
relations to each other of the various coasts discovered, nor to
the more western lands of Eendracht, De Witt, etc. They had
also rather strengthened than weakened the belief in a connection
between New Guinea and the South Land. To clear up the
former point was reserved for the great navigator Tasman, whose
career of discovery was now opening.
Although Tasman's fame rests chiefly on his Australian dis-
coveries, his earlier work was concerned with more northern parts
of the Eastern Seas, so that we must glance briefly at the course
of discovery in the region to the north before continuing the story
in its bearing on Australia. In the archipelago west of New
Guinea httle of course remained to be done in the way of
maritime discovery after the close of the sixteenth century. Yet,
owing to the fact that ships followed fixed routes from one part to
another, certain restricted areas had remained almost unvisited.
One of these was the sea to the north of Ceram, which lay off the
main routes connecting the most important positions in the
Archipelago.
To bring about a better knowledge of this sea was, as it
happened, the first important task in which Tasman took part
after his arrival in the East. Born about 1603 in the small
village of Lutjegast, Abel Janszoon Tasman, after being twice
married, seems to have entered the service of the East India
Company in 1632 or 1633. In 1634 he sailed as skipper of the
Mocha, on the Ceram voyage just referred to. Owing to the
^ Prof. Heeres {loc. cit.), after showing that Speiilt's land must have lain
to the east of Arnhem's land, throws out the suggestion that the former may
possibly have been the Groote Eylandt on the west side of the Gulf of
Carpentaria. This, however, is considerably south of 13°, while, in view of
the way in which the northern coast of Arnhem's land is broken by bays, it is
unnecessary to go far to find two apparently distinct lands which might have
borne the names in question.
6—2
84 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
stormy nature of the seas south of Ceram ^ during the eastern
monsoon, it was thought that a better though circuitous route
from Amboina to Banda at this season might be found by the
north of the island ; and the verification of this conjecture, which
formed the object of the voyage, was fully attained, though
Tasman's crew came into collision with the natives on the south-
east coast of Ceram. A chart — still in existence — showing the
whole north coast of Ceram, was prepared as a result of the
voyage.
For some time after this Tasman was engaged in unexciting
operations in the archipelago, and it was not till 1639, after
a brief visit to the Netherlands, that he was again employed on
a voyage of discovery. He had meanwhile become expert in the
art of navigation, his skill and experience being spoken of in
high terms by the authorities in 1638.
The scene of the new explorations was to be in the western
part of the northern Pacific, which, although regularly traversed
by the Spanish ships sailing from the Philippines to Mexico, gave
free scope, by reason of its huge expanse, to stories of all sorts
regarding the existence of rich countries still awaiting the advent
of merchants. The eastward route generally followed across the
Pacific is described in De Morga's Philippines (1609) as varying
between east and north, until, after sighting the Ladrones and
passing between certain islands rarely seen in 38° N., the ships
eventually reached a latitude of 42°. During the latter part of
the voyage the course was south-east, the coast of America being
struck between 40° and 36° and followed southward to Acapulco^
The islands supposed to lie in 38° had for some unexplained reason
acquired the names Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata (Rich in Gold
and Rich in Silver). In addition to these, two rich well-peopled
islands were said to have been discovered before 1584, between
35° and 40°, by a Portuguese ship carried by storms for nine days
to the east of Japan. Unsuccessful attempts were made by the
Spaniards to discover these islands, especially by the voyage of
Sebastian Vizcaino, who reached Japan from Mexico in 16 11. In
^ The reason for this circuitous route was, of course, the avoidance of the
trade-winds and the utilisation of the south-westerly winds of more northern
latitudes.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 85
1635 accounts of these mysterious islands, said to abound in gold
and silver, and to be inhabited by a white race of fine physique
and gentle manners, reached the Dutch authorities in the Eastern
Archipelago through an agent in Japan named Verstegen, and
after some delay it was decided in 1639 to despatch an ex-
pedition in search of them\
Two ships, the Engel and Graft, were fitted out, and the chief
command was entrusted to Matthijs Hendricxsen Quast, a captain
of much experience in the Japanese and other Eastern trade,
while Tasman, captain of the Grafts was second in command.
The ships proved in bad condition, and sickness soon broke out
among the crews, so that the whole voyage was carried out in the
face of great difficulties. In spite of these, however, and the
necessary failure to find the non-existent lands of which they
were in search, Quast and Tasman did valuable work in charting
a portion of the eastern seas of which the previous maps seem
to have been very faulty, their observations being made with sur-
prising accuracy, considering the instruments then in use.
Passing to the north of Bangka, where islands not previously
marked were placed on the chart, the ships, after recruiting at
Pulo Aur near the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula,
steered for the island of Luzon, which was found to lie more to
the east than it had hitherto been placed. Passing round the
north end of that island (the south-west wind being unfavour-
able for the proposed course to the south of it), and continuing
their survey, the commanders steered east and north-east, and
after a time fell in with the Bonin Islands, of which they made
the first recorded discovery. A wearisome cruise through the
seas east of Japan now ensued, during which, after the Japanese
coast had been sighted through fog in about 37° N., the ships
advanced eastward without sight of land to about 170° E. It was
now proposed to return and survey the coasts of Tartary, Korea,
and China — a task which formed part of the two captains' com-
mission— but the wretched state of the ships made it imperative
^ Verstegen apparently based his information on the reports of the Portu-
guese ship above alluded to, although he ascribes the discovery to a Spanish ship.
It seems possible that the Portuguese ship, if such it was, really struck the
coast of Japan near 40° N. after being driven hither and thither by storms.
S6 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
to return to port as quickly as possible. After reaching the
latitude of 42°, the coast of Nippon seems to have been struck
near its south-east point, a very high mountain, answering to
Fujiyama, being sighted. The east coast of Kiusiu was next
reached, proving to lie farther west than the charts had led the
explorers to expect ; and, after its southern point had been
doubled, a course was laid for Formosa, where, on November 24,
the ships anchored, none too soon, before the Dutch fortress of
Zeelandia.
During the next few years Tasman was pretty constantly
engaged on trading voyages for the Dutch to Japan, Formosa,
Cambodia, and elsewhere \ The authorities had not, however,
been permanently discouraged by the failure of the expedition
of 1639, and in 1643 it was resolved to make yet another
attempt, the objects in view being again the exploration of the
coasts of Tartary and the search for the gold and silver islands.
The command was this time entrusted to Marten Gerritszoon
Vries, with Hendrik CorneHszoon Schaep as second in command,
the ships being the Kastrikom and Breskens. The unknown
regions of the north practically began at the island of Yezo,
for though this had already been visited (1620) by the Jesuit
missionaries De AngeHs and Carvalho, it was still doubted by
geographers, and even by the Dutch in Japan, whether it were
really an independent island, or joined either to Nippon on
the south-, or to the mainland of Asia on the west. This voyage
of Vries failed to solve the question completely, though it con-
siderably extended the bounds of knowledge. The two ships,
which sailed from Batavia on February 3, 1643, narrowly escaped
wreck on a small island south of the outer point of Nippon, and
becoming separated, continued the voyage independently. Vries
himself in the Kastrikofn sailed up the east coast of Nippon and
reached Yezo without definitely proving the existence of an
^ The relations of the Dutch with Cambodia commenced in i6or, and in
1636 they obtained permission to build a factory there. Tasman in 1641 sailed
up the Bassak, or eastern mouth of the Mekong.
^ It was known that a visit to Yezo from Nippon entailed a sea voyage,
but this was sometimes ascribed to the difficult nature of the supposed land
journey.
Ill]
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42
87
intervening strait. Coasting the latter island with high snowy
mountains now and then in sight, the voyagers reached its eastern
point near a summit which they called Piek Anthonij. Friendly
relations were maintained with the inhabitants, who possessed
many ornaments of silver, which led the Dutch to conclude that
mines existed in their country. Still sailing north-east they
discovered an island — apparently Iturup — and beyond it a strait
JT"/^.^^ rv?-^ ./eso- Puk^i^
\.
Dutch chart showing results of Vries's voyage. {Outline sketch.)
dividing it from another land to the east. The former was
named Staten Island, while the supposed large land to the east
received the name "Compagnies Landt." Both were filled with
bare shining mountains. Passing through the strait, still named
after the Dutch commander, the voyagers entered a stormy sea,
in which they advanced as far north as 48°. Then, driven back
by adverse winds, they made the coast of Sakhalin, which they
S8 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
took to be still a part of Yezo. This was explored from Cape
Patience (in about 49°) almost to its southern point, the ship
afterwards returning through Vries Strait to the south coast
of Yezo. Interesting information as to the land and its people
was here obtained, especially from a Japanese sailor, who
declared that Yezo was an island. The hairy inhabitants (Ainus)
were described, the women's custom of marking their lips with
blue being mentioned. Vries afterwards sailed eastward in
37° 30' in search of the gold and silver islands, but of course
without success.
The voyage of the Breskens also resulted in some discoveries.
Passing the entrance to the strait between Nippon and Yezo,
Schaep sailed along the coast of the latter, but, instead of
sailing through Vries Strait, continued on the outer side of the
Kurile chain, reaching the latitude 47° 8', twelve degrees east of
the east point of Nippon. Touching at the Japanese coast on
his return voyage, he was arrested and taken to the capital, but
ultimately released. The Breskens meanwhile also made an
unavailing search for the fabulous islands.
The discoveries of Vries and his comrades were not followed
up by new voyages, and it was not till a century later that the
geography of the Japanese islands was finally made clear by the
voyage of La Perouse.
We now come to the great expedition which was for the first
time to shed light on the true relations of the southern lands
hitherto discovered by the Dutch. It had long been wished by
the Government in the Archipelago, no less than by the authorities
at home, that the uncertainties which enveloped the mysterious
southern continent might be cleared away, and at length on
August I, 1642, a resolution was arrived at to despatch two ships,
the Hee7nskerk and Zeehaen^ for that object. Tasman was chosen
as Commander-in-chief, while the captains of the vessels were,
respectively, Yde Holman and Gerrit Janszoon. The most
responsible oflicer next to Tasman was, however, the pilot-major
Frans Jacobszoon Visscher, already alluded to in connection
with surveying work in the East, who was perhaps the most
experienced and trusted pilot in the service of the Dutch at the
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 89
time. The principal objects which the authorities had in view
were the exploration (as far south as 54°) of the Southern Indian
Ocean, whose broad expanse had never yet been traversed by
a European ship much beyond 40° \ and the discovery of a
passage — which they confidently expected to exist — between
Eendrachtsland and other known parts of Australia, and the
main mass of the southern continent. It was hoped that in this
direction a convenient route might be found by which to open up
trade with the remote shores of Chile. The solution of the
problem of the connection or non-connection of New Guinea
with the more southern lands also formed part of the programme,
and Tasman was instructed to sail along the whole northern
coasts of the latter, if possible as far as Willems River in 21° N.
The ships sailed from Batavia in Java on August 14, 1642,
and passing through the Straits of Sunda, proceeded first to
Mauritius, where some defects in the equipment were made good.
On October 8, a new start was made, a general southerly course
being steered until almost 40° had been reached, after which the
direction was changed to south-east. In about the longitude of
Kerguelen Land —although according to the reckoning some 4^°
north of its true position {i.e. in 44° 47' S.) — dark foggy weather
was experienced, and as apparent signs of land were seen in the
form of floating weed, grass, and leaves, it was deemed prudent
on account of the fog to change the course again for a more
easterly one. The highest latitude was reached in about 97" E.,
and though only 49° 4' according to Tasman's computation, even
this was full 10° south of any point hitherto reached in that longi-
tude. At length on November 4, at 4 p.m., very high land never
before reached by European navigators was sighted, the position at
noon the same day being estimated as in Lat. 42° 25' S., and in a
longitude corresponding to 145° 52' east of Greenwich^
^ As we have seen, from 1616 onwards, outward-bound ships often steered
east, after passing the Cape, in latitudes of 38^ and 39°. The governor. Van
Diemen, in 1633 seems to have passed 40°.
2 Tasman's longitudes were no doubt calculated from the Peak of Tenerife,
through which passed the initial meridian generally used by the Dutch at the
time. That of Ferro — considered to be exactly 20° west of Paris — had been
formally adopted in France in 1634, and were this the zero line used by
90 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
This new land was the south-west coast of the island now
known as Tasmania, but named by Tasman "Anthony Van
Diemens Landt," in honour of the famous governor of the Dutch
East Indies. It was found that the needle here pointed due
north, the last 4° of westerly variation having fallen off very
abruptly. This, Tasman says, is a useful sign of the approach to
the land. From November 4 to December 5 the ships were
cruising off the coast, surveying when possible its bays, capes, and
islands, which were duly set down on a chart. Stormy weather
was experienced, and it was not till December 2 that a landing
could be effected. iVccording to the report of the pilot-major,
the land was high but level, covered with wild vegetation, the
trees standing apart and not choked with undergrowth. Signs of
the presence of natives were seen, two trees having notches made
in the bark at five feet intervals to enable the natives to climb to
their tops. From this the sailors concluded that the people must
be of immense stature. Foot-prints of animals not unlike those
made by a tiger's claws were also seen. The following day
Tasman himself landed, but on a second attempt the pinnace was
unable to reach the shore on account of the surf; the carpenter
therefore swam ashore with a pole marked with the Company's
mark, which he set up as a symbol of possession \ The voyage
was continued past the islands of the east coast, but on reaching
the point now known as Freycinet Peninsula it was found no
longer possible to steer near the coast, so the voyage was resumed
in an easterly direction.
This course had been held for eight days only, when, on
December 13, another hitherto undiscovered land appeared
in sight. It lay to the south-east and was extensive and high,
but desolate, consisting, as was afterwards found to be the case,
of a double mountain range, compared by Tasman with those
of Formosa. This was the west coast of the south island of
New Zealand, and the part first sighted lay in about 42^ 10' S.
Tasman, his results would be still more accurate than on the former sup-
position. His pilot-major Visscher is known, however, to have reckoned
from Tenerife.
1 This was on the shore of Frederick Henry (" Henricx ") Bay on the east
coast, to the south of Maria's Island.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 9 1
Believing this to be part of the South Land and to be connected
with the Staten Land of Schouten and Le Alaire, the navigators
called this also Staten Land. Sailing northward along the coast
in view of the surf breaking on the shore, the voyagers passed the
rocks of Cape Foulwind, known to this day as the Steeples, to
which objects they were likened by Tasman. Then rounding
Cape Farewell, they entered the broad bight (Zeehaen's Bocht)
between the two islands. Natives were now encountered and a
collision occurred in which four Dutchmen lost their lives. The
people were of ordinary height, between brown and yellow in
colour, and naked from the waist upward. They wore tufts of
black hair on the top of their heads, surmounted by white
feathers. Their voices were harsh and they blew on an instru-
ment with a sound like that of a trumpet. Their canoes — of
which Tasman gives a drawing in his journal — were double, with
planking between. The bay in which this encounter took place
— the first within the north point of the South Island — was
named by the Dutch " Murderer's Bay\" The ships now tacked
up and down the broad expanse (Zeehaen's Bocht), leading to
Cook Strait, without however discovering the latter, though hopes
were at first entertained of finding a passage through to the
South Seas^ The sea ran so strong into the bay that the ships
could make no headway against it, and, the wind also rising, they
were with difficulty held to their anchors in Tasman's Bay, the
second on the coast of the South Island.
On December 26, the voyage was resumed in a northerly
direction along the west coast of the North Island, and on
January 4, 1643, the cape at its northern extremity was sighted,
receiving the name Maria Van Diemen, while an island lying off
it was named Three Kings Island, as the ships were there on the
eve of the Epiphany. A heavy sea was found to run from the
north-east, which gave renewed hopes of a passage eastwards.
An attempt to replenish the water casks at the island — where
^ It now bears the name Massacre Bay on our maps.
^ In a rough chart drawn by Visscher, the coast line shows a gap just
where the narrow part of the strait really occurs. Even after the unsuccessful
attempt to find the strait, Tasman still thought that such might exist, by reason
that the tide ran from the south-east.
92 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP.
natives of tall stature were seen — having failed, it was resolved to
sail east and north in order to reach the Cocos and Hoorn
Islands discovered by Schouten, the instructions having laid down
that at least the longitude of the Solomon Islands was to be
reached before a homeward course were steered round the north
of New Guinea. A small island was sighted on January 19 and
named Hooge Pijlstaerts (Arrowtail, i.e. Tropic bird) Eylandt,
and on the 21st the ships came to anchor off the north-west
coast of Tongatabu, the principal island of the Tonga group
(Friendly Islands). This was named Amsterdam by the voyagers,
while the smaller island to the south was called Middelburg.
The natives proved peaceably disposed, and already justified
the name subsequently bestowed on the group by Captain Cook.
After obtaining a good supply of hogs and poultry the ships
sailed north-east, and the water casks were filled at Namuka
(Anamocka or Rotterdam of the Dutch) from a small fresh-water
lake on the island. Passino- Tofoa and Kao, the latter of which
was likened to Krakatau in the Sunda Straits, the navigators
became involved in the reefs in the north-east of the Fiji group,
but, finding a passage, sailed among the islands^ off the north-west
of Vanua Levu without suspecting the considerable size of the
latter, its projecting headlands being taken for separate islands.
The weather being stormy it was resolved to steer north and west
for New Guinea, and on April i the ships were off the north
extremity of New Ireland, which, like Schouten, Tasman con-
sidered to form part of the larger island. This error was not
rectified even during the subsequent voyage round the western
shores of the New Britain group, neither of the straits separating
the islands from New Guinea and from each other being noticed,
although the navigators were in hopes of discovering a passage
through to Cape Keerweer. Beyond Vulkan Island, Schouten's
track along the northern shores of New Guinea was followed,
but after reaching the extremity of Waigiu the ships turned south
through the passage between that island and Jilolo, which till
then had been unknown to the Dutch. On May 26 Ceram was
sighted, and the ships finally anchored off Batavia, during the
night of May 14, 1643.
1 Prinz Wyllem's Eylanden of Tasman's chart.
Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 93
In this great voyage of discovery Tasman had done more than
all his predecessors to shed light on the broad geographical
questions relating to the southern parts of the globe. Once for
all the absence of any connection between Australia and any
possible south polar continent had been demonstrated, and
though all questions connected with the former were far from
being cleared up^, the possibilities with regard to it were now
brought within comparatively narrow limits, while by the discovery
of New Zealand the last land area of any size outside the polar
regions was made known to the world. In latitudes never before
reached in this quarter of the globe the voyage had led for more
than five thousand miles through a hitherto trackless ocean ^, while
two thousand more remained before known regions were again
entered. The nature of the achievement is also shown by the fact
that over a century elapsed before the example thus set was
followed. The success of the voyage was no doubt due in part
to the ability and experience of the pilot-major Visscher, whose
advice was constantly sought by the commander, and who, it may
be supposed, had much to do with the excellence of the results
as regards the charting of the newly found regions. That these
were not further explored was due largely to the nature of
Tasman's instructions, which laid the principal stress on the dis-
covery of a sea route by the south, while to his judicious exercise
of discretion in the choice of the latitude followed was due the
discovery of both Tasmania and New Zealand ^
The final portion of Tasman's commission in 1642 — that
relating to the south coast of New Guinea, and the north and
north-west of Australia — was not carried out during this voyage.
It was therefore determined early in 1644 to ^^ out a new
expedition in order to supply the deficiency. Three ships were
chosen, the Limmen^ Zeemeeuiv^ and the galiot Bracq, the first-
^ Tasman himself regarded both Tasmania and New Guinea as joined to
Australia, and he imagined that the latter extended much farther eastward
than it does, possibly to about 160° E.
- Between 40° and 50° it extended through 115° of longitude.
^ Tasman's conclusions, based on the direction of the oceanic swell, that no
large land lay to the south and south-east, no doubt had much to do with the
selection of the route.
CHAP. Ill] AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 95
named having Visscher as captain, while Tasman also sailed in
her as commander-in-chief. Full instructions were drawn up, the
principal objects in view being (i) the search for a passage in the
locality now known as Torres Strait ; (2) the exploration of the
northern parts of Australia beyond the point reached by Carstensz,
in order to prove whether they were connected with De Witt's
Land in the west. Should this not prove to be the case, the
explorers were to proceed through the passage between the two
lands to the newly discovered Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania),
and afterwards complete the circumnavigation of the discovered
South Land by the east. We have unfortunately no detailed
account of this voyage, and our knowledge of its results is almost
entirely based on maps, on which the course is laid down with
great accuracy. The most authentic of these is one prepared
under Tasman's supervision, probably with the co-operation of
Visscher. From this it is seen that for some reason or other —
possibly owing to adverse winds — the exploration of Torres Strait
was not effected, but Tasman made the same mistake as his
predecessors in considering New Guinea and Australia to form
one continuous land mass. The second part of the programme —
the verification of the continuity of the land from the Gulf of
Carpentaria to the north-west point of AustraHa — was however
carried out successfully.
The Gulf of Carpentaria was circumnavigated, the ships
passing between Groote Eylandt and the mainland, and the whole
north-western coasts were then followed as far as the Tropic of
Capricorn. Soundings were taken along all the coasts explored
and are inserted on the chart which has come down to us\
From a minute by the Dutch authorities at Batavia, we find that
the voyagers learnt nothing of the interior of the country, having
merely sailed along its shores. Apparently, however, they had
encountered natives, who are described as miserably poor and of
a bad disposition.
The northern, western, and the greater part of the southern
coasts of Australia (which now took the name of Company's New
1 They are also given in a chart in the British Museum ascribed to Captain
T. Bowrey, and supposed to be based on a chart of Visscher's, but the two
versions do not agree.
g6 AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1605-42 [CHAP. III.
Netherlands, soon altered to Nova Hollandia)\ were thus tolerably
well known as regards their outline. The eastern shores were
destined to remain unexplored until over a century later. Although
the Dutch authorities professed the intention of further examining
the resources of the newly-found lands, Httle was accomplished,
and Tasman's discoveries were the culminating achievement of
that nation in the field of geographical exploration,
1 Staten Land soon became known as Nova Zeelandia.
CHAPTER IV
NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO
It has been seen that the French navigators played but a
subordinate part in the voyages to the East Indies in the early
part of the sixteenth century. We now turn to a quarter of the
globe where all the great names that stand out as pioneers in
geographical discovery during the same period are those of
Frenchmen. Even in the previous century Frenchmen had many
times turned their thoughts to North America as a promising field
for colonisation, and before 1550 fruit had been borne in the
voyages of Verrazzano and Cartier, while not much later the
religious troubles in France led to persevering but unsuccessful
attempts by the Huguenots under Villegagnon, Ribaut, and
Laudonniere. But the wars of Francis the First had turned men's
minds from these distant enterprises, and although Norman and
Breton sailors still frequented the fisheries of the Newfoundland
banks, nothing had been done before the close of the century to
extend the knowledge gained by Cartier in his voyages to the
St Lawrence. A new era began with the accession of Henry IV
(1593) so that, as has been before observed, the opening of our
period forms an important turning-point in the history of North
American discovery.
The name which stands out above all others in connection
with the resumption of discovery is that of Samuel de Champlain.
Born in 1567, this ardent pioneer had fought as a naval captain
on the side of Henry, and after the conclusion of peace under-
took a voyage to the West Indies and Mexico (1599-1602).
Champlain's narrative of this voyage, illustrated by quaint
drawings, is important as showing the condition of the West
Indies and Mexico under Spanish rule three centuries ago,
H. 7
98 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-170O [CHAP.
and it is a special point of interest that, during a visit to Panama,
Champlain conceived the idea of a ship canal across the isthmus'.
Soon after his return, his aid in a new Canadian enterprise was
sought by Aymar de Chastes, who had obtained a patent from
the king for the purpose. In 1603, Champlain sailed for the
St Lawrence in company with a merchant of St Malo named
Pontgrave, who had had some experience in the country, and
ascending the river reached the site of Hochelaga, the Indian
village visited by Cartier nearly seventy years before. Only a few
wandering Algonquins were met with on the spot, and an attempt
to pass the rapids above with their aid proved unsuccessful. The
explorer was fain to content himself with obtaining from his native
guides some account of the great lakes and rivers which form the
system of the St Lawrence, and returned to France to find De
Chastes dead. The enterprise was soon taken up by the Sieur
de Monts, a Calvinist, who, obtaining the grant of a monopoly
of the fur trade, sailed from Havre de Grace in April 1604.
Champlain again joined the expedition, in which another ad-
venturer, the Baron de Poutrincourt, also took part, while Calvinist
ministers and Catholic priests swelled the numbers of the party.
Striking the coast of Nova Scotia, De Monts resolved to proceed
southwards, and doubling Cape Sable explored the shores of the
Bay of Fundy, named by the voyagers La Bale Frangoise. An
islet in a river discovered by Champlain was chosen as the site
for a colony and named Ste Croix-, while Poutrincourt obtained
from De Monts the grant of Port Royal, the modern Annapolis
Basin, as his domain. De Monts's colony was attacked during
the winter by scurvy, and on the approach of summer (1605) the
leader sailed with Champlain, who during the previous autumn
had examined the coasts of Maine, to search for a better site.
The voyagers followed the coast west and south, examining its
rivers and harbours, until, after passing Cape Cod, they were forced
to bring their explorations to an end for that year^ De Monts
1 Champlain was not the first to entertain this idea, Gomara having made
a similar proposition in 1552.
"^ The name is now borne by the river, which here forms the boundary
between the United States and Canada.
3 This coast had been frequented by French fur traders during the previous
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I70O 99
returned to France, whence, in May 1606, Poutrincourt sailed
again for Port Royal (whither the colony had been moved) with
a new ally. Marc Lescarbot, to whose pen we owe one of the
fullest accounts of early French enterprise in America. Further
attempts made by Poutrincourt were hampered by Jesuit in-
trigue, and a final blow was struck by the attack of an English
vessel acting under the orders of the governor of Virginia, who
considered the French settlement an invasion of British territory.
Meanwhile Champlain had once more turned his attention to
the St Lawrence, whither he was despatched by De Monts in 1608.
This expedition is memorable for the founding of Quebec, at the
point where a rocky promontory narrows the St Lawrence to
a mile, and at the same time affords a site intended by nature for
a fortress. Here the winter was spent, and on the approach of
spring (1609) Champlain prepared for a long-meditated journey
of exploration through the unknown wilds that bordered the river.
Joining a war-party of the Hurons and Algonquins he made his
way southwards with two followers up the Richelieu into the
picturesque lake which now bears his name, and which was thus
for the first time seen and navigated by a European. Following
the western shore, the party of Indians soon came upon the
camp of their enemies, the Iroquois, whose five confederate tribes
occupied a part of the modern state of New York. The con-
sternation caused by the French firearms secured the victory for
Champlain's companions, who thereupon returned to their homes
on the Ottawa, which they invited the explorer to visit on a future
occasion. During the two succeeding summers Champlain again
visited New France, his most important work being the establish-
ment in 161 1 of a post for trade with the Indians at Mont Royal,
since known as Montreal.
Not till 16 13 was Champlain able to resume his explorations,
century, though little definite knowledge had been gained of its geography.
It had also been visited in 1602-3 by Gosnold and Pring. It has even been
held that the French knew the Hudson under the name of Norumbega, and
had a fort on its banks. Others have considered that the Norumbega was the
Penobscot. One or other of these streams had been thought to communicate
with the St Lawrence, while Champlain also heard of a route to the latter by
the Penobscot.
7—2
lOO
NORTH AMERICA, 160O-17OO
[CHAP.
but on May 27 of that year he set out with four companions on a
voyage up the Ottawa, the great northern tributary of the St
Lawrence. The impulse to this journey was given by the fictitious
story of an adventurer named Vignan, who had visited the Algon-
quins and pretended to have discovered a river flowing to the
■q^'t^^-y^'ey Z
Samuel de Champlain.
northern sea. Struggling against the current of the Ottawa, past
its furious rapids, and through the tangled forests on its banks, the
little band of explorers at length reached the settlements of the
Ottawa branch of the Algon quins near the head of Lake Coulange,
where, the imposture being discovered, Champlain was forced for
the time to give up further exploration. His work was resumed
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO 10 1
however in 161 5, when his Indian aUies, the Hurons, sought his
aid against their enemies, the Iroquois, and Champlain again set
out up the Ottawa to proceed to their country on the great lake
of the same name. In this journey he was preceded by a few
days by a Recollet friar, Joseph Le Caron, one of a band of four
brought from France the same year to evangehse the natives of
Canada. Passing his turning-point of 161 3, Champlain ascended
the mountain-girt upper course of the Ottawa to the mouth of its
tributary, the Mattawa ; then, ascending this stream, he crossed
the narrow divide which separates it from Lake Nipissing, and
made his way by this lake and the French River to the great
Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, the first of the great x'\merican series
to meet the eye of a European. Turning south-eastwards along
its shores, he seems to have landed near Matchedash Bay, whence
he reached the Huron towns, finding Le Caron already installed
there as a teacher. The Huron warriors set out on their meditated
expedition early in September, and Chamiplain threaded in their
company the network of streams and lakes leading to Lake Ontario,
which was crossed at its eastern end. The attack on the Iroquois
stronghold was unsuccessful. Champlain was wounded and, fol-
lowing the Hurons in their retreat, was forced to spend the winter
with his allies, joining them in their hunting expeditions, in one of
which he was lost for some days in the woods. His interpreter,
Etienne Brule, who had previously started on a mission to the
Eries, south of Lake Ontario, likewise spent the winter among the
Indians, and in the course of his adventures is even said to have
descended the Susquehanna to the sea and to have reached the
shores of Lake Superior. In the following spring Champlain
returned by the Ottawa route to Quebec and thus terminated his
exploring labours, the rest of his work being concerned ^vith
guiding the young colony through a troublous period, during which
Quebec was taken by an EngHsh fleet under David and Thomas
Kirk (1629), only to be restored to France three years later.
Champlain again took the command in 1633, but died on
Christmas Day, 1635, at the age of 6S. To him belongs the
honour of opening the path of discovery in the northern interior
of North America, where the bounds of knowledge were thence-
forth slowly but steadily extended
102 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I70O [CHAP.
Before Champlain's death the way had been paved for further
progress by the introduction of Jesuit missionaries to supplement
the work of the Franciscans in the conversion of the Indians;
and to their adventurous journeys in the fulfilment of their
vocation an important part of the future exploration of Canada
was due. In 1634 two of their number, Brebeuf and Daniel,
started westward to estabHsh a mission among the Hurons, and
they were soon followed by a hardy adventurer, Jean Nicollet,
whose explorations were almost as fertile in discovery as those of
Champlain himself, under whose orders he acted, and who lived
long enough to learn the results of his journey, from which he
returned in 1635.
During a lengthened residence among the Algonquins and
Nipissings, Nicollet had become well versed in the art of travel
through the Canadian wilds, while the stories he had heard among
the Nipissings of a western people without hair or beards, supposed
by the French to be Chinese or Japanese, seem to have supplied
the incentive for his despatch on a more extended journey.
Proceeding by the usual route to the Georgian Bay and the
villages of the Hurons, Nicollet obtained guides for his further
journey from among this tribe, and launching his canoe on the
lake, reached the Sault Ste Marie at the outlet of Lake Superior.
He seems to have proceeded no further in the direction of this
lake but made his way round the projecting point of land which
divides Lakes Superior and Michigan until he reached the Strait
of Mackinaw, the connecting channel between the latter lake and
Lake Huron. Continuing his explorations on Lake Michigan,
Nicollet advanced to the southern end of Green Bay, where he
came in contact for the first time with Indians of the Dakota
stock, represented here by the Winnebagoes. Thence he continued
his way up the Fox, the river which debouches into Green Bay,
until he reached the villages of the Mascontins. Beyond this his
route is uncertain, some holding that he reached the Wisconsin
and descended it to within three days of the Mississippi, others
that he went due south to the country of the Iroquois. In either
case he seems to have returned by the west shore of Lake
Michigan, where he became acquainted with the Potawattamies,
a tribe which figures largely in the story of subsequent exploration
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-170O IO3
in this region. Thus before Champlain's death, three of the five
great American lakes had been at least partially explored, though
the knowledge of the other two, Erie and Superior, remained quite
indefinite.
Before continuing the story of French discovery in Canada it
will be well briefly to look at the state of affairs at this time in
other parts of the Continent. While the French were battling
against the rigours of the climate on the St Lawrence and in
Acadia, English settlements had sprung up on the more favoured
coasts further south. The spirited attempts of Ralegh to found
a colony in Virginia in 1585 and 1587 had proved a failure, but
public attention was still directed to North America as a field for
such enterprises. In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, sailing under
the orders of the Earl of Southampton and others, for the first
time made the direct voyage across the Atlantic to Massachusetts
Bay, afterwards doubling Cape Cod and obtaining a cargo of
sassafras root from the natives. The following year Martin Bring
made a voyage on behalf of the merchants of Bristol, urged
thereto by Richard Hakluyt, the enthusiastic supporter of
American colonisation. Reaching the coast of Maine he ex-
plored its rivers and harbours and then proceeded southwards
as far as Martha's Vineyard. The Penobscot, the principal river
of Maine, was explored by Captain Waymouth in 1605. In i6o6,
two companies were formed to carry out the colonisation of
North America under patents from King James, and in 1607 the
London Company succeeded for the first time in establishing
a permanent colony in Virginia, at Jamestown, on a river also
called after King James. The Plymouth Company was less
successful in a similar enterprise on the Kennebec in Maine, the
coasts of which had been again explored by Pring in 1606.
Among the first settlers in Virginia, the most influential was
John Smith, who, though less than thirty years old, had already
had a remarkable career of adventure in Europe and North
Africa. To his energy and hopefulness the success of the
enterprise was mainly due, and it was his explorations which for
the first time threw light on the geography of the surrounding
country. In 1607 he penetrated some distance into the interior
I04 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
by way of the Chickahominy, a tributary of York River, but was
captured by the natives and remained some time a prisoner,
being only saved by the intervention of Pocahontas, the daughter
of the Chief Powhattan. The next summer he explored, in an
open boat, the great inlet known as Chesapeake Bay, noting the
mouths of the tributary streams, including the Potomac, and pre-
paring a map of the country. On his return he wrote an account
of the colony and of his own adventures, which was published in
London the same year.
In 16 14 Smith joined with some merchants of London and
made a voyage to the coasts north of the Virginian settlement,
examining the shores between Cape Cod and the Penobscot, and
embodying his observations in a map. It was at this time that
Smith bestowed on the country the name, New England, which
was destined to attain such renown in the future. He subse-
quently (1624) wrote a general history of Virginia, New England,
and the Somers (Bermudas) Islands, afterwards carrying on the
account to 1629. Before this, a further step in the settlement of
America had been taken in 1620 by the voyage of the Mayflozuer^
carrying the Pilgrim Fathers, when the site of New Plymouth in
Massachusetts was chosen for a colony, destined shortly to expand
into a flourishing community.
In 1632 Lord Baltimore, who had before attempted with little
success to plant a colony in Newfoundland, obtained from
Charles I the grant of the country north of Virginia, which he
named Maryland in honour of the queen, and four years later
a settlement was made on the shores of the Potomac. Before
this settlements had also been made — in spite of the rival claims
of the French — on the coasts of Maine.
Meanwhile the Dutch, not content with the brilliant results of
their enterprises in the east, had entered the field as competitors
of the French and English in America also. In 1609 Henry
Hudson, the English Arctic navigator, had sailed on behalf of the
Dutch East India Company in search of a north-east passage.
Finding the attempt hopeless he turned westwards, and after
visiting Davis Strait sailed along the coast of America in search
of a passage to the west. Ever since Verrazzano's time the idea
had been current that a sea existed to the west of the coasts
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I70O IO5
discovered by that navigator, and that this might prove the nearest
way to China, many subsequent journeys being made with a view
to reaching it. It is said that Hudson had been induced to
undertake the search by a communication from John Smith of
Virginia, who had suggested the possibiHty of finding a passage to
the north of that colony. Hudson entered the river which now
bears his name, then known as Grande Riviere (the mouth of
which had been discovered by Verrazzano), and ascended it for
150 miles, entering into communication with the Mohawks who
dwelt on its banks. He had before visited the Delaware, and the
two important streams (Delaware and Hudson) were named by
the explorer Rivers of the South and North respectively. He
proposed to call the Hudson the Maurice after the Prince of
Nassau, Stadhouder of Holland, but his own name was soon
afterwards applied, and was in time universally accepted as the
designation of the stream, though the Dutch often called it
merely De Groote Rivier. The country bordering on the Hudson
was represented, as early as 16 14, in a map presented to the States
General of the Netherlands by merchants desiring a charter for
trade with that region.
A Dutch post had already (16 13) been established at the
river's mouth, and in 16 14 a fort was built on Manhattan Island.
The Dutch West India Company, incorporated in 162 1, founded
in the following year the city of New Amsterdam (now New
York), while settlements were also established both at the site of
Albany on the Hudson and on the Delaware, where for a short
time the Swedes also had a colony.
From these various colonies on the Atlantic seaboard the
bounds of geographical knowledge were gradually pushed towards
the interior, though with less energy than was shown by the
French in Canada. The hostility of the native tribes often
proved a serious obstacle, and it was long before the most
enterprising of the settlers ventured beyond the Alleghanies.
Thus it happened that the French in Canada soon completely
shut in the English and other colonies in their rear, as we shall
see presently. Still, explorations were carried out within British
territory, the most important at this time being those of Thomas
Dermer, who in 1620 sought a passage to the Western Ocean by
IC6 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-17OO [CHAP.
the inlets of the New England coast, and those of Captain
Thomas Young, who sailed up the Delaware in 1633 in hopes of
reaching the rumoured interior sea, which, as in the case of
that supposed in the nineteenth century to exist in Central
Africa, exercised an important influence on the minds of ex-
plorers.
But although the English settlers were behind the French in
exploring activity in the more southern regions, in the far north,
bordering on the Arctic wilds, Englishmen (as has already been
seen in the chapter on the Arctic regions) played a pre-
ponderating part in pushing back the bounds of the unknown.
The voyages of the Elizabethan navigators at the end of the
previous century had brought to light the wide gulf between
Greenland and the Continent, with many of its inlets — the
entrance to the vast interior basin of Hudson's Bay having been
seen by Davis in 1587. In the new century the work was
continued first by Waymouth, who appears to have passed within
the entrance in 1602, and afterwards by Henry Hudson, who
sailed in 16 10 (the year following his voyage to the Hudson River)
on his last and fatal voyage to the bay which has since borne
his name. The voyages of Button (16 12-13), Bylot and Baffin
(161 5), and of the Dane, Jens Munk (1619-20), did much to
improve the knowledge of the shores of the bay and of the strait
leading to it, though they did not finally disprove the existence of
the supposed passage to the Pacific Ocean. Foxe and James
however, in 1631-32, showed the extreme improbability that any
such passage could be found, though they did not absolutely
dispose of the question.
This advance of the English to a point so near, comparatively
speaking, to the French settlements in Canada, was bound to lead
to rivalry between the two nations. Some knowledge of the
interior basin reached the French at an early date, and in 1656 an
expedition was despatched from Quebec under Jean Bourdon to
take possession of the country bordering on the bay in the name
of France. Only 13 years later, after a successful trading voyage
had been carried out in 1668 under the auspices of Prince
Rupert, the Hudson Bay Company was incorporated by Charter
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-170O 10/
of King Charles I, and a prolonged conflict of jurisdiction between
the two nations was the natural result \
We must now return to the history of exploration in Canada
after the death of Champlain. Although for some years after
that event no very important discoveries were made, the bounds
of knowledge were steadily extended, thanks to the restless energy
of two very different classes of men — the Jesuit missionaries and
the fur traders. The latter, in their constant search for new
collecting grounds for the much-prized beaver skins, led the way
into distant and hitherto untrodden countries, while the Jesuits
were hardly, if at all, behind them in opening up new stations
among the outlying tribes of Indians. More is known of the
labours of the Jesuits than of the traders, as their journeys were
for the most part recorded in the Relations published under the
auspices of their Order in Paris. In 1641 two of their number,
Raymbault and Jogues, following in the footsteps of Nicollet,
reached the Sault Ste Marie, soon to become the base for further
discovery towards the west. Here they encountered a large body
of Indians, and from them learnt of the existence of the
Mississippi (though not by name) and of the Sioux dwelling on
its banks. In 1642 Jogues was captured by a band of Iroquois
and taken south by Lake Champlain and its continuation Lake
George, of which, after his release, he was able to give a more
correct idea than had before prevailed. The fear inspired by the
invincible Iroquois confederacy still stood in the way of a better
knowledge of the two lowest of the Great Lakes, and only after a
peace had been patched up with them in 1653 was the south
shore of Ontario explored by Father Poncet, who had undertaken
the work of evangelisation among that warlike race.
In the following year Father Le Moyne penetrated farther
into their country by way of the Oswego River, hearing vague but
stimulating reports of the countries to the south-west. An
advance was also made about this time in the work of western
discovery. In 1654 two traders are said to have visited the
country beyond Lake Michigan, and in 1658 the field was taken
^ The exact title of the Company, as employed in its charter, was "The
Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading with Hudson Bay."
I08 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
by an enterprising pioneer named Groseilliers, who reached Lake
Superior, and, returning the following year with his brother-in-law
Radisson, explored the southern shores of that lake. In their
further wanderings they may even have reached the Mississippi
itself In 1660 Groseilliers was accompanied by a Jesuit named
Menard, who, after a winter on Lake Superior, started southward
to seek the scattered Hurons who had fled to this remote district
after the destruction of their nation by the Iroquois in 1649.
Menard never returned and his fate is involved in uncertainty.
In 1665 an important step was taken in the founding of a mission
station at La Pointe near the west extremity of Lake Superior.
This was accomplished by Father Allouez, who for the first time
heard of the great western river as the " Missipi," obtaining also
vague accounts of the western plains from bands of Sioux with
whom he came in contact. A few years later Allouez transferred
his labours to the neighbourhood of Green Bay on Lake Michigan,
and in 1670 penetrated to the Wisconsin, which, he heard, led to
the Mississippi, a great river more than a league wide. His place
had been taken on Lake Superior by Father Marquette, whose
name occupies an important place in subsequent discovery, and
who also collected information as to the mysterious countries to
the south-west, through which he believed the great river to flow
to the Pacific.
Meanwhile important changes had taken place in the govern-
ment of New France, which in 1663 had reverted to the French
crown. Supported by the great minister Colbert, the new officials,
especially the Intendant, Talon, displayed much energy in ex-
tending French influence into the outlying districts. In 1669
Talon sent Joliet — soon to take a prominent place in the history
of exploration — to search for the copper mines of Lake Superior.
Although unsuccessful in his search, Joliet did good work by
opening up, on his return journey, a new route to the west, via
Lake Erie and the channel connecting it with Lake Huron. Again,
in 167 1, Talon despatched a great expedition under St Lusson to
the Sault Ste Marie to take formal possession of the country
thereabouts in presence of the assembled Indians. With St Lusson
were associated both Joliet and Nicholas Perrot, the latter one of
the most enterprising of the French adventurers at the time.
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO IO9
About the same time explorers were also busy in the districts
bordering on the colony to the north. In 1660 Fathers Dablon
and Druiliettes^ had reached the sources of the Saguenay, while
much further west Groseilliers and Radisson had reached Lake
Nipigon, and one of their followers named Pere" had crossed the
divide separating Lake Superior from Hudson Bay.
Subsequent differences with the authorities induced Groseilliers
to enter into association with the EngHsh, and in 1664 and 1668
he made voyages with Captain Gillam to Hudson Bay, the pro-
mising results of which led to the foundation of the Hudson
Bay Company. In 167 1 Talon entrusted Father Albanel with
a mission to the north by way of the Saguenay, and in 1672 the
Jesuit reached the shores of the northern basin, which were taken
over in the name of the French king.
But already a new actor had appeared on the scene, who
though relying mainly on his own resources was to surpass the
achievements of all his contemporaries. This was Robert
Cavelier de la Salle, who in 1666 reached Canada, bent on
seeking his fortune. His elder brother was already in the country,
and the seminary of St Sulpice, to which he belonged, was at the
time in possession of seignioral rights over Montreal and the lands
in its neighbourhood. The future explorer obtained from the
seminary the grant of a large tract of land at La Chine, a few
miles from Montreal. While resident here his enthusiasm was
excited by stories brought by Indians of the unexplored lands to
the south-west, and he resolved to undertake an exploring journey
in that direction. Having sold his concession at La Chine, La
Salle started in 1669 in company with the Sulpicians, DoUier and
Galivee, and, navigating Lake Ontario, reached the Niagara river,
where they heard for the first time the roar of the great cataract.
Meeting with Joliet on his way from the Upper Lakes, the priests
were induced to take a route in that direction, while La Salle,
whose thoughts were turned towards the south, determined to
^ Druillettes had already (1651) come into notice as envoy from the
French to the English at Boston, whither he had journeyed down one or other
of the rivers of Maine.
- Pere also accompanied Joliet in his expedition to Lake Superior in
1669.
no NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
carry out his explorations separately. The priests reached the
Sault Ste Marie by Joliet's route, but returned by the Ottawa,
the principal result of the journey being the improved knowledge
of Lake Erie, and its position in the great Laurentian system,
supplied by Galivee's journal and map. La Salle's proceedings
after he left the priests are involved in much obscurity, and have
been the subject of conflicting views on the part of historians.
On the authority of a somewhat questionable document it has
been claimed that either in 1669-70 or in 167 1 he actually
reached the Mississippi, but this is almost certainly incorrect. It
seems probable that the traveller discovered the Ohio in 1669
and descended it for some distance, perhaps to the rapids at
Louisville. It may also be the case that in 167 1 he explored
the southern part of Lake Michigan and reached the Illinois.
That he reached the Mississippi on this occasion is negatived by
the absence of all claim to this discovery on his behalf until some
years after the authenticated journey of Marquette and Joliet,
with which we have now to deal.
The energetic Talon was recalled soon after the arrival of the
Comte de Frontenac as Governor in 1672. Before his departure
he had entrusted to Joliet the work of discovering the great
western river of which so much had been heard, and tracing it to
its mouth either in the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean.
The new governor lent his support to the proposed expedition,
which started in the summer of 1672, proceeding first to the
Strait of Mackinaw (then known as Michillimackinac) at the
entrance to Lake Michigan. Here he was joined by the Jesuit
Marquette, who had for two years been in charge of a mission
station on the north side of the strait. On reaching the head of
Green Bay the two explorers ascended the Fox past Lake
Winnebago and, obtaining guides from the Mi'amis, crossed the
divide and reached the waters of the Wisconsin. Floating down
this stream they reached the Mississippi in a week, and the great
stream which had been the subject of so many speculations was
at last seen by Europeans. Passing on through an uninhabited
tract, they reached the great prairies roamed over by herds of
" buffalo." Still floating down the great river they entered into
friendly relations with the Illinois, passed the river of the
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-170O III
same name, and soon afterwards the rocky cliffs then decorated
with painted monsters representing the Indian gods. The
farthest point reached was near the mouth of the Arkansas, where
they narrowly escaped an attack from the tribe of that name.
Hence they retraced their course, having done enough to prove
that the great river must enter the Gulf of Mexico, though many
miles of its winding channel still lay between them and its mouth.
Ascending the Illinois the voyagers crossed over to the south end
of Lake Michigan and reached Green Bay at the end of September,
1673-
Although much weakened by dysentery, Marquette returned
in 1674 to the Illinois to estabHsh a mission on its banks, but
succumbed to his malady on the shores of Lake Michigan when
retracing his steps in 1675. Joliet subsequently did good work
in other directions, journeying to Hudson Bay in 1679, and while
engaged in the fisheries acquiring a close knowledge of the
St Lawrence and the coasts of Labrador, which gained him the
post of Royal pilot and hydrographer.
To JoHet and Marquette belongs the merit of the first
discovery of the Mississippi, but the opening up of its valley to
French enterprise was due to the ambitious and far-sighted views
of La Salle, who saw in these vast and fertile regions a field far
surpassing in promise the frost-bound shores of the St Lawrence.
Thwarted throughout by the jealousy and dislike of his fellow
colonists. La Salle found a supporter in the Governor Frontenac,
himself far from popular in the colony. A fort having been
established by the governor on Lake Ontario, La Salle obtained
a grant of the fort and the surrounding lands, and thus secured
to himself the important trade which it commanded. Here he
matured his schemes, which aimed at nothing less than the
colonisation of the fertile plains of the Mississippi valley, and the
conversion of the Indian tribes and their transformation into
peaceful subjects of the French crown. Obtaining a patent from
the king, by which he was authorised to continue his discoveries
towards the south, and to secure the country explored by the
construction of forts. La Salle obtained the co-operation of an
Italian officer then in France named Henri de Tonty, whose
unswerving loyalty proved of priceless value amid the general
112 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
opposition and treachery which beset the enterprise. Another
coadjutor who played a prominent part in it and became the
chronicler of the expedition was the Recollet friar Louis Henne-
pin, a Fleming by birth, who, already stationed at Fort Frontenac,
now obtained permission to accompany the expedition. Hennepin,
though not lacking in courage, was of a vain and boastful dis-
position, and grave doubts exist as to the trustworthiness of his
account, which is, however, of some value as supplementing the
other records.
With the aid of his associates — one of whom. La Motte by
name, took part in the early stages only of the expedition — La
Salle in the autumn of 1678 transported his supplies to the
Niagara river, where a fort was established and a small vessel built
above the cataract, of which a minute account is given for the
first time in Hennepin's journal. After a winter of great hard-
ship the vessel — named the Griffin^ in allusion to the arms of
Frontenac — was ready for launching, and the navigation of the
upper lakes began.
The party had now been increased by the arrival of two
more Recollet friars. Fathers Membre and Ribourde. Harassed
by intrigue and desertions, as well as by anxiety in regard to
his creditors in the colony. La Salle slowly made his way past
the Strait of Mackinaw and along the shores of Lake Michigan,
encountering constant storms, and meeting with some difficulties
from the Indians. The Griffin had meanwhile been sent back
with a cargo of furs, while Tonty, who had been sent to the
Sault Ste Marie, only arrived after much delay at the fort of the
Mi'amis built by La Salle at the mouth of the St Joseph. It was
not till December, 1679, that a start could be made up the
St Joseph for the portage to the Kankakee, down which river the
voyage was pursued to the Illinois, until an encampment of that
nation was reached. Still pursued by intrigue and desertion, and
threatened with ruin by the loss of the Griffi?i either by storm or
treachery. La Salle returned for fresh succour, leaving his small
force under Tonty with instructions to commence the building
of another vessel at a newly-constructed fort which he named
Crevecceur in token of the low ebb of his fortunes.
After a winter journey of incredible hardships La Salle reached
IV]
NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO
113
the French settlements and raised funds for the renewal of his
undertaking, only to learn of the desertion of the greater part of
the men left with Tonty. That officer with two or three faithful
followers became involved in an invasion of the Illinois country
by the Iroc[uois, and only after great sufferings made their way
back by the west shores of Michigan, just when La Salle was
bringing aid to them by the opposite side. After a vain search
for his followers, during which the Illinois was descended to the
Mississippi, La Salle wintered at Fort Mi'ami, engaged in the
The Bison as figured by Hennepin.
(From his Noiivelle Decotivei'te of 1697.)
I
re-organisation of his enterprise, which had now to start afresh
from the beginning. Meanwhile Hennepin, who with two com-
panions, Accault and Du Gay, had been despatched from Fort
Crevecceur on an exploring trip down the Illinois, had ascended
the Upper Mississippi and undergone many adventures among:
the Sioux, by whom he was captured. The exact extent of his
journeys cannot be determined owing to the suspicion which
attaches to his veracity. In a second edition of his work.
114 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
published after La Salle's death, he made the fraudulent claim to
the discovery of the whole Mississippi to the sea, but his pretended
descriptions are known to have been borrowed from the journal
of Father Membre, who accompanied La Salle on his successful
journey of 1681. While on the Upper Mississippi Hennepin fell
in with an enterprising French pioneer, Du Luth (or Du Lhut) by
name, who had for two years been exploring near the head of
Lake Superior and the head-waters of the Mississippi. He had
thus preceded Hennepin in his visit to the Sioux towns, an-d it is
apparently from one of his companions that Lake Pepin derives
its name. In his company Hennepin made his way to Green
Bay and Mackinac, and thence to Montreal, his connection with
La Salle now finally ceasing.
Having guarded against danger from the Iroquois by forming
a defensive alliance between the Mi'amis and Illinois, I^a Salle
returned to Canada to complete his arrangements for a final
attempt to descend the Mississippi to the sea. At Mackinac he
met with Tonty and Membre, who again joined him, whereupon,
in December 1681, the re-organised expedition once more set out
from Fort Mi'ami, and, descending the Illinois in canoes, entered
the Mississippi in the following February. Floating on past the
mouth of the turbid Missouri, the explorers, this time blessed with
better fortune, soon reached the Ohio, and on March 13 heard,
through the fog which enveloped the stream, the war drums of
the Arkansas tribe near the river which now bears their name.
Friendly relations were however established and the voyagers
passed on, visiting the great town of the Taensas and meeting
with a cordial reception from other riverine tribes. Avoiding
a hostile demonstration of the Quinipissas, on April 6 they
reached the beginning of the great delta, and, dividing their forces,
descended the three main channels into which the river divided,
uniting again on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Here
a ceremony was enacted by which La Salle took possession of
the whole Mississippi valley in the name of the French king,
in honour of whom the vast region received the name of
Louisiana.
A great triumph had been won, but a toilsome voyage up the
great river still awaited the explorers. During this some fighting
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-170O II 5
occurred, and the leader was prostrated by illness, but travelling
by slow degrees was able to reach Mackinac before the end of
September. In order to develop the resources of his new domain
La Salle proposed to found two colonies, one on the Illinois as
a centre of the fur trade of that region, and one at the mouth of
the Mississippi to secure an outlet in that direction. The former
first engaged his attention, and a fort was built on a rock over-
hanging the IlHnois, which received the name of Fort St Louis ;
around it a large body of Indians soon assembled, seeking
protection against the Iroquois foe.
During La Salle's absence a new governor — La Barre — had
arrived in Canada, and the explorer soon found cause to lament
the loss of his protector Frontenac. Thwarted on all hands he
returned to France, and finding favour at court, obtained the
support of the king for a new enterprise on the Gulf of Mexico.
By undertaking to break the Spanish monopoly on the waters of
the gulf he secured the equipment of an expedition of four ships,
two of them manned with a force of soldiers and a body of colonists
and artificers. Three Recollet friars, Membre, Douay, and Le
Clerc, joined the expedition, as well as La Salle's brother already
alluded to and two other Sulpicians. The command of the vessels
was given to a naval officer, Beaujeu, an unfortunate decision,
as the divided command soon led to friction which boded ill for
the success of the enterprise. Misfortunes indeed pursued the
adventurers from the outset. Delays occurred in the prepara-
tions, and when in July, 1684, the expedition sailed, disputes soon
broke out between the commanders. During the stay in the
West Indies, La Salle was seized with severe illness, which for
a time totally incapacitated him. Arrived at length in the gulf,
a search was made in vain for the mouth of the Mississippi, of
the longitude of which La Salle was ignorant. By an unfortunate
mistake he landed his men among the lagoons on the north-
western shore of the gulf, over 400 miles from the object of his
search, while to add to his distress the ship laden with all the
stores for the colony was wrecked on attempting to enter a
neighbouring bay.
A temporary station was estabfished, but disaster still attended
the party. The natives were hostile, the crops soon proved
8—2
Il6 NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
a failure, and the one small vessel which remained to La Salle
after the departure of Beaujeu suffered the fate of the store-ship.
Returning to the temporary fort after a vain attempt to make his
way overland to the Mississippi, the leader formed the desperate
resolution of leading his party overland to Canada, leaving a few
men only to represent him on the gulf. Crossing the prairies,
roamed over by herds of buffalo, which occupy the basins of the
Brazos, Trinity, and other Texan streams, the expedition had not
yet passed into the Mississippi valley, when a tragedy occurred
which finally broke up the ill-starred expedition. Discontent had
for some time prevailed in the party, and it reached a climax
(March, 1687) in the murder, first of La Salle's nephew Moranget
and two subordinates, and finally of La Salle himself. The loyal
remnant of the party now consisted only of Joutel, a gardener's
son, who had throughout shown himself one of the leader's most
efficient and trusty lieutenants, with two priests and three youths,
one of whom was nephew to La Salle. These were helpless to
avenge the murders, but, after some time had been spent among
the Cenis Indians, the ringleaders fell at the hands of their own
followers and Joutel was able to make his way with a small party
to the Arkansas, where he met with two of Tonty's subordinates,
left by that officer during a descent of the Mississippi in search
of his missing chief. Tonty had even reached the mouth of the
great river a second time while La Salle was engaged in his weary
search for it on the plains of Texas. Joutel now made his way
with his companions to the fort on the Illinois (1687), and it is
to his pen that we owe the best account of the fatal expedition.
The memoirs published by Tonty are a valuable authority for
both of La Salle's expeditions in which he took part, while the
results of the discoveries are well shown on the great map of
Franquelin, hydrographer at Quebec, pubhshed in 1684.
Two expeditions, undertaken about the time of La Salle's
death, deserve mention. The one, led by Nicholas Perrot, some-
what extended the bounds of knowledge in the region of the
Upper Mississippi, the other, under De Troyes and Iberville, was
directed against the English on the shores of Hudson Bay.
Iberville was soon to take a prominent place in the history of the
French in America.
Hennepin's Map, 1697. (Lower port
^
of
IV] NORTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO II7
La Salle's death forms a fitting conclusion to the first great
period of geographical discovery in the interior of North America.
Although some have tried to disparage his services, while his
proud and reserved nature in some degree unfitted him to be
a successful leader of men, there can be nothing but admiration
for the indomitable will which helped him to persevere in the face
of untold difficulties in the task which he had set himself
Although not crowned with success during his hfetime, his
schemes had far-reaching effects on the future of the Mississippi
basin, where his steps were soon followed by his compatriots, and
where, for a time at least, French influence was secure from the
encroachments of rivals. The period which now ensued — ushered
in by the revolution in England — was marked by political rivalries
with that nation and gave little scope for great pioneering journeys,
so that the vast regions of the far west were not thrown open till
a much later date.
Throughout the century now closing, the brilliant geographical
achievements in North America were all the work of Frenchmen.
For the very reason which made them more successful as colonists,
the English settlers were less given to the wandering life which
carried the French fur-traders into the remote wilds of the
continent ; and though attempts have been made to prove that
English explorers entered the Mississippi basin at an early date,
the accounts of their journeys rest on too insecure a basis to be
definitely accepted as facts.
CHAPTER V
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O
As in other parts of the world, so in Northern and Central
Asia, the opening of the seventeenth century marks the beginning
of a rapid advance in geographical knowledge ; an advance so
effectual that, before the century closed, the geography of the
whole northern zone of the continent, till then wrapped in almost
complete obscurity, was already known in its broad outlines.
Even the history of iVmerican discovery records no instance of
an equally vast land area brought to light within so short a space
of time, while the physical obstacles encountered add to the
greatness of the achievement, and to our wonder at the hardi-
hood of the agents by whom it was performed. It is all the
more striking that in the whole story of early Siberian discovery
no one name stands out as worthy of a place in the roll of the
world's great explorers, but that the work was mainly accom-
plished by a host of obscure adventurers, who, in the ardent
pursuit of the fur-trade, or in the role of freebooters, added a
new empire to the dominions of the Russian Czar.
It was, however, considerably before the end of the sixteenth
century that a knowledge of Western Siberia began to be acquired
by those of the Russians whose attention was turned in this
direction. Even in the eleventh century some of the bolder
spirits had pushed beyond the Ural, reaching the lower Ob early
in the twelfth. A fairly continuous intercourse with this region
was thenceforth maintained, and during the fifteenth century
raids of a quasi-miHtary character strengthened the connection
still further. During the sixteenth century the commercial enter-
prise of the Strogonoffs directed attention to this quarter, and the
CH. V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-1750 II9
maps of Aliinster and Herberstein, with the commentaries of the
latter, show that some accurate knowledge had already been
gained ^ In 1556 troops were sent across the Urals by Ivan the
Terrible, who two years later took the title of " Lord of Obdoria
Ugria and Sibir^." It was, however, the campaign of the famous
Cossack leader Yermak Timofeief which first prepared the way
for permanent occupation. During this campaign (15 79-1 582)
Sibir, then the residence of the Tartar chief Kuchum Khan,
was taken, and though Yermak soon afterwards perished, his
conquests were prosecuted by the Russian government. In 1687
the fortress of Tobolsk was erected a few miles from the site
of Sibir, and this became the capital of the Russian Asiatic
dominions, which now extended to the Ob. Thus before the
close of the sixteenth century the Czar had already established
a firm footing east of the Urals.
Little resistance was now encountered in the further advance
eastward, which took place with extreme rapidity. In 1604
Tomsk was founded, and expeditions were pushed forward from
this as a base. Meanwhile the fur-traders, who directed their
attention chiefly to the more northern regions, were pushing
beyond the lower Ob, discovering the Taz, and in 1610 reaching
the Yenesei, where the town of Turukhansk was soon afterwards
founded. The Yenesei was soon passed and the Piasina dis-
covered ; the whole coast of Asia as far as the latter river being
shown on the map of Isaac Alassa pubhshed in Holland in
161 2. An attempt to advance eastward by sea from the Yenesei
mouth having failed, a more southerly route was adopted by
way of the Lower Tunguska, which led the adventurers into the
Lena basin. At the same time a second line of advance brought
the Cossacks from Tomsk to the Upper Yenesei, where Yeneseisk
was founded in 16 19 and Krasnoiarsk in 1627. On reaching
^ Ilerberstein's map of 1550 marks the *'Oby" with a river "Sibur" as
its tributary. The details are of course inaccurate, e.g. the Ob is made to
issue from a lake Kythay, near a city Chumbalyk, derived apparently from the
accounts of the medieval travellers to China. The Samoyedes, who are
mentioned in Herberstein's account, had already figured in WaldseemLiller's
map of 1 5 16.
- Sibir, from which the whole of northern Asia was eventually named, was
a fort near the junction of the Tobol with the Irtish.
120 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 [CHAP.
the Angara the Russian pioneers met with some resistance from
the warlike Buriats, but this was overcome, and the shores of
Lake Baikal were for the first time trodden by European foot.
The Lena basin was approached from this direction also, and
before long the adventurous hunters had extended their operations
over a large part of its area, levying tribute, as was their wont,
from the native tribes with which they came in contact. In this
direction they encountered the Yakuts, who had already fallen
back before the Buriats from their original home near Lake Baikal,
and who now, unable to withstand the Russian freebooters,
continued their northward migration towards the shores of the
Arctic ocean. In 1632 the town of Yakutsk, now the capital
of the largest province of the Russian Empire, was founded in
the Yakut territory, and became the base for further explorations
towards the north and east. In 16 17 the Cossack Elisei Busa
reached an arm of the Lena delta, and turning westward, dis-
covered the Olenek, where he wintered. The following year he
returned to the Lena, which he descended in boats to the sea.
He then followed the coast eastward to the mouth of the Yana,
which river he ascended for some distance, continuing his ex-
plorations in this region for over two years.
Meanwhile others had pushed on eastward from Yakutsk,
crossing the range which bounds the Lena basin to the east, and
descending its eastern slopes to the sea of Okhotsk, where in
1638 a station was founded on the site of the modern town of
Okhotsk. The whole breadth of the continent had thus been
crossed in little over half a century since the capture of Sibir
by Yermak. Further north the Indigirka was discovered by
Ivanof Postnik, whose followers built boats and traced the
river downwards to its mouth, afterwards continuing their course
eastward to the Alaseya. About the same time the Kolyma,
the last important river of the northern Asiatic coast, was dis-
covered, and on its banks a station was founded in 1644 by
Mikhailo Stadukhin on the site of Nijne Kolymsk. Stadukhin
heard here for the first time of the Chukches, who inhabit the
remote north-eastern corner of Asia, and seems also to have
gained some intelligence of the New Siberian Islands and
Wrangel Land, though the two were confounded. Another great
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-1 750 121
river was said to enter the sea further east, but this proved
eventually to have an easterly and not a northerly course. The
Chukches were visited in 1646 by Isai Ignatief, and in the
following year an expedition was prepared on a more important
scale and placed under the command of Feodot Alexeief. It
proved unsuccessful, but is noteworthy from the fact that in it
took part the Cossack Simeon Deshnef, who though long un-
known to fame, in course of time acquired some celebrity as the
first (if his claim is to be believed) actually to prove the existence
of a strait between Asia and America.
The history of the notions then current with respect to
such a strait deserves some attention. During the greater part
of the fifteenth century one of the problems which chiefly
exercised the minds of geographers was the so-called Strait of
Anian, supposed in some way to connect the Atlantic and
Pacific, though the origin of the name is lost in obscurity. The
idea is said to date from the voyage of Cortereal to Labrador
in 1500, which seemed to indicate the existence of a passage
to the north of America. But it is remarkable that none of
the early maps place the strait of Anian in this locality, but
in the position of Bering Strait as now known. It appears thus
in the map of Zaltieri (1566) and in various other maps, some
anonymous, of the latter half of the same century, including
that of Frobisher (1578). Anian also appears as the name of
the country on one or the other side of the strait. The dis-
covery of such a passage more than once engaged the attention
of the Spanish authorities in Mexico, and was the principal
motive of the voyage of Vizcaino in 1596. A note on the
famous map of 1600 ascribed to Edward Wright throws doubt
on the existence of any narrow strait, the voyage of Francisco
de Gali in 1583 having been supposed to show that its place
was occupied by a wide sea. After the voyage of Martin Vries
described in the third chapter, the Dutch beheved in the existence
of a large land (Compagnies Landt) to the east of Yezo,
occupying a large part of the Pacific north of 40" ; but the strait
of Anian still appeared in some maps as separating this land
from America, the strait on the western side being named after
Vries. These ideas continued to hold their own for many
122 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 [CHAP.
years after the date of the Russian voyage now to be described,
the results of which long remained unnoticed by the rest of the
world. Those results were indeed not incompatible with the old
notions, as Compagnies Landt might have lain entirely to the
east of the seas navigated by Deshnef.
As stated above, the first attempt at exploration, in 1647,
was unsuccessful, but in the following year a new expedition,
originally consisting of seven boats, was fitted out, three of the
boats, which alone persevered in the enterprise, being com-
manded respectively by Deshnef, Alexeief, and another Cossack
named Ankudinof^ The mouth of the Kolyma was left in June,
and an easterly course steered until the eastern extremity of
Asia had been rounded. This seems to have been the great cape
of the Chukches (Chukutskoi-nos) of Deshnef, though the name
is now more usually applied to the point at the north-eastern
extremity of the gulf of Anadyr-. Two islands lay off the Cape,
which pointed between north and north-east, while beyond it the
coast was rounded off towards the Anadyr — the principal object
of search on the part of the expedition. Hereabouts Ankudinof's
boat was wrecked, the crews being distributed between the other
boats, which afterwards became separated. That of Deshnef was
driven about by contrary winds until it was finally cast ashore
at the mouth of the Olutorsk, near the northern extremity of
Kamchatka. Hence the Cossack and his men made their way
overland to the Anadyr, where they wintered, founding a station
on the site of the future Anadyrsk. This remained their head-
quarters for several years, during which other parties arrived from
the Kolyma, the chief men among them being Simeon Motora,
Stadukhin^ and Sefivestrof. The Anadyr region was thus more
or less thoroughly explored, while the natives after some fighting
were compelled to pay tribute. The fate of the rest of the party
1 The account of the voyage brought to light in the i8th century by
G. F. Miiller (see p. 261 infi-d) is here followed; but it should be noted that
the trustworthiness of this has been questioned {Geog. Jott-rnal, Vol. 36, p. 81).
- The eastern point of Asia, long known as East Cape, was in 1898
renamed Cape Deshnef, in honour of the old Cossack voyager.
^ Stadukhin had previously (1647-49) sought for the Anadyr along the
northern coast of Siberia, but only advanced seven days' journey beyond
the mouth of the Kolyma.
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 1 23
which had rounded the eastern extremity of Asia with Ueshnef
is involved in uncertainty. According to inteUigence obtained
by Deshnef among the Koriaks, many died either from disease
or at the hands of the natives, but some escaped in their boats.
A tradition was afterwards current in Kamchatka that some of the
party had reached that country and even doubled its southern
point. If this was really the case, they preceded by almost fifty
years the eventual conqueror of Kamchatka, Vladimir Atlassof.
As a result of these various voyages the coasts of Siberia east
of the Lena were now known almost throughout their whole
extent, and the few remaining gaps were soon filled up\ From
the Lena to the Kolyma the coasts were much frequented by
traders in their "kotches" or flat-bottomed boats. The sea route
to the Anadyr taken by Deshnef was not used, however, after the
discovery of the shorter overland passage. West of the Lena
the coast was little explored until the next century.
While the adventurous hunters and traders were thus pushing
their explorations towards the extreme north-east, others were
extending the bounds of knowledge in the south-east of Siberia
also, with the result that in less than fifty years the general
features of the Amur system became known, while settlements
sprang up at various points. In 1639 a party of Cossacks
built a station on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, near the
mouth of the Ulya, and gained from the Tunguses some intelli-
gence respecting the countries to the south. Reports of the
Shilka, one of the upper branches of the Amur, were also heard
by a party which reached the Vitim daring the same year. To
discover this river an expedition was despatched from Yakutsk
in 1643 under the command of a Cossack named Poyarkof,
who ascended the Aldan and its southern feeders the Uchur
and Konam, leaving a part of his men in winter quarters on
the north side of the divide, while with the rest he crossed
the mountains and reached the Brianta, a tributary of the Zeya.
Pushing on down this stream Poyarkof encountered a Tungus
^ Sviatoi cape, the nearest point to the New Siberian Islands, seems to
have been first rounded in 1650 by Andrei Goreloi, but the island opposite
(Liakhof) is not known to have been visited until some years later. Reference
may be made to the sketch-maps in Chapter x.
124 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O [CHAP.
tribe, and afterwards came to a Daurian village at the mouth
of the Umlekan. Here food ran short, while the overbearing
conduct of the Russians led to fights with the natives, and only
half the advance guard remained alive when help was brought
by the party left on the Konam. The journey down the Zeya
was now continued, and in five days the Amur was reached.
Descending in turn the main stream of the Amur, Poyarkof
passed the Zungari and the territory of the Natki, reaching the
mouth of the Amur after a voyage of nearly three months. Here
Sketch-map of the Upper Amur Region.
he wintered, and during the summer of 1645 n"iade his way by sea
to the mouth of the Ulya, not reaching Yakutsk till June 1646.
The last of the great Siberian rivers had thus been discovered and
navigated for nearly half its length. The Russian discoveries
from the west had also approached within a short distance of
those of the Dutch from the south, though it was some time
longer before a connecting Hnk was established between the work
of the two nations.
The route followed by Poyarkof w^as long and difficult, but
information was soon obtained of a better way by the Olekma,
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 12$
whose upper basin closely approaches that of the Shilka. In
1648 a small party entered the Upper Amur basin by way of the
Urka, striking the main river a little below that tributary's mouth.
Here they obtained intelligence of a chief named Lavkai, whose
fame had already reached the Russian authorities from other
directions. In 1649 an adventurer named Khabarof undertook
a new expedition, wliich wintered on the Tungir, one of the
upper branches of the Olekma, and proceeded onwards towards
the Amur in January, 1650, the divide being crossed on sledges.
On reaching Lavkai's country negociations were carried on un-
successfully with the Daurians, who fled, abandoning their forts.
Leaving the greater number of his men here, Khabarof returned
to Yakutsk for reinforcements, with which he again reached the
Daurian country in 165 1. In June he set out on a voyage down
the Amur, capturing en route an important Daurian stronghold ^
After an attack on a Daurian village below the mouth of the Zeya,
the chiefs acknowledged the Czar's authority, but^ the people
soon deserting their village, a forward move was necessary.
Passing down the river to the territory of the Achani (the Natki
of Poyarkof) Khabarof decided to go into winter quarters. Here
again the exactions of the Russians led to fighting, in which the
natives were aided, but to no purpose, by the Manchus. In the
following spring Khabarof reascended the Amur, and after passing
the defile of the Bureya mountains met with reinforcements under
Chechegin and Petrillofskoi. But a mutiny among his men
put a check on his schemes of conquest, and all that he could
effect was the occupation of a post above the mouth of the Zeya,
subsequently known as Kumarsk from the stream which there
enters the Amur. On his reascent of the Amur from the Achani
country Khabarof had missed a party of men descending to meet
him under one Nagiba, who continued his journey to the mouth
of the Amur, defeating the Giliaks who opposed him, and,
after various adventures on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk,
eventually made his way overland to the Aldan and thence to
Yakutsk.
So far the work had been left to irresponsible adventurers
^ The tribes on the Amur acknowledged in some measure the authority of
the Manchus who now reigned in China.
126 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 [CHAP.
whose brutality towards the natives had ruined the prospects of
peaceful settlement. The government now resolved to intervene,
and in 1652 despatched Dmitri Simoviof to prepare the way
for further explorations by way of the Olekma and Tungir. In
1653 he arrived on the Amur, sending Khabarof to Moscow to
report to the Czar, while future operations were entrusted to
Onufrei Stepanof. This officer visited various parts of the Amur,
and on one occasion ascended the Zungari for three days, but
did not effect much. Establishing himself at Kumarsk for the
winter of 1654-55, he was besieged by a large Chinese army,
which however at last withdrew. Subsequently Stepanof was
joined by a force under Feodor Pushkin, which had estabHshed a
post at the mouth of the Argun (Upper Amur), and the two
commanders went to the lower river, where they built a fort in the
Giliak country. Stepanof was slain in 1658 in a great battle
with the Manchus near the mouth of the Zungari, and the greater
part of the Amur basin was for a time withdrawn from Russian
authority.
Before this, however, other explorations had been effected in
the upper basin of the river, where parties from Yeneseisk had
reached the Shilka. In 1652 an expedition under the Cossack
Beketof, with Maximof as Heutenant, crossed Lake Baikal, and
after wintering at the mouth of the Selenga, ascended that stream
to the Khilok and Lake Ilgen. In 1654 the divide was crossed
to the Ingoda, and the latter river descended to the Shilka, a fort
being built opposite the mouth of the Nercha. But things soon
went badly, and Beketof, with a part of his men, was forced to
join Stepanof on the lower Amur. In 1656 a new expedition
under Pashkof started from Yeneseisk, following in Beketofs
steps, but not reaching the Shilka till early in 1658. The town
of Nerchinsk was founded at the mouth of the Nercha, and
though Pashkof met with no great success in his endeavours to
establish Russian authority, the town in time acquired some
importance under his successors. In 1669 a band of adventurers
under a Polish exile Chernigofski reached the Amur by way of the
Tungir, and founded a settlement at Albazin opposite the mouth
of the Albazikha, which enters the Amur from the south a little
below the junction of the Shilka and Argun. Albazin soon
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O 12/
became the most important Russian settlement in the Amur
region, cultivation being carried on with some success. In the
region of the Zeya also, stations soon sprang up, including one
at Aigun a Httle below that river's mouth, and in 1681 the
country in this direction was further explored by Ignati Milo-
vanof, who soon afterwards established, by order of the government,
a fortified post at Selimbinsk on the Selimja (Silinji) river. About
this time two of the northern tributaries of the lower Amur,
the Bureya and Amgun, came within the sphere of Russian
activity, and a station was founded on the latter by Gavrilo
Feolof. Thus, after various fluctuations, Russian supremacy
seemed at last established over the whole northern and central
basin of the Amur, but it was not destined to last long.
As has been already mentioned, the Manchu rulers of China
claimed a sort of jurisdiction over the tribes of the Amur basin,
and, being now represented by the great Emperor Kang-hi, were
not disposed to look quietly on at these proceedings of the
Russians. As early as 1653, after the first collision with the
Manchus, a Russian envoy had been despatched to Peking to
come to some arrangement, but was slain on the way by his
guides. In 1676, however, an embassy headed by Nicolas
Spafarik, a Greek, succeeded in making its way across Manchuria
to Peking by way of Tsitsikhar, and as a result of the negotiations
orders had been given to the authorities on the Amur to abstain
from action on the lower river ; but they had remained a dead
letter. The Chinese now resolved to eject the Russians by force,
and soon drove them from the lower river, while in 1684 the
garrison of Albazin was forced after a siege to evacuate the place.
Its reoccupation was followed by a second siege, but meanwhile
negotiations were commenced, which finally resulted in the
evacuation by Russia, for over a century and a half, of the whole
eastern part of the Amur basin. The treaty by which this was
arranged was negotiated at Nerchinsk, where, in 1689, the Russian
envoy Golovin met the Chinese plenipotentiaries, accompanied
as interpreters by the Jesuits, Gerbillon and Pereyra. Of the
extensive travels of Gerbillon we shall speak in a subsequent
section.
Three years later (1692), an embassy was despatched by the
128 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 [CHAP.
Czar to the Emperor of China by way of Siberia and Manchuria.
The envoy, Everard Ysbrantz Ides, who was a Dane by birth,
subsequently wrote an account of his travels, which found a place
in several of the old collections, and thus did much to spread
a knowledge of the newly-acquired possessions of the Russian
crown. Ides describes the Ostiaks, Tunguses, Buriats, and other
peoples of Siberia, besides giving particulars respecting the
country. In speaking of the mammoth — which some of the
natives believed to live underground, though the Russians re-
garded it as an antediluvian inhabitant of the country — he gives
a good description of the breaking up of the ice in the Siberian
rivers, by which the banks are washed away, and the carcases
exposed. The embassy travelled vici Irkutsk (recently rebuilt
and already becoming a town of some importance) to Nerchinsk,
and thence through Manchuria to Peking. From Nerchinsk the
route led first to the Argun, where the Russians had a fort, and
then across the mountains to the valleys of the Yalo and Nonni,
thus just missing Tsitsikhar. Ides was the first European traveller
to give an account of this country, though the southern part of
Manchuria had already been visited by the Jesuits from Peking.
Although, as we have seen, Russian enterprise was now cut
short on the Amur, it had already made known the geographical
features of the whole of that region, while the diplomatic relations
with China had drawn a connecting link across the obscure region
of Manchuria. The chief area of unknown ground still remaining
in north-eastern Asia lay between the Sea of Okhotsk and the
farthest outposts of the Russian traders on the Anadyr ; and even
this was in part brought within the bounds of European know-
ledge before the close of the century.
In 1696 Atlassof, commanding the post of Anadyrsk, sent
the Cossack Moroskoi to extend Russian influence towards the
souths Moroskoi reached the neighbourhood of the Kamchatka
river on the east side of the peninsula, finding, in a native fort
which he took, traces of the previous arrival of Japanese castaways.
1 The dates of Moroskoi's and Atlassof s expeditions are here given on the
authority of G. F. Miiller, but it should be noted that Krasheninikof, in his
History of Kamchatka (see p. 262, infra), places them both two years later,
i.e. in 1698 and 1699.
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O 1 29
In the following year (1697) Atlassof himself proceeded south
and built a fort on the Kamchatka river, which subsequently
became the centre whence the whole country was subjugated.
The completion of the work was not, however, effected till the
next century, while it was long before the true relations of
Kamchatka with other lands to the south were understood, some
even taking that peninsula to be continuous with Yezo. The
first discovery of the west coast of Kamchatka of which certain
information exists took place in 17 16, when a vessel commanded
by the Cossack Sokolof, aided by Swedish prisoners of war, who
had been sent to eastern Siberia on account of their skill in ship-
building and navigation, made the voyage from Okhotsk to the
Tigil river, and down the coast to the Kompakova\ The first
authenticated rounding of the southern extremity of the peninsula
belongs rather to a new period of exploration, which will be dealt
with in a subsequent chapter.
Before proceeding to speak of the extension of geographical
knowledge during the seventeenth century from the side of China,
two journeys undertaken from India during the early part of that
century may be described. The first is that of Bento (Benedict)
de Goes, a lay member of the Jesuit order, who in 1603 set out
from India in search of the Great Empire of Cathay, of which
the fame had long before been noised abroad by the medieval
travellers. During the two centuries and a half which had
elapsed since the days of the Franciscan missionaries and other
early visitors to China, no European had reached that Empire
by the land route followed, for the last time of which we have
any knowledge, by John de MarignoUi, envoy from Pope
Benedict XII to the Great Khan in 1338. Some intelligence
had, it is true, come through by native agency, while even after
the sea route had been opened up by the Portuguese, information
respecting Cathay was obtained during the journey to Bokhara
of Anthony Jenkinson and his companions in 1558-9. But so
vague were the current ideas respecting Central Asian geography
^ Reports of an earlier voyage down the east coast of Kamchatka, and
round its southern extremity, may have some basis of fact, but in any case
nothing certain is known about it (cf. p. 123, ante).
H. 9
130 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-1750 [CHAP.
that it was far from generally recognised that Cathay and China
were but different names for one and the same empire. The
arrival at the court of Akbar, just before the end of the sixteenth
century, of a Mohammedan merchant from China (Cathay), which
he had reached by way of Kashgar, turned the attention of the
Jesuits in India to that empire as a field for missionary labour,
and Goes, with other missionaries, was chosen to carry out a
journey of exploration in that direction^
The journey — which ended fatally for the traveller, though not
before he had reached the borders of the land he sought — was a
very remarkable one, leading as it did through countries not
again visited by Europeans until the nineteenth century ; but the
details which we possess about it are unfortunately of a very
fragmentary character. Goes left Agra, where Akbar then held
his court, in 1602 or early in 1603, choosing the route, most
used by merchants, round the western extremity of the Himalayas
and by the cities of Eastern Turkestan. His track cannot be
followed with precision even in the light of recent discovery, but
the general direction was as follows. Crossing the Indus at Attok
he reached Kabul by way of Peshawur, and crossed the Hindu
Kush (" very lofty mountains ") by a pass to the north or north-
west of the former city. Reaching Talikhan he passed on through
a district in which civil war was raging, and traversing some ex-
ceedingly difficult country, entered the "defile of Badakshan," in
which the road ran above a river, possibly the Panj or Upper
Oxus, or perhaps one of its tributaries. An open desolate tract
(one or other of the various Pamirs) was then crossed, and after
it a steep mountain, beyond which lay the province of Sarikol.
Hence the meridional range which culminates in Mustagh-ata
was crossed by the Chichiklik pass, and the route continued via
Tangitar to Yarkand. After waiting a year, during which he
paid a visit to Khotan, Goes, in November 1604, joined a new
caravan, bound for China, which took the route across a corner of
the desert to Aksu, and then east along the southern foot of the
Tian Shan by Kucha and Turfan to Kamil or Hami. Before
1 Goes was a native of San Miguel in the Azores, and had apparently
reached India as a soldier on board a Portuguese fleet.
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 I3I
this our traveller had learnt from merchants travelling on the
return journey that Cathay was indeed China, as the Jesuits in
Peking had conjectured even before Goes set out on his search.
Crossing the steppes infested by roving bands of "Tartars," and
passing through the Great Wall, Goes arrived at Suchou, whence,
after some difficulty, he communicated with his co-religionists at
Peking. A native Christian was sent to escort him, but on
arriving at Suchou in March, 1607, found Goes prostrated by
illness, which ended fatally eleven days later. Some suspicion
was entertained that the traveller was poisoned by the Moham-
medans, who at Suchou had given him constant trouble, and who
after his death seized all his goods. Among these was a carefully
kept journal, which, had it come down to us, would have given
most valuable information on a route not again traversed by a
European for some 250 years.
The second traveller above referred to was also a Jesuit,
Antonio de Andrade by name, who went to India as a missionary
early in the seventeenth century, and in 1624 started, like Goes,
from Agra on an adventurous journey into the unknown lands
beyond the Himalayas. The journey was a remarkable one,
being the first recorded instance of the passage by a European
of the mountain barrier which shuts in India on the north, while
it was also the first made by a European into Tibet since that of
Friar Odoric early in the fourteenth century. Joining a party
of pilgrims, Andrade ascended the head-stream of the Ganges, by
the sacred shrine of Badrinath, to its source in a small glacier
lake on the Mana pass (18,000 ft). Pushing on, he reached the
then important centre of Chaprang on the Upper Satlej, in the
elevated region often known as Little Tibet, returning thence to
India before the end of the year. On this first journey he was
accompanied by Emmanuel Marques, and on returning to
Chaprang in 1625, by Gonzales de Sousa as welF. This was
the beginning of a long intercourse of Europeans with Tibet —
one which lasted, with breaks of greater or less duration, till the
beginning of the nineteenth century. The next important journey
after that of Andrade was undertaken from the direction of China,
to which we must now turn our attention.
^ For further note on Andrade's journeys see Appendix.
9—2
132 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O [CHAP.
Although during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries China
had been made more or less known to Europe by the travels of
Marca Polo and others, and the missionary labours of the
devoted Frarrciscan Friars, headed by John of Montecorvino,
an almost complete break in the intercourse between east and
west had supervened, for more than a century before the Portu-
guese ships made their way for trading purposes to the coasts of
the far east. Their intercourse with China — confined to one or
two ports— did little to improve the knowledge of the interior,
and it was not until the arrival of a new band of missionaries
that any great advance was made in this respect. Already,
towards the close of the sixteenth century, a first step had been
made by the labours of Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza, a Spanish mis-
sionary, who published an account of the Chinese Empire in 1585.
In 1578 the Jesuit VaHgnan visited ^lacao, and recommended
the despatch from India of one or more priests to commence
work in southern China. Three Italians were soon afterwards
sent, among them being Matthew Ricci, who had studied geo-
graphy in Rome under the celebrated Jesuit mathematician,
Clavius. After a few years the missionaries were permitted to
establish themselves on the mainland of Kwangtung, and in 1595
Ricci set out overland on a journey to Peking, where he hoped to
gain influence at court; but on this occasion he failed to obtain
an audience, and was obliged to retire to Nanking. Hence he
again proceeded to Peking in 1600, being this time well received,
and allowed to establish himself in the capital, whence, as we
have already seen, he despatched a native adherent to meet Goes
on the interior frontier of China in 1606. Ricci and his associates
found favour with the Chinese on account of their scientific
attainments, and their services were called in for the reform of
the Chinese calendar.
After the death of Ricci in 16 10, his papers, which gave a full
account of the establishment of the mission, were edited by
Father Nicolas Trigault and published at Augsburg in 16 15,
while his work was continued in China by Johann Adam Schall,.
and afterwards by Ferdinand Verbiest, a Fleming^ But no
1 Ricci's Comentari and Lettere were first printed in full in 1910-11, after
being long lost sight of.
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O I 33
great additions to geographical knowledge were made for some
years, the first important contribution being the publication of
the Atlas Sinensis of Father Martini (1655). This was based
entirely on Chinese sources, and is one among many proofs that
the knowledge possessed by the Chinese of their own country was
far from despicable, however crude were their ideas as to the rest
of the world.
About this time the Dutch began to scheme for the establish-
ment of trade with China, and for this purpose sent several
embassies to Peking and elsewhere, but with little result as far
as their chief object was concerned. They led, however, to some
increase in European knowledge of China, for the envoys travelled
overland, and full accounts of their routes were afterwards pub-
lished. In 1655 Pieter van Goyer and Jacob van Keyser started
from Canton by the great water-route to the north, crossing the
mountains which separate the basins of the Si-kiang and Yangtse,
and journeying down the Kia-kiang, the southern tributary of the
latter; then descending the Yangtse to the Grand Canal, by which
they continued their journey north. The account of the journey
was written by Jan Nieuhoff (known also for his travels in Brazil
and elsewhere), who embellished his narrative with a large number
of views and plans of cities, drawings of animals, and the like.
Another embassy was headed in 1666 by Pieter van Hoorn, who,
making Fuchou in Fokien his point of departure, ascended the
Min or Si-ho, crossed the divide into Chekiang, and descended
the Tsientang to Hangchou ; finally, like his predecessors, follow-
ing the course of the Grand Canal. The account of this journey,
compiled by Arnold Montanus, was published at Amsterdam in
1670, with other narratives of the Dutch proceedings in China.
To the same period belong the travels of the Spanish Dominican
Navarette, who, after spending some years in the Malay Archi-
pelago, passed over in 1658 to China, making his way from
Macao through the coast provinces to Peking. He afterwards
published (Madrid, 1676) a diffuse account of the Empire of
China, with the narrative of his travels through Mexico, thence
to the Philippines and China, and home by India, Madagascar,
and the Cape of Good Hope.
We now come to the second great journey through Tibet —
134 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O [CHAP.
that of Fathers Grueber and Dorville. Johann Grueber was born
at Linz in Austria in 1623, and started for China as a missionary
in 1656, travelling through Armenia and Persia to Surat in
India. Here he was delayed some time, and only reached
Macao in 1659, afterwards proceeding to Peking. Being directed
to return to Rome, and the sea route being closed by a Dutch
fleet, he set out with Dorville by the overland route in April,
1 66 1, travelling via Singan-fu to Sining in Kansu, near the borders
of Koko Nor\ The latitude of this important mart was deter-
mined, and the great wall was seen and described, as well as the
steppe or desert to the north, roamed over by wild beasts, and in-
habited by Tartar tribes, known to Grueber as Kalmucks. Passing
the Koko Nor the travellers must have traversed the salt plain of
Tsaidam and then crossed the high ranges and plateaux about
the sources of the Yangtse-kiang; this being described, under the
name Toktokai-, as a very fine river as large as the Danube,
though shallow. The kingdom of Lhasa, said to be called Baron-
tala^ by the Tartars, and also styled Tangut in the narrative, was
then entered. Grueber describes the Grand Lama, or supreme
head of Buddhism in Tibet, as the Lama Konju"*, and the secular
king or regent as Deva or Teva^ He drew a portrait of the former,
^ The only accounts of the journey extant are an anonymous "Relation"
in Italian, and fragmentary notices derived from Grueber's letters. They
give signs of much confusion, doubtless due to imperfect memory. Thus the
Hwang-ho is said to have been twice crossed between Singan-fu and Sining,
and the latter town to be situated at the Great Wall.
- The Toktonai-ulan-muren, still imperfectly known in our own day, is
one of the branches of the Mur-ussu or Upper Yangtse, but, being much
smaller than the latter, can hardly be the river spoken of by Grueber.
•^ Barontala is said to signify the country on the right, Dzungaria is
similarly said to be derived from Jion kai, " left-hand." Another Mongol
name for Lhasa is Barun-tsu, which is translated *' Western Sanctuary."
^ The Dalai Lama had only recently attained supreme power at Lhasa.
The holder of the title at the time of Grueber's visit had originally been Grand
Lama at Tashi Lhunpo in southern Tibet. He rebuilt the monastery of Potala
at Lhasa in 1643, ^'^^ was recognised as Dalai (ocean) Lama by the Emperor
of China in 1653.
■'' Although depa or tepa was in later times the title given to a special
functionary who conducted the civil government for the Dalai Lama, Grueber
seems to allude to one of the Mongol kings of the line of Guchi Khan, prince
of Koko Nor, who are said to have held office about this time as military
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O I35
and also made a picture of his palace or monastery at Potala.
During his stay he fixed the latitude of Lhasa by astronomical
observations. Resuming their journey, the travellers crossed a
very high pass — where they experienced difficulty in breathing
on account of the rarefied air — subsequently turning south and
crossing the main Himalayan chain into Nepal, near the frontier
town of Kuthi or Nilam. Here they visited the city of Khat-
The Rhubarb of China. (From Kircher's China Illustrata.)
mandu, and another which Grueber names Baddan, and which
must stand either for Bhatgaon or Patan, both of which were
important towns in the Khatmandu valley. Finally, passing
through Morung, a district of the Tarai, they made their way to
Patna on the Ganges, and thence by Benares to Agra, eleven
months after leaving China.
At Agra Dorville died, but Grueber continued his journey
defenders of the kingdom. He says that the Deva was descended from an
ancient race of Tangut Tartars.
136 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-1750 [CHAP.
through Persia and Asiatic Turkey to Europe. Being again
ordered to China he thought to open a road through Russia,
but his plans were frustrated owing to an invasion of that country
by the King of Poland. He was attacked by dysentery and seems
to have turned back without getting much beyond Constantinople
dying in Germany in 1684. Some of Grueber's letters were pub-
lished in the China Illustrata of Athanasius Kircher (Amsterdam,
1676)^, and others in a small volume pubHshed at Florence in
1687, all being reproduced by Thevenot in his well-known col-
lection of travels.
The next Jesuit journey to Tibet was made early in the next
century for the purpose of establishing a mission at Lhasa.
Meanwhile much had been done to improve the knowledge of
China proper, the chief workers being now a body of French
Jesuits, the first of whom left France in 1685 in the suite of
M. de Chaumont, ambassador from Louis XIV to the King of
Siam. They had been chosen for their knowledge of mathematics
and kindred sciences, this being the most useful credential in the
eyes of the Chinese emperor, now the famous Kang-hi of the
Manchu dynasty. Of the party which left France, five, viz.,
Gerbillon, Bouvet, Le Comte, Fontaney, and Visdelou-, were
destined for China, where in 1688 they were received by the
Emperor on the recommendation of Verbiest-\ The journey to
Peking was made overland from Ningpo, through the provinces
of Kiangnan and Shantung, and the route (as well as others
subsequently followed) was fully described in the great work of
Du Halde, to which reference will be made later. The French
missionaries found favour at the court of Kang-hi, and one of
^ Kircher was a German Jesuit of great learning, who held the post of
Professor of Oriental languages at Wurzburg. The China Illustrata gives a
general description of the country, with an account of the early explorations of
the Jesuits.
2 The sixth Jesuit was Pere Tachard, who afterwards wrote the account of
the embassy to Siam. The mission to the latter country included other
ecclesiastics.
^ During the minority of Kang-hi most of the missionaries had been
banished from Peking to Macao, but Verbiest had subsequently been employed
as astronomer, and had persuaded the Emperor to relax the stringency of the
deciee.
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O I 37
their number, Jean Francois Gerbillon, was, as we have seen,
despatched with the embassy to Siberia in 1688-89, subsequently
accompanying the emperor on various expeditions to the Mongol
countries north of the Great Wall. His journals, afterwards
published by Du Halde, contain much information respecting
those regions^
In 1688 Gerbillon proceeded north-west and west, crossing
both branches of the Great Wall, to Kuku Khoto, and turning
north across the steppes and sandy deserts inhabited by the
Khalkas, then being attacked by the Eleuths. Great numbers of
partridges and some deer were seen. Owing to the war, the
Chinese embassy was recalled by the emperor, messengers being
sent to acquaint the Russians with the reason, but it set out again
the following year. This time the envoys took a nearly northerly
course, passing the wall by the great gate near Kiu-pi-kiu. Then
ascending the valley of the Lan-ho, past hills clad in oaks and
pines, they crossed the desert with its hills of shifting sand, and
passed the " Karu " or limits of the empire a little south of the
Chona rivulet"-. Beyond the desert they came upon the Kerlun
or Kerulen, some eighty miles above Lake Kulun or Dalai Nor.
It was not more than fifteen paces wide and three deep. They
soon entered a region partly covered with forest and intersected
with many streams running west to the " Saghalien " or Shilka.
Their banks were much incommoded with quagmires. The Shilka
itself was finally reached opposite Nip-chu or Nerchinsk, being
there over seven hundred yards wide, and deep throughout.
Nerchinsk is placed by Gerbillon in 51° 56' N., which is approxi-
mately correct.
The negotiations having been brought to an end, the Chinese
envoys returned by the same route for the greater part of the
way. The Kerlun was now so swollen by rains that the horses
could only cross by swimming. After passing the steppe — where,
in October, sharp frosts are experienced — they took a more
^ Two journeys in the Emperor's train to Manchuria and Mongolia had
already been made by Verbiest, but his accounts of them are but brief. On
the first occasion (1682), Kirin on the Upper Zungari was reached, and
Verbiest heard of the famous Chang-pei-Shan, in which that river rises.
2 In about 46° 30' N. according to Stieler's Handatlas.
138 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 [CHAP*.
easterly route by Mount Pe-cha, reaching Peking on October 22.
Gerbillon subsequently made various journeys with the emperor
through eastern Mongolia. In 1696 he accompanied the force
which Kang-hi led against the Eleuths to the head waters of
the Kerlun, and late in the year took part in a visit to the
Ordos country within the bend of the Hwang-ho. In 1697 a
more extended journey was made somewhat in the same direction,
the Hwang-ho being crossed at Pao-te, the Great Wall skirted
within Chinese territory, and the river again crossed to Ning-hia.
On the return march the expedition proceeded north along the
Alashan range and followed the course of the Hwang-ho, more or
less closely, round its great northern bend to the point where
it again turns south. Over forty observations for latitude were
made during this journey.
The next year, 1698, Gerbillon made a still more extensive
journey, this time in company with three Chinese officials sent
by the emperor to hold assemblies of the Khalkas of Eastern
Mongolia. The expedition left Peking in a N.N.E. direction,
crossing the wooded ranges of Northern Pechili, and proceeding
northwards across the western basin of the Liau-ho. The Khingan
mountains, mentioned by Gerbillon as separating the streams
flowing to the northern and southern oceans, were then crossed,
and the first place of assembly was reached a little north of Pwir
Nor, the effluent of which, the Urson, flows to Lake Kulun or
Dalai Nor. Starting afresh in a northerly direction the expedition
struck the south-western shore of Dalai Nor, where Gerbillon
collected information respecting the lake and surrounding moun-
tains, and then ascended the valley of the Kerlun, crossing and
recrossing the stream as it swept to the south or north, and
passing the ruins of Kara-hotun, built in the time of the Yuen
dynasty. Near the point where the Kerlun first assumes its
easterly direction that river was left, and the Tula, the first
stream belonging to the Yenesei system, was struck. Both the
Kerlun and Tula were correctly described to Gerbillon as rising
in the Kentei mountains to the north. The country now became
more agreeable, the Tula — considerably larger than the Kerlun —
forming many tree-clad islands, and flowing rapidly through
pleasant meadows and woods. Crossing the mountains to the
V] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I750 1 39
north-west of the Tula, amid woods carpeted with wild straw-
berries, the expedition finally camped on the angle of ground
between the Tula and Orkhon, where the second assembly was
held. Here Russian merchants were encountered, from whom,
and from a Khalka in their service, Gerbillon obtained much
geographical information regarding the southern borders of Siberia.
Among other points he learnt of the existence of the Altai,
Khangai, Tannu, and other chains which give rise to the great
Siberian rivers; obtaining besides a correct account of Lake
Baikal from a Russian who had traversed it from end to end on
the ice, as well as of the Jabkan and Kobdo rivers of northern
Mongolia and the lakes in which they terminate. The camp
near the Orkhon formed the turning point of the expedition,
which made its way from the Kerlun across the Gobi desert to
Kuku Khoto near the Hwang-ho, and thence to Peking. A large
number of latitudes were again observed, which for the first time
supplied the means of mapping with some accuracy a tract of
country till then almost entirely unknown.
The mapping of the Chinese Empire was soon, however,
undertaken on a more systematic plan. As we have seen, the
Chinese maps of the nearer portions of the empire gave a fairly
correct idea of its geography, but could not, of course, equal those
based on astronomical observations. To revise and extend the
existing maps was the task entrusted by Kang-hi to the French
Jesuits, who in 1699 received a large accession to their numbers.
In that year Bouvet returned from a visit to Europe with nine
new missionaries, among them being Jean Baptiste Re'gis, whose
name is above all associated with the great survey soon to be
carried out. Already before 1705 the Jesuits had been com-
missioned to execute a survey of the plain south of Peking, where
the emperor wished to restore the works of defence against in-
undations, and in 1708 they began a more extended survey in
the neighbourhood of the Great Wall. In 1709 Regis, assisted
by Jartoux and Fridelli, surveyed Manchuria from May to
December, passing beyond the Amur, and also visiting the Ussuri
region. The account of the journey contains a correct description
of the Chang-pei Shan or Ever-white Mountain, which was found
to owe its whiteness, not to snow, but to the loose gravel of
I40 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-1750 [CHAP.
which it is in part composed. It is not quite certain whether
the Fathers actually visited the mountain, the time at their
disposal having been scanty considering the great area with which
they had to deal. They were near enough, however, to obtain
some knowledge of northern Korea, and to prove once for all
that that country formed part of the continent, as indeed had
been shown in the best maps previously pubhshed. The interior
of Korea remained outside the sphere of operations, but Regis
afterwards gained some knowledge of the country from an am-
bassador sent there by Kang-hi.
On their return from Manchuria the Fathers surveyed the
province of Pechili, the work being finished in 17 10. The next
year Regis turned his attention to Shantung, and subsequently,
assisted by De Mailla and Henderer, to the other eastern provinces
from Honan to Fokien. Finally, in 17 15, after the death of
Bonjour, who had begun the survey of Yunnan, the work was
completed by Regis, who had then material for the whole map
of the empire with the exception of Tibet ^ For the astronomical
survey of that country two lamas, who had received a mathematical
training from the Jesuits, were despatched thither by the emperor,
and in 17 17 the results of their labours were placed in the hands
of Regis. Though imperfect in many ways-, owing in part to the
invasion of the Eleuths, the map, supplemented by information
collected by Gerbillon and others, was a great advance on any
which had been made previously, and until recent times was
almost the sole basis for our knowledge of Tibetan geography.
The courses of the Tibetan rivers, including the Sanpo, were laid
down, and though their lower portions remained unknown, they
were rightly considered to form the head-waters of the Yangtse, and
of the great rivers of the Indo-Chinese peninsula. The informa-
tion collected by the missionaries was eventually (1735) published
in Paris by the Jesuit, Du Halde, accompanied by an atlas of
maps by the celebrated geographer d'Anville ; a second edition,
with supplementary matter, being issued in 1736 at the Hague.
^ Others of the missionaries who by their letters did much to increase the
knowledge of China were Parennin, Premaire, Jartoux, and Gaubil.
"^ Parts of the map were laid down merely from information derived from
the lamas.
V]
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, 160O-I75O I4I
Many interesting letters of the Jesuits were also published in the
Lettres Edifiantes et Cicrieuses, edited first by Legobien and
afterwards by Du Halde.
Brief mention must be made of the European journeys to
Tibet made during the first half of the eighteenth century. In
1707 a party of Capuchins (Montecchio, De Fano, etc.) reached
142 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ASIA, l6oC>-I750 [CHAP. V
Lhasa. In 1715 Hippolito Desideri, a Jesuit, was directed to
establish a mission at Lhasa, and succeeded in making his way,
with Manoel Freyre, through Kashmir over high passes to Leh,
and thence in 17 16 to Lhasa, where the Fathers remained till
1729. Desideri gave a vivid account of the horrors of the
mountain passes, the bare remembrance of which, he said, caused
him to shudder. Soon after Desideri's arrival at Lhasa, a large
party of Capuchin missionaries headed by Orazio della Penna, an
Italian, made their way (17 19) to the same city, travelling through
Nepal. The mission established by Delia Penna laboured at
Lhasa for over twenty years, having been reinforced in 1740 by
a new party of friars taken out by the founder after a visit to
Rome in 1 735-38 ^ During this time a journey through Tibet,
from India to China and back, was made by an adventurous
Dutch traveller, Samuel van de Putte, who reached India in 1624
via Aleppo and Persia, and after travelling for several years in the
dress of a native, arrived at Lhasa, where he dwelt for some years.
His journey to China was made in company with a Tibetan
embassy, and led him across the Upper Yangtse ("Bichu," i.e.
the Di-chu of modern maps) which, being probably in a state
of flood, it took him over a day to cross. The remaining route
was probably that by Koko Nor and Southern MongoHa, but
little definite information exists as to Van de Putte's travels, his
voluminous papers having been destroyed, by his orders^ after
his death at Batavia in 1745.
With the decline of the influence of the Roman Catholic
missionaries after the death of Kang-hi, the forward steps in
geographical knowledge ceased for a time, China becoming once
more closed to European travellers. The Jesuit accounts re-
mained the principal authorities on the geography of the country,
and not till the middle of the nineteenth century did explorers
again visit the remoter regions of the interior.
^ The party included Cassiano Beligatti, whose account of the journey to
Lhasa was printed in Italy for the first time in 1901-2.
CHAPTER VI
AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700
The greatest advance in geographical knowledge during the
seventeenth century occurred in those quarters of the globe
which, in the great discoveries of the previous period, had
remained comparatively untouched by the explorer. In Austra-
lasia, in Northern Asia, and in North America, new lands were
brought to light of which only the vaguest ideas were current
during the Spanish and Portuguese period. Those regions, on
the contrary, which had formed the special spheres of activity
of early explorers, now entered upon a period of stagnation, and
though some slight additions continued to be made to the
general knowledge, these bear a relatively unimportant part in
the history of geographical discovery. This is particularly the
case with Africa, the continent which in the time of Prince
Henry of Portugal saw the first systematic attempts to disperse
the mists of obscurity which during the middle ages had en-
veloped more than half the surface of the globe. As has been
often pointed out, Africa long felt the effects of a position on
the road to the more attractive regions of the east and west,
to the development of which all the resources of the conquer-
ing and trading nations of Europe were devoted. Whatever
posts were established on the African coasts were regarded
either as ports of call on the routes to the East or West Indies,
or as stations for the supply of slaves to the plantations of the
latter. Deprived thus of her labour-supply for the benefit of
other newly opened lands, Africa was for over two centuries
condemned to remain all but stationary both as regards the
development of her resources and the prosecution of geographical
discovery.
144 AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 [chap.
It was chiefly in the portion of the continent which lay nearest
to Asia and was thus most in touch with events in the East Indies
that the bounds of knowledge were extended, and here too, as in
so many parts of the world at the time, the progress effected was
mainly the work of Jesuit missionaries. Attention had long been
directed to Abyssinia through the fame of its Christian potentate
erroneously identified with the " Prester John " of earlier times,
who was in reality an Asiatic prince. Even in the middle of the
fifteenth century the famous world map of the Venetian Fra
Mauro, constructed for King Alfonso V of Portugal, exhibited
a surprising acquaintance with the geography of Abyssinia and
the Galla countries to the south, though its author was naturally
ignorant of the true relation of these countries to the rest of the
continent^
The embassies of Payva and Covilhao (begun in 1487), of
Alvarez (1520—27), and of Diaz and Rodriguez (1555), as well as
the military expedition of Don Christopher da Gama in 1541,
gave the Portuguese a personal acquaintance with the country
and paved the way for the arrival of the Jesuits. The first party,
headed by Bishop Andre de Oviedo, landed at Arkiko on the
Red Sea in March, 1557, and though the reception accorded
was not altogether favourable, the mission was maintained for
40 years without a break, the chief centre of activity being at
Fremona in the province of Tigre. In 1597 the last repre-
sentative of the first mission died, and work was in abeyance
for several years ^ An attempt to reach Abyssinia had been
made in 1588 by Fathers Antonio de Monserrate and Pedro
Paez, but being taken prisoners at Dhofar they were sent to
Sana, the capital of Yemen, passing on the way the ruins of the
ancient Melkis. Returning to India after seven years' captivity,
Paez again set out for Abyssinia, which he reached in safety in
1603, being favourably received by the Emperor Asnaf Segued
1 Fra Mauro's map (1457-59) showed, among other features, the Abai
with Lake Dembea, the Hawash, Lake Zuai, the Gibie (Xebe), Mount Zukwala
(Xiquala), and the provinces of Amhara, Gojam, and Shoa (Saba) in fairly
correct relation, though pushed far too much to the southward.
^ The Jesuits are said to have been represented during this period by a
secular priest, a native of India, Da Sylva by name.
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 145
(or Za Donghel) in 1604. Paez resided in the country until his
death in 1622, travelling, generally in the emperor's retinue,
through its various provinces, and becoming acquainted with its
geography and history. He wrote an account of the country
and of its early rulers which after his death was placed in the
hands of another missionary, Manoel d'Almeida, who embodied
it in his Historia de Ethiopia a Alta, a volume which remained
in manuscript down to the present day\ It seems, however, to
have been utilised in the compilations of Balthasar Tellez, Kircher,
and Ludolf, which present a general account of the history of the
Jesuit mission in Abyssinia. Paez seems to have visited the
source of the Blue Nile in 16 13 (not 16 18 as given by some
authors), and his description, as given by d'Almeida and the
historians just mentioned, is wonderfully accurate. He describes
the course of the Abai through Lake Dembea and the rugged
mountains of Gojam, with the cataracts of Alata, whose noise
was said to make the inhabitants in their neighbourhood deaf.
Paez also gives the correct explanation of the inundations of the
Nile which had puzzled so many of the ancients, attributing them
to the excess of rain which falls during the wet season in the
Abyssinian highlands.
But the most adventurous journey undertaken by any of
the Jesuits was that of Antonio Fernandez, who in 16 13-14
penetrated far into the Galla countries south of Shoa. This
missionary reached Fremona, by way of Suakin and Massaua,
in July, 1604, in company with F. A. de Angehs. The Emperor
Sultan Segued (or Socinios), who after some opposition finally
established himself on the throne in 1607, showed much favour
to the missionaries, who were settled near his Court on the shores
of Lake Dembea. Being desirous of sending an embassy to
the King of Portugal, and fearing the machinations of the Turks
at Massaua, the emperor thought it preferable to despatch the
expedition southwards towards Melinde. The Jesuits having
been asked to send one of their number with the envoy, the lot
fell upon Fernandez, who, though fully conscious of the difficulties
of the route chosen, set out from Dembea in March, 161 3.
^ It was printed in 1905-6 by Beccari in his Rertim /Ethiopicariun Scrip-
tores. Either the original or a copy is now in the British Museum.
H. 10
146 AFRICA, 160O-17OO [chap.
His journey, which is described by Tellez in his History of
Ethiopia, led, in fact, through countries not again traversed until
the latter part of the nineteenth century, but can by the help of
modern maps be followed without difficulty for the greater part
of the way. The most obscure part of the outward route is the
first section, which led in a south-west direction through the
country of the pagan Gongas to the Blue Nile at a place called
Mina or Mine\ This was said to lie in 12° N., nearly due west
of the source of the river, at the point where it begins to turn
north, but as the centre of the province of Dembea was placed
in 13° 30', or a degree too far north, we may look for the crossing
point somewhere about 11°. This would place it in a region
still very imperfectly known at the present day. Hence the
journey was continued due south through the country of the
Gallas to Narea or Enarea, next visited over two centuries later
by the French traveller d'Abbadie ; a large stream named Maleg
(probably the Didessa or one of its tributaries) being crossed on
the way. The people of Enarea (which is correctly placed in
8° N.) made an excellent impression on the traveller, no less for
the sincerity of their character than for their fine physique. They
carried on an active trade with their Negro neighbours in gold
and other commodities.
The ruler of Enarea put obstacles in the way of a further
advance southward, insisting that the ambassador should take
the easterly road through Bali, a district bordering on the
Danakil country-. In this direction the first country passed
through was that of Gingiro (Janjero of modern maps) which
formed a sort of peninsula encompassed by the River Zebee
(Gibie)^ This had therefore to be crossed twice, on each
occasion with some difficulty and danger. Fernandez learnt that
Gingiro signifies monkey and considered that the name suited the
^ Mina is shown on some modern maps just north of the Blue Nile, in
about 36° E. , but on what authority does not appear.
2 Near the Hawash according to ancient (and some modern) maps.
^ There are two streams of this name, each starting in a northerly direction
before turning south, and therefore forming a kind of peninsula as described.
The district of Janjero is placed by modern travellers in the angle between
the southern Gibie and the river of which the northern Gibie is the head-
stream.
VI]
AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700
147
f
mAh icrlptts:
flmrantt^ hi urn, ri m nufrru
otCfiECOBll HaHE&S
JiAJ , rLuicnc .
iSrrwm „n, ». » m^lt
Western portion of Ludolf's Map.
10 — 2
148 AFRICA, 1600-1700 [chap.
king well in regard to both his personal appearance and habits.
The travellers now entered the kingdom of Kambat and thence
after a long detention proceeded to Alaba\ Still pursued by in-
trigues, the ambassador and his Portuguese companion were unable
to advance further, but made their way back, with many adventures,
by a new route apparently leading nearly due north from Alaba.
Coming at last to an Amba- or mountain inhabited by Christians,
they received orders to repair to the Court, which was reached in
September, 16 14.
Another Jesuit traveller, better known to English readers than
either Paez or Fernandez through the translation of his narrative
by Dr Samuel Johnson, was Father Jerome Lobo. This missionary
embarked for Goa in 1622 in the fleet of Count Vidigueira, and
being chosen soon afterwards for the Abyssinian mission, sailed
from India in January, 1624, with the intention of finding an
overland route from Melinde secure from Turkish interference'".
Landing at Patta or Pate on the island of the same name, Lobo
left his companion there and proceeded north along the coast
in a native bark to the neighbourhood of the Juba river. Here
he came in contact with the Gallas, who gave him no hope of
finding a practicable route to Abyssinia, telling him of the
constant wars that raged among the various nations on the way.
The two missionaries therefore made their way back to India,
where they found the Patriarch Alfonso Mendez about to set out
for the mission. In his company Lobo reached the Red Sea, the
various ports of which he accurately describes. The name of the
sea he derives from the presence of a reddish seaweed growing in
the shallow waters. A landing was effected at Bailur or Bailul,
one of the less frequented ports just within the straits of Bab-
el-Mandeb, and the missionaries made their way across the
burning sands of the Danakil country, incurring some danger
from the predatory bands which infested the country, but arriving
^ Both these districts are to be found on modern maps, information re-
specting them having been first obtained, in modern times, by the Italian
travellers Cecchi and Chiarini.
2 Four of the party of missionaries who set out about this time for
Abyssinia arrived in safety by the Red Sea route. Two others, however,
after landing at Zeila, were beheaded by the native ruler. Another accom-
panied Lobo.
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 149
safely at the mission station of Fremona after ascending the
plateau escarpment. During his lengthened residence in the
country Lobo became well acquainted with its various provinces.
He frequently visited Gojam, the Agau countries, and other
districts adjoining the Blue Nile, of which he gives a detailed
description so far as it flows within the borders of Abyssinia \
He knew little of the countries beyond those borders to the west
except that they were inhabited by Negroes with curled hair,
whom the Abyssinians had been unable to subdue. The district
of Fazokl near the point where the Blue Nile leaves the mountains
was, however, known to him under the form Fazulo. Being
assigned by his superior to the mission in Damot, Lobo crossed
the Blue Nile and gained some knowledge of the southern portion
of Damot, which then lay to the south of that river, though since
overrun by the Gallas. The district of Ligonus, in which his
work lay, is described by him as one of the most beautiful and
agreeable places in the world, the air being healthful and
temperate, and the hills shaded with cedars.
After the death of Sultan Segued a persecution arose, and
some of the Jesuits were obliged to flee the country, while others
suffered martyrdom. The same fate befel a party of Capuchins
who thought to re-estabHsh a mission in Abyssinia, and though an
attempt was again made by the Jesuit Charles de Brevedent at
the close of the seventeenth century and by German Franciscans
early in the eighteenth, practically no addition was made to our
knowledge during the century and a half after Lobo's time.
The work of the Portuguese Jesuits, recorded by the historians
already alluded to, rendered Abyssinia the best known part of
Africa during the period with which we have to do. In 1683
Ludolf constructed a map, based to some extent on one by
Tellez, which is surprisingly correct in its general outlines. A
photographic reproduction of its western half is given on p. 147.
The former writer, who acquired much of his information at first
hand from a native of Abyssinia named Gregorius Abba, severely
criticises the maps of Africa produced by the Dutch or Flemish
^ One journey was undertaken for the pui-pose of searching for the remains
of the chivah-ous but unfortunate Don Christopher da Gama, in which, to
his great joy, he was successful.
ISO
AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700
[CHAP.
school of cartographers (Mercator, Ortelius, Janssonius, Blaeu,
etc.) which were quite incorrect in their delineation of Abyssinian
geography. Unfortunately these Flemish maps attained a wider
Evolution of Central African Cartography in the i6th century.
Note. Waldseemiiller's map of 15 16 was preceded by that of 1507, in which
the general idea was the same, though less developed. Mercator's of
1569 was similarly preceded by his globe of 1541, on the same general
lines. Gastaldi's map of 1564 was the one most closely followed by
Dapper and other compilers of the succeeding century.
currency than the more correct maps based on the Jesuits'
accounts, and thus contributed to the maintenance of erroneous
ideas respecting Central African geography. The manner in which
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 151
they had been gradually evolved by stay-at-home geographers, on
a Ptolemaic basis, has been spoken of in the introductory chapter,
and is illustrated by the accompanying sketch-maps.
One or two of the later journeys to Abyssinia, made about the
close of the seventeenth century, deserve special notice on account
of the different route adopted — that by Egypt and the Nile
Valley. Father de Brevedent set out from Cairo in June, 1698,
accompanied by a French doctor, Charles Poncet, whose narra-
tive is our only authority for the events of the journey ^ Beyond
Siut, where the Nile was crossed by a stone bridge, the travellers
took the route across the desert, by way of the oases, then
usually followed by trading caravans bound for the Sudan.
Poncet states that the Sudan lay to the west of Sennar, and
that merchants went there in quest of gold and slaves. He
mentions the great oasis — the last territory subject to the Grand
Seignior — under the name Helawe — no doubt a corruption of El
Wah, "the oasis." At Shabbe (Esh Shebb) the kingdom of
Dongola was entered, and after the Selimeh oasis had been
passed the Nile was again struck in the vicinity of the third
cataract. After a halt at Dongola, the travellers entered the
kingdom of Sennar, leaving the Nile at Korti and crossing the
Bahiuda ("Bihouda") steppe to Derrera just below the sixth
cataract. They did not see the confluence of the White and
Blue Niles, as they crossed to the east bank and struck across
to the Blue Nile above the confluence, this being still considered
by Poncet as the main stream. On March 21, 1699, they
were in the town of Sennar, the latitude of which is given as
13° on the authority of an observation by Father de Brevedent^.
The heat was here found to be almost insupportable. The place
was populous but ill-built ; goods of all sorts were cheap, and
a large trade with the East by way of Suakin was carried on by
its merchants. Leaving Sennar, the travellers recrossed the Blue
Nile and continued their route to the south-east, passing by
^ An abridged version of Poncet's narrative was published in the Lettres
Edifiantes et Curieuses. From the statements of Father Krump, whose
journey will be mentioned later, it appears that three Franciscans also accom-
panied Brevedent.
2 The true latitude is 13° 36'.
152 AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 [CHAP.
Debarke (on the Binder) to Giesim, half-way between Sennar and
Abyssinia, wrongly placed by the father in 10° N., if Poncet's
statement is to be trusted ^ Subsequently crossing the Gandwa
(Gundwa), the head-stream of the Atbara, Poncet and his com-
panion reached the borders of Abyssinia, where, on the threshold
of the hoped-for scene of his labours, the Jesuit father succumbed
to a malady from which he had long been suffering. Poncet
continued his journey to Gondar, where he claims to have been
warmly received by the emperor, but some doubts have been
thrown on the accuracy of this part of his narrative. His de-
scriptions of the outward route are evidently faithful, and supply
an interesting view of the political state of the country at the
time, as well as details of its natural history. He says a good
deal about Abyssinia, also describing the source of the Nile and
Lake Dembea, to which last he gives the greatly exaggerated
length of 100 leagues. After some stay in Abyssinia, his health
compelled him, early in 1700, to turn his steps homewards,
which he did through the provinces of Wogera ("Ogara"), Shire
("Siry"), and Adna, crossing the Takazze ("Tekessel") and
Mareb (" Moraba"), and finally reaching Massaua, where he was
well received by the Turkish governor. The English were at the
time attempting to open a trade with Abyssinia, and an English
vessel arrived at Massaua during Poncet's stay.
The journey to Abyssinia by the Nile route was again under-
taken more than once within a few years of Poncet's return-. In
1700 the Minorite Friar, Theodore Krump, received a commission
from his superiors to join the expedition to Abyssinia then being
organised by Pope Innocent XII. From Rome he went to
Tunis, where he visited the town of Susa as well as the capital,
and thence took ship for Alexandria. From Rosetta he went by
boat to Cairo, and eventually to Siut, where he joined the bulk
of the expedition. Six other fathers started with him for Abys-
sinia, the party including the Jesuits Grenier and Paullet, as well
^ Giesim is placed in some maps near the source of the Dinder in 12° N.
2 Poncet himself is said to have started again in 1703, accompanied by
Father Du Bernat, but, on arriving at Jidda on the Red Sea, to have absconded
into the interior of Yemen with the presents intended for the king, afterwards
proceeding to Surat and Isfahan.
.VI] AFRICA, 160O-17OO 153
as four of his own order. From Siut the caravan took a somewhat
different route from Poncet's, keeping to the river as far as Girgeh
and then striking across the desert to the Ruins of Thebes. At
Esneh the desert was again entered, and Poncet's route was joined
at the oasis of Esh Shebb, beyond which it was followed pretty
closely as far as Sennar. The desert routes from Girgeh to
Thebes and from Esneh to Esh Shebb were not again followed,
or at least not described by any European traveller, until recent
years. At Sennar Krump remained behind to place his medical
knowledge at the disposal of the ruler, while the rest of the party
made their way to Abyssinia, accompanied by Paschalis, who
had before resided at Sennar. So far as can be judged from
Krump's account, they took a somewhat different route from
Poncet's, but the party finally reached Gondar with the loss,
through death, of one of their number. Having, after much
opposition, obtained the adhesion of the emperor to the Roman
Church, the survivors of the party started homewards. By this
time several had succumbed to illness, and others fell victims
to the climate during the return. Krump likewise started home-
wards from Sennar (June, 1702), and the journey was made by
the already-followed route as far as Selimeh. Beyond this a new
course was adopted, which took the caravan by an oasis called
Luach by Krump, the identity of which seems doubtful. Krump
published in 17 10 a lengthy account of his journey, which contains
detailed descriptions of the places visited in Egypt and Nubia.
Like Poncet's narrative, with which it generally agrees, it em-
phasises the trade importance of Siut and Sennar.
Some geographical results were obtained by travellers on the
west coast of Africa during the seventeenth century, but they
were of much less importance than those gained in Abyssinia.
In Senegambia and Upper Guinea the chief activity was displayed
by the agents of trading corporations, which, though generally
confining their activity to the coasts, made some attempts to pene-
trate to the supposed rich regions of the interior. Further south,
in the old kingdom of Congo, some journeys were made by mis-
sionaries, but none of these extended to a great distance, though
they did something to diffuse a knowledge of the countries visited.
154 AFRICA, 160O-I70O [CHAP.
The Portuguese monopoly of trade to West Africa had been
challenged long before any voyages to the East Indies had
been ventured on by the rivals of that nation. During the
sixteenth century various trading voyages had been made to West
Africa, particularly by the French from Dieppe, who directed their
attention chiefly to the Senegal. From 1550 onwards English
adventurers followed in their track in fairly quick succession,
and in 1588 the first English Company for West African trade
obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth. In 16 1 8 a more
serious undertaking was set on foot, chiefly at the initiative of
Sir Robert Rich, which led to the incorporation of the " Company
of Adventurers of London trading into Africa." This company
turned its attention to the Gambia, by which river it was hoped
that a road might be found to the famous city of Timbuktu and
the gold-producing regions of the Western Sudani A vessel of
a hundred and twenty tons was despatched in 1618, under the
command of George Thompson, who ascended the Gambia with
the ship as far as a place named Kassan in 15° W. Proceeding
to explore the river further in boats he made his way for some
distance, but on his return found that the ship had been seized,
and the crew murdered, by a party of Portuguese. The following
year he again ascended the river, passing the Barrakonda falls
and reaching Tinda, 25 or 30 leagues beyond. During this
journey he learnt particulars of the caravan trade of those parts,
and was already meditating the establishment of fortified posts on
the river when his overbearing conduct led to his death at the
hands of one of his men.
In 1620 two ships were fitted out and placed under the
command of Captain Richard Jobson, who likewise ascended
the Gambia as far as Tinda, and made enquiries relative to trade ;
but want of suitable goods for barter made the venture a failure.
On his return Jobson wrote a full record of his proceedings,
entitled The Golden Trade, with some account of Thompson's
also and a description of the country and its inhabitants, so
that the voyage led to some increase of knowledge. A fort
^ A story is told by Barros to the eftect that Timbuktu was reached by
two Portuguese envoys towards the close of the fifteenth century, but the
correctness of this is extremely doubtful.
Vl] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 155
seems to have been built on the Gambia in 161 8, but it was
afterwards abandoned, and Fort James was not finally established
until many years later. On the Gold Coast, too, a fortified post
was established in 16 18 by the British Company.
It was to this latter coast that the Dutch turned their chief
attention during this period. The formation, in 162 1, of the
Dutch West India Company, with a sphere of operations extending
likewise to West Africa, was quickly followed by the establishment
of posts on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea, where Fort Nassau,
a little to the east of Cape Coast Castle, was founded in 1624.
Before long the Dutch possessed no fewer than 16 stations on
the Gold Coast, Elmina, wrested from the Portuguese in 1637,
being the chief. Before the end of the century both the Danes
and Brandenburgers also established themselves on the same
coast, the former retaining their settlements until the middle of
the nineteenth century. This commercial activity, though not
leading to any journeys of exploration into the interior, did much
to bring about a better acquaintance with the coast lands, which
had its outcome in the careful descriptions of Dutch writers, such
as Bosman and Barbot. The former lived 14 years on the coast,
and, as most of his information is at first hand, his work is the
most valuable early authority we possess on the Guinea coast.
It includes also two letters written to him by other factors of the
Company, the one, by J. Snoek, describing the Ivory and the
Grain Coast, the other, by David van Nyendael, of special import-
ance as one of the few original accounts of the country of Benin
down to quite recent years.
The relations of the Dutch and other nations with the Guinea
Coast extended round the head of the Gulf to at least as far as
Cape Lopez, the numerous estuaries of the rivers being constantly
visited for the purpose of obtaining cargoes of slaves. The Non
and other branches of the Niger delta were known (though not
suspected to be the mouths of a great river), as well as the Old
and New Calabar, and many other streams. The account is
extant of voyages to New Calabar and Bonny by James Barbot,
brother of John Barbot, author of the Description of Guinea.
Meanwhile the French, as already stated, confined their
attention almost entirely to the region of the Senegal, where
156 AFRICA, 160O-I7OO [chap.
they continued to trade, though for many years their posts were
limited to the vicinity of the coast. The first French company
seems to have been formed a little before 1626 among the
merchants of Dieppe and Rouen, and not many years afterwards
the first voyage up the Senegal of which we have any account
took place. It is described by an adventurer who took part in
it, Claud Jannequin, Sieur de Rochefort. The expedition, under
the command of Captain Lambert, made the coast of Barbary
and coasted down to Cape Blanco, where the adventurers landed
to build a small vessel for the exploration of the Senegal. The
country was found to be barren and waterless and the inhabitants
wretchedly poor, living chiefly on fish. On reaching the Senegal
the ship was left outside the bar, which was with difficulty crossed
in the boat. Within the mouth of the river a small fort was
built — apparently near the village of Biyurt on the east bank,
not on the site of St Louis — and the voyage up stream com-
menced. The furthest point reached, "Terrier Rouge," is said
to have been 70 leagues from the mouth and is placed on old
maps in 15° W. During the ascent, trade was carried on with
the Negroes for hides, ivory, gum arable, ostrich feathers, etc.,
but the season — the beginning of the rains — being unfavourable,
it became necessary to return. The inundations of the Lower
Senegal are accurately described by Jannequin, who, however,
accepts the popular belief of the time that that river was the
lower course of the Niger, or rather one branch of it, two others
being supposed to enter the sea north and south of the Senegal
respectively.
The Rouen Company was in 1664 merged into the French
West India Company, which soon joined in the slave trade for the
supply of the West Indian plantations. This turned its attention,
like that of other European nations, to the Slave Coast and
adjoining regions. One of the first voyages made on behalf of
the West India Company was that of Villault de Bellefond (i666),
who sailed along the Guinea Coast from the Senegal to the Gold
Coast, touching at many points. An account of his voyage, with
descriptions of the places visited, was published on his return,
and soon afterwards translated into English. The account is
also extant of a voyage by the Sieur d'Elbee to Ardrah or Jakin
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 157
on the Slave Coast in 1670. It contains an account of the
kingdom of Ardrah, which then occupied a large part of the
present Dahome. On the Senegal' operations were not attended
with great success until the arrival of an energetic and capable
Director-general in the person of Andre Brue (1697), who during
his period of administration greatly extended the knowledge
of the Senegal river-. In July, 1697, Brue set out on his first
voyage, which had for its object the regulation of the trade
with the Fuli (Fulas) on the north bank of the river, then ruled
by a chief named the Siratik, whose residence was in about 13° W.
The Senegal was full at this season, and with its wooded banks
afforded a scene of great beauty. Owing to the strength of the
current the boats were towed by Negroes, who worked often up
to their waists in the water. The ledge of rocks called Platon de
Donghel, which obstructs the river at low water in about 14° W.,
was passed without difficulty and, soon after, the furthest point
previously reached by the French was passed. Brue did not
himself advance beyond the Siratik's district, but sent on some
agents, who reached the frontiers of Galam near the mouth of
the Faleme, where they opened a trade in slaves, gold, and
cotton cloths^. The Fulas were found to be of a distinct race
from the Negroes, being tawny instead of black. They carried on
a trade in gold and ivory with the " Moors " of the neighbouring
countries.
Brue's second voyage up the Senegal was undertaken in 1698,
when Galam was successfully reached, and Fort St Joseph
established near the town of Dramanet, a little above the mouth
^ Some information respecting the countries adjoining the Lower Senegal
was given by Le Maire, a French surgeon, who made the voyage there
in 1682.
2 Before this the West India Company had made over its rights as regards
the Senegal to a subsidiary association, in whose service Brue went out,
succeeding the Sieur Bourgignon as Director. It should be noted that at
least one journey, attributed by Labat to Brue, has been shown to have really
been made by his predecessor La Courbe.
^ Barbot says that the Chevalier des Marchais ascended the Senegal to
Galam about this time, and it is suggested by the editor of Astiey^s Voyages
that the French traveller had been with Brue on this occasion. This is im-
probable, as Des Marchais himself says nothing about such a circumstance.
158 AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 [CHAP.
of the Faleme. The inhabitants were for the most part Moham-
medans, and the merchants traded as far as Timbuktu, said to be
500 leagues beyond. Brue obtained here some information re-
specting the intervening kingdom of Bambara, whence slaves
were brought to Dramanet. After building the fort, he continued
his ascent of the river as far as the rock Felu, which, stretching
across the channel, formed a fall entirely obstructing navigation.
This fall was examined by Brue on foot, the boat having been
left two leagues below. It had been his intention to proceed
as far as the Guina ("Govina") falls, but a sudden drop in the
level of the river, amounting in 24 hours to no less than 18 feet,
warned him to begin the return journey. During this expedition
information was obtained of the gold-yielding country of Bambuk,
and of the trade carried on by the Mandingos in those regions.
Brue also made enquiries regarding Timbuktu, and was told that
the city was not, as had been supposed, on the Niger, but at
some distance from it. The accounts, however, were somewhat
conflicting and threw some doubt on the identity of the Niger
with the Senegal. Some years later Brue sent some of his men
to push the discovery further, and these succeeded in reaching
the Guina Falls (32 days' journey from the head of navigation on
the Senegal), but advanced no further. One of Brue's agents
named Apollinaire was stationed at Dramanet (Fort St Joseph)
after the Director's return, in the hope of being able to make
his way to Bambuk. In this he was unsuccessful, though he
ascended the Faleme to the first rapids above its mouth and
entered into friendly relations with the native chief of Kaynura.
Things soon went badly, however, at Fort St Joseph, which had
to be evacuated in 1702.
Brue does not seem again to have ascended the Senegal to
so high a point as in 1698, though active in visiting other parts
of Senegambia in the endeavour to stimulate trade. After nego-
tiations with the English on the Gambia in 1700, he is said by
Labat to have made his way overland to Cacheo, but this journey
is now attributed to La Courbe. During a second tenure of
office as Director-general he made an unsuccessful attempt
(1714) to reach the lake of Kayor, to the north of the Lower
Senegal, and in 17 15 visited the country north of the mouth of
VI
AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700
159
the river, gleaning information respecting the gum trade, and
the country which produced that commodity.
On his return to the Senegal Brue had at once taken steps to
re-establish a trade on the upper river, where, in addition to P'ort
St Joseph, a station (Fort St Pierre) was now established on the
Faleme. In 17 16 the Sieur Compagnon, a chivalrous and enter-
prising pioneer, made his way to Bambuk, and his various
journeys threw much light on the district between the Senegal
African Elephant. (From Labat.)
and the Faleme. Campagnon first made his way across from Fort
St Joseph to Fort St Pierre, afterwards following the east bank of the
Faleme for a considerable distance, and striking across country
to the gold district of Tambaura. He met with much opposition,
but his affability and liberality finally overcame all obstacles, and
he was able to examine the principal so-called "mines "in the
country. The gold was found in alluvial deposits, but though
the native methods of washing were very primitive, a considerable
l6o AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 [CHAP.
amount was obtained. Compagnon made a good map of the
country between the Senegal and the Faleme, marking on it the
positions of all the gold-yielding localities. He also collected
information as to the plants and animals of the country, including
a bird called the " Monoceros," which seems to have been a
species of hornbill. Compagnon's explorations were not followed
up for many years, and Bambuk formed the limit of the French
acquaintance with the interior at this time.
The accounts of Brue and other officers of the French company
were utilised by the Dominican editor of travels, J. B. Labat, in
his Nouvelle relation de PAfrique Occidentale, published in 1728,
which contains a general description of the West African coast
lands from the Senegal to Sierra Leone. Labat subsequently
(1731) published an account of the voyage of the Chevalier des
Marchais to the coasts beyond Sierra Leone in 1725-27. Des
Marchais had made previous voyages to the same coasts, and
Labat's work, which seems to have embodied other material
collected by him, is one of the best authorities on the state of
those countries at the time. It was illustrated by many maps
and cuts — the former the work of the great French geographer
d'Anville\
We must now return to English enterprise on the Gambia,
which, after the early voyages of Thompson and Jobson, was in
abeyance for some years. In 1663, the year after the incorpora-
tion of a third English African Company named the "Company
of Royal Adventurers of England trading to Africa," Captain
Holmes, who had been sent to protect British trade in West
Africa, founded Fort James on an island 20 miles from the mouth
of the Gambia, and this soon became one of the most important
trading stations of the English in the whole of Guinea. The Royal
African Company, which in 1672 took the place of the Company
of Royal Adventurers, endeavoured early in the eighteenth century
to extend its operations inland, and attempts were made to explore
the upper course of the Gambia in the hope of discovering gold
mines in that direction. In December, 1723, Captain Bartholomew
Stibbs started from Fort James on a voyage up the river with the
1 Only the first half of the work relates to Guinea, the latter part dealing
with Cayenne, the ultimate destination of Des Marchais's voyage.
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 161
ship Despatch^ a sloop, and five canoes, the whites of the party
numbering eighteen. The Despatch was left at Kuttejar (in about
14° 35' W.) and the sloop at Barrakonda, the voyage being continued
in the canoes. The time of year was unfavourable, the start having
been delayed, contrary to Captain Stibbs's wishes, until too late
in the dry season, and much difficulty was experienced from the
lowness of the river. The first fall occurred about three leagues
from Barrakonda, and extended right across the stream, so that
almost a whole day was occupied in getting the canoes past it.
Shallows became numerous above, and, after passing two more
rocky falls, progress was completely stopped by the shoals at a
point about 59 miles above Barrakonda. Stibbs sent one of his
men to search for the reported York River, said to be situated
17 leagues above Barrakonda, but he returned without success,
having, during a day's journey, found only dry channels entering
the main stream. This was so shallow that it had several times
been forded. The result of this voyage was to induce Stibbs to
doubt the correctness of the current idea that the Gambia formed
one of the mouths of the Niger, for he had heard from the natives
that it came from the gold mines, twelve days' journey from
Barrakonda, and that it had no connection with lakes or any
other river. He was also correct in supposing that the Senegal
also was independent of the Niger, rising comparatively near the
coast; but his views did not meet with general acceptance, and
the old idea maintained its ground many years longer.
One of the fullest accounts of the countries on the Gambia at
this time is that of Francis Moore, who went out at an early age,
in 1730, as factor under the Royal African Company, and during
his residence in the country made many journeys up and down
the river. His book, published in 1738, is in the form of a journal,
but contains many descriptions of places on the river and the state
of trade at the time. It includes the account of Captain Stibbs's
voyage, and some particulars respecting Job ben Solomon, a native
of Futa Jallon, who had been taken as a slave to Maryland, but
had been redeemed and sent back to his country. During his stay
in England, an account of his life and adventures had been drawn
up by a Mr Bluet, and this contains some information respecting
the then unvisited country of Futa Jallon. Moore's book contains,
H. II
1 62 AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 [chap.
in addition to various cuts, a map of the Gambia as far as
Barrakonda, based on a survey by Captain John Leach, which
a comparison with modern maps shows to have been remarkably
accurate.
Passing now to the more southern parts of West Africa — Congo,
Angola, and neighbouring regions — we have again to do principally
with the work of missionaries, who were now the most energetic
travellers in the Portuguese colonies. The Congo river and the
kingdom of the same name were, it is true, visited by Dutch
traders before the end of the seventeenth century, but they added
little to the geographical knowledge of those countries. The
missionaries who laboured in Congo and Angola during the
seventeenth century belonged to the order of Capuchins, whereas
in the sixteenth the work had been carried on by Dominicans and
Franciscans. The best authority on the travels of the Capuchins
and on the geography of the region in question, as known towards
the end of the seventeenth century, is the work of G. A. Cavazzi
da Montecuccolo, who himself laboured and travelled in those
countries. It is entitled Istorica descrizzione del ire regni Congo
Matamba e A?igola (1687). This work formed the basis of a
description of the country by Labat, who, after publishing the
accounts of Upper Guinea to which reference has been made
above, turned his attention to the more southern regions with a
view to completing his account of the whole west coast. His
Relation Historique de VEthiopie Occidentale^ which is the title of
the third of the series, was published in 1732 and, like the former
works, contains maps by the great French geographer d'xAnville.
The journeys of some of the Capuchin missionaries extended
a considerable distance into the interior — in some cases through
districts hardly visited by Europeans since their time. Their
routes cannot be laid down with precision, but the approximate
direction followed by each can be guessed at with some confidence,
confirmation being supplied in some cases by the light of recent
discoveries. One of the most important journeys from a geo-
graphical point of view was that of Girolamo de Montesarchio,
who in 1657 is said to have made his way from San Salvador — the
capital of Congo — to Sundi on the Congo (evidently the country
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 163
of the Basundi tribe) and thence along the north bank of the river
to a place named Concobella, supposed to lie on the borders
of the kingdom of Makoko. One of Dapper's names for the
inhabitants of the kingdom (Meticas) enables us to identify it
with the land of the Bateke north of Stanley Pool. The return
journey was made by a more easterly route by the "sacred tree"
at Gimbo Amburi. This would seem to be not a solitary instance
of penetration to so high a point on the Congo, for, in the account
by the Capuchin Merolla of a voyage to Congo, etc., in 1682, we
are told that a certain missioner travelled into the country of
Makoko and died there after baptising 50,000 souls. The country,
however, remained practically a terra incognita until Stanley's great
journey of 1877.
Another important journey seems to have been made beyond
San Salvador on the south side of the Congo as far as the Kwango,
its first great southern tributary. Nothing appears to be known
of the name of the traveller who made this journey, but from the
fact that the route is laid down with considerable detail in the
map accompanying Dapper's Africa, and reproduced by Delisle,
d'Anville, and other cartographers of the first half of the eighteenth
century, there seems little doubt that such a journey was made.
On the map alluded to, the route is shown as running generally
parallel with the lower Congo at a little distance to the south, but
this probably is due to accident, as it does not touch the river at
any point, and our present knowledge enables us to trace the
general direction of the march at an average distance of perhaps
100 miles from the river. From San Salvador it led almost due
north-east, finally striking the Kwango at a place called Condi,
with Canga on the further bank\ Now, apart from the correct
name given to the river, these two places can be identified as
representing the town of Muene Kundi or some other centre of
the land of the Bakundi, which lies on the Kwango at just the
point where it was most likely to be struck; and the adjoining
country of the Bokange or Bocanga. The places inserted on the
earlier part of the route cannot be positively identified, but in
^ The Condi country was also known to Dapper from the reports of the
Dutchman, Jan van Herder, who had heard that beyond the Kwango dwelt
a race of men of light complexion and long hair.
II — 2
164
AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700
[CHAP.
general form and the prefixes employed they agree well with
those of the country which would be passed through.
From Dapper's time onwards the Kwango figured in maps
of Africa, either correctly as a southern branch of the Congo
(representing the Barbela of previous writers) or, as in Delisle's
map, as the main stream of the river. The fact that Delisle and
others who followed him pushed the upper course of the Kwango
much too far to the east, coupled with the similarity of names.
D'Anville's map of Angola and neighbouring regions.
(From Labat.)
has led some to the incorrect conclusion that the central course
of the Congo was known to the Portuguese. That this was not
the case is further shown by the fact that the upper courses of the
Kwanza and Kunene are pushed as far to the east as that of the
Kwango, all being placed near together between Lat. 6° and to° S.
In Delisle's map the large Lake Aquiluna of Pigafetta, which was
retained by Dapper, is shown merely as a swamp of comparatively
small extent^ It was the merit of the great geographer d'Anville
^ The Lake is named '' Chilande " (Kilande) or Aquilonda by Cavazzi da
Montecuccolo, and is said to be situated in Sissama, a part of Matamba (see
next page). It is probably represented by one of the small lakes recently found
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 165
to reduce the mapping of the known regions adjoining the
African coasts to fairly correct proportions, bringing out clearly
the extent of quite unknown country in the interior. His justi-
fication for this course is well stated on the map in Labat's work
on Congo and Angola, of which an outline sketch is here given.
Another missionary journey which deserves mention is that of
Fathers Bonaventura and Francois van Batta from San Salvador
to the east and south-east in 1649. Passing the district of Zombo
(the Zombo plateau of modern maps) these travellers reached a
place called Inkussu, which name may possibly represent the
Lukussu, a branch of the Inkissi, which joins the Congo below
Stanley Pool. Further south, the upper course of the Kwango
was reached by more than one missionary, including Cavazzi da
Montecuccolo himself. This traveller, as we learn from Labat,
made his way from the Kwanza to the camp of the Jaggas near
Kassanje\ He seems to have crossed the Tala Mungongo range
by a pass considerably to the south of Kassanje, for the last three
days of his journey led north through rich and well-cultivated
plains. J3apper, who published his work in 1668, had of course
no knowledge of the results of this journey, which were however
utilised by DeHsle, who marks Kassanje and the Jagga country
on the left bank of the Kwango. Kassanje was also reached
(before 1667) by Jean Baptiste de Sallizan, who, as we learn from
Angelo and Carli's account of their journeys, likewise meditated
a visit to the country of Matamba to the north. This district,
which appears on Pigafetta's map and on most maps of the period,
seems to have been fairly well known to the Portuguese, for its
queen was said to have adopted the Roman Catholic religion I
Several other accounts of the country were written by members
to the north of Matamba. The effluent of the lake " Barbola" is said by the
same writer to be a tributary of the Kwango, not, as Dapper thought, the
Kwango itself.
^ The Jaggas were a warlike tribe which came from the east and devastated
this part of West Africa during the seventeenth century.
- Carli calls the country Malemba or Mattemba, while Dapper, following
Pigafetta (map of Congo), gives Matemba and Matama, though the latter in
the map of Africa has Matemba only. There is possibly a confusion with
the district of Malemba south of the Kwanza. Matamba of modern explorers
is a district west of the middle Kwango.
l66 AFRICA, 160O-I70O [chap
of the Capuchin missions, though as a rule they deal little with
geography. The best account of the earlier stages of the Congo
mission is that of Fragio (1648). Better known — by reason of
their having been translated into English — are those of Angelo and
Carli (1672) and of Merolla de Sorrento (1692) already referred to;
while, still later, an account of travels principally to the coast-
land south of the Congo was published by a missionary named
Zuchelli (17 1 2).
In South and South-east Africa very little advance was made
during the seventeenth century. The establishment of a settlement
by the Dutch at the Cape (1652) brought little addition to
geographical knowledge until much later. A short description
of the Hottentots was published by a Dutch traveller, William Ten
Rhyne, who visited the Cape in 1673; but a fuller and more
reliable account was that of Peter Kolbe, a German savant sent
out at the beginning of the next century to make astronomical
observations at the Cape. His work also gives an account of the
Dutch settlements, limited at the time to the extreme south-west
corner of the present Cape Colony, and it is illustrated by maps
and plans and contains numerous observations. His general map
shows the usual tendency to exaggerate the distances of interior
places from the coasts The Portuguese territories on the east
coast were already verging on decadence at the beginning of the
seventeenth century, and although the Monomotapa's kingdom was
still frequented for a time, both by adventurers and missionaries,
hardly any additions to geographical knowledge were made. A
single exception is perhaps the journey of Bocarro to the north of
the Zambezi in 161 6. Bocarro seems to have reached the neigh-
bourhood of Lake Nyasa, of which thenceforward some vague
notions were current among the Portuguese settlers. It was not,
however, till early in the eighteenth century that cartographical
representations of the lake gave any indication of its actual
form-.
1 The beginnings of exploration in the latter part of the seventeenth centur)'
are spoken of in Chapter xv.
- D'Anville's map (see p. 164) shows a long and narrow lake, named
Maravi, in the position of Nyasa.
VI] AFRICA, 1 600- 1 700 167
In Madagascar and the neighbouring islands the seventeenth
century brought some additions to knowledge, through the
endeavours made by the French to establish settlements in them
The first steps for this end were taken in 1642 by the inauguration
of the Societe de V Orient, which soon sent out agents who took
possession, in the first place of Antongil Bay and the small island
of Sainte Marie, and subsequently of other places on the east
coast of Madagascar. The chief station was founded near the
south end of this coast, and named Fort Dauphin.
In 1648 an energetic governor arrived in the person of Etienne
de Flacourt, who established French influence over a considerable
area and explored some of the interior. After his return to France
he published (1648) an account of Madagascar which marked an
important advance in knowledge respecting the island. In 1664
the French settlements passed to the newly-formed East India
Company, but little was effected, and only six years later they
became the property of the French Crown. During the Com-
pany's connection with the island the Governors were respectively
MM. de Rennefort and Mondevergue, the former of whom wrote
an account of his voyage to Fort Dauphin. Between 1669
and 1672 Madagascar (then known as Dauphine) and Reunion
(Bourbon or Mascarenne) were visited by a M. Dubois, who in
1674 published an account of his voyages, with descriptions of
the remarkable fauna of Reunion, including the dodo and the
gigantic land tortoises. A most interesting account of Rodriguez
and its equally strange fauna — which modern research has shown
to be very accurate — was written some years later by Francois
Leguat, one of a party of Huguenot exiles who attempted in
1 69 1 to found a colony in the island. Reunion had been the
original destination of the party, but the plans were changed
when it became known that the more fertile island had been
annexed for the French East India Company. After many hard-
ships, including an imprisonment by the Dutch, Leguat reached
Europe in 1698, but his MS. was not printed until 1708. In
Madagascar no geographical results of importance were achieved
after the time of Flacourt until past the middle of the eighteenth
century.
CHAPTER VII
SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO
The course of discovery in South America during the seven-
teenth century presents many analogies with that in Africa, and
may be suitably spoken of in this chapter. The two continents had
both been the scene of important events during the century or
more which had preceded the opening of our period, and in both
cases this was followed by a time of relative standstill, in which no
sensational discoveries were made, though the work of a multitude
of lesser men gradually added to the accumulated stock of know-
ledge. In both continents the work of missionaries, especially of
the Jesuits, played an important part in the process, though in
South America, more than in Africa, this was supplemented by
the quest for gold and other minerals, and the raiding for slaves,
especially in eastern and southern Brazil. In South America far more
had been done than in Africa during the sixteenth century, and
the farther advance was therefore made from more forward bases.
The extent of country of which a more or less accurate knowledge
had been acquired before the beginning or middle of the i8th
century was thus far greater in the western continent, and while
at the close of our period the greater part of inner Africa remained
a complete blank, it was only the most remote recesses of
South America that were still quite unknown at the same point
of time.
The advance in South America was carried on from three
main quarters, — the Spanish settlements in the La Plata region ;
the Portuguese settlements in the eastern and southern parts of
Brazil ; and Peru. In the region of the La Plata, and the
CHAP. VII] SOUTH AMERICA, l6oC^l700 169
various great rivers which pour their waters into its estuary, it
was to the Jesuits that the results achieved were especially due.
While the principal government stations were on the sea-board
or in the lower basin of the great rivers, the missionaries pushed
farther afield, and during the seventeenth century brought into
existence a vast system of " Reductions," as the settlements of
converted Indians were then called. From the older centres
they kept spreading their influence over the more remote dis-
tricts, and a good deal of new country was thus brought within
civilised ken.
In the early decades of the century one of the most active
among the Jesuits of this region was Father Roque Gonzales de
Santa Cruz, who, after being for some time at the head of the
reductions of the Parana, in 1620 founded a new centre on the
Uruguay. In 1623, the governor of Buenos Aires, Don Luiz de
Cespedes, sent the Jesuit Romero to explore the latter river from
mouth to source, and the journey, though only in part successful,
brought the traveller to the first Guarani tribes, 100 leagues from
the starting point. In 1626 Gonzales attempted the exploration
of the Sierra de Tape, a beautiful mountainous district east of the
Paraguay province, drained in part by the Ybicui, a tributary of
the Uruguay. It was his great desire to open a direct road to
the sea from the Parana missions, and with this view he now
explored the country of the Caaroans, near the Uruguay. But
misfortunes awaited these promising endeavours, Gonzales being
murdered by natives in 1628, while in 1630 the Spanish missions
had to suffer from the incursions of lawless adventurers from the
Portuguese province of Sao Paulo, whose inhabitants had shown
particular activity in pushing west into the unknown interior.
Attacking the mission stations, they carried off numbers of the
converts into slavery, and caused such general havoc that the
Jesuits found it necessary to evacuate the whole of the Guayra
district, and embark on the Parana and seek a home less exposed
to attacks from the north. Further misfortunes overtook the
fugitives during this arduous journey. Some new attempts to
open settlements were made in the Sierra de Tape and in the
district of the Itatines tribe east of the Paraguay, but the Paulistas
again attacked and devastated the missions, and the fathers were
lyo SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
forced to remove to the narrowest part of the tract between the
Parana and the Uruguay. The missions thus entered upon a
period of retrogression, and tliough some advance was again
made before the close of the century, it was rather from the side
of Peru that subsequent forward movements were initiated.
From the side of Brazil, although considerable activity was
displayed by Jesuit missionaries, it is rather to the journeys of
lay adventurers in quest of slaves and minerals that the breaking
of most new ground is to be credited. The daring enterprises
of the Paulistas or settlers in the province of Sao Paulo have
already been referred to. Although slave-hunting was the motive of
many of their raids, they also turned their energies to the search
for mines, though in this they met with rivals from other provinces,
with whom they eventually came into open conflict. It was only
after many years of arduous endeavour that the rich mineral
deposits, both of gold and precious stones, were at last brought to
light. About the middle of the seventeenth century, one Marcos de
Azevedo pushed his way up the Rio Doce and Rio das Caravellas,
bringing back specimens both of silver and emeralds. His refusal
to divulge the locality in which they occurred brought him into
conflict with the authorities, and he died a prisoner. The search
was taken up some years later by the government, but with
little success until an enterprising prospector came forward in
the person of Fernando Diaz, a veteran of 80, but possessed of
such energy that within a few years he explored almost the whole
of the future province of Minas Geraes, opening up settlements
and prosecuting his journeys amid great difficulties and hardships.
He was rewarded by the discovery of emeralds, but soon after-
wards died of a fever. The next adventurer deserving mention
is Bartolomeu Bueno de Sequeira, who carried on a successful
search for gold during the last decade of the seventeenth century.
Early in the eighteenth, a great influx to the mines took place, and
the province of Minas Geraes became thoroughly opened up.
That of Goyaz, another of the provinces rich in minerals, had to
wait longer for its development, although certain adventurous
spirits had penetrated to this remote region before the close of
the seventeenth century. The first of these is said to have been one
Manoel Correa, a PauHsta, who was followed by Bartolomeu
VIl] SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO I71
Bueno — the elder of two individuals, father and son, bearing that
name. The exact routes followed by this adventurer cannot
now be laid down, but he seems to have found gold in the basin
of the Araguaya (the great western branch of the Tocantins or
Para river) and to have possibly entered the neighbouring basin
of the Xingu, one of the great southern tributaries of the Amazon.
It was not till the third decade of the eighteenth century that
these discoveries were followed up, Bartolomeu Bueno the son
being then one of the first to form a regular settlement at the
site of the future mines.
In northern and north-eastern Brazil we again find Jesuits
among the most active agents in the opening up of new districts,
though some notable journeys were made in quest of the mythical
realm of "El Dorado" (the "golden" monarch). Thus in the first
few years of the seventeenth century Gabriel Soares undertook this
quest, making his way to the head of the Rio Sao Francisco and
beyond ; but he was forced to return, though not before he had
done something to extend the bounds of knowledge. Two separate
expeditions were undertaken about this time by Pedro Coelho
de Sousa, who in the second of them, accompanied by a large
party of adventurers, went overland from Maranhao to Ceara,
and thence reached a point not far from the Serra de Ibiapaba,
separating the basin of the northern Paranahiba from some of
the western tributaries of the Sao Francisco. The Jesuits, too,
took up the attempt to reclaim the Tapuyas of this range, though
it was not until some time later that any great progress was
achieved. From Pernambuco, where, during the war with Spain
and Portugal, the Dutch had established themselves in 1631^,
some journeys were likewise made into the interior for the
purpose of searching for mines. Two Dutch deputies are said
to have made their way across country as far as Cuyaba, a
journey of some 1500 miles in a direct line, through country then
but imperfectly known. Among the Dutch officials who added
to the general stock of knowledge was Jan Nieuhoff, whose
journeys were described in an illustrated work which was long
one of the standard sources of information on Brazil.
^ Bahia, then the capital of Brazil, had been captured by the Dutch in
1624, but had been retaken in 1625.
172 SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
An event which proved of much importance for the opening
up of the Amazon valley was the founding, in 16 16, of the city
of Para, or, to give it its full name, Santa Maria de Belem de
Gran Para. This took place while Caspar de Sousa was governor
of Maranhao, the officer entrusted with the task being Francisco
de Caldeira. Although the actual site of the settlement was
ill-chosen, its position relative to the two great river systems of
the Amazon and Tocantins (the latter named, lik,e so many of the
Brazilian rivers, from the tribe on its banks) gave it particular
advantages as a starting point for expeditions into the interior,
though for some time those in charge signalised their periods of
office chiefly by carrying devastation into the neighbouring
districts. The impulse towards more extended exploration came
from the side of Peru, and the fact that since 1580 the Spanish
and Portuguese dominions had been united under one crown was
of importance as encouraging co-operation between the Spanish
and Portuguese authorities on the opposite sides of the continent.
The progress of missionary enterprise from the side of Peru will
be spoken of presently, but it must be mentioned here that a
party of Franciscans had been despatched from Quito in 1635 to
evangelise the Indians on the Aguarico, a tributary of the Napo,
and that they were escorted by an officer, Juan de Palacios,
who had previously been in charge of a fort in the upper
basin of that river. Palacios founded a settlement near the
mouth of the Aguarico, among a tribe of Indians known to
the Spaniards as " Los Encabellados,"' in reference to their long
hair, but was attacked and killed by these people, most of
his companions making their escape to Quito. Two friars, how-
ever (Domingo de Brieba and Andres de Toledo), with six soldiers,
happening to be away at the time of the attack, did not return
with the rest, but launching a canoe on the Napo (June, 1637)
committed themselves to its waters and those of the main
Amazon, and after an adventurous voyage finally reached Para
in safety. This was but the third time, so far as is known,
that the descent of the Amazon had been accomplished, the two
previous voyages being those of Orellana and of the "tyrant"
Aguirre, both in the sixteenth century.
This event naturally directed attention to the possibility of
VII] SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO 173
navigating the Amazon, and an expedition was at once organised at
Para under Pedro de Teixeira to explore the river route to Quito.
This officer had already been employed on important under-
takings, having been with Caldeira at the founding of Para, of
which settlement he became governor, for a time, in 1618. He
had also fought successfully against the Dutch, and had ascended
the Amazon and its tributary, the Tapajos, in quest of slaves. He
started on his new mission towards the end of 1637. The ascent
of the great river was naturally a more arduous undertaking than
its descent by the two friars, and though these accompanied him
on the journey, their voyage had been too hurried to permit
of surveys which might have helped the Portuguese explorer to
trace his upward route. Sending forward his associate, Colonel
Bento Oliveira, a man known and respected by the Indians, to
reconnoitre, Teixeira followed with the main body, and thus little
by little accomplished the tedious journey, until territory under
the jurisdiction of Quito was at last reached ^ Here the main
body was left behind under Pedro da Costa, while the com-
mander pushed on to Quito, which he reached in safety in the
autumn of 1638.
But his task was not yet ended, for he was ordered by the
authorities to return to Para by the same route, in order to perfect
his survey of the rivers. Two Jesuit priests, Cristoval d'Acuiia
and Andres de Artieda, were assigned to him as companions,
and were instructed to note down all that was of interest regarding
the country and peoples passed on the way. The account
published by Acuna in 1641 contains the observations of the
fathers, and forms one of the most important early documents
on the Amazon and its tribes that we possess. The voyage was
carried out in 1639, being begun in February of that year, and
this time the route down the Napo was the one adopted. During
the further voyage the mouths of all the great tributaries of the main
river were noted, and they are mentioned by Acuna under names
differing little from those still in use. We find the Portuguese
names for the two greatest tributaries — Rio Negro and Madeira —
^ After leaving the main Amazon, the party does not seem to have
ascended the Napo, but another stream named by the voyagers Quijos, from
the tribe living on its banks.
174 SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-17OO [CHAP.
already established, the former given on account of the clear
black water ^ the latter in reference to the amount of drift-
wood brought down by the current. Information was likewise
obtained of the connection between the systems of the Amazon
and Orinoco by means of the Cassiquiari, though Acuna refused
to admit that the northern river he heard of was the Orinoco.
A project was set on foot by some of the party to ascend
the Rio Negro in quest of slave?, but it was frustrated through
the influence of the priests. Lower down, however, Teixeira
found slave-hunting operations in full swing on the part of the
Portuguese from Para-. Like other travellers nearer our own
time, Acuna gave credit to the accounts of tribes of Amazons
(female warriors) living in the interior districts, and he narrates
the usual fanciful details about them. Finally the expedition
reached Para on December 12, 1639, the double journey across
the continent having thus occupied just two years.
About the middle of the century a new turn was given to
affairs in northern Brazil by the association of two men of high
character who laboured with single aim for the improvement of
the lot of the natives, whom the rapacity of the settlers had too
often reduced to a state of misery. These were Vidal, governor
of Maranhao, and the Jesuit Vieyra, who both worked zealously
for the freeing of slaves and the civilisation of the Indians of the
interior. Two Jesuits were despatched up the Tocantins to
" reduce " the Topinambazes of that region, while a little later
Father Manoel de Sousa made his way to the Xingu and Tapajos
rivers and the country of the Juruunas. About the same time
expeditions were undertaken in search of minerals to the Serra
dos Pacajas, but they met with no success.
One of the chief preoccupations at this time, both of the civil
1 The black water of many of the South American rivers, especially those
which flow through the forest-clad regions, is a remarkable phenomenon,
which has long engaged the attention of geographers.
- Intercourse with the region of the lower Amazon and its tributaries had
been maintained for some years before this, on the part not only of the
Portuguese but of the Dutch and English. Between 1614 and 1625 the Dutch
had forts both on the main Amazon and on the Xingu. Acuila heard a story
of an English vessel which had ascended the lower course of the Tapajos.
VII] SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-17OO 1 75
government and of the Jesuits, was the opening of an overland
route from Maranhao to the south-east, or towards Pernambuco.
After several vain attempts had been made, the Jesuit Ribeiro
succeeded in reaching the Serra de Ibiapaba, already mentioned.
Here a mission was established, and the desired overland com-
munication with Pernambuco at last opened. Ascents of the
Amazon and its tributaries continued to be made. In 1656
Francisco Velloso and Manoel Pires brought back slaves from the
mouth of the Rio Negro, and soon afterwards Pires, accompanied
by Father Francisco Gonc^alves, ascended that river and returned
to its mouth with over 600 ransomed captives. The father, how-
ever, soon afterwards died. A military expedition, also accom-
panied by Jesuits, ascended the Tocantins, the fathers reaching a
point in 6° S. The interior thus gradually became better known,
and, with the eventual advance on Goyaz from the south, there
remained but a small part of eastern Brazil altogether untouched
by Portuguese enterprise. Large tracts within the Amazon basin
still remained unknown, both north and south of the main river,
and some portions remain unexplored at the present day.
From the side of Peru by far the greater part of the advance
during the seventeenth century was due to the missionaries. From
Quito, the Jesuit Rafael Ferrer went in 1602 into the country of
the Cofanes Indians, where he established a mission, afterwards
(1605) pushing on down the Napo to the Maranon. He was
murdered, however, in 1611. In 1616 some Spanish soldiers
made their way into the country of the Maynas, in the valley of
the Maranon, where a settlement was soon afterwards founded
by Don Diego de Vaca y Vega. In 1638 a Jesuit mission was
established in this district by Fathers Cueva and Cujia, who with
some others also explored some of the neighbouring regions.
Somewhat later, much exploring activity was shown by Father
Raymundo de Santa Cruz, who from his station among the
Cocomas of the lower Huallaga opened up a route to Quito by
way of the Maraiion and Napo. He was attempting the ascent
of the Pastaza in 1662 when he was drowned by the upsetting of
his canoe in a rapid. Still later, from 1684 onwards, the names
of two Germans, Henry Richter and Samuel Fritz, were notable
among the many missionaries who laboured in the region of the
176 SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP.
Maraiion and made journeys on the various rivers, or through
the dense forests. Fritz in particular descended the whole course
of the Amazon to Para and wrote a valuable account of the
great river, besides compiling a map.
Meanwhile other missionaries, from a more southern starting-
point, had pushed east into the valleys of the south-western
tributaries of the Amazon, including the various branches of the
Ucayali, which has some claim to be considered the real head-
stream of the great river. Here it was the Franciscans who did the
chief pioneer work. In 1631 Father Felipe de Lugano set out
from Huanuco and, after pushing east to the valley of the
Huallaga, established a mission. In 1637 Jeronimo Ximenes
and Cristoval de Larios descended the Perene, but both were
murdered by Indians. Others, however, followed in their steps
and founded stations on the Chanchamayu, but, pushing on
by the Perene to the Ucayali, they too fell victims to their zeal,
being murdered by the Setebos Indians. Though many others
ventured into these pathless wilds, the missions in this region
encountered unusual obstacles, and many were the vicissitudes
they passed through.
The head-waters of the great Madeira, largest of all the
Amazon tributaries, were also reached from Peru both by mission-
aries and by lay adventurers. About the middle of the seventeenth
century, some advance was made into and beyond the province
of Carabaya, south-east of Cuzco, towards the country watered on
the north-west by the great river known to the Spaniards as
Madre de Dios^ and on the east and south by the Beni. The
people of this region were known to the missionaries as Chun-
chos. One of the first to undertake the conquest of this country
was Don Pedro de x\llegui Urquizo, who, among other posts,
founded that of Apolobamba. He had with him some Au-
gustinian friars, but these do not seem to have done much in
the way of missionary work among the Indians, and it was to
the Franciscans that the results achieved somewhat later were
^ If the account of the adventurous journey of Maldonado (sixteenth cen-
tury) is to be trusted, this " conquistador " had then made his way down the
course of the Madre de Dios, but this advance was not followed up at
the time.
VII] SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-17OO 1 77
principally due. On the lay side, a special incitement to exploration
was supplied by legends of a remnant of the old Inca dominion,
supposed to have maintained itself in the vast forests to the east,
when Inca rule on the Andean table-land was brought to an end
by the Spanish conquerors. A ruler named Paytiti was so con-
stantly spoken of as holding sway in these regions that some, even
in modern times, have thought that a real foundation for the story
must have existed. Be this as it may, several expeditions were
undertaken in quest of this supposed kingdom, one of the most
important being that carried out under the orders of Don Benito
Quiroga in 1670. Crossing the eastern range of the Andes, and
launching a fleet of canoes on one of the great rivers (apparently
the Beni), the expedition pushed down stream for some distance,
but was compelled to beat a toilsome retreat. In 1680 a party of
Franciscans, including Fathers Sumeta, Corso, and De la Pena,
began their labours in the district of Apolobamba, where they
and their successors in time established a number of stations,
besides pushing a considerable distance into the wilds beyond.
A more easterly headstream of the Madeira — the Guapay or
Mamore — was the scene of an important Jesuit mission, which
laboured among the Moxos or Mojos Indians \ The first
attempt on the part of the Jesuits to convert these people seems
to have been made about 1668, by Fathers Jose Bermudo,
Julian de Aller, and others. A few years later Brother Jose
del Castillo made his way to the Moxo country, and it was
through his influence that Father Cypriano Baraze, the most
devoted of afl the missionaries to this tribe, was induced to offer
himself for the work. During his many years' labours among the
Moxos (in which his first coadjutor was Father Pedro Marban),
Baraze made extensive journeys into the surrounding regions,
descending the Mamore a long distance, and extending the work
of evangehsation among the tribes beyond the Moxos. One of
his most arduous journeys was that in which, after previous vain
^ Belonging strictly to a tribe on the banks of the Mamore, the term
Moxos was often used at the time in an extended sense to include the various
peoples of this part of the Amazon basin. Thus some of the tribes among
whom the Franciscans worked in the district of Apolobamba are also spoken
of as Moxos.
H. 12
1/8 SOUTH AMERICA, 160O-I7OO [CHAP. VII
attempts, he succeeded in tracing a direct route across the
mountains from the Moxo country to Lima. This is said to
have been in part the same as that followed by Quiroga (see
above) a few years previously. Like so many others of these
daring pioneers, Baraze lost his life through the excess of his
missionary zeal, being murdered in 1702 by the Baures, a tribe
dwelling to the north-east of the Moxos, into whose territory he
had penetrated in the course of his wanderings.
Another tribe of this region, the Chiquitos, dweUing to the
east of the upper Mamore, was also brought under the influence
of the Jesuits about this time, though from the side of Paraguay^
not Peru. Even in the sixteenth century the Chiquitos had been
brought into relations with the Spaniards during the expeditions
of Nuflo de Chaves, the founder of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. But
it was only in the last decade of the seventeenth century that any
serious attempt to evangelise the tribe was made, the pioneer in
the work being Father de Arce, who after a preliminary reconnais-
sance in the country of the Chiriguanas, founded several stations
among the Chiquitos in 1691.
With the close of the seventeenth century the advance of the
missions into the unknown lands east of the Andes entered upon a
less active phase, and though the work was continued in the districts
already occupied, not much more was done to bring new lands
within the ken of civilisation. By about 1700 the Portuguese
from the east and the Spaniards from the west had met at more
than one point in the centre of the continent, the superior
activity of the Portuguese (at least of the lay element among
them) giving them the larger share of the newly opened terri-
tories\ It was not, however, till 1777 ^^at the mutual frontiers
of the tw^o nations were finally fixed by formal agreement, which
gave to Brazil, broadly speaking, the limits which she has to-day.
1 The Portuguese adventurers from southern Brazil had already, at this
time, made their way as far as the head-waters of the Madeira, where the
Spanish missions, like those on the Parana, had to suffer from their incursions.
A party which attacked the missions among the Chiquitos suffered a defeat,
however, at the hands of a Spanish force from Santa Cruz de la Sierra. These
Portuguese raiders had made their way from Sao Paulo across the region of
the upper Parana and Paraguay.
I
CHAPTER VIII
THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I75O
With the two voyages of Tasman described in Chapter iii,
the great period of discovery ushered in by the labours of Prince
Henry of Portugal ("the Navigator") and the discovery of
America may be said to have closed. The great highways of
intercourse between the continents were now well known to
navigators, and the European nations were too much absorbed in
the fierce competition for the trade of the East and West Indies
to be inclined to devote much time or attention to voyages for
purely geographical discovery. In saying this we allude primarily
to the course of maritime discovery, for on land, as we have seen
in previous chapters, an advance continued to be made in the
wide areas of Asia and North America (especially the latter), which
in the middle of the seventeenth century still offered a virgin field
to the pioneers of the nations owning settlements on their borders.
But by sea it was otherwise, and the hundred years from 1650 to
1750 formed on the whole a period of relative barrenness as
regards important discoveries. Voyages were made, it is true, but
the navigators of the period kept in the main to the beaten tracks,
and any additions to knowledge were due rather to accident than
to a settled purpose of solving the geographical problems which
still remained obscure. Some few exceptions of course there were,
notably in the case of William Dampier's voyage of 1699-71,
and it is this name — with one or two others — that most deserves
to be remembered in connection with the history of maritime
discovery during the period dealt with in this chapter.
Many of the best-known voyages of the latter part of the
12—2
l8o THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century were of a
piratical or privateering character, but in spite of the small amount
of positive discovery that resulted from them, they deserve some
attention from the indirect influence they exercised on the course
of maritime history. Of those who took part in them many were
intelligent observers, and left behind narratives which did much
to familiarise the Enghsh people with the remote parts of the
world, and to keep alive a spirit of enterprise, which subsequently
had its outcome in more valuable contributions to geographical
knowledge. It will be well to depart somewhat from strict chrono-
logical order in speaking of the voyages, and group together those
of each one of the several nations concerned.
Of the Enghsh voyages to the South Seas during the period in
question the first in point of time was that of Sir John Narborough,
who in 1669 was despatched by the British Admiralty with the
double object of trade and discovery. From the latter point of
view the aims of the promoters seem to have been somewhat
ambitious, as they included the survey of the north-west coast
of America from California northward with a view to the discovery
of a passage to Europe by the far north, if we may credit the
statement of Captain Grenville Collins, who when a young man
sailed with Narborough on this voyage. If such were the case
the results fell far short of the expectations, for the expedition
advanced no farther than Valdivia in Chile. The reason of this
is said to have been the abandonment of the voyage by the second
of the two ships which originally sailed — the pink Batcheloiir —
which turned back before the Strait of Magellan had been reached.
Narborough himself in H.M.S. Sweepstakes spent some time on
the eastern coast of Patagonia and did not enter the Straits till
October 1670. Reaching the Pacific in the following month the
Commander went via Chiloe Island to Valdivia, whence, difficulties
having arisen with the Spaniards, he sailed on the return voyage
on December 21, leaving behind four men who had been seized
by the authorities. The second object of the expedition, that of
opening trade with Chile, thus failed equally with the geographical
one. Narborough seems to have been a good seaman, and his
chart of the Strait of Magellan, first published in 1694, showed
a considerable improvement on those previously in use. His
I
VIIl] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 181
journal also contains sensible observations on the places visited,
so that the voyage was not entirely without result.
A few years after Narborough's return in 1674, a trading
voyage to Peru, through the Strait of Le Maire to the east of
Tierra del Fuego, is said to have been made by one Antoine
de la Roche, a London merchant of French parentage. Some
doubt attaches to the circumstances of this voyage, as it is
mentioned by only one authority — the Spanish writer Seixas
y Lovera, quoted by Burney. We know however that other
trading voyages by this route were undertaken about this time,
and there seems no valid reason to doubt the fact of the voyage
having been made. It is of interest on account of the statement
that during the return voyage, being carried by winds and currents
from Le Maire Strait and Staten Island, La Roche lighted upon
certain lands to the east, the existence of which had not previously
been known. He would seem to have passed round the south
and east coasts of a small island with snow-capped mountains,
from which other high snow-covered land was visible to the south-
east; and then, after sailing four days to the north-west and north,
to have come upon land (also supposed to be an island) in 45°.
As no island exists in this latitude in the South Atlantic it is
natural to suppose, with Burney, that this land was really a
point on the east coast of Patagonia \ but with regard to the
lands first seen it is not so easy to find an explanation. The
Falklands and South Georgia have both been" suggested as the
lands seen by La Roche, but in neither case is the description
of a passage between the high lands, occupying but a short space
of time, borne out. Such a passage exists further south between
the South Shetlands and the still more southern lands, but it would
perhaps be hazardous to conclude that so high a latitude as this
(62° — 63°) had been reached, although the name of Dirck Gerritsz
still given to a portion of this archipelago testifies to the belief of
some that a still earlier navigator had made his way into these seas.
^ This would not be an isolated instance of a point on the coast being
mistaken for an island, if the theory of Commander Chambers {Geog. Journal,
xvii. 421) is correct, that the Maiden Land of Hawkins and the Pepys Island
of Cowley (to which we shall refer presently) were in reality parts of the
mainland.
l82 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
We may here depart from strict chronological sequence in
order to mention a somewhat similar voyage made in 1689-90
by Captain John Strong to the coast of Chile and Peru, It is
noteworthy for the discovery, during the outward voyage, of the
sound or passage between the two main islands of the Falkland
group — a name which likewise owes its origin to this voyage.
The commander sailed from the Downs on October 12th in
the Welfare^ and on January 27th, 1690, came in sight of the
Falklands — then known as John Davis's South Land. Steering
east, Strong reached, on the 28th, the northern end of the sound,
through which he sailed, emerging at the south-west end on
February ist. The passage is said to have been much impeded
by floating weeds, and foxes were seen on the land, the existence
of which led the commander to make the shrewd suggestion
(shrewd for the time in which he lived) that a connection had once
existed between the group and the mainland of South America.
Strong named the passage Falkland Sound, and the name has
since been transferred to the group as a whole. The rest of the
voyage was without important incidents.
We must now go back somewhat in time to the first irruption
of the buccaneers of the West Indies across the Isthmus of
Panama, which led eventually to many adventurous voyages in
the South Seas, and some geographical discoveries. The daring
exploits of Drake and other Elizabethan seamen in the West
Indies were in later times emulated by a host of English and
French adventurers, who set at naught the exclusive policy of
Spain and carried on a clandestine trade with the Spanish
settlements in Hispaniola and elsewhere. Like the Spanish
"matadores" they frequently occupied themselves with the
hunting of cattle, both for the provisioning of their ships and for
the purpose of trading with the hides, tallow, etc. The meat was
cured after the Carib fashion by being dried on a grate or barbecu
over a slow fire, and to it was applied the Carib term bonca?i.
From their use of this commodity the adventurers came in time
to be called by the French boucajiiers^ a term which was englished
as buccaneers, the name by which these daring sea-rovers have
been most generally known. By their bold and reckless hardihood,
the buccaneers became a terror to the peaceable inhabitants of
Vril] THE SOUTH SEAS, 1650-I75O 183
the West Indian seas, and deeds of almost incredible cruelty and
violence were perpetrated by them, though a few names stand
out in more pleasing light and relieve the general gloom of the
picture.
Encouraged by the attempts at settlement inaugurated by the
French and British Governments, the buccaneers extended their
aggressive operations against the Spanish settlements, and in 1670,
in spite of the treaty concluded in that year between Great Britain
and Spain, went so far as to plan an expedition against the city of
Panama, which, under their famous leader Morgan, they took and
pillaged after a fierce fight in 167 1. This seems to have turned
their thoughts to the South Seas as a promising field for their
lawless doings, and in 1680 they again crossed the isthmus, de-
scending the river of Santa Maria in boats, and capturing Spanish
ships, in which they carried out their piratical cruises. Among
this band of adventurers the most noted leaders were John Coxon,
Peter Harris, Richard Sawkins, and Bartholomew Sharp, while it
also included William Dampier' (afterwards famous for his more
legitimate voyages of discovery) and Basil Ringrose, who, like
Sharp, wrote a narrative of the doings of his associates.
After carrying on their lawless operations for some time on the
western coasts of Central and South America, a party of these
buccaneers, including Dampier and Lionel Wafer (the latter of
whom subsequently wrote an account of his adventures among the
Darien Indians), returned across the isthmus, while another band,
headed by Sharp, made the voyage round the southern extremity
of the continent, exploring en route some of the intricate sounds
and channels on the west coast of Patagonia. The island still
known as Duke of York's Island was so named during the voyage.
South of Cape Horn, land is said to have been seen in 57° 50' S.,
but this was probably a mass of floating ice, other masses of which
were afterwards seen in 58° 30'. A course was now steered for
the West Indies, where the crew dispersed. Sharp and some others
returning to England.
1 Dampier had already had a varied and adventurous career, having made
voyages to Newfoundland and Java ; served under Sir Edward Spragge and
taken part in two engagements with the Dutch ; lived over a year in Jamaica,
and worked among the log- wood cutters of Campeachy.
1 84 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-T75O [CHAP.
The second and still more important undertaking of the
buccaneers in the South Seas, which has acquired celebrity from
the narratives of Dampier and Cowley, who both took part in it,
had its origin in this wise. One John Cook, who like Dampier
had returned from the first expedition across the Isthmus of Darien,
had taken service with a Dutch privateer, and, a prize having been
taken, was given the command of her, Dampier forming one of the
crew. Subsequently, after various adventures. Cook sailed to
Virginia and there fitted out another captured vessel for a cruise
to the South Sea. Among the crew, besides Dampier, were such
well-known characters as Ambrose Cowley, Edward Davis, and
Lionel Wafer. SaiHng on August 23rd, 1683, they made their
way to the coast of Guinea, where they took a large Danish ship
and transferred themselves into her, naming her the Batchelor's
Delight. During the passage across the South Atlantic land was
seen, according to Cowley in 47° or 47° 40'^, and was named by
him (or by Hacke, the editor of his journal) Pepys Island, in
honour of the celebrated Secretary of the Admiralty. According
to Dampier and also Cowley's MS. journal, the land seen was the
Sebald de Wert or Falkland Islands, and this has generally been
accepted as the fact; but as the latitude does not agree it is
probable that instead of an island they really sighted a projecting
headland of the Patagonian coast. Owing to the statement in
Cowley's journal an imaginary Pepys Island long figured in the
maps in 47° S.
After rounding Cape Horn out of sight of land, they touched
at Juan Fernandez and, having been joined by a second ship
under John Eaton, visited the Galapagos group. Of this the
captains drew the first fairly accurate chart, which was pub-
lished with Cowley's journal and long remained the standard
authority on the group. A copy, taken from Hacke's collection,
is here given. The buccaneers stayed some time in the islands,
and gave names to all the principal of them, most of which have
held their own to the present day. Dampier's and Cowley's
journals also give good descriptions of the islands, and of the
gigantic turtles from which they obtained their Spanish name.
^ The first latitude is given in the printed Journal, the latter in the MS.
VIII]
THE SOUTH SEAS, 1650-1750
185
From the Galapagos the buccaneers sailed for the coast of
New Spain (Mexico), where John Cook died, his place being
taken by Edward Davis. Other parties of buccaneers (including
one Townley, who had crossed the isthmus) as well as a trading
ship from London, the Cygnet^ Captain Swan, associated themselves
The Galapagos, by Eaton and Cowley.
(From Hacke's Collection oj Original Voyages.)
from time to time with Davis, and many piratical cruises were
made on the coasts of Peru, New Spain, and Central America,
into the particulars of which it is unnecessary to enter. Meanwhile
Cowley, who had transferred himself to Eaton's ship, sailed away
with that commander to the East Indies, stopping on the way
1 86 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-1750 [CHAP.
at Guam in the Ladrones, where the natives were treated with
much barbarity, and proceeding thence to Canton and Batavia.
Nothing of geographical importance occurred, and Cowley finally
completed the circumnavigation of the globe on a Dutch ship.
Davis joined, for a time, a band of French adventurers, among
whom the best known are Le Picard, Grogniet, and Raveneau de
Lussan, the last as the author of a journal describing his various
adventures. The buccaneers now had a fleet of ten vessels, and
were able to defy a Spanish fleet which came across them in the
Bay of Panama. Davis afterwards attacked and burnt the city
of Leon in Nicaragua, and among other exploits of himself and of
his confederates were the taking and ransoming of the city of
Guayaquil, and the successful fight with two Spanish ships in the
gulf of the same name. Before finally leaving the South Seas Davis
paid two more visits to the Galapagos for the purpose of refitting
and provisioning his ship, apparently visiting different islands from
those touched at during his first stay. On the third ^.ccasion it
has been supposed that he put in at the modern Charles or Floriana
Island, which is either omitted or incorrectly placed in Cowley's
chart. Hence Davis sailed south, and in 27° or 27° 20' S. came
upon a small low sandy island with higher ground visible to the
west. It was said by Wafer, who wrote an account of his voyages
with Davis, to lie 500 leagues from Copiapo and 600 from the
Galapagos. It was concluded by Burney, whose ideas have been
adopted by many other writers, that the distance from the coast
of South America was under-estimated and that the island was in
reality Easter Island and was thus a new discovery by Davis.
There are several difficulties in the way of this identification. The
buccaneers were bound for Juan Fernandez, at which they sub-
sequently touched, and, even allowing for the influence of the
south-east trades, it is hardly likely that they would be carried so
far out of their course as to sight Easter Island, especially as we
are told that they had in the meanwhile, when in 12° 30' S.,
approached to about 150 leagues from the mainland of America,
and that the course was afterwards east of south. Again, if Easter
Island were the high land seen to the west, there is nothing to
represent the island actually reached. The small islands of San
Ambrosio and San Felix (discovered in 1574 by Juan Fernandez)
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 187
are just in the position in which we should expect to find Davis's
island, apart from the statement (made it is true both by Wafer and
Dam pier) that the distance from South America was 500 leagues ;
while the respective positions of these islands agree well with the
statements of the two writers. Neither, however, could be spoken
of as a low sandy island, San Ambrosio reaching 930 feet, with
precipitous cliffs, and San Felix 600 feet; so that the difficulties in
the way of this identification would be, perhaps, as great as in the
case of Easter Island. We must therefore be content to leave the
question unsolved.
From Juan Fernandez, after touching at Mocha and Santa
Maria Islands, the buccaneers rounded Cape Horn without sighting
land, though they fell in with many islands of ice, and sailed east
so far that it was necessary afterwards to steer west 450 leagues
(according to Wafer's account) in order to make the South American
coast in the latitude of the Rio de la Plata. They arrived in the
West Indies early in 1688, Davis afterwards returning to England.
Dampier had not been with Davis during the cruises just
related, having transferred himself to Swan's ship when off the
coast of Nicaragua in 1685. This captain, accompanied for a time
by Townley, remained cruising off the Mexican coast for some
months longer, and Dampier's account contains a detailed
description of many of the features of the coast as far as the
entrance to the Gulf of California. The buccaneers had hopes
of intercepting the Manila galleon, and for this purpose cruised
for a time off Cape Corrientes, but without success. Other points
visited, during the various expeditions undertaken in hopes of
plunder or of obtaining supplies of provisions, were the Bay of
Band eras, the Tres Marias Islands, and the rivers and towns of
Mazatlan and Santiago, near the latter of which they experienced
a disastrous defeat. On March 31st they finally left the American
coast on the voyage across the Pacific, first steering south of west
to 13°, and afterwards keeping on west along that parallel in order
to make the island of Guam, according to the general custom of
those crossing the Pacific westward in those days. Here they
learnt of the arrival of the Spanish Acapulco ship, but Swan
hesitated to make any attempt upon it. Continuing their voyage,
they reached the island of Mindanao, where they were well received
i88
THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750
[chap.
by the Sultan of the southern part of the island. A mutiny-
eventually broke out, and a part of the crew, among whom was
Dampier, sailed away leaving the captain behind. Passing round
the south and west coast of Mindanao they went to Pulo Condore
and made various cruises in the southern Chinese seas, afterwards
William Dampier.
visiting the Bashi Islands between Formosa and Luzon, and again
cruising among the Philippines, and making their way to Celebes
and Timor.
So far the wanderings of this party of buccaneers had led them
little off the beaten tracks, although Dampier's full descriptions of
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 1 89
the countries and people visited contributed much to improve the
knowledge of his countrymen respecting them. From Timor,
however, they struck out a new line for themselves by determining
to visit the coasts of New Holland, hitherto almost the exclusive
preserve of Dutch navigators. On December 27, 1687, they
passed the island of Rotti and stood south-south-west across the
open sea lying before them towards the south.
In the third chapter we have sketched the early voyages of
the Dutch to the west coast of Australia, but before following
Dampier and his companions thither we must briefly refer to the
further relations maintained by the Dutch with that coast after
the second great voyage of Tasman (1644).
We have seen that tne voyage just mentioned had for the first
time completed the knowledge of the coasts of Australia from the
north-west point of the continent to the Gulf of Carpentaria, so far
as their main outline was concerned. Subsequent voyagers could
therefore make no new geographical discovery of importance in
these quarters, but on the other hand could do much to increase
the knowledge of the country and its inhabitants, especially
as no narrative of the 1644 voyage has come down to us.
Four years after this, in 1648, a successful voyage along the
north-west coast was made by Jan Janszoon Zeeuw in the yacht
Leeuwerik (" Lark "), with the object of testing the possibility of
carrying supplies from Batavia to Banda by a course which should
avoid the strong head winds of the direct route. A journal of the
voyage was kept and a chart made by the skipper, but both have
been lost. However, from the instructions laid down beforehand,
and the letter sent home by the Governor-General in the following
January, we may conclude that the ship sailed (June 28) south
from the Strait of Sunda to about 32° or 33° S. and then, after
turning east, coasted along the shores of New Holland until the
most suitable point was reached for turning north for the Aru
group. The voyage occupied two months and twenty-three days.
Fuller details have been preserved of the voyages to the South-
land undertaken in search of the survivors of the merchant ship
Vergulde Draak, which sailed for the East Indies in 1655 with
a rich cargo, and was lost on April 28, 1656, off the Australian
I90 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
coast, in 30° 40' S. The news was brought to Batavia by one of
the ship's boats, and two small vessels — the Wifte Valk and the
Goede Hoop — were at once despatched for the purpose of rescuing
the remainder of the survivors. Both vessels reached the South
land — the Goede Hoop at the very spot where the wreck was said
to have taken place — but, meeting with bad weather, returned
without effecting anything. Early in the following year instruc-
tions were given to the skipper of the Vink to touch at the South-
land on the voyage from the Cape of Good Hope, but after
sighting the land he was compelled by violent storms to desist
from the search. In January, 1658, the ships Wakende £oei said
Eineloord were sent from Batavia to make further search, and also
to execute a survey of the coast. The journals of the skippers,
Samuel Volkersen and Aucke Pieterszoon Jonck, have been pre-
served, as well as various charts of the coast of Eendrachtsland
made during the voyage. The ships were separated, but both
reached the scene of the disaster independently, and sent boats
ashore, firing shots also as signals. The only trace discovered
either of men or wreck was in the form of planks, etc., evidently
derived from the lost ship. Thus ended the further search, but in
the same year, 1658, the South-land was again struck — in 31^° S.
— by the flute Elburgh, J. P. Peereboom master, natives being
subsequently seen near Cape Leeuwin and specimens procured
of a hammer used by them and of a red gum employed in fixing
its head. Twenty years later (1678) a further examination of a
portion of the north-west coast was made by Jan van der Wall
during a voyage from Ternate to Batavia. Apart from a reference
to the voyage in a despatch by the Governor-General of the Dutch
East Indies, the only evidence respecting it is the chart made
during the voyage, which lays down the coast line from a point
due south of Rotti (? Cape Leveque) to the modern Exmouth Gulf.
This was the last of the Dutch voyages prior to the first visit of
Dampier to the coast of New Holland, to which we must now
return.
Sailing due south from the west end of Timor, the Cygnet
passed a shoal in about 13° 50' S. and fell in with the land of
New Holland in 16' 50', on January 4, 1688, afterwards running
VIIlJ THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 I9I
along the coast to the east and north-east. Dampier considered
that New Holland was placed in the then existing charts some
40 leagues too near the Archipelago, but he admits the bare
possibility that the ship had been carried westward by currents.
While off the New Holland coast, he had several opportunities of
observing the natives, of whom he gives some account, calling
them the "miserablest people in the world," poorer even than
the "Hodmadods" (Hottentots). The country was found to be
all low land with sand-hills by the sea-side, and woods — not
particularly thick — further inland. Good water was procured
from v/ells dug in the sand, but no stream or springs were
seen. The ship was taken into a small sandy cove, where at the
neap tides it was left high and dry, and it was therefore possible
to clean it, the sails being also mended and a supply of water
taken in.
Early in March they set sail for Cape Comorin, intending to
visit the Cocos or Keeling Islands in 12° 12' S., but passed that
latitude without sighting them, though in 10° 30' they came upon
a small island, Christmas Island, of which the existence was then
not generally known and of which Dampier's scanty account was
for long the only one extant ^ A boat was sent to look for water,
but, though a stream was seen, the high sea prevented the crew
from reaching it, though a landing was effected elsewhere, for a
tree was cut down and a number of land crabs (which still swarm
on the island) were caught.
After sailing along the south-west coast of Sumatra the Cygnet
reached the Nicobars, where Dampier, at his own desire, was
put ashore with two others, Messrs Hall and Ambrose. During
the passage to Atjeh in a native canoe they were nearly lost in a
storm, and reached the land half dead with fatigue. After various
other adventures, in the course of which he visited, among other
places, Tongking, Dampier reached the English factory at Ben-
coolen, and served there as a gunner in the fort. In January,
1 69 1, he sailed for England, and arrived in the Downs on Sep-
tember 16 of that year, more than 12 years after he had last left
^ Documents brought to light in 191 1 prove that the discovery and naming
of Christmas Island were due to Captain William Minors, in 1643 (see Geogr.
Journal, Vol. xxxvii. p. 281).
192 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-1750 . [CHAP.
his native country, and eight since he had sailed from Virginia
with Cook.
Dampier's narrative, first pubHshed in 1697, is noteworthy for
the fullness and general accuracy of its information, and it brought
him into considerable notice in England, so that, having formed
the design of sailing on a new voyage of discovery, he gained the
support of the Earl of Pembroke, then Lord High Admiral, and
was placed in command of His Majesty's ship Roebuck^ provisioned
for a voyage of 20 months. The voyage, therefore, supplies one
of the earliest examples of a government expedition sent out
purely for purposes of discovery. The Roebuck sailed from the
Downs on January 14, 1699, and, having touched at the Canaries
and Cape Verdes, made the coast of Brazil at Bahia on March 25.
Thence, after a stay of over a week, which gave Dampier an
opportunity of learning something of the country, its products and
trade, the voyagers sailed for the coast of New Holland without
attempting to touch at the Cape, the extent of ocean crossed
without sight of land covering, according to Dampier's reckoning,
114° of longitude. Signs of land were seen early in July, in the
form of floating weeds, at about 90 leagues distance^ and kept
increasing until land was finally sighted on August ist in about
26° S. ^ Not till the 7th was a suitable anchorage found, this
being near the mouth of the principal opening on the west coast
of Australia, named by Dampier Shark's Bay — a name which it
still continues to bear. His reckoning placed the longitude of
the mouth of the bay in about 87° E, of the Cape of Good Hope,
which led him to suppose that the charts then in use placed the
coast line some 195 leagues too far east. In this, however, he
was mistaken, for the actual difference in longitude is about 94^°.
The serious work of the voyage now began, for the commander
had proposed to himself to make an accurate survey of the coast
with its various shoals and rocks, hoping also to come upon some
fertile land which might be a suitable field for English enterprise.
For some weeks he cruised along the coast, occasionally meeting
with natives, but disappointed in his hopes of meeting with a
1 During the interval which had elapsed since Dampier's first visit, the
Dutch expedition under Willem de Vlamingh had surveyed this coast, in-
cluding the Shark's Bay of Dampier. It will be spoken of later.
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 193
good water supply. The barren nature of the country lent little
attraction to the voyage, apart from the pleasure derived from
exploring a new country, however uninviting \ As usual, Dampier's
journal contains an accurate picture of the nature of the country
and its productions, both vegetable and animal. The most
attractive objects observed were the flowers — of various colours,
especially blue, and some of them fragrant. Among other veget-
able products were the seeds of Abrus precatofhis, the " ratti " of
India, where Dampier had seen them used for weighing gold.
The voyage was rendered difficult and dangerous by the
numerous rocks and shoals, and by the strong tides, but in spite
of this a fairly accurate knowledge was obtained of the coast for a
distance of 300 leagues, and Tasman's chart corrected in many
particulars. Dampier had an idea that a passage eastward into
the Great South Sea might exist hereabouts, but he was forced to
defer further exploration owing to the need of proceeding to some
more hospitable coast; his men — who throughout were half-hearted
as regards the geographical objects of the voyage — being much
in need of fresh provisions and water. He therefore left New
Holland and early in September sailed northward for Timor.
After sailing round the greater part of Timor, and filling up
his water casks in spite of the suspicious attitude of the Dutch
Governor, Dampier proceeded on his voyage (December 12,
1699) in the execution of the second principal item of his
programme — the exploration of the north coast of New Guinea
and the lands adjoining. On New Year's Day the coast of New
Guinea was sighted at a point due east of Ceram, and several
weeks were spent in navigating the shoal waters off the north-west
end of the great island. On February 4 the Roebuck was off the
supposed north-west point of New Guinea (really part of a small
independent island) and then passed through the strait between
New Guinea and Waigiu, since known from its discoverer as
Dampier Strait. After passing near the Schouten Islands the
voyagers stood out to sea, saihng nearly due east and sighting no
land until February 24, when an island was seen to the southward
and named Matthias, it being that saint's day. The island does
^ In the interval between Dampier's two visits, Willem de Vlamingh had
examined the same coast (see p. 208).
H. 13
194 THE SOUTH SEAS, 1650-1750 [CHAP. VHI
not seem to have been sighted by former navigators and the name
given by Dampier is still retained. Dampier did not land on the
island, and it has remained until quite recent years one of the least
known of the whole Archipelago east of New Guinea. Steering
south-east, Dampier put into a bay on the still imperfectly known
north-east coast of New Ireland, named by him Siinger's Bay from
an assault made by the natives with stones, and then sailed past
the various islands lying off the main island to the east, until the
latter was seen to fall away to the southward. In this direction
no previous navigator had traced the coast line, so that Dampier
had now an opportunity, of which he was not slow to avail himself,
of making some new discoveries. Passing the south point of New
Ireland, which he named Cape St George, he entered the mouth
of the strait between New Ireland and New Britain, but not far
enough to recognise it as a strait. He therefore gave it the name
St George's Bay. Continuing his voyage, he for the first time
traced the south coast of New Britain, on which Capes Dampier
and Roebuck on either side of Montague Bay still record his visit.
In Montague Bay (so named by Dampier in honour of his palron)
the voyagers were able to hold some intercourse with the natives,
and to obtain a supply of wood and water as well as some hogs.
The land was mountainous and woody, full of rich valleys, and
the soil promised excellently for plantations. Sailing hence on
March 22, and witnessing a terrific volcanic eruption on an island
off the coast, Dampier entered the strait between New Britain and
New Guinea, and thus for the first time proved the former to be
an independent island, which he named Nova Britannia, calling
the most prominent point on the coast of New Guinea opposite.
King William's Cape. He did not pass through the main channel
of the strait, but turned north between the west end of New Britain
and the island of Umboi, to which he gave the name of Sir George
Rook. The further course lay among the chain of islands which
adjoins the north coast of New Guinea, some of which contained
other active volcanoes, but after passing these no attempt at
further discovery was made, the home\vard voyage being now
commenced.
Again passing between New Guinea and Jilolo, the Roebuck
took the route to Timor between Ceram and Buru, and then
'Smjw^
oi
13—2
196 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
proceeded to Batavia. After touching at the Cape and St Helena,
the Roebuck made the island of Ascension, but here sprung a leak,
which resisted all attempts to stop it, so that it was found neces-
sary to abandon the ship, the crew being eventually taken by three
English men-of-war to Barbados (May 8, 1701), whence Dampier
returned home on board the Ca?iie?'bti?y, East Indiaman.
The voyage, though it did not lead directly to the advantages
to the British nation hoped for by Dampier by the opening
of a profitable trade with the tropical countries visited, had
been far from fruitless in results from a geographical point of
view. The discovery of the insular character of New Britain was
perhaps the most important of these, although by joining New
Britain and New Ireland, the inner sides of which still remained
unknown, Dampier retained one error in regard to these islands
which was not finally swept away till many years afterwards, no
effort being made at the time by the British Government to follow
up his discoveries in far eastern waters.
Dampier's next voyage was undertaken under different circum-
stances, which rendered it of much less importance from the point
of view of discovery. War had broken out between England and
Spain, and the opportunity was seized by British merchants for a
privateering venture into the South Seas, from which they expected
to derive much profit at the expense of the enemy. Two ships
were fitted out, the St George, under Dampier's command, and
the Fcwie, under Captain Pulling. A disagreement between the
captains led to the withdrawal of the latter with his ship, but at
the last moment a small vessel, the Cinque Ports, took its place.
The expedition left the Downs on April 7, 1703, and sailed round
Cape Horn to Juan Fernandez. The ships then cruised for some
months on the American coast, taking a few prizes ; but the opera-
tions seem to have been badly planned, while Dampier's violent
temper caused a quarrel between himself and Captain Stradling
of the Cinque Ports, which led to their separation in the Bay of
Panama (May 7, 1704). Stradling's ship was ill prepared for the
lengthy voyage home, and after touching at Juan Fernandez, where
the famous Alexander Selkirk — the original of Robinson Crusoe —
was put on shore, she foundered off the American coast, only the
Captain and six or seven men being saved. In spite of tlie alleged
I
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-1750 I97
unseaworthiness of his ship Dampier persisted in remaining in the
Pacific, and his obstinacy caused him to be left by two other parties
of his men, who severally made their way across the Pacific, one
under his mate, afterwards Captain Clipperton, the other under
William Funnell, who wrote an interesting account of the voyage —
the only full narrative published, and therefore our principal
authority respecting the whole course of the undertaking. Clipper-
ton made his way to the Philippines, and ultimately to Macao,
where his company dispersed, while Dampier, after plundering the
small town of Puna and taking a Spanish vessel, sailed in this for
the East Indies, where the vessel was seized by the Dutch, and
the crew were forced to shift for themselves. Funnell's narrative
allows us to follow the doings of his party in greater detail. On
February 3, 1905, they sailed from Amapalla Bay on the coast of
Central America, and, standing somewhat south of west until
10° N. was reached, then bore away west-north-west with the help
of the trade wind in order to make the island of Guam. The crew
were on short rations throughout and endured much misery, but
at last (April 11) sighted an island in 13° N. to which the name
Magon is given. Guam was sighted but not touched at, and a
course was then shaped for New Guinea, a group of inhabited
islands not marked on the existing charts being passed on the
way. In passing between New Guinea and Jilolo Funnell missed
the usual passage, but after some trouble found one further west
among a multitude of islands, naming it St John's Strait. At
Amboina, which was reached on May 31- the ship and all the
effects of the party were seized, and after some detention the men
were sent to Batavia, whence they obtained a passage home via
the Cape in the Dutch East India Fleet.
Funnell's narrative contains a large amount of information on
the countries visited and their animal and vegetable productions.
His stay at Amboina enabled him to collect a good many details
respecting that island, and, among other points, he refers to the
bird-of-paradise skins which there formed an article of trade, but
of the country of origin of which he was ignorant.
Dampier's conduct of this expedition was not such as to
encourage the merchants to put him again in command, although
he was once more employed on a similar venture, this time in the
198 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-1750 [CHAP.
capacity of pilot, for which his long experience of navigation in
the South Seas eminently fitted him. In June, 1708, a company
of Bristol merchants placed two ships, the Diike and Dutchess,
under the orders of Captain Woodes Rogers (who sailed in the
Duke) for the purpose of cruising against the Queen's enemies on
the coasts of Peru and Mexico. The DutcJiess was commanded by
Captain Stephen Courtney. The expedition was more successful
than many from the point of view of plunder, but the scheme of
the voyage was too similar to others of its class for any decided
gain to geography to result from it. The chief exploits were the
taking of Guayaquil in Peru, and of the smaller Acapulco galleon
off the coast of Mexico.
On touching at Juan Fernandez, Alexander Selkirk was rescued
from his life of solitude, which had then lasted over four years, and
some account of his experiences is given in Woodes Rogers's nar-
rative. The Galapagos were twice visited, and Rogers obtained
some information from a Spanish prisoner regarding the island
known to the Spaniards as Santa Maria de la Aguada, which he
identified with that visited by Davis the buccaneer, and which, as
we have seen above, was probably the modern Charles Island.
The northernmost point reached was on the coast of California,
whence the Pacific was crossed to Guam and the Dutch East
Indies, the circumnavigation of the globe being completed (1711)
by the Cape of Good Hope.
The next of the British voyages of circumnavigation were those
of Captains Clipperton and Shelvocke, which were undertaken after
an interval of eight years, with similar objects to the last. The
Speedwell and Success were fitted out in 17 18, it being at first
intended that they should sail under the Emperor's commission,
with crews in part composed of Flemish sailors. War, however,
again breaking out between Great Britain and Spain, the expedi-
tion eventually sailed (17 19) under a commission from King
George. Shelvocke had been intended for the chief command,
but was replaced by Clipperton — a slight which naturally caused
some soreness in his colleague.
The ships soon separated in a gale, and only met again —
and that accidentally — after reaching the South Seas, so that
the voyages were really quite independent. Captain Clipperton
VIll] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750
199
sailed in the Sticcess, and during the passage through the Strait
of Magellan made some attempt to discover a passage southward
into the South Sea through Tierra del Fuego, but without success.
After taking many prizes in South American waters he proceeded
to the coast of Mexico, where he fell in with Shelvocke, and crossed
the Pacific 7'ia Guam to China. At Amoy the crew mutinied,
and soon afterwards dispersed, the Success having been con-
demned and sold at Macao through their machinations. Clipper-
ton look passage in his old ship to Batavia, and thence sailed for
Europe, reaching Galway in Ireland in June, 1722, in broken
health, and only surviving his return a week. His death was said
to be due in part to distress at the failure of the enterprise,
though his owners were in some measure recompensed for their
outlay by a portion of the prize-money which he had sent home
from China.
Shelvocke's voyage was in some ways more adventurous, but
still more unsuccessful than Clipperton's. Disagreements broke
out among his crew, leading at times almost to open mutiny, and
his conduct of the voyage met with severe censure from one at
least of his associates, though the charges made against him by
personal enemies cannot be regarded as fully proved, while his
ow^n account must likewise be accepted with caution. After a
stay of some days on the coast of Brazil the Speedwell had a
stormy passage through Le Maire Strait and was carried south
to 61° 30' \ Returning north, an unsuccessful attempt was made
on the island of Chiloe, then but little known to English sailors.
After cruising on the American coast for some time, Shelvocke
proceeded to Juan Fernandez, where he lost his ship, but, in
spite of the mutinous conduct of his crew, in time succeeded in
building a small vessel, in which he made a perilous voyage
to the mainland. Attacks were made on various Spanish settle-
ments, and prizes taken, which enabled the voyagers to make
good the loss of their ship. After the meeting Avith Clipperton
on the Mexican coast, negotiations took place with a view to
joining company, but they came to nothing. Further hardships
1 A noteworthy incident in this part of the voyage was the shooting of an
albatross by Simon Hatley — an occurrence which supplied Coleridge with the
-roundwork of the " Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
200 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
and adventures awaited the diminished crew, but the taking of
a large Spanish ship at last put them in better circumstances, and
it was resolved to sail for Canton, the coast of California being
first visited. Here friendly intercourse was opened with the
natives, of whom Shelvocke gives a very favourable description.
On this coast a deposit was discovered containing grains which
strongly resembled gold-dust, but as the sample taken was sub-
sequently lost, the truth of the matter was never made clear.
At no leagues from Cape San Lucas an island was sighted,
which is spoken of by Shelvocke as a "discovery," but it was
afterwards shown by Burney to be the Roca Partida seen by
Villalol)OS and, later, by Spilbergen. On the voyage and at
Canton further troubles were experienced, and, having sold the
ship at the latter port, Shelvocke took passage home in one of
the East Indiamen then about to return from China, landing at
Dover in July, 1722. He was prosecuted by his employers for
alleged fraud, but eventually compounded with them. His
narrative of the voyage, pubhshed in 1726, was written with a
view to presenting his case in a favourable light.
During Shelvocke's first cruises on the Pacific coast of South
America several of his crew, including two of the superior officers
Hatley and Betagh, were taken prisoners by the Spaniards.
Betagh returned to England after two years' captivity, during
which he was able to collect information as to Shelvocke's
proceedings, and in 1728 published a book which traverses the
latter's statements in almost every particular. It also contains
much information on the then state of Peru and Chile, their
trade, and the manner of working the mines ; a striking account
being given of the overland trade from Buenos Aires and of
the activity of French interlopers from St Malo on the coast
of Chile, which had led to the despatch against them by the
Spanish king of a squadron under their compatriot Martinet.
With this voyage the despatch of English expeditions to the
South Seas ceased for a time, some twenty years elapsing before
the most famous voyage of the whole series — that of Commo-
dore Anson — took place. It will be noticed that for a number
of years all the voyages to this part of the world were of a
privateering character, no enterprise being undertaken in the
VIIl] THE SOUTH SEAS, 1650-I750 201
South Seas for purposes of legitimate trade. This was in part
due to the formation, in 1711, of the famous South Sea Com-
pany, to which was injudiciously granted the exclusive privilege,
among British subjects, of carrying out voyages to those seas.
The Company consisted not of merchants, but of financiers who
had taken over a large part of the public debt of the nation, in
part return for which these extravagant privileges were granted.
They were thus little fitted or disposed to carry out commercial
enterprises in distant regions, and while debarring their country-
men from the benefit of such undertakings, made absolutely no
use of the monopoly granted to them. It was therefore only
the existence of a state of war which gave an opportunity for
South Sea voyages, which were thus, as we have said, commonly
at this time undertaken for the sake of plunder.
Anson's expedition, of which we have now to speak, was one of
this class, war having been again declared with Spain in 1739;
though it differed in being a Government expedition carried out
with ships of the Royal Navy, under the command of regular
officers. Geographically, like so many of the voyages of the
period, it added little in the way of positive knowledge, but it
acquired celebrity by reason of the high qualities of its com-
mander (who possessed an unusual influence over his inferior
officers and crews), by the great difficulties and dangers sur-
mounted, and by the vast amount of treasure which was captured
from the enemy. As originally fitted out, the expedition consisted
of six ships and two tenders, the flagship being the Centurion, of
60 guns, which carried a crew of 513. The squadron sailed from
the Isle of Wight on September 18, 1740, and in March, 1741,
was off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, having touched, among
other places, at Port St Julian on the coast of Patagonia. Le
Maire Strait was passed without difficulty, but disasters now
followed fast upon one another. Heavy gales were experienced
which severely tried the rigging and equipment of the ships, while
scurvy, that bane of seamen in those days, raged among the
crews. Of the seven ships which passed through the strait, only
four — the Centurion^ the Gloucester, the Trial sloop, and the Anne
pink — reached Juan Fernandez, the first appointed rendezvous
in the Pacific, and these in the most miserable condition. Some
202 THE SOUTH SEAS, 1650-1750 [CHAP.
had been driven back through the strait, while the JVager, whose
commander had incautiously ventured near a lee shore, was
wrecked between two small islands five miles from the mainland.
The adventures of the crew, a part of whom made their way
back amid great hardships to the coast of Brazil, have been
rendered famous by the narrative of the Hon. John Byron,
afterwards commodore and commander of an expedition round
the world, who sailed in the JVager as a midshipman. An
account was also given by Bulkeley and Cummins, the ship's
gunner and carpenter respectively.
The stay at Juan Fernandez enabled the voyagers to recruit
to some extent, and the main object of the expedition, the
raiding of the Spanish settlements, commenced. The Trial and
A?tne were soon condemned, and the Ceiiturion and Gloucester
alone remained of the original squadron. After taking and
plundering Payta, Anson proceeded to Acapulco, where, however,
nothing was to be had in the way of plunder, as the annual fair,
held on the arrival of the Manila galleon, was then over. The
two ships sailed for China on April 30, 1742, but both were in
a rotten condition, and the Gloucester became so leaky that she
had to be abandoned and destroyed. Sickness had played havoc
with the crews before the Centurion reached Tinian in the
Ladrones or Mariannes, the course sailed having brought the
voyagers somewhat north of Guam, At Tinian they again re-
freshed, but came near a serious disaster, the ship, with a portion
of the crew only on board, being carried out to sea by a gale.
The narrative of the voyage contains many particulars respecting
the nature and production of the Ladrone group, from which
they finally sailed on October 22, 1742, sighting Formosa €?i
route for Macao. Here Anson's firmness procured him from
the authorities at Canton the necessary facilities for a thorough
refit, and enabled him to carry out his long-formed design of
cruising for the Acapulco galleon. At length the vessel, N. S. de
Covadofiga, was encountered off the Philippines on June 21, 1743,
and, having been taken after an obstinate fight, in spite of the
overwhelming superiority of the Spaniards both in men and arma-
ment, was found to contain a vast amount of treasure in coin
and bullion. It again proved necessary to proceed to a friendly
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 203
port in order to refit, and this time Anson took the much-
battered Centurion up the Canton river to the Bocca Tigris,
successfully resisting the claim of the authorities for port dues on
the ground that his ship was a man-of-war.
The homeward voyage was begun on December 7, the ship
passing between Bangka and Sumatra on the 29th, and through
the Sunda Straits on January 3, 1744. Christmas Island was
sighted on the 15th, and Table Biy reached on March 12, the
Centurion finally anchoring at St Helen's in the Isle of Wight
on June 16, after a voyage which had lasted four years.
The celebrity which has always attached to Anson's voyage
arose largely from its success from the point of view of plunder;
from the perils and hardships successfully overcome during four
years' incessant battling with adverse circumstances ; and in part
no doubt from the unusually full and informing accounts of the
voyage which were published after its completion.
We must now glance rapidly at the South Sea voyages of
other nations during the same period — less numerous, it is
true, and less important than those of the British adventurers,
though in many cases their failure to attain the celebrity of the
latter was no doubt due to the want of capable chroniclers. In
the case of the French, the most important voyages were again
the indirect outcome of the hardy exploits of the Buccaneers,
which turned the attention of more responsible persons at home
to the South Seas as a field for enterprise. The first passage of
the French freebooters into the Pacific by the Straits of Magellan
took place in 1684, and for some years from this date these men
continued their depredations on the coasts of Chile and Peru.
Some at length made their way back to France with tales of the rich
booty to be made in those seas, and as France was then at war
with Spain, the idea of a French Government expedition against
the Spanish South American colonies soon took shape. The
command was given to the Comte de Gennes, who sailed from
La Rochelle on June 3, 1695, ^^i^'"^ ^ squadron consisting in all of
six vessels, of which the two largest were the Faucon and the
Soleil d'Afrique. On the outward voyage De Gennes touched
at the coast of West Africa, where various French commercial
204 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
companies had been at work for many years, and he there
effected the capture from the English of Fort James on the
Gambia, although it was shortly afterwards restored by the Peace
of Ryswick. Proceeding on the voyage by the Cape Verdes and
Ascension, the squadron touched at Rio, and finally entered the
Strait of Magellan on February it, 1696. Cape Froward was
doubled on February 26, but contrary winds prevented further
progress, so that after returning to take shelter in a bay which they
named Baie Frangaise, and making another ineffectual effort to
advance, it was at last determined to give up the attempt. The
straits were left early in April and the return voyage made by way
of Cayenne and the West Indies, the voyage thus proving an entire
failure so far as its main object was concerned.
In spite of the small success of this venture, projects were
soon set on foot for a renewed attempt, a company being formed
(the " Compagnie Royale de la Mer Pacifique ") and a squadron
fitted out, of which the command was again offered to De Gennes.
He at first accepted, but difficulties and delays occurred which led
him to resign his commission, and the command was then given
to an experienced captain in the merchant service, the celebrated
Beauchene Gouin (or Gouin de Beauchene) who had a few years
before (1693) commanded one of the French frigates despatched
by the Government to attack the Dutch whaling fleet in Spits-
bergen waters. The number of ships was also reduced to three,
the commander sailing in the Fhelipaux, while the Maurepas was
commanded by Lieut, de Terville.
This expedition, which sailed from La Rochelle in December,
1698, met with better success than the preceding. During the
passage of the straits, which was not made without the usual
difficulties and delays, Beauchene entered into friendly relations
with the natives of Tierra del Fuego, and while at Elizabeth Bay,
beyond the furthest point reached by De Gennes, sent his boats
to explore a channel opening off the main strait to the south.
He gave French names to various islands, bays, and waterways,
and took possession of the island of Louis le Grand (south-west
of Tierra del Fuego), and the neighbouring Baie Dauphine. At
length, after more than seven months' difficult navigation within
the straits, the South Sea was reached on January 21, 1700. The
VIIlJ THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I75O 20$
French were received with suspicion by the Spaniards along the
coast, and at Valdivia the Maurepas was treacherously fired on,
but at Arica some small amount of trade was done. The Galapagos
were visited, but in view of the bad condition of the ships it was
then determined to begin the homeward voyage. Being carried
south ol the western entrance of the straits by currents, Beauchene
made the passage round Cape Horn, which he proved to He in a
lower latitude than that (58° 30' or 59°) then shown on the charts.
He passed near the Falklands, giving his name to one of the
south-eastern islands of the group, which appeared to be not
marked on the maps. Finally, after touching at the coast of
Brazil, he reached La Rochelle on August 6, 1701, after an
absence of nearly three years.
Soon after this, French ships began to frequent the coasts of
South America in large numbers, the Spanish throne being now
occupied by a grandson of Louis XVI, so that the rivalry of the
two nations was for a time checked. The port of St Malo took
the lead in sending out these ships, several of which touched at the
Falkland Islands, still imperfectly known, which from this cir-
cumstance began to be called by the French name " Malouines,"
which they bore for some time. Besides the ships which made
their way to the Pacific through the straits or round Cape Horn,
there were many which crossed the Pacific on the return voyage
from China, without however adding much to the knowledge of
that ocean. The commercial activity displayed by the French
at this time had led, in the last years of the seventeenth century,
to the formation of a " Compagnie de la Chine," on whose behalf
the Ainphitrite had made a pioneer voyage to China in 1698 \
The relations thus inaugurated were kept up with vigour for
some years, and the Pacific route was often adopted for the home-
ward voyage. Thus in 1709 the St Aiitoine, commanded by
M. Frondac, crossed from China by a more northerly route than
^ The voyage of the Ainphitrite is the first of the P'rench voyages to China
of which definite information exists, but it is probable that others had been
made previously. In 1667 Jean Baptiste de la Feuillade, captain of a Rouen
ship, seems to have made a voyage to the far east, afterwards crossing the
Pacific, and in spite of the wreck of his ship near the Strait of Magellan,
appears to have continued his voyage across the Atlantic in a small vessel
made out of the remains of his own.
2o6 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
was tlien usual, striking the coast of California. Of the voyages
by the south of South America some account is to be found in
the works of Pere Louis Feuillee and of Amedee Francois Frezier.
The former went out in 1707 in the capacity of mathematician
and botanist to the French king, and between that year and 17 12
made scientific observations on the coasts of Chile and Peru,
which he published after his return to France. Frezier was an
engineer officer who sailed in 17 12 in the St Joseph, a ship of
St Malo commanded by M. Duchene Battas. He seems to have
been commissioned to collect information on the places he
visited, and his narrative, pubUshed in Paris in 17 16, contains
much of interest on the natural features and inhabitants of Chile
and Peru, besides giving a map and plans of the coasts and
harbours touched at. In particular he describes the Chonos of
Chiloe Island and its neighbourhood, and a supposed race of
giants dwelling further inland. From information collected from
various French captains, Frezier made a chart of the southern
extremity of South America and its archipelago of islands, which
was in many ways an improvement on those previously existing.
In 1 7 14 Fre'zier sailed for France in the Mariane, and during the
passage of the Atlantic touched at the small island of Trinidad,
which, however, he designates Ascengao, as he imagined, like
others of his time, that there were two separate islands in this
part of the Atlantic, and that the one touched at was not the real
Trinidad. The fact that but one island exists in reality had been
previously recognised by Dr Edmund Halley, who had touched
there during his voyage for magnetic research in 1698-1700.
Among the French voyages, that of M. Marcand in the Sai?ite
Barbe deserves mention from the fact that a new exit from
Magellan Strait to the Pacific was discovered, to the south of
the ordinary channel. This was in 17 13, and an account of the
discovery is given by Frezier in his book. In the following year
a voyage round Cape Horn to Peru and across the Pacific to
Guam and China was made by a French ship, name and captain
unknown, in which one Le Gentil de la Barbinais went, probably
in a mercantile capacity. He wrote an account of the voyage in
the form of letters, but these do not contain anything of much
value. He refers to the large numl)er of French ships then
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 20/
frequenting the coasts of South America and mentions that La
Dkoiiverte^ commanded by M. du Bocage of Havre, had during
the voyage to China discovered in 4° N. an isolated rock sur-
rounded by a sandbank, and had named it Isle de la Passion.
This would seem to be the islet touched at in 1787 by Mr Charles
Duncan, which appears in some maps as Duncan Island.
The most noteworthy French voyage of this period, however,
was that of Lozier Bouvet, not so much on account of the actual
results at the time, as from the influence which it exerted on
subsequent explorations in the Southern Ocean. Bouvet was a
captain in the service of the French Compagnie des Indes, who,
moved by the recollection of the reputed discovery of land by
Gonneville south of the Atlantic or Indian Ocean in the early
part of the i6th century, pressed to be entrusted with an expedi-
tion for its re-discovery, pointing out the use that might be made
of such a land as a point of call on the way to India. His
project was an ambitious one, as it also embraced exploration in
the Southern Pacific Ocean and an eventual circumnavigation of
the globe, much on the lines afterwards followed by Captain
Cook. Gonneville's land was supposed to He south or south-
west of the Cape of Good Hope, where the maps of the day
showed a " Terre de Vue," based, it is true, on no better founda-
tion than the hypothetical representation of the Southern Con-
tinent in i6th century maps, on some of which a "Terra de
Vista" figured in this position. Bouvet's plea at last prevailed,
and he was granted the use of two ships, the Aigle and the
Marie, a second captain, Hay by name, being associated in the
command. They left Lorient in July, 1738, and after touching at
the Brazilian coast, reached the scene of their search in November.
Much hindrance was caused by fog as well as by dense masses of
sea-weed. Although summer in those latitudes, the weather was
cold, and on reaching 48' S. the first ice was met with, icebergs
of vast size and in large numbers, as well as fields of broken ice,
rendering navigation dangerous. On January i, 1739, a high,
snow-clad land was sighted, and to its most prominent point, in
honour of the day, Bouvet gave the name Cape Circumcision.
It afforded no chance of landing, and, as the fog and ice con-
tinued to impede navigation, the ships sailed north-east, giving
2o8 THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
up the search for more land when 43° S. had been reached. The
Aigle proceeded to Reunion, while the Marie returned to France,
reaching Lorient on June 24, 1739. There is little doubt that the
land discovered in the South Atlantic was that re-discovered in
our own time by the German expedition in the Valdivia — a quite
small island to which Bouvet's name has fitly been given. The
reports brought back by Bouvet had an important influence on
the plans of Cook's second voyage.
It remains to speak of two or three Dutch voyages of this
period, particularly that under Commodore Roggeveen in 1721-22.
Before dealing with this we must touch upon two voyages, later
than those mentioned on pp. 189-90, by which some further
addition to the knowledge of the Australian coasts was made.
The first was that of Willem de Vlamingh, which sailed for the
East Indies in 1696, vicj Tristan da Cunha, the islands of
Amsterdam and St Paul, and the west coast of Australia. The
commander sailed in the Geelvhik (a name which has attained
almost equal celebrity with his own), while, of the two other ships,
one had as skipper Gerrit Collaert, the other Cornells de Vlamingh,
son of the commodore. Sketches were made both of the islands
and of various points of the South-land visited, and a survey of
the whole western coast of AustraHa — more accurate than any
previously in existence — was executed. This showed for the first
time the belt of islands enclosing Shark Bay — itself discovered
by De Vlamingh — and various other features, while the Swan
river, destined later to give its name to the first British settlement
on this coast, was visited, three of the black swans to which it
owed its appellation being captured alive. Excellent charts
showing the results of the voyage were made after its completion
by Isaac de Graaf, the cartographer to the Dutch East India
Company. An interesting point connected with this voyage was
the discovery of the pewter plate affixed to a pole, which had
been set up in 1616 in commemoration of Dirck Hartog's visit
to this coast (see p. 79, ante). It was brought away as a curiosity,
but another was left bearing a copy of the original inscription with
a statement of the circumstances of De Vlamingh's visits
1 De Vlamingh's record was found, half buried in sand, by Captain Hamelin
of the French Expedition of 1801, and was by him fixed to a new post. In
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I75O 209
The next Dutch voyage of importance to this part of the world
was that of Maarten van Delft, commanding the Vossenbosch,
with which sailed two other vessels with skippers hailing from
Hamburg. These ships sailed from Batavia to Timor, which
was left on March 2nd, 1705. Land was struck near Cape van
Diemen (the north-west point of Melville Island) and the coast of
this island and of the Coburg peninsula was examined with some
care, the resulting map being in many ways an improvement on
Tasman's chart of this coast. One of the vessels penetrated
some distance into Dundas Strait, and the idea was entertained
that this inlet might run right through to the south side of New
Holland, the treacherous character of the natives seen being
considered an indication that they might be islanders. The com-
paratively small size of Melville Island was not however recog-
nised, for on the chart of the voyage it is shown as continuous
for a long distance with the land to the south-west. The
examination of the coast was continued until July, when, owing
to the increasing sickness among the crews, the return voyage
was commenced. Before the Vossenbosch reached Macassar the
skipper and several officers had died.
The famous voyage of Jacob Roggeveen^ the last of the great
Dutch voyages of circumnavigation, was, like that of Schouten
and Le Maire, undertaken independently of the Dutch East India
Company, standing apart from most of the voyages of that realm
in this respect, as well as in the considerable interval wdiich had
elapsed since the last previous undertaking of similar magnitude.
The Dutch had in fact long devoted their energies to their well-
estabUshed commerce with the East and West Indies, and had
little inclination, at this time, for voyages of discovery pure and
simple to other parts of the world. It was the monopoly held by
the East India Company of the trade by the Cape route which
led to the adoption once more of the western route across the
1818 it was brought away by Louis de Freycinet. The posts now (or till
lately) existing on the island, as described in the Adelaide Register of June 15,
1907, seem to be of later date.
^ The correct spelling seems to be Roggeveen, as here used, though the
form Roggewein has become more or less established in English writings about
him.
H. 14
2IO THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 [CHAP.
Pacific, so often followed by Dutch expeditions a century or so
earlier. The proposal for the voyage was made to the West India
Company by Jacob Roggeveen, who had previously been in the
service of the East India Company in a legal capacity, and whose
father, some fifty years earlier, had put forward a similar scheme.
One of the objects, as in so many other Pacific voyages, was the
search for the great southern continent in the part of the ocean
where land had been seen by the buccaneer Edward Davis. The
proposal was accepted, and on August 21, 1721, Roggeveen
sailed from the Texel with three ships — the Arend (Eagle),
Thienhoven, and African Galley. For many years no trustworthy
account of the voyage was available, and though two narratives
existed, neither could be entirely relied on, and there were serious
discrepancies between the two in respect of the positions assigned
to the islands touched at and other matters \ But after long search
Roggeveen's original journal was brought to fight during the first
half of the nineteenth century, and was printed at Middelburg in
1838.
After touching at the coast of Brazil and looking in vain for
Hawkins's Maiden land, Roggeveen passed with two ships through
the strait of Le Maire, while the Thienhoven, which had been
separated in a tempest, made the passage of the Strait of Magellan,
and was rejoined by the others at Juan Fernandez. Hence, with
the aid of the south-east trade, the ships sailed west-north-west, and
though the track followed did not greatly diverge from those of
former navigators, Roggeveen was fortunate in bringing to light
several islands that had not previously been touched at. The
first and perhaps most interesting discovery was that of Easter
Island (made on April 6, 1722), for, as we have seen above, the
idea that this had been reached in the previous century by the
buccaneer Edward Davis rests upon insufficient foundation. The
natives were friendly though timid, but, as on other occasions
during the voyage, Roggeveen assumed a threatening attitude
unjustified by the circumstances, and a fatal collision resulted.
During their stay the voyagers gained a knowledge of the
1 One of these narratives, in Dutch, is anonymous, the other, written in
German and afterwards translated into French, was by Carl Friedrich
Behrens, commander of the troops of the expedition.
VIII] THE SOUTH SEAS, 165O-I750 211
remarkable stone figures, which are still the most noteworthy
features of the island, and which were described for the first time
in the narratives of the voyage. Proceeding on their course, after
some delay through adverse winds, the voyagers sighted another
island named by them Carlshof — which seems to have been
Aratika in the Low Archipelago — and soon afterwards fell in
with a group of islands and rocks amid which the African Galley
was wrecked. They were named from this event the Schaadelyk
or Harmful islands and were probably the Palliser group. Othe.^
islands met with soon after were named Dageraad (" Daybreak ")
and Avondstond (" Eventide ")\ the latter being thought to be
the Vliegen of Schouten (Rairoa in the Low Archipelago), but no
stay was made until the arrival at an elevated island which has
been identified with Raiotea in the Society group. It was named
Verquikking, from the refreshment gained in the form of herb
for those sick with scurvy. A collision with the natives ensued,
again owing to the inconsiderate conduct of the Dutch, who lost
several of their number. The next group visited was named the
Bouman islands from the Captain of the Thiefihoven, and, from the
descriptions given, it seems probable that these were some of the
Samoa group. The crews were now suffering severely from sick-
ness and also becoming discontented at their hardships, so that
Roggeveen resolved to make for the East Indies with as little delay
as possible. Several islands were sighted, and after touching at
the coast of New Britain, and Arimoa off the north coast of New
Guinea, the ships sailed between the latter and Jilolo, finally
(after a stay at Japara in Java) reaching Batavia, where they were
seized on the score of having made the voyage without a licence
from the East India Company. The crews returned in homeward-
bound ships and an appeal to the States-General resulted in full
restitution being made by the East India Company.
^ The names are sometimes given under the German forms Dageroth and
Abendroth.
14 — 2
CHAPTER IX
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780
With the years of profound peace ushered in by the 'JVeaty of
Paris in 1763 a new period of geographical discovery may be said
to have begun, marked by a more systematic investigation of those
parts of the world which still remained unvisited by Europeans.
In no part was this change for the better more marked than in the
Pacific Ocean, where, as we have seen, the work so far accompHshed,
at any rate during the century which preceded, had been mainly
incidental to voyages undertaken by private adventurers for the
sake of plunder or warlike operations. We now reach a period
when distant voyages were undertaken by European governments
or scientific bodies with the direct object of extending the bounds
of knowledge. In this new movement Great Britain led the way
by the despatch of Commodore Byron in 1764 to explore the vast
area which still remained unknown in the Southern Pacific, and in
which there still seemed a possibility that large land masses suit-
able for European settlement might exist. It must not be supposed
that no expedition for purely scientific objects had hitherto been
sent out from Europe, for even in the seventeenth century
France, as represented by the Academy of Sciences, had shown
great enterprise in despatching her foremost savants to distant
regions for the purpose of making observations to determine the
figure of the earth and the exact position of places on its surface.
But the remoteness of the Pacific, and the difficulty of replenishing
supplies at a distance from any permanent settlement, naturally
caused it to remain long outside the field of such labours, and
even when, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, attention
was turned to it, the actual results of each voyage were for some
lime small in proportion to the distances covered ; for, even when
GHAP. IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1 764-1 780 2I3
new routes were adopted, it was frequently necessary to follow a
more or less direct course and leave the areas on either side
unexamined. The discovery of the few small islands which
happened to lie on such a course was therefore all the positive
result, though the negative result gained by the elimination of
new areas from the possible sites of a southern continent was not
without value. The story of the voyages is therefore marked by a
certain samenesss, the usual incidents being the discovery of
verdure-clad islands inhabited either by truculent savages or by
a simple confiding folk ; too often followed, even in the latter
case, by misunderstandings leading to bloodshed and disaster to
one side or the other.
Commodore John Byron, who a quarter of a century earlier
had taken part in Anson's voyage, sailed from the Downs on June
21, 1764, in command of the Dolphin and Tamar; the former a
sixth-rate man-of-war, the latter a frigate commanded by Captain
Mouat. After touching at Rio, the expedition put into Port
Desire towards the end of November, and after making a survey
of the harbour set out in search of the supposed Pepys Island —
said by Cowley to lie in 47° S. and so placed in the chart of the
great astronomer Halley — the correct location of which was named
in Byron's instructions as one of the objects of the expedition. As
has been stated in an earlier chapter, it is probable that the
land seen by Cowley was really the coast of South America^ but
as no such island as he had reported has any existence, the search
was of course fruitless. Byron next entered the Strait of Magellan,
where he held friendly intercourse with the Patagonians, many
of whom seemed to him to approach a height of seven feet. After
visiting Port Famine and taking in wood and water, he sailed,
on January 4, 1765, for the Falklands. While examining the
north coast he discovered a fine harbour, which he named Port
Egmont after the first Lord of the Admiralty. Although, as we
shall see shortly, a French expedition under Bougainville had
settled a French colony not far from Port Egmont in the early
part of the preceding year, Byron took possession of the group for
King George III, under the name Falkland Islands^ He came
1 Strong had already named the passage between the two main islands
*' Falkland Sound."
214 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
to the conclusion, though hardly on good grounds, that it was the
Pepys Island of Cowley. Leaving Port Egmont, Byron completely
circumnavigated the group, making a more accurate chart of its
coasts (to which he assigned the exaggerated circuit of 700 miles)
than previously existed. He also ascertained that the islands were
quite devoid of trees ; what had previously been taken for such,
when seen from a distance, being merely tall reeds. The fauna
included sea-lions and foxes, as well as geese which the men
knocked down with stones.
On February 17, 1765, the Strait of Magellan was once more
entered, and soon afterwards a French ship was sighted, which
proved to be the Aigk under Bougainville. The passage through
the strait was slow and dangerous, but Byron still considered it
preferable to the route round Cape Horn, if only for the scurvy-
grass and other vegetables there procurable, to which he attributed
the excellent health of his crew at this time. After touching at
Masafuera, Byron attempted to sail west in about 27° 30' S., in
search of the land called in the charts Davis's Land, and supposed
to have been reached by the buccaneer Edward Davis. Failing,
however, to pick up the trade wind, he was obliged to decrease his
latitude considerably. On May 15 and 16 indications of land
to the south were noticed, and on various occasions large birds
were seen, but the swell from the south made it necessary to haul
more to the north. A serious outbreak of scurvy made it impera-
tive to find land, but none was sighted until June 7, when, on
approaching some islands, they were found bordered by steep
coral rock which rendered landing impossible. The position
obtained was 14° 5' S., 145° 4' W., and the group was named
Islands of Disappointment. They lie in the extreme north of
the Low Archipelago, though considerably east of the position
assigned to them by Byron. About 200 miles farther west two
more islands were met with, but still no anchorage could be found,
though a landing was effected, and some coconuts, scurvy-grass,
etc., were obtained, which gave some relief to the sick. The
islands, which were named King George's Islands, were inhabited,
but only at the second visit could friendly relations be established.
At the first visit the carved head of the rudder of a Dutch longboat,
and other relics, were seen. As they proceeded westward, vast
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 215
flocks of birds and other indications of land to the southward were
seen, and if wind had not failed in higher latitudes Byron felt sure
that he should have fallen in with it\ As it was, the course led
past a few more small islands only, some of which (named Danger
Islands from the rocks and breakers with which they were sur-
rounded) belonged to the Tokelau or Union Group. Another
was Nukunau or Byron, in the group since named the Gilbert
Islands, a more northerly course having now been adopted with
a view to obtaining refreshments at Tinian. This was sighted on
July 30, a landing being effected at the spot where Anson had put
in in the Centurion. Here the voyagers suffered considerably
from fever and flies, but some supplies were obtained, while the
Tamar examined the island of Saypan. The voyage was resumed
on October 10, and early in November the ships reached the
island of Tioman off the east coast of the Malay Peninsula,
having passed between Formosa and the Bashi Islands. Batavia
was reached on November 27 and left again on December 10, the
voyage being brought to a close at Deal on May 9, 1766, having
occupied 22 months in all.
Only three months after Byron's return the Dolphin was again
despatched, this time under the command of Captain Samuel
WaUis, to prosecute further discoveries. She was accompanied by
the SwalloWy a sloop commanded by Captain Philip Carteret, and
by the Prince Frederick store-ship, whose part in the expedition
was to cease at the Strait of Magellan. The passage of the
strait was again a tedious affair, and occupied four months. On
meeting the Patagonians, Wallis for the first time caused exact
measurements of the people to be taken, with the result that
the tallest individual was found to have a height of 5 ft 7 in.
only. When at Port Gallant, about mid-way, a high mountain
was climbed by the master of the Swallow^ who left a record in a
bottle which, in the opinion of the writer of the narrative, might
" possibly remain there as long as the world endures." At the
exit from the strait, the Dolphin and Sivallow parted company,
owing to the bad sailing qualities of the latter, never again to
come together, so that, as it turned out, each completed an
^ No land larger than the island of Tahiti would, however, have been met
with.
2l6
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780
[CHAP.
independent circumnavigation of the globe, making separate
discoveries e7i route. The Dolphin was again forced by unfavour-
able weather to go north, and thus lost the chance of searching
for land in a high latitude. In spite of all precautions — scrupulous
attention to cleanliness, and the use of supposed curatives
such as wort made of malt, pickled cabbage, vinegar, etc. — scurvy
attacked the crew, and an anxious look-out was kept for land. The
first seen was in the south of the Low Archipelago, and was named
Whitsun by WalHs. Other small islands were named Queen
Charlotte, Egmont, Gloucester, Cumberland, and Prince William
Surrender of the Island of Tahiti (Otaheite) to Wallis by the
supposed Queen. (From Hawkesworth.)
Henry. At the first of these some coconuts, scurvy-grass, and
water were procured. The Commander, however, had by this
time fallen seriously ill, and remained so for a considerable time,
though continuing to give orders to his officers. Some of these
were also incapacitated, and much of the work devolved on the
second lieutenant, Furneaux by name. After passing a small
island named Osnaburgh in honour of Prince Frederick, who was
bishop of the see of that name, Wallis lighted upon an island, of
considerable size and rising into high mountains, which proved
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 21/
to be Otabeite (Tahiti), the most important in Eastern Polynesia.
The credit of the first discovery of Tahiti seems undoubtedly to
belong to Wallis, the idea that this island was the La Sagittaria
of Quiros having been shown by the late Admiral Wharton to be
without foundation. A long stay was made here, intimate relations
being at last established with the inhabitants, in spite of some
preliminary difficulties leading on two occasions to hostilities.
Another danger arose from the ship striking a reef of sharp rock,
from which, however, she was got off with httle damage. Supplies
were obtained in exchange for various objects, especially nails,
which were greatly prized by the natives, though the market was
spoilt for a time by the behaviour of the sailors, who drew the
nails out of various parts of the ship to carry on traffic on their
own account. During the stay Wallis sent a party into the interior
of the island, which made its way to a considerable height among
the mountains and brought back an enticing account of the fertility
and verdure everywhere to be seen. Eventually the friendship of
an important chieftainess was secured, who conceived such a
partiahty to the Commander as to evince the utmost distress
when the time came for the ship to sail. This took place on
July 27, 1767, the harbour in which the Dolphin had stayed being
named Port Royal Harbour. The health of the crew benefited
greatly during the stay, there being now no invalid on board
except Captain Wallis and the two lieutenants, and even these
were recovering. The island struck the voyagers as one of the
most healthy and delightful spots in the world, and no sign of
disease was seen among the inhabitants — a state of things too soon
to give place to one less satisfactory. The name King George III
Island, given by Wallis to Tahiti, never came into general
use.
Passing in sight of Eimeo, Moorea, or Duke of York's Island,
the DolpJwi held a nearly west course till about 175° W., when, like
Byron, Wallis steered for Tinian. Only a few small islands were
sighted en route, among them Uea or Wallis to the north of the
Tonga group, and Rongelap in the northern part of the Marshall
Islands of modern maps. At Tinian refreshments were obtained
in the form of beef (procured by hunting the almost wild cattle),
pork, and fruits of various kinds, including hmes, by means of
2l8 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
which the sick were greatly benefited. Observations for latitude
and longitude were taken, those for longitude giving a result within
two or three miles of the true position. The rest of the voyage,,
made by the usual route, calls for no detailed description. At
Batavia, where a vain attempt was made to procure anchors and
cables, many of the men fell sick, and it was not till they had
been landed at the Cape (reached on February 4, 1768) that their
health was re-established. Frequent astronomical observations
were again made here, the longitude obtained being 18° 8' E., or
about 4 less than it is in reality. Finally, on May 20, the Dolphin
arrived in the Downs, 637 days, or the best part of two years,
from the date on which she sailed out of Plymouth Sound.
The route followed by Carteret in the Swallow lay on the
whole to the south of that of Wallis, but not far enough in this
direction to throw much additional light on the important groups,
hitherto but slightly known from the voyages of Quiros and Tasman,
lying in the Western Pacific to the south of 10° S. Important dis-
coveries were made, but not until the confines of the Australasian
region in the neighbourhood of New Guinea were reached. After
taking in water during stormy weather at Masafuera, Carteret
sailed west in about 28° S. — a course w^hich Wallis had found
impossible — searching in vain for the islands of St Ambrose and
St Felix laid down to the west or north-west of Juan Fernandez in
some of the charts and w^orks of navigation of the time. He also
sailed across the supposed position of Davis Land without finding
it, and only when 130° W. had been reached was land discovered
in the form of the small isolated Pitcairn Island (so named from
the youth who first sighted it) to the south of the Low Archipelago.
Gales and dark cold weather had been experienced, and, as in
Wallis's case, it was found impossible to keep in a high southern
latitude. The ship, however, took a course to the south of Tahiti,
and only one or two of the small isles in this direction were
sighted. One of these received the name Osnaburgh, already
given by Wallis to a more northerly one. The ravages of scurvy
made it necessary, for the sake of procuring refreshments, to still
further diminish the latitude, hopes of discovering continental land
to the south being for the present abandoned. Carteret was sur-
prised at finding no trace of the Solomon Islands, which, misled
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 219
by the erroneous maps then current, he expected to find east of
177° W. Early in August the current was for the first time
observed to set to the south, and he deduced therefrom the
existence of a passage between New Zealand and New Holland.
On August 12, 1767, the Santa Cruz group (named by Carteret
Queen Charlotte's Islands) was reached. Although discovered by
Mendana a century before, and the scene of that navigator's death,
the position of the group had been very imperfectly known, and
Carteret may be credited with its re-discovery. The largest
island — Santa Cruz — he named Lord Egmont's Island, or New
Guernsey. Hostilities occurred here, and the master and others
were wounded. The voyage was continued to the north of the
main islands of the Solomon group, but, a current having set the
ship to the southward, Gower was sighted on the 20th, and Malaita
(named Carteret) on the 21st. The former was afterwards visited,
and coconuts were obtained from a body of natives with whom
some hostilities took place. The next land seen was the " Nine
Islands" (since known as the Carteret group), which Carteret
wrongly identified with the Ontong Java of Tasman. After
passing between the Green Islands and Buka, which were named
respectively Sir Charles Hardy and Winchelsea, the south point of
New Ireland was sighted.
Carteret's most important discovery now awaited him. The
strait between New Ireland and New Britain, it will be re-
membered, had been taken by Dampier for a deep bay only
(St George's Bay). But when, after refreshing in a sheltered
cove just within the supposed bay (described as much the best
that had been met with since leaving the Strait of Magellan),
Carteret attempted to continue 'his voyage by the route followed
by Dampier, he found himself carried to the north-west into a
deep gulf, which proved to be a strait between two separate
islands. The channel, which was divided in two by an island
(Duke of York's Island), received the name St George's Channel,
and the land to the east that of New Ireland — the old name^ New
Britain, being kept for the more westerly land. At the northern
extremity of the latter land were sighted the remarkable peaks,
still known by the names given them by Carteret, the Mother and
Daughters. A strong westerly current carried the ship along the
CHAP. IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 221
inner coast of New Ireland, and between this and the populous
Sandwich Island, with whose black woolly-headed inhabitants
some intercourse was held. The name New Hanover was
bestowed on the high tree-covered island which continues the
trend of New Ireland to the north-west, and that of Byron Strait
on the intervening channel. The passage thus effected, involun-
tarily in the first instance, proved to be much better and shorter
than that outside the islands. The Captain, however, was much
dispirited by sickness — so much so as to be almost ready to sink
under the arduous duties devolving upon him.
The further voyage led past the south side of the Admiralty
Islands — the name bestowed by Carteret, though the group had
been discovered in 16 16 by Schouten and Le Maire — where
hostilities with the unfriendly natives occurred. The small
islands of Durour and Matty, the latter named after a friend
of Carteret, were afterwards discovered. Friendly intercourse
was held with the inhabitants of Pegan or Free Will — the latter
name being given from the readiness with which one of the
natives accompanied the voyagers — and Carteret then sailed on a
N.W. by N. course, which took him north of the equator. After
one or two other small islands had been passed, the island of
Mindanao was reached on October 26. The southern coast of
this island was examined, but no refreshments being procurable
a course was laid for Celebes, where, after some difficulty, supplies
were obtained at Bonthein in the southern extremity of the island.
Batavia was reached on June 3, 1768, and the Cape on November
28. The Sufa//o'iV fmsiWy anchored at Spithead on March 20,
1769, having, soon after leaving Ascension, met with the French
navigator Bougainville, then also returning from his voyage of
circumnavigation.
It was but a few months after the last two of these British expe-
ditions set out, and while both were still absent, that Louis Antoine
de Bougainville, the first of the great French circumnavigators,
though not the first seaman of his nation to complete a voyage
round the world, embarked on an undertaking very similar to
theirs, and one which took him over a route in the main corre-
sponding with those of the English voyagers. Destined for the
law by his parents and educated at the University of Paris,
222 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
Bougainville felt himself drawn instead to the military profes-
sion, albeit fond of scientific studies and author of a treatise
on the integral calculus. He took part in the campaign in
Canada which ended so disastrously for the French power in
North America, and after the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris
entered on a naval career, though he still retained his mihtary
rank. At his suggestion, the project for the colonisation of the
Malouines or Falkland Islands was undertaken in 1763, and on
September 15 of that year he sailed for those parts with the Aigie
and Sphinx, repeating the voyage, with supplies for the colonists,
in T765. But the rival claims of the EngHsh and Spaniards
soon caused the enterprise to be abandoned, and on December 5,
1766, he sailed south, for the third time, in the frigate La
Boudeuse, charged with the commission of ceding the settlement
to Spain, and continuing his way across the Pacific. The second
in command of this famous expedition, to which in 1767 was
attached the store-ship Etoile, was Duclos Guyot. On the outward
voyage Bougainville examined the Salvages, dangerous rocks be-
tween Madeira and the Canaries, and visited Rio de Janeiro and
the estuary of the La Plata, whence, on November 14, 1767,
he finally sailed from Montevideo for the Strait of Magellan.
After the usual experiences in the strait, he entered the South
Sea at the end of January, 1768. Two months later he sighted
various islands of the Tuamotu group, which he named Dangerous
Archipelago. Early in April the ships anchored off the coast
of Tahiti, discovered by Wall is eight months before, one of
its high peaks receiving the name Le Boudoir or Peak of La
Boudeuse. The luxuriant aspect of nature in this island struck
the navigators with delight, while the mild and peaceful disposi-
tion of the inhabitants, contrasting strongly with those of some of
the other Pacific groups, accorded well with their surroundings.
The reception given to the French was a most cordial one, and
though the intercourse was for a time marred by the murder of
several of the islanders by the sailors, friendly relations were
again established. Bougainville waited, however, only until the
necessary supplies of wood and water had been obtained and
the health of the sick somewhat re-established to continue the
voyage. To the group of which Tahiti formed one unit he gave
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 223
the name Bomba Archipelago, though this soon gave place to
Cook's designation, the Society Islands.
Continuing the voyage early in May, 1768, Bougainville next
discovered several islands of the Samoa group, to which he gave
the name Navigators' Islands, which, concurrently with the native
name, it still bears. The absence of roadsteads prevented him
from landing, though some intercourse was maintained with the
people, who showed little of the good faith and confiding dis-
position, and little too of the artistic skill, of the Tahitians.
Still less pleasing were the inhabitants of the next islands visited
— certain of the New Hebrides, called by Bougainville the Grand
Cyclades — a collision with whom took place during an attempt
to obtain refreshments. The inhabitants were of the thick-
lipped black type common to the islands of this part of the
Pacific, from which it has gained the name *' Melanesia." An
outbreak of scurvy had now assumed serious proportions, and
as the food supplies were running short much distress was
experienced.
In spite of his wish to verify his belief that he had reached
the "Austriaha del Espirito Santo" of Quiros, the commander
found himself compelled to continue his westerly course in order
to reach the Moluccas as soon as possible. But in so doing he
continued to make discoveries, soon becoming entangled among
the islands and channels lying off the eastern extremity of New
Guinea, among which he had to submit to an enforced deten-
tion. To the gulf in which he found himself he gave the name
Louisiade, which has since been applied to the whole archipelago.
On at last finding a passage round the cape named by him Cape
Deliverance, he sighted further islands not previously visited, and
passed through the strait since known by his name, touching at
Choiseul in the Solomon group. Hostilities with the cannibal
natives ensued, and the river, which was the scene of attack, was
called Riviere des Guerriers, the island receiving the name which
it has since retained. Bougainville and Buka Islands, in the
same group, were next sighted, the latter name being a word
constantly repeated by the natives during their intercourse with
the French. The winds and currents then made it necessary to
continue the voyage to New Britain. Coming to anchor in a
224 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 [CHAP.
supposed bay near the east end of that island, the navigator
found traces of the recent visit of Carteret, who, as already
related, had proved that a wide strait separated New Britain from
New Ireland. The stopping place was named by Bougainville
Port Praslin. No supplies being obtainable, famine stared the
navigators in the face as they continued their voyage to the
north-west, and matters grew worse as time went on. The
islands named by Bougainville lie des Anachoretes and Echi-
quier were sighted, as also the coast of New Guinea, the end
of which island was rounded. Finally, after approaching Ceram
to no purpose, refreshment was at last found at Kajeli in Buru,
whence the ships made their way to Batavia. Here, as far as
geographical discovery was concerned, the voyage was over, the
return being made by Mauritius and the Cape to Ascension,
the Boudeuse finally casting anchor at St Malo on March 16,
1769, after an absence of two and a half years. The Etoile
returned later, having been left behind at Mauritius to refit.
This voyage of circumnavigation was one of the first in which
the interests of science were provided for by the inclusion, among
the staff, of scientific experts, namely the botanist Commer^on and
the astronomer Verra, both of whom stayed at Mauritius on the
homeward voyage to complete their work. The example thus
set was followed throughout a long series of important voyages,
French and English, the results of which were proportionately
enhanced in value.
This is perhaps the most suitable place in which to refer to
one or two voyages made about this time to the eastern parts of
the Malayo-Papuan Archipelago, though being more or less isolated
undertakings they do not quite fall into line with the other
voyages dealt with in this chapter. As just stated, the botanist
Commergon, of Bougainville's expedition, had remained behind
at Mauritius for further research in that region, and in the
execution of this task he had the aid of a French official of the
marine department, Pierre Sonnerat, who was presently to make
himself a name for natural history researches of his own. An
expedition was soon afterwards fitted out at Mauritius under the
Chevalier de Coetivi, having among its objects an examination of
i
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 22$
the products of the Eastern Archipelago, especially the Philippines
and the islands to the south-east of them. A start was made on
June 29, 177 1, Sonnerat sailing with Coetivi in the Isle de France^
which was accompanied by the corvette Necessaire. The voyage
resulted in valuable additions to the knowledge of the zoology
and botany of the region visited, which included some of the
western outliers of the Papuan islands, though the mainland of
New Guinea itself was not visited. In 1766 Sonnerat pubHshed
a narrative of the voyage under the somewhat misleading title
Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee. The small island of Coetivi, in
the Indian Ocean south of the Seychelles group, was discovered
and named during the outward voyage.
Shortly after this an EngHsh voyage to the same part of the
Eastern seas was carried out by Captain Thomas Forrest, on
behalf of the East India Company. The Company had at this
time an establishment at Balambangan, a small island off the
northern end of Borneo, and as the authorities here received
reports of the occurrence of nutmegs and other spices in Western
New Guinea, outside the Dutch jurisdiction, Forrest offered to
undertake a voyage thither to ascertain whether a profitable trade
in these commodities could be opened. Sailing in November,
1774, in the Tartar galley, a prau or native craft of ten tons
burden, he visited the Moluccas, and eventually, in 1775, reached
Dorey harbour, on the north coast of Western New Guinea \ He
spent some time in an examination of the neighbourhood, and
after much search the nutmeg tree was found growing wild.
But the hopes of establishing a trade were not realised, and
Forrest returned to the English factory in Borneo, which he
reached, after some stay in Mindanao and other islands en route,
in February, 1776-. Forrest pubhshed an interesting account of
the voyage in 1780.
The interest in Pacific discovery was now thoroughly aroused,
and expeditions followed each other so fast that two if not three
were sometimes in the field in one and the same year. Even
^ This locality became noteworthy in more recent times from the visit paid
to it by the naturalist-traveller Alfred Russel Wallace.
- Balambangan had by this time been evacuated.
H. 15
226 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP
before the return of Wallis, and while both Carteret and Bou-
gainville were still at the opposite side of the globe, preparations
were already on foot for a new British voyage, which was to usher
in a period of more rapid progress than had been seen since —
more than a century earlier — Tasman's voyage brought to a close
the great discoveries of the sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries. The immediate inducement to the voyage was not
purely geographical, being supplied by the calculation of astro-
nomers that a passage of the planet Venus across the sun's
disc would take place in 1769, and that the transit could best
be observed in some part or other of the Pacific Ocean. The
Royal Society was foremost in urging on the Government the
desirability of despatching an expedition to that region, to be
accompanied by a competent astronomical observer, and its
representations proved successful. But geographical research
was not left out of sight by the promoters. Among the Fellows
of the Royal Society at the time was Alexander Dalrymple, an
enthusiastic believer in the existence of a great Southern Con-
tinent, who by his writings did much to bring the question before
the public, and who, being well versed also in astronomy, was
at first selected to take charge of the observations, though his
refusal to serve in a position subordinate to a naval officer made
it necessary to arrange otherwise. The choice of commander fell
on Lieutenant James Cook, and proved in every respect a most
fortunate one. In his three voyages of discovery, occupying the
greater part of ten years. Cook showed himself the most success-
ful navigator produced by this or probably any other country,
the extent of unknown seas traversed rendering those years
one of the decisive turning points in the progress of geographical
discovery.
The son of a Yorkshire farm-labourer, Cook's passion for the
sea was first gratified at the age of eighteen. After passing some
years in the merchant service with credit, he entered the royal
navy on the outbreak of war in 1755, and did important service
in Canadian waters under Captain (afterwards Sir Hugh) Palliser,
afterwards carrying out valuable surveys in the same quarter of
the globe. He had but lately returned when the preparations for
the proposed expedition were set on foot, and he was appointed
IX]
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, I764-I780
227
to command the Endeavour, a stout Whitby ship built for the
coal trade, but chosen for the voyage by Sir Hugh Palliser. An
astronomical observer was found in the person of Mr Charles
Green, assistant to the Astronomer Royal, while permission was
Captain James Cook.
given to Mr (afterwards Sir Joseph) Banks, who had lately been
elected an F.R.S., to accompany the expedition, with his friend
Dr Solander and several assistants, for the purpose of making
15-2
228 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
researches in natural history. The association of such a com-
petent scientific observer with the commander was of the utmost
advantage, and to Banks's enthusiasm and loyal co-operation a
large part of the success of the expedition was due. A further
point of superiority in this over previous similar undertakings,
consisted in the measures taken to combat the dreaded scurvy —
which so often played havoc with the crews of ships engaged
in lengthened voyages — by the supply of lime-juice and other
remedies.
The Endeavour sailed from Deptford on July 30, 1768, and
in the following January successfully doubled Cape Horn without
experiencing any of the storms for which that region is famous \
While in its neighbourhood a serious misadventure befel a party
which had gone inland to examine the country and was forced
to camp out during a night of such piercing cold that two Negro
servants of Mr Banks succumbed. The charts of this region
proved very incorrect, and the surveys effected were thus of much
value. The voyage to Tahiti, which from the experience gained
during WaUis's voyage had been chosen as the locality in which
to observe the Transit, passed without important incidents, only
a few small islands being sighted e7i route. On April 13 the
Endeavour entered Port Royal Harbour, and intercourse with
the natives was quickly established. During the three months'
stay, thanks to the strict discipHne maintained by Cook, the
relations with the people were on the whole thoroughly friendly,
although their pilfering habits once or twice threatened difficulties.
The Transit was successfully observed at two or three different
localities, and excursions inland and along the coast to the
eastward of the main station added to the explorers' knowledge
of the island. On leaving, a native named Tupia was taken on
board at his own desire, and proved of much service during the
further course of the voyage. From the point of view of
geography, the chief interest was now only beginning, for a
serious attempt was to be made to solve the problems presented
^ A chart showing Cook's routes on his three expeditions is given opposite
p. 254. It has been based, by permission, on the chart (on a larger scale)
given by Mr Kitson in his recent work, Captain James Cook, the "'' Circum-
navigator T
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 229
by the unknown area in the south-west of the Pacific Ocean,
which had baffled the efforts of so many previous voyagers.
With the exception of Tasman in his famous voyage of 1642,
none of the navigators who had traversed the Southern Pacific
during the previous centuries had passed to the south of 30°
between 100° west of Greenwich and the coasts of New Holland,
so that a vast virgin field lay open to the voyagers in the Endeavour
when they set out in 1768. Even on the route from Cape Horn
to Tahiti Cook had followed a more southerly course than his
predecessors, and so had pushed outward the possible limits of
land in this direction. But the results after leaving Tahiti were
to be still more important. Cook first visited several of the other
islands lying to the west of Tahiti, giving to the whole group the
name of Society Islands, after the scientific body which had
inspired the voyage. He then boldly steered for the unknown
south, discovering on the way the small island of Rurutu, in the
Austral group (spoken of by Tupia as Oheteroa), but seeing no
other land until, on September i, the furthest south was reached
in a Httle south of 40°. Birds, however, were seen, sometimes in
great numbers.
A more or less westerly course was now sailed, and on
October 8, 1769, the coast of New Zealand — hitherto visited
only by Tasman, in 1642 — was struck between latitudes 38° and
39° S. It formed white chalk-like cliffs on either side of an open
bay, with low land between, backed by ranges of mountains. This
locality, which was named Poverty Bay, lay in about 38° 40' S.
on the east side of the North Island — the side opposite to that
visited by Tasman. After saiHng southwards past Hawke's Bay
to a point named Cape Turnagain, the ship's head was put in the
opposite direction, and the coast followed north of Poverty Bay,
communication being frequently opened with the natives, who
were in general friendly, though one or two hostile collisions
occurred. As usual, they showed thieving propensities, and
proofs were more than once seen of their cannibalism. Mr
Banks and Dr Solander constantly added to their botanical
collections, and a transit of Mercury was successfully observed
by Mr Green. After reaching the most northern point, the
Endeavour turned south and followed down the west side of
230 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
the North Island, afterwards passing through Cook Strait and
so definitely proving the division of the main body of New
Zealand into two distinct islands. Valuable observations of the
country and people were made. The latter on the west coast were
frequently found dwelling in forts placed in strong situations and
called Hippahs. Cape Turnagain having been once more sighted,
the ship's head was put south and the circuit of the South Island
made in the reverse direction from that in which the North had
been circumnavigated. Few incidents of importance occurred,
no native being seen during the whole passage. The track led
round the south end of Stewart Island (the insular character of
which was not discovered), and during the voyage up the west
coast the great snowy range of the New Zealand Alps was kept
constantly in sight. Reaching Cape Farewell and once more
entering the mouth of Cook Strait, the navigators disproved once
for all the idea that New Zealand formed part of a great conti-
nental mass. Such might nevertheless exist more to the south,
and, had the condition of the ship permitted, an attempt would
have been made to solve this question by taking the Cape Horn
route and keeping in high southern latitudes. This was felt to
be impossible. Still, as provisions for six months yet remained,
it was determined to attempt further geographical work by
steering westward for the east coast of New Holland, then quite
unknown, and following it northward as far as possible. Apart
from the question of the Southern Continent, this was un-
doubtedly the most important piece of geographical work re-
maining to be done, and its successful accomplishment, after
so long a time had been already spent on the voyage, bears
witness to the keenness for discovery animating the navigators.
In the end they were put to some straits before reaching a
port at which they could renew their supplies, the length of
time during which fresh provisions had been scarce causing some
of the crew, as well as the Tahitian Tupia, to be attacked by
scurvy.
The E7ideavour sailed from Cape Farewell on March 31,
1770, and on April 19, after premonitory signs had been noticed
during several days, land was sighted by the first lieutenant,
Mr Hicks, a prominent point receiving his name in consequence.
IX]
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780
231
This was a little south of 37° on the coast of New South Wales.
By thus making the first authentic discovery on this side of the
great island Cook achieved a success which was destined in time
Sir Joseph Banks.
to decide the fortunes of the whole of Australia. Landings were
soon made and natives encountered, but it was with difficulty that
they were induced to put aside their suspicions. At one place
232 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
the botanical labours of Banks and Solander met with such a rich
reward that the bay there formed between two green headlands
received the name of Botany Bay, which it has ever since borne.
Soon afterwards, on May 6, Port Jackson, the site of the future
city of Sydney, was discovered and named. The voyagers were
now approaching a region exceedingly dangerous by reason of
the shoals and coral reefs, which there attain an extent unsur-
passed in any part of the globe. The utmost vigilance was
therefore necessary. Passing Cleveland Bay, Rockingham Bay,
Trinity Bay, and other coast features which still bear the names
then assigned them, the voyagers used every opportunity of
observing the nature of the country inland. On the loth a
disaster befel them which, but for the utmost good fortune,
might well have proved fatal to the whole crew. After success-
fully passing some dangerous shoals and reaching, as it seemed,
deeper water, the Endeavour^ with hardly any warning, struck on
an invisible rock and remained immoveable at a distance of eight
leagues from land, which, even were it possible to reach it, could
not afford more than temporary sustenance to so large a body of
men\ All depended on the chance of saving the ship, and the
amount of damage caused by the sharp coral rock rendered such
chance extremely sHght. The men worked incessantly at the
pumps, and by throwing overboard everything that could possibly
be spared, the ship was at length so far lightened as to float at
the second high tide after striking. That she did not now sink
was due only to the happy chance that the largest hole had been
plugged by a portion of the rock remaining fixed within it. By
passing an old sail covered with wool and oakum under the
damaged portion of the hull, the leak was further checked, and
it became possible to navigate the vessel to a sheltered harbour
which was found not far off, within the mouth of the Endeavour
River (still so named). Here the ship was brought to the shore,
and by hard work the damage to her bottom was at last re-
paired. During the stay the country inland was examined, and
the kangaroo, the largest Australian mammal, was here for the
first time seen and secured.
1 The point of land abreast of the reef on which the ship struck received
the name Cape Tribulation, in reference to the misfortune experienced.
IX]
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780
233
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Cook's chart of the East coast of Australia. {Outline sketch.)
234 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
The voyage was resumed on August 4, and the intricate and
difficult navigation through the reefs which fringe the coast was
successfully accomplished, though the ship was again more than
once in a position of great danger. Cape York, the northern
extremity of the north-east peninsula, was reached on the 21st,
and by saiUng between this and the islands to the north, Cook
demonstrated once more the separation of New Guinea from
New Holland — a fact which had been proved by the voyage of
Torres more than a century and a half before, but was not a
matter of general knowledge at the time. The name Endeavour
Strait was given to the channel nearest the mainland, through
which the ship sailed. Having passed through this, Cook steered
north for the almost unknown south coast of New Guinea ; but
the shallowness of the sea off the latter, and the uncertain
character of the inhabitants, made it impossible to do much
towards its examination. On landing, Mr Banks found the
vegetation, though luxuriant in growth, by no means rich in
species. The natives that were seen assumed a threatening
attitude : as had been observed by Tasman long before, they
made use of fire to throw at their enemies for the purpose of
blinding them, though without much effect. Continuing the
voyage, the navigators passed Timor and Rotti, and reached the
small island of Savu, where was a Dutch resident and where
with some difficulty they obtained fresh provisions for the sick.
Thence the Endeavour sailed for Batavia, where extensive repairs
were found necessary, and during the delay thus occasioned many
of the officers and crew fell ill with fevers and other ailments,
to which both Tupia and his boy Tayeto succumbed. On
December 27, 1770, the Ejideavoiir sailed from Batavia, and
after a ten days' stay at Prince's Island, steered for the Cape.
There was now more sickness than at any other time throughout
the voyage, and deaths occurred frequently, Mr Green the
astronomer and Mr Parkinson, who had accompanied Mr Banks
as draughtsman, being among the victims. After a month's stay
at the Cape, in March and April, the voyage was continued, and
after touching at St Helena en route the Endeavour cast anchor
in the Downs on May 12, 177 1, having been absent a little
over two years and nine months.
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 235
Fruitful as this voyage had been — for, besides proving that no
continental land occupied any part of the south-western Pacific
north of 40° S., Cook had for the first time circumnavigated New-
Zealand, and explored almost the whole of the eastern coast of
Australia — it was only the beginning of a long series of equally
important discoveries. Recognising the unusual qualifications of
the commander, which consisted not only in his zeal for discovery
but also in the excellent discipHne he maintained and the constant
care he evinced for the welfare of his crew, the Government at
once decided to send him out again, this time with the sole object
of geographical discovery. Although on the former voyage he
had proved that no continental land existed in the Southern
Pacific between Tahiti and New Zealand, there still remained
a vast area encircling the South Pole and reaching in many parts
as far north as 40°, which was still absolutely unknown, and
which might contain a continent rivalling in extent those of the
known world. To throw light on this great unknown area was
the primary object of the new voyage, and we shall see that it
met with a degree of success which cast into the shade all previous
efforts in this direction. Two practically new ships, built like the
Endeavour at Whitby, with a tonnage of 462 and 336 tons re-
spectively, were purchased ; the larger, the Resolution^ being
placed under Cook's own command, while the command of the
smaller, the Adventure, was given to Tobias Furneaux, who had
done good service under Wallis as second lieutenant. Banks,
who had so large a share in the success of the former voyage,
seems to have entertained the idea of once more accompanying
the commander, but it was not carried out. Instead, a naturaHst
of German extraction, Johann Reinhold Forster, was chosen to
go in that capacity, and was accompanied by his son. Immense
pains were taken in the fitting out of the expedition, which was
probably better equipped than any previous one had been. The
ships were ready by the middle of 1772, and left Plymouth on
July 13. In the instructions given to him, dated June 25, Cook
was directed to proceed to the Cape, and after refreshing there to
apply himself first to the search for land in the almost untraversed
ocean to the south. It will be remembered that early in the
century the French navigator, Lozier Bouvet, had sighted land
236 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 [CHAP.
in this region and given to it the name Cape Circumcision. The
search fox this land had just now been taken up in France, and
it is necessary to speak of one or two French voyages before
following Cook in his new undertaking.
Ives Joseph de Kerguelen-Tremarec, an enterprising navigator,
though a man of somewhat imperious temper, had prevailed on
the Government to despatch him on the quest above referred to.
He had sailed in 1771, and returned to France in the very month
in which Cook sailed on his second voyage. From Mauritius he
had sailed south in January, 1772, and in February had dis-
covered the island which has ever since borne the name
Kerguelen Land — the largest of the scattered islands in the
Southern Indian Ocean. Though in reality one of the most
dreary and inhospitable spots on the surface of the globe, Ker-
guelen had formed the most extravagant ideas of its value, and,
as he had seen but a part of the island, he imagined it to be
merely an advanced outpost of the long-sought southern con-
tinent. Being sent out again in 1773 to make further examina-
tion of this supposed south land, he reaHsed the mistake he had
made, and gave to the land he had discovered the appropriate
title. Land of Desolation.
Meanwhile another enterprising French navigator, Marion-Du-
fresne, with Crozet as second in command, had undertaken a
somewhat similar voyage. On his return to France Bougainville
had brought with him a young native of Tahiti, whom it was
necessary to take back to his home, and Marion, eager to dis-
tinguish himself by geographical discovery, volunteered for the
task, offering to provide one ship and to bear the expenses of
another. The young Tahitian had been sent to Mauritius, and
Marion sailed thence in October, 1771. His charge was, how-
ever, attacked by smallpox at the isle of Reunion and died, so
that it became possible at once to undertake the search for new
lands. His own vessel was named the Mascareig^ie, while the
second ship, the Marquis de Castries, was commanded by the
Chevalier Duclesmeur. After visiting the Cape, Marion sailed
south at the close of 1771, or before Kerguelen had effected his
discovery, the early part of his voyage having been devoted to
the more northern parts of the Indian Ocean. On January 13,
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 237
1772, Marion discovered a snow-clad mountainous land in
46° 45' S., and, like so many others in like case, flattered himself
that it was part of the supposed southern continent. It consisted,
however, merely of two small islands, with other islets near them,
being identical with the group afterwards named Prince Edward
Islands by Cook. The larger and more southern was named by
Marion Terre d'Esperance, while the more northern received the
name lie de la Caverne. The former is now known, from its dis-
coverer, as Marion Island. This land was not identical with that
seen by Bouvet, as its latitude was less, while it lay a long way
to the east of the longitude assigned by that navigator, though
even this eventually proved to have been too easterly. Fearing
to become entangled in the ice if he went further south, Marion
steered east, and sighted the group now known as the Crozet
Islands on January 22-23. He ordered Crozet to land on the
largest and take possession in the name of the King of France, a
circumstance from which it still bears the name Possession Island.
It supported neither tree nor shrub, but rose into high snow-clad
peaks. The search for the continent was now abandoned, and
the ships steered for Van Diem en's Land, which had not been
touched at since discovered by Tasman in 1642. Here diffi-
culties arose with the natives, and the ships sailed for New
Zealand. Friendly intercourse with the natives was there main-
tained for some time, but it ended in a catastrophe, the
commander and some sixteen others being murdered during a
visit to a chief on the shores of Cook's Bay of Islands. Crozet
and Duclesmeur therefore sailed away for the islands of St Paul
and Amsterdam, the remainder of the voyage yielding no result
in the way of discoveries.
We must now return to Cook and his comrades, who, after
touching at Madeira and the Cape Verdes, sighted land in the
vicinity of Table Bay on September 29. The Dutch authorities
obligingly gave the necessary facilities for making up their
suppHes, and on November 22 the southward voyage was com-
menced, warm clothing being distributed in view of the meditated
approach to the cold and stormy regions in this direction.
Difficulties soon began, a violent gale driving the ships to the
238 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 [CHAP.
eastward, while, after the winds moderated, they were frequently
in danger from fog and ice, the first iceberg being seen on
December 10. Arrived at the latitude in which Cape Circum-
cision had been placed by Bouvet, a keen look-out was kept for
land, for although they were some degrees to the east of the
assigned longitude, the idea that the cape formed but the most
prominent point of a larger mass encouraged the expectation
that such land might be found to extend some distance to the
east. No land was, however, sighted, and the constant fog, rain,
and snow made navigation dangerous in a sea encumbered with
ice. An attempt to go west proved unsuccessful, but on sailing
south the Antarctic Circle was crossed, for the first time in the
history of Man, on January 17, 1773. This alone would have
been an achievement sufficient to make the voyage memorable,
and it clearly proved that the ocean extended, in this quarter
of the globe at least, far to the south of the position in which
land had hitherto been imagined to exist. Although the sea was
fairly open, Cook thought it unwise to venture beyond 67° 15',
but determined to sail east for the lands discovered by Marion-
Dufresne and Kerguelen, of which he had had tidings while at
the Cape. On February 4 those in the ResoIutio7i had the
misfortune to part company with the Adventure during a dense
fog, and every effort to regain sight of her was unavailing. It
was decided to sail for New Zealand, which had been named
as a rendezvous in case of separation. It was reached without
accident on March 26, on which day they entered Dusky Bay,
near the south-west extremity. Some time was spent here
examining the shores of the bay and the forest-covered country
behind it, intercourse being opened with the natives. Sailing
north on May 4, they entered Queen Charlotte's Sound, and soon
saw the Adventure at anchor. After the separation Captain Fur-
neaux had been prevented by a severe storm from returning
to the spot where the Resolution had been last seen, and after
cruising about for some time made sail for Van Diemen's Land,
where he hoped to effect some repairs before making for the
rendezvous in New Zealand. On March 11, the Adventure came
to anchor in an excellent harbour, but, on sailing with a view to
testing the continuity of Van Diemen's Land with New Holland,
IX]
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780
239
encountered a gale which thwarted this purpose. Furneaux went
north along the east coast, and, passing near the end of this,
sighted the islands in the south of Bass Strait since known by his
name. He seems to have been by this time convinced that no
strait existed here ; so, turning east, he steered for New Zealand,
arriving in Queen Charlotte's Sound early in April. The natives,
who before Cook's arrival seem to have meditated an attempt to
get possession of the Adventure^ subsequently became friendly.
H.M.S. Resolution.
(From a drawing in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society.)
and Cook planted a garden with European vegetables for their
benefit. The voyage was resumed on June 7, the first task
undertaken being the search for the southern continent to the
east of New Zealand.
By enforcing the use of wild celery and scurvy grass, Cook
kept the crew of the Fesolutioii in good health, but scurvy
prevailed for a time on board the Adventure, No land being
240 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
found between New Zealand and 133° W., the ships turned north,
and after passing near Pitcairn Island and crossing 20° S., steered
for Tahiti, which was reached on August 16, 1773. A good
many changes had taken place since the Endeavour left the island
in 1769. The voyagers, however, were again well received and
visited various parts of the coast ; but finding it difficult to obtain
the needed supplies, they sailed on September 2 for Huahine.
Here Cook saw again his old friend Oree, and obtained a large
number of pigs, afterwards passing over to Ulietea, and thence
sailing west for the islands discovered by Tasman in 1643
and named by him Middelburg and Amsterdam. During the
voyage thither the Hervey Islands were discovered, on Septem-
ber 23, 1773. The native name's of Tasman's islands were found
to be Eua and Tongatabu, the latter being the largest of the group
known as Tonga, and by Cook designated the Friendly Islands,
from the harmony that seemed to reign among the natives and
their courteous reception of their visitors. Their double canoes
were much admired for their workmanship and sailing qualities.
Before resuming his exploration of the ocean to the south,
Cook decided to return to New Zealand for wood and water,
as also for the purpose of visiting the natives on the east
coast of the North Island. On October 21 they reached the
neighbourhood of Cape Kidnappers, and, having left with the
natives some of the pigs, seeds, etc., they had on board, sailed
south, but, encountering stormy weather, lost sight of the Ad-
venture on the 30th. They made their way through Cook Strait
to Queen Charlotte Sound, but having searched the whole of
this part of the coast without finding a trace of their consort, and
repaired the ship as far as possible, they sailed for further ex-
ploration on November 25, steering this time more south than
east, and thus extending their search for land into latitudes never
before approached on this side of the globe. On December 14
islands of ice were seen, and for the next six weeks antarctic
conditions of sea and weather prevailed, the Antarctic Circle
being twice crossed, in the neighbourhood of 140° W. and 106° W.
respectively. In the latter longitude the parallel of 70° S. was
crossed for the first time in the world's history, and on January 30,
1774, they reached the edge of the solid ice-field, rising into
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 241
ridges like ranges of mountains. To have attempted to push
farther south would have been a rash undertaking, and Cook
resolved to go north, having ascertained beyond a doubt that no
continent existed unless far to the south.
Instead, however, of returning at once to the islands already
visited, he steered somewhat east of north, and on again turning
west the first land reached was the small Easter Island in the
Eastern Pacific. During the passage thither Cook became
seriously ill, and had only partially recovered when the island
was reached on March 11. After endeavouring, without much
The Resolution among Icebergs.
(From the narrative of Cook's Second Voyage.)
success, to obtain fresh provisions, and examining the gigantic
statues for which the island is famous, the voyagers returned west,
touching at Hiwaoa of the Marquesas group (La Dominica of
the Spanish discoverers) and afterwards at Tiokea (Takaroa),
discovered by Byron in 1765, before reaching Tahiti. During
their stay here they had a sight of an imposing fleet of war
canoes and transports which had been got together to operate
against the island of Eimeo, the aggregate of the crews being
estimated at over 7000 men. Here, as well as at Huahine and
UHetea, they met with the usual hospitable reception, and, sail-
ing from the last-named, left behind the native Oedidee, who had
H 16
242 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
been with them since their visit to the group in 1773. Steering
nearly due west, they sighted, on June 16, an atoll composed of
several rocky islets, and named it Palmerston, after one of the
Lords of the Admiralty. Niue, to the south of the Samoa group,
was next reached, and named Savage Island, from the character
of the inhabitants. They then proceeded to Namuka (Rotterdam
of Tasman) to procure water and fresh fruits, and on leaving this
sighted the volcanic peak of the island of Tiafu (Amatafu),
guessing at its character from its appearance. Cook next visited
the important group lying west of the Fiji Islands, which has ever
since retained the name bestowed by him on this occasion — the
New Hebrides. Its northern portion had been discovered by
Quiros over a century and a half previously, but the southern
islands were quite unknown until visited by Cook. The first
islands he touched at were in the north — Lepers', Aurora, and
Whitsuntide or Pentecost; but, leaving these, he anchored in
a harbour on the north-east side of Mallicolo, which he named
after the Earl of Sandwich. Steering south, he sighted in turn
the volcanic islands of Ambrym ; Api, and a small island near it ;
and Efat (which he also named Sandwich). At the last of these
some hostilities occurred, and no long stay was made. The
people seemed to be of a different race from those of Mallicolo,
and spoke a different language. Sailing on, the voyagers passed
the island of Erromango, and soon afterwards sighted a volcano
pouring forth fire and smoke, which proved to be on the island
of Tanna, which was accordingly visited. Showing suspicion at
first, the natives became in time more friendly, and some attempt
was made to examine the geography of the island. A party
made its way for some distance inland in the hope of getting
a nearer view of the volcano, which continued to show activity,
but the broken nature of the ground and the thickness of the
woods forced them to desist.
Cook had now explored almost the whole of the group — one
of the most important for the number and size of its islands in
the whole of the Western Pacific, though, owing to international
rivalries, it has been the last of all to be brought under definite
European control. But before leaving it, he returned up the west
side of the several islands and surveyed the coasts of the largest
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 243
and longest-known island, the Tierra del Espiritu Santo of Quiros.
Leaving this on August 31, he sailed south-west, and was re-
warded by the discovery of the largest of the Pacific islands
proper, which was struck near its north-west end. Here a
landing was effected and friendly relations established v/ith the
natives. An eclipse of the sun was observed and a portion of the
coast surveyed, while a party pushed some little distance among
the hills and obtained a view across the island. No native name
could be found for it as a whole, and Cook therefore bestowed
upon it that of New Caledonia, which it bears to this day.
Off its south-east end he made the circuit of the Isle of Pines,
and landed on a small island which he named Botany Island,
from the interest its vegetation afforded to the botanists who
accompanied him.
It was now time to think of commencing the homeward
voyage, but before doing this Cook once more put the ship's
head for New Zealand, with the purpose of obtaining some
refreshment before launching out on the watery expanse of the
Southern Pacific. For, not content with his previous work in
these high latitudes, he still proposed, instead of taking a
frequented route homewards, to prosecute the main object of
the voyage by once more crossing a part of the ocean first
traversed by the Resolution in the previous year. On the way
to New Zealand he made the discovery of a small island lying
in the broad ocean and only some five miles in length. It was
named Norfolk Island and was found to be covered to a great
extent with a large coniferous tree, since generally known as the
Norfolk Island pine, though botanically not a true pine. Some
of the birds resembled those of New Zealand. Arrived once more
at Queen Charlotte Sound, the voyagers found evident signs
that the Adventure had been there since their last visit, evidence
confirmed also by the natives. On November 10 they once more
sailed, steering south-east until about the latitude of Cape Horn,
and then keeping on nearly due east until the coast of Tierra
del Fuego was reached, on December 17, not far from the western
end of the Strait of Magellan. In the whole of this course no land
whatever was seen, and the last remaining chance that land of
any extent might reach a latitude of from 50° to 60° to the south
16—2
244 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 [CHAP.
of the Pacific Ocean thus disappeared. But the indefatigable
navigator had not yet done with discovery, for after doubhng
Cape Horn and passing through Le Maire Strait he continued
to steer east, and in about 39° W. came upon one of the bleak
and inhospitable lands which mark the approach to the Antarctic
region. It was named Isle of Georgia in honour of the King,
and bears the name (in the form South Georgia) to this day.
The Resolution skirted the north-east coast of this island, which
was much cut up with bays and harbours, though rendered
inaccessible by ice for the greater part of the year. Continuing
towards the south-east through a sea strewn with loose ice and
icebergs, Cook sighted still another new land, calling the high
promontory which came to view on February i. Cape Montague,
while the group of islands of which it forms a part was named
Sandwich Land, the southernmost receiving the name Southern
Thule. The easterly course was maintained until February 22, when
they had almost reached the longitude in which they had searched
for Bouvet's land while on the outward voyage. As therefore
it was impossible that any extensive land could exist in this
region, the commander at last turned the ship's head north
and made his way to the Cape, anchoring in Table Bay on
March 21st, after first speaking a Dutch and an English East
Indiaman and obtaining news of the Adventure. They learnt
that this ship, which had parted company off the coast of New
Zealand towards the end of 1773, had reached the Cape twelve
months previously by a somewhat similar route across the South
Pacific after the crew of one of her boats had been murdered
and eaten by the people of New Zealand. During the home-
ward voyage from the Cape, Cook was still mindful of the cause
of geographical science, for on touching at the Azores he stopped
long enough to permit of observations for the better determination
of the longitude of the group. Finally the Resolution anchored
at Spithead on July 30, after an absence from England of a little
over three years. The Adventure^ which during the voyage across
the South Pacific had reached the latitude of 61° S., and had
afterwards searched in vain for Bouvet's Cape Circumcision in
the South Atlantic, had completed the voyage just over a year
earlier, anchoring at Spithead on July 14, 1774.
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 245
Thus ended one of the most fruitful voyages of discovery in
the whole history of maritime enterprise. Its happy results were
in great measure due to the precautions taken to preserve the
health of the crews, precautions so successful that only one man
had been lost by sickness during the whole three years. It had
been possible to return again and again to the task in hand,
which was not finally abandoned until the general character
of the vast area lying around the South Polar region had been
fully demonstrated, while the knowledge of the island groups of
the Pacific had been no less materially advanced.
Cook's experiences while battling with the ice of the southern
regions had convinced him that any further advance in this
direction would be impracticable, and the home authorities were
content with what had been already done, making for the time
being no attempt to penetrate the mysteries of the Antarctic.
But at the opposite or northern extremity of the Pacific there still
remained a large region very imperfectly known, although the
labours of the Russians, since the beginning of the century, had
thrown much light on the relations of Asia and North America,
to the latter of which several Russian explorers (including Bering
and Chirikof) had penetrated. In 1767 a government expedition
under Lieutenant Synd had visited the American coast, and, during
the decade immediately preceding Cook's return from his second
voyage, hunters were active in the same region. But the results
of these enterprises were little known to the outside world, and
the British Government, which had already displayed its interest
in northern discovery by the despatch of Captain Phipps in 1773
to the sea east of Greenland, considered the geographical
problems awaiting solution in the far north-east as worthy of
the despatch of a new expedition. Although lately appointed
Governor of Greenwich Hospital, Cook once more expressed his
readiness to take command. The sloops Resolution and Discovery
having been fitted out for the proposed voyage, Cook received
his instructions from the Earl of Sandwich and his colleagues
of the Admiralty. He once more sailed in the Resolution,
while the Discovery was placed under the orders of Captain
Charles Gierke, who had been both with Byron and with Cook
on his two previous voyages. Lieutenant King, who sailed in
246 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, I764-1780 [CHAP.
the Resolution^ undertook the necessary astronomical observations
on that ship, while Mr William Bailey was to perform a similar
task on board the Discovery. Mr Webber was engaged as
draughtsman, and Mr Anderson (surgeon on board the Resolution)^
who had already taken part in Cook's second voyage, undertook
the researches in natural history, as also in matters connected
with the manners, customs, and languages of the natives who
should be met with. Mr W. Bligh, master of the ResolutioUy
who had already served under Cook in the second voyage,
became afterwards known as commander of the ill-fated Bounty.
Lieutenant Burney, of the Discovery, subsequently made a name as
chronicler of voyages to the Pacific and the far North-east, while
one of the midshipmen was Mr G. Vancouver, who lived to
command in a subsequent voyage of discovery. Omai, a Society
Islander who had been brought to Europe by Furneaux in the
second voyage, accompanied the expedition, and proved of
great service in dealing with the peoples visited, down to the
time when he was finally left behind in his South Sea home.
A number of domestic animals were also taken in the hope that
they might become established in the countries visited.
On June 25, 1776, Cook sailed from the Nore in the Resolu-
tion, finally leaving Plymouth on July 12, the Discovery following
on August I. The island of Tahiti was once more chosen as the
place of refreshment whence the final start for the northern region
should be made, and to reach this destination the route via the
Cape and New Zealand was again adopted. It is unnecessary to
dwell upon the outward voyage, during which, in December, the
ships touched land at Adventure Sound, Tasmania, holding some
intercourse with the natives, who were found to differ from those
seen on the first voyage on the east coast of Australia. The stay
here lasted from January 26 to 30, 1777. On the latter date the
voyagers sailed for New Zealand, arriving at Queen Charlotte
Sound on February 10, and resuming the voyage on the 25th,
taking with them two of the natives. Before reaching Tahiti they
touched at several hitherto undiscovered islands, besides others
previously visited by them. The first touched was known to the
natives as Mangea, and at the second Omai found some of his
countrymen who had been carried out of their course during a
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 247
voyage and had arrived there after suffering great hardships. At
Watiu (Atiu) as also at the Hervey (since known also as Cook's)
Islands, which had been discovered in 1773, the natives were
found to speak a tongue closely resembling that of Tahiti, though
physically the Hervey islanders recalled the New Zealanders
in their fierce and rugged aspect. Diverging somewhat to the
north, Cook reached Palmerston (discovered in 1774) on April 13,
and spent some time examining the nine or ten low islets of
which it is composed. After passing Savage Island (also visited
in 1774), he put in at Namuka and thence visited Hapai, as
also the islands of the Friendly group which had not before been
examined, cordial relations being maintained throughout with the
natives. A lengthened stay was made at Tongatabu, where
an eclipse was observed on July 5, and soon afterwards final
leave was taken of the Friendly Islands, after a total visit of
nearly three months.
On August 8, land was again seen and proved to be the island
known to its inhabitants as Tubuai, of the group since called
the Austral Islands. Tahiti was reached on the 12th, and the
experiences of the voyagers during their stay in the neighbour-
hood of this island were in the main a repetition of those of the
former visit. Intelligence was obtained of the recent visit of
Spanish ships to Tahiti, but it was ascertained from individuals
who had been left behind that they had already taken their
departure. Before finally leaving, the remaining domestic animals
were landed, and Omai was left at Huahine, where a small
house was built for his use, and an inscription with the names
of the ships and their commanders cut upon its outside. Cook
left the island on November 2, 1777, and, after a month's stay at
Ulietea and a shorter stay at Borabora, sailed away to begin the
real purpose of the voyage — the examination of the Northern
Pacific and the possibility of a route thither via the Arctic Ocean.
On December 22, the equator was crossed (in 156° 45' W.), and two
days later a low-lying atoll with a few clumps of coconuts was
discovered in the midst of the ocean. Here an eclipse of the
sun was observed on December 30, and the voyage was resumed on
January 2, the name Christmas Island having been given to the atoll
from the fact that the voyagers had there spent their Christmas.
248 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
The land next sighted (January 18) was an island belonging to the
important Sandwich group, now known by the native name of
Hawaii. These islands had almost certainly been visited by the
Spaniards in the sixteenth century, but no practical result had
ensued, and the group was to all intents and purposes unknown
until Cook's visit. In spite of the distance from other Pacific
groups the language of the islanders was found to be closely
akin to that of Tahiti, so that intercourse could be easily
established. Captain Cook stayed some days at Atui (Kauai),
the people proving friendly, and made an excursion into the
interior. The ships subsequently touched at Niihau, and on
February 2 stood away to the north, having laid in a fair supply
of fresh provisions and water. Five separate islands had been
seen, all lying towards the north-west end of the group, and
of these only three, viz. Oahu, Atui (Kauai) and Oneehow
(Niihau), were of any size. The group received the name by
which it was long afterwards known in honour of the Earl of
Sandwich, to whom recourse had already been had more than
once as sponsor for new lands discovered by Cook. The natives
had made a good impression by their frank and friendly nature
as well as by their excellent physique and expertness as
swimmers.
On March 7, the north-west coast of North America, here
known at the time as New Albion, was reached. An important
field for discovery now lay before the voyagers, for this coast
from about 40° northwards was perhaps the least known of any
of the continental outlines outside the polar regions. Some slight
results, it is true, had been attained by the Spaniards, and we
may here pause to consider the various efforts made by them,
down to 1778, to extend their knowledge of the coast line north
of their settlements in Western Mexico.
During the sixteenth century several voyages had been made,
the most important being that of Cabrillo and Ferrelo (1542),
who reached the outer bay of which the modern bay of San
Francisco is an inlet. Early in the seventeenth century Vizcaino
had sailed along the coast and claimed to have discovered an
excellent port in 37° N., to which he gave the name Monterey.
From the date of his voyage (1603), practically nothing further
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 249
was done for over a century and a half, but in 1768 a movement
was set on foot for the resumption of discovery, and it resulted
in the despatch of expeditions both in 1769 and 1770 under
Don Gaspar de Portola, who in the former year made his way
by land to a point not far south of the Golden Gate or entrance
to San Francisco Bay, while the southern part of that bay was
for the first time examined. The chief result of the expedition
of 1770 was the founding of the "Presidio" or government
station of Monterey. In 1772 a land expedition under Don
Pedro Fages explored the country round San Francisco Bay,
and in 1775-6 a presidio and mission were founded on the
site of the modern city of San Francisco. Meanwhile the work
of exploration was being pushed further north by the naval
expeditions of Juan Perez in 1774, and ©f Heceta and Quadra
in 1775. Perez sailed from Monterey in the Sa?itiago on
June II, 1774, and reached the latitude of 55°, though without
finding any good port on the part of the coast examined. But
on the return voyage he touched at the harbour afterwards known
as Nootka Sound, in 49° 35', naming it San Lorenzo. In
48° 10' he saw a snow-white mountain, which he named Santa
RosaHa, but which subsequently became known as Mount
Olympus. In 1775 the chief command was given to Don Bruno
Heceta, who sailed in the Santiago, while the Sonora had as
captain Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, of whom
more will be heard later. These voyagers went as far as
56° 47' N., touching at various points (including, possibly, the
mouth of the Columbia River), but without making a precise
survey of the coast.
Such was the state of knowledge when Cook took up the
task, much still remaining to be done before the Spanish surveys
in the south could be satisfactorily finked with those of the
Russians in the north.
The point at which the American coast was struck by Cook
was in about 44^° N., where the land was found to be well-
wooded and diversified with hills and valleys. After coasting
along, hindered by contrary winds, until March 29, the ships
came to anchor near an inlet in which a snug cove was found,
offering a good opportunity for overhauHng the ships and for
250 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 [CHAP.
the supply of the wants of the crews. This was at Nootka
Sound on the western side of Vancouver Island, though the
insular character of this was' not recognised, the strait at its
southern end having been passed unobserved. The neighbour-
hood was inhabited, and friendly intercommunication with the
natives prevailed during the whole stay, much interesting in-
formation being obtained as to their habits and mode of life.
The masts of the ships having been refitted by the help of trees
cut down near by, and other necessaries completed. Cook sailed
on April 26, in spite of threatening weather which compelled
him to seek the open sea. Partly on this account and partly
from the wish to press on to the scene of the contemplated
exploration in the north, no attempt was made to follow the
coast line, which CooR would otherwise have done, in order to
clear up the question of the strait supposed to have been
discovered by Admiral Fonte. The next place sighted (May i)
was Mount Edgecumbe, soon afterwards followed by the Bay of
Islands and Mount Fairweather near Cross Sound, and, a week
later, by Mount St Elias. Cape Suckling, Bering's Bay, and Kaye
Island were seen and named, the last in honour of Dr Kaye,
afterwards Dean of Lincoln, who had shown much interest in the
voyage. Arrived at the inlet to the east of the Kenai Peninsula,
which he named Prince William's Sound, Cook explored it with
a view to finding a passage to the north. Unsuccessful in this —
after passing, among other points, one which he identified with
the Cape Hermogenes of Bering — he made his way, west of the
same peninsula, to the still larger inlet which has since borne his
own name. Although very doubtful of the existence of a passage
in this direction, he determined to settle the question by a
thorough examination. By ascending both the main and the
eastern arm (the latter named Turnagain) until they became
narrow and nearly fresh, he conclusively proved that no passage
either to Baffin or Hudson Bay was to be found in this
locality. Returning to the open sea, he followed the coast
round the Alaska peninsula, frequently in sight of high rugged
mountains, some volcanic, and, passing Unalaska and others
of the Aleutian Islands, went up the east side of the Bering
Sea to the westernmost extremity of the continent, separated
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, I764-I780 25 1
from Asia only by Bering Strait. To this he gave the name
Cape Prince of Wales. Although the strait had been brought
to light by Russian travellers many years before, the results of
their labours were so little known in Western Europe that no
accurate representation had found its way into the maps, and
some at least of these had placed the extremity of America much
to the east of its true position \ Before reaching this point,
various traces of the presence of the Russians had been seen,
while the natives had been found to differ much from those
encountered further south. The sea-otter, the much-prized fur of
The Sea-Otter.
(Drawing by J. Webber in the narrative of Cook's Third Voyage.)
which was soon to offer so powerful an incentive to voyagers to
this coast (as it had already begun to do in the case of the
Russians), had been observed by the naturalists during the voyage,
and a drawing, here reproduced, had been made by the artist.
Crossing the strait to a bay on the Asiatic side Cook made
acquaintance with the Chukches of this region, and then returning
to the American side endeavoured to push northwards, reaching
Cape Lisburne, where the coast bends decidedly to the east.
The sea was however so encumbered with ice that further
^ Miiller's map (see p. 268) had erred in the opposite direction.
252 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-I780 [CHAP.
advance proved impossible, and the same difficulties were
encountered both in the open sea and on the Asiatic coast,
which was followed to Cape North. The season was so far
advanced that it seemed unwise to continue the search for a
passage to the Atlantic, and it was resolved to defer the attempt
till the next summer. Returning south through the strait, Cook
examined the deep bay on the American coast which has ever
since retained the name Norton Sound, given by him in honour
of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Proof was obtained
of the non-existence of the large island shown on some maps as
lying between Asia and America^ though one or two small
islands in the northern part of the Bering Sea were touched at.
The largest of these received the name Clerke's Island, though
since better known by the name St Lawrence given it by the
Russians, Hence the voyagers made their way back to Una-
laska, where the ships were once more overhauled. During the
stay several Russians were met with, the principal of whom, named
Ismaelof, was well acquainted with the geography of these regions,
and supplied Cook with information about it, and with charts.
He also took charge of a report (with chart) from the English
Captain to the Lords of the Admiralty. Cook's own observations
enabled him to lay down the positions of several of the Aleutian
Islands, and the latitude of the harbour in Unalaska in which he
stayed was accurately determined. From the information given
by Ismaelof, it appeared that the Russians had not yet succeeded
in extending their settlements to the American mainland.
It was now necessary to return south to suitable winter
quarters, and Cook considered that the Sandwich group would
in every way be most suitable for this purpose. The first island
to be sighted was Maui, which had not been visited on the
former occasion, and soon after the ships approached Hawaii,
the largest island and the one situated most to the south-west
of the whole group. The voyagers were surprised to see the
summits covered with snow. They brought the vessels to anchor
in the bay on the west side of the island, soon to be the scene
^ The belief in the existence of such an island had evidently originated in
the idea that the western part of Alaska was separated from the Continent.
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 253
of the tragedy which deprived the expedition of its commander.
The reception given to the voyagers was remarkably cordial,
Cook being regarded with an almost superstitious reverence and
all the wants of the crews supplied with the utmost liberality.
After some stay the ships took their departure, the natives
remaining still the best of friends. But the ships had hardly
sailed any distance before the Resoliitio7i^ s mast was found to be
urgently in need of repair, and Cook, after some hesitation,
decided, with lamentable consequences to himself, to complel:e
the refit in the bay which had just been left. The beginning
of troubles came, as was so often the case in such voyages, from
the pilfering habits of the people, which forced the crew to have
recourse to reprisals. All might still have gone well, but for
some unfortunate misunderstandings which turned the once
hospitable people into temporary foes. While on shore with a
small party Cook was attacked by an excited crowd and almost
immediately received a fatal wound. The whole of the ships'
companies were for a time in imminent danger, for, flushed with
their success and mistaking the pacific overtures of the English
for cowardice, they assumed a contemptuous and threatening
attitude, which made reprisals necessary, deeply as they were
regretted by Captain Clerke, who had now assumed command.
The result was an eventual resumption of friendly relations,
which proved the essentially pacific disposition of the islanders,
or at any rate of most of their chiefs. The fatal occurrence was
in fact all the more melancholy from the circumstance that it
was the result of no premeditated hostiHty, but of one of the
sudden misunderstandings which had so often before been suc-
cessfully smoothed over.
Thus perished, to the profound sorrow of all his associates,
to whom he had become endeared by his thoughtful considera-
tion for their welfare, the most distinguished navigator Great
Britain has ever produced. His fame could hardly have been
increased had he lived to complete the voyage, for the task to
which he had devoted himself, the filling in of the broad out-
lines of the geography of the Pacific and Southern Oceans, had
already been achieved. Although a new attempt to return by a
northern route was to be made, it could, under the conditions
234 THE PACIFIC OCEAN, I764-1780 [CHAP.
then prevailing, lead to no other result than the negative one
already obtained.
The loss of their beloved commander in no way deterred the
survivors from prosecuting the task committed to them, and, after
brief visits to some of the other islands, Captain Gierke resolved
to sail for Kamchatka, there to prepare for the northward voyage
in the ensuing summer. As his route would cross an almost
unvisited part of the Pacific Ocean, he hoped to be rewarded
with the discovery of some new island, though, as it turned
out, this ambition was not gratified. During the passage to
Kamchatka difficulties were experienced owing to bad weather,
and to a leak which had showed itself in the Resolution. The
snow-covered land was however sighted on April 23, soon after
which the ships entered Avacha Bay, and the needed supplies
were obtained through the courtesy of the Russian Commander
of Bolcheretsk. Bering Strait was reached on July 5, but the
ice immediately afterwards encountered diminished the hope of
advancing further to the north. The difficulties were in fact not
a whit less than in the previous year, and after tacking in various
directions amid the ice and attempting in vain to push along both
the American and the Asiatic coasts, Captain Clerke was at last
obliged to fall back upon the circuitous route via the Cape of
Good Hope, the highest latitude attained having been 70° 33'.
But he did not live to complete much of the homeward voyage,
for his health, which under the attacks of consumption had for
some time been gradually declining, now became rapidly worse,
and he expired on August 22, 1779, the day before the ships
reached Petropaulovsk. Here he was buried, a monument (still
to be seen) being erected over his grave. The end had no doubt
been hastened by the rigorous cHmate and the anxieties to which
he had lately been subjected, but which he had cheerfully en-
countered in the determination to do all in his power to carry
out the object of the voyage. The chief command now fell on
Captain Gore, who had commanded the Discovery since Cook's
death, and who now removed to the Resolution., while Lieutenant
King, whose journal supplied the official narrative of the
voyage after the death of Cook, was promoted to the command
of the Discovery. The return was successfully accomplished
IX] THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 1764-1780 255
by way of Macao, the Straits of Sunda, and the Cape, and
although war had now broken out with France, Spain, and the
revolted American Colonies, the orders given by the respective
governments to refrain from molesting the voyagers enabled them
to escape all hostilities en route. The west coast of Ireland
was sighted on August 12, 1780, and on October 4 the ships
arrived safely at the Nore after an absence of over four years.
Only five men had been lost by sickness during the whole of that
period.
The conclusion of the last of Cook's great voyages of dis-
covery forms a fitting close to the present chapter, and before
continuing the narrative of Pacific exploration it will be desirable
to look back at the course of discovery by the Russians during
the eighteenth century in Northern and North-Eastern Asia, with
which the work of Pacific navigators had begun, as we have seen,
to show points of contact.
CHAPTER X
1 700-1 800
It has been seen in a former chapter that the journeys of the
Russian adventurers who had spread over Siberia during the
seventeenth century had brought about a general knowledge of
that vast region as far as the shores of the Pacific. The extremity
of the Old World had, it is claimed, been rounded by the
Cossack Deshnef, while the remote shores of Kamchatka had
been brought within the cognisance of the Russian authorities.
But the results of these journeys had never become widely known,
and there was much vagueness in the information acquired by
the travellers themselves. In the eighteenth century these rough
and ready methods began, here as elsewhere, to give place to
more precise and scientific procedure, leading to results not
entirely to be dispensed with at the opening of the twentieth
century. The impulse towards further effort was due to Peter
the Great, who during the latter part of his life showed a keen
interest in the acquisition of a better knowledge of these remote
parts of his Empire, especially as regarded the relations of Asia to
America. He did not live to see much of the work accomplished,
but a good beginning, at least, had been made before his death.
About 17 10, attention was called to reports of the existence
of islands in the frozen sea to the north of the Siberian coast,
and in the following year two separate expeditions were equipped
for the purpose of settling the question. The first, destined for
the coast east of the Yana, was entrusted to the Cossack Merkurei
Vagin, and he was accompanied as guide by Jacob Permakof,
CH. X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 257
who had deposed to having once seen an island on the far side of
the Sviatoi Nos. The explorers reached this cape, and, sailing
north, discovered (so it was said) an island 9 to 12 days in
circumference, beyond which they thought they saw another large
land. On the return the party suffered so much that both Vagin
and Permakof were murdered by their men, in revenge for having
involved them in such hardships, and great doubt exists as to
the reality of the supposed discovery. The second expedition,
under Vasilei Stadukhin, reached a promontory running east from
the mouth of the Kolyma, but the way was stopped by ice, and
Sketch-map of North-eastern Siberia.
no island could be seen. In 17 15, Alexei Markof went north
from the mouth of the Yana, travelling over the ice with sledges,
but he too saw no trace of islands. In 1724, one Feodot Amossof
searched for islands, first sailing east from the mouth of the
Kolyma and afterwards going over the ice with sledges. He
reported the discovery of land, on which were huts covered with
earth, but it was of no great size and only distant a day's journey
from the coast, so that in any case the discovery was of slight
importance, while some have altogether doubted the truth ol
Amossof 's statements. Thus the efforts in this direction led for
H. 17
258 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
a time to exceedingly slight results, and even if the island said
to have been seen by Vagin was one of the New Siberia group,
it was not until many years later that the discovery was effectively
followed up.
In an easterly direction, the newly awakened enterprise of
the Russians was decidedly more successful. We have seen in
a former chapter that Kamchatka had been reached by Atlassof
about 1697, and that Russian influence soon began to extend
over the greater part of the country. The enquiries here made
elicited some vague information about the islands beyond, and
some indications of a large land to the east — probably the
American continent — seem also to have been gathered. In 1706
the southernmost point of Kamchatka was reached, and the
nearest of the Kurile Islands sighted. In 17 10, some ship-
wrecked Japanese fell into the hands of the Russians, and
supplied information on the geography of the lands to the
south. In 17 12 and 17 13, two expeditions to the Kuriles were
conducted by the Cossack Ivan Kosirevski, who collected some
fairly precise information and put down the results in a series
of charts. With regard to the Japanese islands, the enquiries
led to the belief that Yezo really consisted of several distinct
islands, though it had been shown correctly as one by the Dutch
navigator Vries in the Kastrikom^ whose voyage has been spoken
of in a former chapter. The route hitherto followed to this
remote region was the difficult northern one by the Anadyr, but
about this time efforts were made to open up a shorter and
more southerly route across the Sea of Okhotsk. In 1712 and
1 7 13, two parties of Cossacks explored the shores of that sea
and examined the Shantar group of islands lying in about 55° N.
In 1 7 14, orders came from the Czar Peter to attempt the voyage
to Kamchatka, and the Cossack Sokolof was sent with some
sailors and ship's carpenters for this purpose. Among the sailors
was a Dutchman from the town of Hoorn, Henry Busch by name.
A vessel was built and a first voyage undertaken in 17 16. The
navigators at first followed the coast in an easterly direction, but
encountering an adverse wind were driven across to the west
coast of Kamchatka just north of the Tigil. The coast was
examined as far as the mouth of the Kompakova, where they
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 259
wintered, returning to Okhotsk the next year after a tedious
voyage, owing to obstructions caused by ice.
In 1 7 19, the Czar himself issued instructions to the surveyors
Evreinof and Lushin for an expedition across Siberia to Kam-
chatka, and thence to the region where the two continents were
expected to approach most closely. The text of this document
— still in existence — was annotated by the Emperor's own hand.
The venture was not successful, for the farthest point reached
seems to have been one of the Kurile Islands. But the project
was not allowed to lapse, and before his death in 1725, the
Emperor once more drew up instructions for an expedition, this
time placed under the command of Vitus Bering, then a captain
in the Russian navy. The choice was a fortunate one, for Bering,
by his skill and determination, achieved results which place him
in the front rank of explorers of the far North-East. With his
coadjutors Lieutenants Martin Spangberg and Alexei Chirikof, he
set out from St Petersburg in February, 1725, and, after some
time had been spent in the tedious work of transporting the
stores across the whole length of Siberia, the party was at length
reunited at Okhotsk in July, 1727. Even then there was much
to be done before the real work of discovery began. A new
vessel had been built at Okhotsk, and in this the expedition
crossed over to Kamchatka, which was crossed by means of
sledges during the winter. At the Nishne Kamchatka fort, the
principal settlement on the east coast, another vessel was built
and named the Gabriel. In this the explorers set sail on
July 20, 1728, following the coast to the north-east and carefully
charting it. On August 10 they sighted the island which still
bears the name St Lawrence, given to it on this occasion from
the Saint associated with that date in the calendar, and on the
15th reached a point (in 67° 18' N. according to their observa-
tions), where the coast bent decidedly to the west, and Bering
correctly concluded that he had passed the farthest extremity of
Asia. The point seems to have been that known to the Russians
as Serdze Kamen (in 67° N., according to Nordenskiold), and
Bering had therefore followed the northern coast of the continent
beyond the point where it approaches nearest to America. He
for the first time laid down the coast-Une accurately in a map,
17—2
26o RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
and though the voyage of Deshnef had, many years earlier, shown
to those acquainted with its results that the continents were
separated, the intervening strait deservedly bears the name of the
later and more scientific explorer^ Bering now turned, as he
feared he might be entangled in the ice, but did not give up the
hope of effecting some discovery to the east. After reaching
the Kamchatka river on September 20 (old style), and spending
the winter in that region, he set out again in June, 1729. But
adverse winds prevented him from reaching any land, so turning
back, and rounding the south point of Kamchatka, he reached
Okhotsk on July 23. One useful result of this voyage was the
determination of the exact position of the south end of Kam-
chatka, for many false ideas were current in Europe at the time,
some supposing (and the idea held its ground to some extent
even after Bering's voyage) that this peninsula and Yezo formed
one continuous land, as may be seen delineated in some maps of
the period.
Some time now elapsed before Bering renewed his efforts at
exploration to the east of Kamchatka^ but meanwhile Afanasei
Shestakof, commander of the Cossacks at Yakutsk, came forward
with proposals for a new attempt. He was successful in his
application, and a large expedition was set on foot, the command
being given jointly to himself and to Dmitri Paulutzki, a captain
of dragoons, while among the subordinate members was Michael
Gvosdef, a surveyor. The two leaders separated (apparently
owing to a dispute), each prosecuting the enterprise indepen-
dently. Shestakof reached Okhotsk in 1729, and sent his cousin,
Ivan Shestakof, in the Gabriel (Bering's ship) to map the islands
between Okhotsk and Kamchatka. He himself followed in the
Fortu?ia, but met with shipwreck, and, though then escaping
the fate of most of his men, subsequently lost his life in an
engagement with the Chukches. At the same time a voyage
seems to have been made independently, under his orders, and
in it Gvosdef apparently took part, for it is recorded that in 1730
he reached a land opposite the Chukche country in 65° 66' N.,
which must, it seems, have been the American continent.
1 Within recent years Deshnef's name has been given to the easternmost
point of Asia.
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 261
Paulutzki had meanwhile made his way overland to the posts
on the Kolyma, and in 1731 proceeded against the Chukches,
his march helping to a somewhat better knowledge of the region
of the Upper Anadyr. Several engagements were fought, and the
force made its way along the north coast beyond the "Chukotskoi
Nos," apparently as far as Bering's turning point. The geo-
graphical results of the whole undertaking were, however, by no
means striking.
It was in the following year that, largely through Bering's
initiative, but with the warm support of Kirilof, secretary of the
Senate, a series of expeditions was planned, which proved of the
greatest importance for the geography of north-east Asia. A com-
prehensive scheme was drawn up and preparations were made with
the greatest thoroughness. The aid of the Academy of Sciences
was invoked, and some of its members — Gmelin the naturaHst,
De la Croyere the astronomer, and the historian G. F. Miiller —
volunteered to take part in the enterprise for purposes of research,
while a number of naval officers were appointed to command the
several expeditions contemplated. The objects in view were not
only the exploration of the still unknown area between Asia and
America, but the complete survey of the northern coasts of
Siberia, as well as explorations within the vast interior of that
country.
The work to which the greatest importance was attached was
the prosecution of discovery east of Kamchatka, this being en^
trusted to Bering himself (appointed Commodore), and his
associates Spangberg and Chirikof. Spangberg was sent forward
with the heaviest materials in February 1733, and proceeded to
Okhotsk to superintend the building of ships. A start was made
during the same year by Bering and by the members of the
Academy, Chirikof bringing up the rear still later. A good deal
of delay occurred in the preparations for the eastern voyage, and
the interval was utilised by the Academicians in surveys and
scientific researches on land. De la Croyere accompanied
Chirikof to the mouth of the Ilim and thence went via Irkutsk
to Lake Baikal and the Upper Amur. Gmelin and Miiller
ascended the Irtish, and proceeding by Tomsk to Yeneseisk,
spent the summer of 1735 examining the region east of Baikal,
262 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
while in 1736 they turned their attention to the upper basin of
the Lena. Unfortunately a fire at Yakutsk caused the loss of all
Gmelin's itineraries, and he therefore returned in 1737 to the
Upper Lena, while De la Croyere went to the lower parts of the
same river and thence to the Olenek. Meanwhile Miiller, as his
health had broken down, gave up the idea of proceeding on the
eastern voyage, but was commissioned to stay in Siberia and
extend his knowledge of that country by further travel. Gmelin
also obtained his recall, but the loss of these helpers was made
good by the arrival, in 1738, of the naturalist George William
Steller, who eventually took part in the main expedition. A
student named Krasheninikof had already been sent forward to
Kamchatka, and it is to him we owe the first scientific account of
the country.
By these several journeys a scientific basis was for the first
time supplied for the mapping of Siberia in its broad outlines,
though large gaps of course remained, and have only been partially
filled in in our own day. During the same period several voyages
were undertaken on the north coast with a view to testing the
possibility of a passage by sea, such as had been the dream of so
many of the early navigators in the sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries. The first of these was devoted to an examination of
the most westerly part of the route, from Arkhangel to the Ob.
This voyage was under the command of Lieutenants Pavlof and
Muravief, who sailed in 1734 and entered the Kara Sea, but
returned to winter at Pustozersk on the Pechora. In 1735 ^^ey
again passed through the Yugor Shar into the Kara Sea and
followed the coast as far as 77° 30' (by their reckoning), but then
turned back without reaching the Ob. In 1736 and 1737 the quest
was taken up by Lieutenants Mlyagin and Skuratof, who passed
the Yamal (Yalmal) peninsula and sailed up the gulf into which
the Ob debouches. The next section of the passage, between
the Ob and the Yenesei, was successfully accomplished in 1737,
after three previous failures, by Lieutenant Owzin, accompanied
by Ivan Koshelef. During Owzin's four voyages the shores of the
gulfs of Ob and Taz were carefully mapped. In 1738 the work
was continued by Minin (who had previously been with Owzin
and Koshelef), with Sterlegof as mate. During the first two
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST
^63
summers little advance was made, but in the winter of 1739-40
Sterlegof pushed on with sledges along the west coast of the
Taimur peninsula as far as 75° 26', and in the following summer
the ship was taken almost as far, the voyagers then returning on
account of snow-blindness. They had done a creditable piece of
work, for the coast beyond the Yenesei, almost as far as the Lena,
was till then virtually unknown ; the great northward projection
of the peninsula terminating in Cape Chelyuskin, and the remote-
ness of this part of the coast from the main centres of Russian
occupation in Siberia, rendering it the least accessible of all.
Sketch-map of North-western Siberia.
Meanwhile exploration of the section east of the Taimur was
being carried out from the Lena as a base, whence voyages were
made both to the west and east. Setting out from Yakutsk in
1735, Lieutenant Prontchishchef, with the mate Chelyuskin,
wintered on the Olenek, and during the next summer passed the
mouths of the Anabara and Khatanga. But he found his way
barred by islands and ice-bound channels before reaching the
extremity of the Taimur peninsula, though he reached the latitude
of 77° 25' (or 29' according to one account) in the endeavour to
264 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
turn these obstacles. He died soon after his return, and his
young wife, who had accompanied him, two days later. The task
was taken up in 1739 by Lieutenant Khariton Laptef, assisted
by Chelyuskin and Chekin. After reaching Cape Thaddeus, on
the east side of the Taimur peninsula, during the first summer,
Laptef took his ship back to winter-quarters on the Khatanga,
but lost it in 1740 while attempting to return. The rest of the
journeys had therefore to be carried out by land, but they were
successful in affording surveys of the greater part of the coast of
this northern extremity of Siberia as far as the Yenesei. In one
of his journeys, carried out in 1742, Chelyuskin seems to have
rounded the northern extremity of the Old World — the cape
which now bears his name.
From the Lena eastward the sea had frequently been navigated,
as we have already seen, though the vessels employed had been
little fitted for successful voyages in such seas. Small success like-
wise attended the newer efforts. In 1735 Lieutenant Lassinius,
who had started from Yakutsk with Khariton Laptef, advanced
hardly 100 miles east of the Lena delta, and on wintering
in this region his party was attacked by scurvy, and the
leader and many of his men died. The attempt was renewed
in 1736 by Dmitri Laptef, who, however, hesitated to risk an
advance through the ice, and returned without effecting anything.
In 1739 he succeeded in rounding the capes east of the Lena
(Borkhaya and Sviatoi) — which had seemed impossible on the
former voyage — but was then frozen in. During the winter some
good survey work was done. In 1740 Laptef sailed past the
Bear Islands, but was brought up by the ice off Great Cape
Baranof. He remained in this region till 1742, and, his efforts
to advance by sea being still frustrated, went overland to the
Anadyr and made a survey of the route. This closed the attempts
at exploration on the north coast for a time.
While superintending the general progress of the whole series
of expeditions, Bering's own preparations for his eastern voyage
advanced but slowly, and he had seen all the subordinate under-
takings well under way before finally setting out himself. The
last of those expeditions to be spoken of is that of Bering's old
associate Spangberg, to whom was committed the task of exploring
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 265
the region between Kamchatka and Japan, about which, as already
mentioned, much uncertainty still prevailed. Three vessels in all
took part in the voyage — the Archangel Michael under Spangberg
himself, the Hope under Lieutenant Walton, and the Gabriel^
previously used for the first Kamchatka expedition, under Mid-
shipman Sheltinga. The start was made from Okhotsk in June,
1738, the sea having till then been blocked by ice. After making
arrangements for wintering in Kamchatka, Spangberg undertook
a preUminary reconnaissance of a part of the Kuriles (as far as
46° N.), postponing the main voyage till 1739. In May of that
year the explorers again sailed for the Kuriles, but in the following
month the commander and Lieutenant Walton became separated
in a gale, and continued the voyage independently, both reaching
Japanese territory and opening up friendly intercourse with the
inhabitants. Spangberg, accompanied by Sheltinga, struck the
coast of the main island (according to his reckoning) in 38° 41' N.,
and advanced south to 38° 25'. On the return voyage he touched
at a part of the island of Yezo, placed by him in 43° 50' N., and
here made the acquaintance of the hairy Ainus. He continued
his explorations in this region, and again sighted land (Matsumai)
in 41° 22' N., apparently taking it to be a different island from that
already visited, though it must really have been the southern
extremity of Yezo. He thus failed to set at rest all the uncer-
tainties about the lands north of Hondo, though he did good
service in determining the position of Japan relatively to Kam-
chatka. He was back at Okhotsk early in September.
Walton touched at various points on the Japanese coasts,
reaching a town of some size in the neighbourhood of 33° 48' N.,
and seeing a large number of Japanese vessels. Before beginning
the return voyage he stretched eastward with a view to ascertaining
if more land existed in that direction, but, not finding any, made
his way to Kamchatka and Okhotsk, reaching the latter more
than a week before Spangberg. For the purpose of verifying and
completing his surveys, Spangberg undertook a second expedition
in 1741-42, but as he hardly advanced beyond the most northern
of the Kuriles, it was entirely without result.
The preparations for the eastern voyage under Bering himself
had meanwhile at last been completed, and the two vessels St Paul
266 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
and Sf Peter left Okhotsk September 4, 1740, under the respective
commands of Bering and Chirikof. The winter was spent at the
port in Avacha Bay which has ever since been known as Petro-
pavlovsk from the names of the two ships. The real voyage of
discovery — the most important yet made in these seas — com-
menced June 4, 1741, the scientific experts, Steller' and De la
Croyere, having meanwhile joined the ships. The expedition
sailed at first a little east of south, but finding no land in this
direction, stood to the north-east and soon encountered a severe
storm, in which the ships became separated, never to meet again
during the whole voyage. On July 29 (new style) Bering sighted
the great peak of Mount St Elias, which received its name on this
occasion. It was taken to be a volcano — erroneously, as we now
know. Hence he endeavoured to follow the coast to the north-
west, but was hampered by constant fog. It is somewhat difticult
to trace his movements in detail, but he is known to have passed
close to the outer side of Kadiak Island, to have sighted a portion
of the Alaska peninsula, and to have spent some days at the
Shumagin Islands, afterwards passing south of the line of the
Aleutian Islands. Some of the volcanoes in these were sighted
from a distance, and thus for the first time brought to light.
Meanwhile Chirikof had reached the American coast considerably
more to the south and east (in about 56^ N.), and a few days earlier
than Bering. A disaster occurred almost immediately, for two
l)oats' crews, which had been sent on shore in succession, were
never again heard of, having in all probability been killed by the
natives. The loss of the boats was a great calamity, for it was
now impossible to land, though the coast was followed for some
distance. About the middle of August the two ships seem to have
been simultaneously in about the same locality (south-east of the
Shumagin Islands), but they did not sight each other. Like
Bering, Chirikof was much delayed by adverse winds and fog,
and, water falling short, the crews suffered greatly, and their case
was rendered worse by the appearance of scurvy, the astronomer
De la Croyere being one of the victims to this disease when
actually in sight of land. Avacha Bay was, however, reached
^ This naturalist had come out with a view to taking part in Spangberg's
second voyage, but was persuaded by Bering to change his plans.
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 267
by the scanty remnant of the original crew on October 11,
1741.
Bering was not so fortunate, being himself attacked by scurvy,
while so many of his men were disabled that the ship could not be
navigated among the many dangers of these unknown seas. The
chief responsibihty now devolved on Lieutenant Waxel, whose
efforts were zealously seconded by the naturalist Steller. But the
ship drifted about at the mercy of the elements, and, on reaching
the island which has since borne Bering's name, it was almost by
a miracle, in the enfeebled state of the crew, that it found its way
into a sheltered basin, nearly surrounded by rocks, on November
15, 1 741. The island, which was at first supposed to be a part of
the mainland, was a new discovery, and the enforced stay during
the winter of 1741-42 produced valuable additions to knowledge
through Steller's admirable descriptions of the animal life and the
general character of the region. The now extinct marine mammal
known as Steller's sea-cow {Rhytina gtgas) was here observed for
the first time. The island was devoid of trees and human habita-
tions and the only means of obtaining shelter was by enlarging
some pits found in the sandhills and covering them with the ship's
sails. Bering was already greatly enfeebled at the time of his
arrival, and he died on December 19, only a month after being
carried on shore. Many of the crew, of whom the scurvy had
taken too firm hold to permit them to benefit by the stay, also
died, among them the pilot Hasselberg, aged 70, and the mate
Chitaingof. Steller alone maintained his health, and he was
untiring in his efforts to better the condition of the men, of whom
45 lived to see the advent of spring. They supported life on the
flesh of various marine animals, including sea-otters, whose skins
formed likewise a valuable commodity. During the winter the
vessel was stranded and became a total wreck, so that the only
means of safety left was to build a new vessel with the material
saved from the old one. This work was successfully accomplished
under the direction of a Cossack named Starodubzof, who had
been employed in a subordinate capacity in ship-building at
Okhotsk. The vessel was launched on August 21, 1742, and
the voyage to Petropavlovsk was accomplished without mishap,
that port being reached on September 5. Thus ended this
268 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
unfortunate voyage, which had nevertheless done much to improve
the knowledge of the coasts of North-West America and of their
relation with those of Asia. With Bering's previous voyages, it
entitles the Danish captain to a high place among the world's
navigators.
A large part of the results attained had been due, as we have
seen, to the energy of the naturaUst Steller, who unfortunately met
The Bering Strait region, according to the map prepared for
the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. {Outline sketch.)
with a fate little in accordance with his merits. Having stayed in
Kamchatka for purposes of research, he became embroiled with
the authorities and was called to Yakutsk to answer for his
conduct. He made so good a defence that he was allowed
to start homewards, but was recalled through orders from
St Petersburg, and died — of a fever according to Miiller — at
Tiumen in November, 1746. Miiller and Gmelin had completed
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 269
their researches and reached St Petersburg early in 1743,
with which year the vast efforts put forth by the Russian
Government to increase the knowledge of Siberia and neigh-
bouring regions reached, for the time, its conclusion. Something
was, however, done, largely by private individuals, to extend the
knowledge thus gained.
The conception current about this time of the geography of
this region, and particularly of the relations between Asia and
America in the far north, is well shown by the map pubhshed by
Miiller in 1754 (and in a revised form in 1758) under the auspices
of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. An outline sketch of
this, as reproduced by the French cartographer BeUin in 1766
(and soon afterwards by Thomas Jefferys in this country) is given
on the opposite page.
Russian hunters and trappers now began to push over to the
American side of Bering Sea, and the numerous islands of the
Aleutian Archipelago began gradually to appear, though but
vaguely, on the charts. Among the names most deserving of
mention in the ranks of these early pioneers are those of Nevod-
sikof, who in 1745 first examined the Fox Islands (as the eastern
section of the Aleutian Archipelago was then called) ; and Stephen
Glottof, who, with the Andreati and Natalia^ in 1762 sailed
beyond the Fox Islands to Kadiak, of which he gave the first
definite account. In 1764 Lieutenant Synd undertook a voyage
to the more northern parts, near Bering Strait, but it was only
in 1767 that he made any great advance. After visiting certain
islands in the Bering Sea (said to He between 61° and 62° N.) he
reached a land which he considered to be the x-lmerican con-
tinent between 64° and 66° N., but made no effort to survey it,
and soon afterwards began the return voyage. In 1768 and 1769
a government expedition under Krenitzin and Levashef resumed
the examination of the Fox Islands and coast of Alaska, on
which last Krenitzin wintered. This brings us to the position
of affairs at the time of Cook's third voyage, spoken of in the
last chapter, which did more to shed a clear light on the
geography of this region than al] the voyages since Bering's time.
By this date a Russian company had been formed for the exploita-
tion of the fur trade on the American side, and an important step
2/0 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CHAP.
was taken by Shelekof, between 1783 and 1787, in the founding of
a station on Kadiak Island, which served as a base for operations
on the coasts beyond. Meanwhile, aroused by the brilliant results
of Cook's voyages, other nations came forward to take part in the
work, and the exploration of this same region was part of the
programme of the celebrated French voyage under La Perouse.
From the English side, too, the work was continued by a series of
voyages which, hke the French voyage just alluded to, will be
spoken of in the next chapter. They were to a large extent
contemporaneous with the Russian voyages now to be mentioned,
so that in considering these it must be remembered that the results
achieved had in many cases been anticipated by the rival claimants .
for the profits of the fur trade.
Almost immediately after the station on Kadiak had been
established, an important voyage was undertaken by the pilots
Ismaelof^ and Becharof, under the orders of the Governor-General
at Irkhutsk. SaiUng from Kadiak in 1788, in the galiot called
the Three Holy Fathers, they explored the neighbourhood of the
Bay of Chugatsk — the Prince William Sound of Cook — and after-
wards examined portions of the coast to the east and south-east,
including Yakutat Bay, already visited by the English Captains
Portlock and Dixon. The farthest point reached seems to have
been in about 57° or 58° N., where a bay was examined which
was probably that discovered by Portlock in the previous year,
and since known as Portlock Bay. Scurvy now made its appear-
ance, and the voyagers turned their vessel homewards, postponing
further attempts at discovery.
The only other Russian expedition to this region, undertaken
before the close of the century, which need be mentioned here, is
that entrusted to Captain Billings, an officer in the Russian service
who had taken part in Cook's last voyage and who had made an
abortive attempt to push east by sea from the mouth of the
Kolyma in 1781, The proposal for this expedition was made by
Dr William Coxe, the English historian of these Russian voyages,
through the well-known naturalist Pallas. Billings had with him
as secretary Martin Sauer, to whom we are indebted for the fullest
account of the voyage. Nothing of great importance was effected.
1 Mel by Cook and by him called Smyloff (see p. 252).
X] RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST 27 1
In 1785 the explorers started from St Petersburg and proceeded
to Okhotsk, where two vessels — the Glory of Russia and Good
Intent — had meanwhile been built. Billings sailed in the first of
these in October, 1789, and after wintering at Petropavlovsk,
started thence in May, 1790. He visited Shelekof's settlement
in Kadiak Island, then under the charge of Delaref, and touched
at Montague Island, Prince William Sound, and Kaye's Island,
from the last of which he sighted Mount St Ehas in the north-east
early in August. But his stock of provisions was now failing,
and he sailed back to Kamchatka, reaching Petropavlovsk at the
end of October, after considerable sufferings from want of food
and water. The Good Intent had been wrecked at the outset of
the voyage, but as a second attempt was to be made in 1791,
another vessel was built during the winter under the direction of
Captain Hall, who was to command her. Billings sailed first in
the Glojy of Russia, but after reaching Unalaska early in July
he gave up the idea of further exploration eastward, and quitted
the ship, hoping to survey the Siberian coast during a land march
to the Kolyma. But the veiled hostility of the Chukches frus-
trated this design, and no results of importance were gained by a
six months' journey, during which the party suffered much from
cold and want. The command of the Glory of Russia had mean-
while been taken over by Captain Sarychef, who joined Hall at
Unalaska. The crews passed a miserable winter at Illuluk Bay,
returning to Kamchatka in the following spring. Little had
therefore been gained, in spite of the elaborate preparations ; the
principal result being the observations on the countries and
people visited, which were put down by Sauer in his narrative.
Thus ended, for the time, the Russian enterprises for the ex-
ploration of the American coasts opposite Eastern Siberia.
During the latter half of the eighteenth century some attempts
were once more made to throw light on the northern coasts and
islands. A Yakutsk merchant, Shalaurof, made an expedition
at his own expense in 1760-62, but though he rounded the
Sviatoi Nos and sighted Liakhof Island, he seems neither on this
nor on a subsequent expedition in 1766, which proved fatal to his
whole party, to have rounded the north-eastern point of Asia. In
272 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH-EAST [CH. X.
1763 a sergeant, Andreief, was sent on a journey northward over
the ice, and is said to have reached some islands, but these cannot
be identified with certainty. Three surveyors — Leontief, Lussof,
and Pushkaref — continued the search in 1769-71, but accom-
plished nothing. In 1770 a beginning of exploration of the New
Siberia Islands was made by Liakhof, whose name has since
been attached to the most southern island of the group. He
also discovered Maloi and Kotelnoi islands. The work was
prosecuted by various adventurers, among them Sannikof, who in
1805 discovered two more islands, and Hedenstrom, an exile who
executed a partial survey of the group under government orders,
in 1809-10. Sannikof also continued his explorations, and re-
ported that he had seen land to the north-east from New Siberia^
the existence of which remained still a subject of discussion nearly
a century later. But these and subsequent journeys belong rather
to a later period than that dealt with in the present work.
CHAPTER XI
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I78O-180O
We now resume the story of exploration in the Pacific, as
pursued by the nations of Western Europe. The unequalled
success attained by Cook in his three voyages drew universal
attention to this field of research, and it was but a few years after
his death that a new French expedition was organised to continue
the work of the English navigator. During the war between
Great Britain and her revolted colonies, in which France had
intervened on the side of the latter, King Louis XVI had shown
sufficient enlightenment and interest in scientific discovery to
order that the French war-ships should in no way molest the
English navigators, should they be encountered ; and when peace
was at last concluded in 1783, he took a personal interest in the
preparations for a French expedition, the command of which was
entrusted to Francois Galaup de la Perouse, an officer who had
distinguished himself during the war by several successful actions
against the British. In particular, he had been in command of
the daring expedition to Hudson Bay in 1782, during which,
after successfully overcoming the risks of navigation through the
ice and fogs of that region, he had taken and destroyed the
British posts at the south end of the bay, distinguishing himself
no less by humanity to the vanquished than by intrepidity and
resolution in carrying out his task. Two frigates, the Boussole
and Astrolabe (in which names the scientific aims of the ex-
pedition were shadowed forth, and one at least of which was
to become particularly famous in the annals of exploration),
were placed under his command, the captain of the Astrolabe
being the Chevalier de Langle. The person?tel included various
H. 18
274 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 178O-180O [CHAP.
scientific experts, among others Bernizet, Lepaute-Dagelet, De
Lamanon, De la Martiniere, and Dufresne. Cook's last voyage
had called attention to the work still to be done on the shores
of the Northern Pacific, on which, during the last two decades
of the eighteenth century, the efforts of maritime discovery were
largely concentrated, and this region was chosen as one of the
special fields of activity of the French expedition.
The ships sailed from Brest on August i, 1785, and early in
the following year the passage round Cape Horn was effected
without difficulty. After touching at the coast of Chile and at
Easter Island, La Perouse steered at once for the Sandwich group,
sighting Hawaii on May 28, 1786, and coming to anchor off Maui
the following day. No long stay was made in the group, but after
obtaining some refreshments, the voyagers stood over for the
American coast, which was reached near Mount St EHas.
Following the coast to the east with a view to finding shelter
for the ships. La Perouse passed Cape Fairweather on July 2,
and found a nearly land-locked bay, which received the name
Port des Fran^ais. Its latitude was found to be 58° 37' N. and it
was therefore situated a little south of Mount Fairweather. Some
dealings were had with the natives, who made but a poor im-
pression on the voyagers, nor did their country arouse much
enthusiasm. It was on preparing to leave this bay, where some
refreshment had been obtained, that the first misfortune, of the
many which overtook the expedition, was experienced. Three
boats had been sent to buoy the channels of the bay, and of
these, two became caught by the strong current, and their
occupants, 21 in all, were drowned. Continuing his voyage on
August I, 1786, La Perouse traced the coast southwards, and
came to the correct conclusion that it was fringed by an archi-
pelago of islands, though only the outer side of these was
examined. A fine bay was named after the Russian navigator
Chirikof, and a group of islands after his associate, the French
savant De la Croyere. Arriving at a projecting headland, which
he named Cape Hector (the southern point of the group since
known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), he partially examined
the inlet running up behind it, which received the name Fleurieu
Gulf. Passing and naming the Sartine and Necker Islands, he
XI]
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O
275
finally put in at Monterey Bay in California, having examined
the greater part of the North American coast south of Mount
St Elias. Part of his survey was a duplication of the work of the
Russians and English about the same time, but even here it was
of value as supplying an independent and trustworthy delineation
of this little-known coast-line.
The expedition made a stay of some weeks in Monterey Bay,
and then, in November 1786^ sailed for China, passing north
of the main islands of the Sandwich group, and narrowly escaping
Loss of the boats at the Port des Fran9ais.
(From the Atlas to La Perouse's Voyage.)
disaster on a reef which was named Basse des Fregates Francais.
The volcanic island of Assomption (Asuncion) in the Ladrones,
and the Bashi islands, were afterwards sighted, and Macao
was reached at the beginning of January, 1787. Finding no
despatches here, the commander decided to refit in the
Philippines, and while in the port of Manila received a visit
from the frigate La Subtile, under De Castries, which had just
taken part in a voyage with D'Entrecasteaux by an unusual route
(unusual at least for the time of year) from Batavia to Canton, east
of the Philippines. This was the first geographical achievement
18—2
2/6
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O [CHAP.
of D'Entrecasteaux, who was destined to distinguish himself in
the search for the ill-fated expedition now being described. Two
officers and eight men were received from La Subtile to partly
replace those that had been lost.
La Perouse now began the second part of his programme
— the examination of the coasts of North-eastern Asia between
Japan and Kamchatka. In spite of all the Russian enterprise
La Perouse's routes in the seas north of Japan.
[Outline sketch of his chart.)
in this region, and in particular the creditable results of Spang-
berg's voyage, a good deal remained to be done to elucidate
its geography. It was still quite uncertain whether Sakhalin was,
or was not, a part of the mainland, while the exact relations of
the island of Yezo were equally obscure. Setting sail on April 9,
1787, the ships passed Formosa and the Liu-kiu group, and
though much impeded by fog, sighted the island of Quelpart on
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 2/7
May 19, and passed through the strait between Japan and Korea,
hugging the coast of the latter. Making a zigzag course through
the Sea of Japan, and then saiHng along the coast of Manchuria,
the navigators were deceived by a strange optical illusion, caused
by a thick bank of fog, which presented all the appearance of
a mountainous coast line to the south, seamed by ravines and
seeming to be separated from the continent by a narrow strait.
On June 23, the ships anchored in a bay on the coast of
Manchuria which received the name of Ternay. On the 27th
they proceeded along the coast and soon sighted the opposite
coast of Sakhalin, where La Perouse entered into friendly inter-
course with the natives and gained intelligence as to the geography
of the surrounding region. He advanced north almost to the
narrowest part of the strait separating Sakhalin from the main-
land, but then found progress stopped by a submarine bank
stretching across the channel. He therefore put into a bay on
the side of the mainland, which he named De Castries, and on
August 2 turned south in order to round the southern point
of the island. This he did successfully, naming the point Cape
Crillon. By thus passing between Sakhalin and Yezo, by the
strait which now bears his name, La Pe'rouse did a useful piece
of work, showing that the two islands were entirely separated.
With these discoveries he was for the time satisfied, and made
his way through the Kuriles, by La Boussole Strait, to Kamchatka,
reaching Avacha Bay on September 7. Here news from home
at last reached the wanderers. La Perouse receiving intimation
of his promotion to the rank of " Chef d'Escadre." At Petro-
pavlovsk, M. Lesseps was left behind for the purpose of taking
home despatches by the overland route through Siberia, a task
which he successfully accomplished. The ships sailed south
on September 30, and in the following December reached the
Navigators' Islands of Bougainville, anchoring off Manua. The
reception by the islanders was at first friendly, but an unfortunate
occurrence marred these good relations. Captain De Langle and
a number of his men, including the naturalist Lamanon, being
massacred during a visit to the shore. Magnanimously refusing
to make reprisals, the commander sailed away to the south-east,
reaching the Friendly Islands before the end of the year, and
2/8 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I780-180O [CHAP.
making his way, by the end of January, 1788, to the coast of
New South Wales, where he found the EngHsh busy with their
new settlement at Port Jackson, and met with a friendly re-
ception. He sailed away in February and no direct news of his
expedition was ever again received. The search carried out by
D'Entrecasteaux led to but negative results, and it was only about
30 years later that some light was accidentally thrown on the
closing scenes of the voyage by the English Captain Dillon.
While touching at the island of Tucopia (north of the New
Hebrides) in 1826, Captain Dillon found European objects among
the natives, including a sword-hilt of French manufacture, and
learnt that two European ships had many years before been lost
off the coast of Manicolo or Vanikoro in the Santa Cruz group
(sometimes considered part of the New Hebrides), and that these
articles had been derived from the wrecks. On reaching Calcutta,
he prevailed upon the Indian government to despatch him for
the purpose of clearing up the mystery, and rescuing any possible
survivors. The voyage was accomplished in spite of many diffi-
culties, and the enquiries made at Vanikoro left no doubt that
the ships wrecked had been the Boussole and Astrolabe. Many
other articles, undoubtedly once belonging to their equipment,
were obtained, and Captain Dillon learnt by careful enquiry that
the ships had struck on the reefs on the west side of the island,
one being lost immediately; that the crew of this ship escaped to
the shore, but were murdered by the natives ; and that those on
board the other, which did not break up at once, built a smaller
vessel out of her timbers, and eventually sailed away. Even if
the latter information was correct, there can be no doubt that
these too ultimately perished, though their exact fate must for
ever remain a mystery, as no further traces of the expedition have
ever been met with\
While the French government had thus taken up the work
of Captain Cook with a single eye to the enlargement of geo-
graphical knowledge, a number of other undertakings were set
^ An attempt has lately been made in Australia to connect a wreck found
in 1 86 1 on the Queensland coast with the vessel built by the survivors of
La Perouse's voyage ; but the evidence in favour of the theory seems quite
insufficient.
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 279
on foot at the same time with a view to commercial profit
through the exploitation of the fur trade on the north-west coast
of America^ These too contributed not a little, incidentally, to a
better knowledge of that complicated coast, with its archipelagos
and labyrinths of channels. In 1785 a ship named the Sea Otter
was fitted out by English merchants in China, and sailed under
Captain Hanna, who visited Nootka or King George's Sound
and examined various bays and islands on the neighbouring
coast. Among the former was Fitzhugh's Sound, a little north
of Vancouver Island, which still retains the name given it on
this occasion. Hanna returned to the same coast in 1786, which
year saw the arrival in these parts of three other British ex-
peditions, each of two ships, in addition to that of La Perouse.
One had been fitted out in England in 1785 by a body of
merchants (among them Richard C. Etches) who obtained from
the South Sea Company licence to trade on the coast of North-
West America for a term of years. It was commanded by
Captains Portlock and Dixon, both of whom had taken part
in Cook's last voyage, and who sailed in the King George and
Qiiee?! Charlotte respectively. In 1786, the Bengal merchants
fitted out the Nootka and Sea Otter^ commanded respectively
by Captain Meares and Lieutenant Tipping; while those of
Bombay despatched Captains Lowrie and Guise in the Captai?i
Cook and Experiment^ the commercial operations being in the
hands of Mr James Strange.
Portlock and Dixon made their way to Cook's River, but
went south to winter in the Sandwich Islands without accom-
plishing much. In the spring of 1787 they returned to the
American coast, visiting Prince William Sound to the east of
Cook's River. In this neighbourhood they encountered Captain
Meares, who had wintered not far off His crew had suffered
severely from scurvy, and Portlock was able to render him
some assistance, though on terms w^th which Meares saw little
cause to be satisfied. In May, Portlock and Dixon separated,
both afterwards touching at various points on the coast. The
^ It was the sea-otter, abundant at the time on this coast, which supplied
the bulk of the skins. A drawing of it made during Cook's third voyage is
reproduced on p. 251.
280 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I78O-180O [CHAP.
former discovered a harbour just south of Cross Sound, to which
he gave his own name. Here he had some intercourse with
the natives and sent a party to explore eastward, but, on leaving,
sailed for the Sandwich Islands and China without making
further discoveries. Dixon did somewhat more, for after touching
at Yakutat Bay (which he named Port Mulgrave) and other points
on the coast, he entered the channels both to the north and to
the south of the Queen Charlotte group of islands (to which he
gave the name of his ship), and thus virtually proved its separation
from the continent, though without actually traversing the whole
intervening space. The northern end of the dividing channel
has ever since borne his name (Dixon Entrance). The hardships
endured by Meares and his men prevented them from making
discoveries, while though Lowrie and Guise seem to have traced
a considerable stretch of coast-line in 1786, they failed to make
the results widely known. They seem however to have touched
at the outer side of the Queen Charlotte group, and it was during
the voyage of the Experhnent that the northern entrance to the
strait which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland
received its name Queen Charlotte's Sound. During 1787
another ship, the Imperial Eagle, sailed from England for North-
west America under Captain Barclay, who examined the opening
south of Nootka Sound which is still known after him as Barclay
Sound. He is also said to have entered Juan de Fuca Strait, at
the south end of Vancouver Island.
In 1788 a number of ships again visited this coast. Captam
Meares joined with other merchants in fitting out two vessels —
the Eelice and Iphigenia — giving the command of the latter to
Captain Douglas, who had already had some experience on the
west coast of America. The ships sailed from China in January,
taking the route down the west side of the Phihppines and almost
touching the equator near the west end of New Guinea before
making any northing. Hence they continued the voyage inde-
pendently, the Felice steering for Nootka, the Iphigejiia for Cook's
River and Prince William Sound. The former returned to China
before the end of the year via the Sandwich group (some natives
of which had been brought by Meares from China), after exploring
the coast to the south of Nootka Sound. Here Meares examined
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 28 1
both the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait, and also the mainland
to the south of it, a high mountain on this receiving from him
the name Mount Olympus ^ A little north of 46° he noticed
an opening where the mouth of the Columbia really is, but, faiUng
to recognise its true character, gave it the name Deception Bay,
and the point to the north that of Cape Disappointment. The
Iphigenia carried out a larger programme, tracing the whole coast
from Cook's River to Nootka Sound, and for the first time sailing
through the whole length of the channel on the inner side of the
Queen Charlotte group. After wintering at the Sandwich Islands,
Douglas returned in 1789, and made a further examination
of the Queen Charlotte group and the islands abreast of it,
nearer the mainland. Some useful work was also done by
Captain Duncan, who had arrived in the Princess Royal in 1788,
and who laid down the results of his surveys in a chart. The
Calvert Islands, to the north of Queen Charlotte Sound, were so
named by him. Among other vessels engaged on this coast in 1 788,
were the Prince of Wales under Captain James Colnett (belonging,
like the Princess Royal, to the firm of Etches and Co.), and two
American sloops, the Washington and Columbia, under Captains
Gray and Kendrick, of whom we shall have to say more shortly.
The year 1789 was noteworthy for events of a political
nature, which eventually, however, had an important bearing
on the further exploration of this region. Mention has already
been made of the renewal of Spanish activity on the west coast
of North America a little before the date of Cook's last voyage,
and the expeditions of Juan Perez, and of Heceta and Quadra,
in 1774 and 1775. In 1779, the examination of the coast was
continued by Don Ignacio de Arteaga (Quadra once more sailing
as second in command), and the latitude of 61° was reached.
Not unnaturally, therefore, the Spanish government viewed with
jealousy the English activity at Nootka Sound, and early in 1789
a ship of war was sent north from San Bias, under Don Esteban
Josef Martinez, with a view to establishing Spanish sovereignty
in that neighbourhood. Several English ships were again on the
1 It seems to have been first observed by the Spanish commander Perez,
in 1774. No ascent of the mountain was made till 1907, when a party from
Seattle reached the summit for the first time.
282 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O [CHAP.
north-west coast, including, in addition to the Iphigenia and
North- West America (the latter a vessel which had been built
by Meares before his departure), the Princess Royal and Argonaut,
which had been despatched from China by a partnership formed
between Meares and the Etches. Don Martinez proceeded to
carry out his instructions by high-handed action against the
English captains, whose vessels were seized, while first Douglas
and afterwards Colnett were put under arrest, and part at least of
their cargoes confiscated. Meares was not the man to submit
tamely to this treatment, and in 1790 he and his partners
submitted a memorial to parliament, which resulted in the fitting
out of a powerful fleet in support of a claim for redress on the
part of the British government. Relations were very strained
for some time, but the Spanish government eventually yielded,
recognising the British rights at Nootka Sound, and agreeing
to the despatch by either party of a duly accredited representative
to carry out the formal transfer of the territory. The result was
the famous expedition of Vancouver — the British representative —
which did more than all its predecessors to bring about an
accurate knowledge of the geography of the coast in question.
The Spaniards had meanwhile not been idle, but had en-
deavoured in various ways to consolidate their political and
commercial interests in the Pacific. One result of the new spirit
of enterprise (favoured too by the peace concluded in 1783)
was the great expedition of Alessandro Malaspina — perhaps the
most important from a scientific point of view that ever left
the shores of Spain — which may fittingly be spoken of here, even
though its bearing on the dispute on the north-west coast of
America was not very direct. Malaspina came of a noble Italian
family, but finding scant scope for his energies in his own country,
entered the naval service of Spain, and distinguished himself in
several sea-fights during the war with England in 1779-83.
After the conclusion of peace his energies found an outlet in
schemes for the commercial development of the Spanish colonies.
He twice sailed to the Philippines with this object, and did much
to improve the knowledge of the hydrography of that archipelago,
whilst on the second voyage he completed the circumnavigation
of the globe. In 1789 — the year in which the above described
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 283
events at Nootka took place — he was placed in command of a
still more important expedition — one in which the furtherance
of Spanish commerce was combined with an extensive scientific
programme. This embraced not only careful surveys of the
coasts to be visited, but researches into other branches of science,
this part of the work being entrusted to a staff of experts.
Exploration pure and simple was kept in view, in so far as
stress was laid on the search for the long-talked-of strait, sup-
posed to lead from the North Pacific to Hudson Bay — the idea
of which still continued to exercise the minds of geographers.
It was the portion of the south coast of Alaska between 58° and
60°, and extending roughly from Yakutat Bay to Prince William
Sound, that was thought to offer especial hopes of success in
this connection, and the examination of this coast-line was laid
down as one of the tasks of the expedition. Apart from this,
attention was to be given rather to accurate surveys of previously
known coasts than to actual discovery.
Two ships, the Descubierta and Atrevida, were fitted out, the
command of the second being given to Captain J. de Bustamante.
Starting in the summer of 1789, they proceeded to the Rio de la
Plata, which was surveyed, and thence to tlie coast of Patagonia
and the Falklands. Both here, and throughout the voyage up the
west coast of South America, every opportunity, both for hydro-
graphical work and scientific observations, was seized. From
Guayaquil the ships proceeded (October, 1790) to the Galapagos,
and thence to Panama, both finally reaching Acapulco, after
separating for a time in the spring of 1791. The coast survey
was now abandoned for a time, and a course laid for Alaska in
order to carry out the search for the strait. Yakutat Bay was
examined and the coast followed past Mount St Elias. The great
glaciers descending from this mountain were observed, and
Malaspina's account of this region has been generally confirmed
by modern investigators. The largest glacier, with which many
of the others unite before reaching the sea, and which is perhaps
the vastest glacier existing anywhere outside the Polar regions, has
received the navigator's name (Malaspina glacier). Finding no
evidence of a strait in the latitudes mentioned in his instructions,
Malaspina sailed down the coast, touching at Nootka and
284 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O [CHAP.
Monterey (August and September, 1791), and once more reaching
Acapulco during the autumn of that year. This concluded the
work on the coast of North America, and Malaspina now crossed
over to the PhiUppines, devoting a good part of 1792 to a further
survey of this group. Early in 1793 he cruised through the
South-western Pacific, passing the New Hebrides and Norfolk
Island, and touching at points on the coasts of New Zealand and
New South Wales. From the newly-established British settle-
ment at Port Jackson he started once more to cross the Pacific,
and during the passage made a somewhat detailed examination of
the Tonga group. Spain was finally reached in September, 1794,
the whole voyage having occupied rather over four years.
An immense amount of scientific material was brought home
by the voyagers, but unfortunately this was never fully utilised.
Malaspina fell a victim to political intrigues before he had done
more than make preliminary arrangements for its publication, and,
when at last released from a long captivity, he left Spain and
spent the last years of his life in retirement in his native country.
His papers were long lost, and it was not until 1885 that any
considerable part of them was made accessible to the public,
though a few special memoirs had been issued earlier.
During the years occupied by Malaspina's great voyage,
something was also done by the Spanish authorities on the west
coast of North America to continue the work of exploration.
Thus ea^-ly in 1790 an expedition had been sent north under
Francisco Elisa, Salvador Fidalgo, and Manuel Quimper, the last
of whom partially explored the Strait of Juan de Fuca during the
summer. Again, in 1791, the year in which Malaspina examined
the Alaska coast, Elisa and others continued the examination of
the interior waters, as well as of the outer coast of Vancouver
Island. One other French expedition, too, visited North-west
America about the same time, though the geographical results
were not great. It was commanded by Etienne Marchand, a
captain in the merchant service, who sailed from Marseilles in
December 1790, hoping to secure a share in the profits of the fur
trade. His ship was named La Solide, and among his com-
panions were Captains Masse and Chanal, whose names, like his
own, are commemorated by discoveries made during the voyage
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 285
across the Pacific. Making a wide circuit to the south of Cape
Horn, Marchand steered for the Marquesas, of which only the
southern portion, discovered by Mendaha at the end of the sixteenth
century, had hitherto been visited. After touching at the Santa
Cristina of that navigator, he continued his voyage to the north-
west and Hghted upon other islands in this direction, to the three
principal of which his own name, and those of Masse and Chanal,
were given\ Hence the voyage was continued to Norfolk Bay,
on the north-west coast of America, whence the Queen Charlotte
Islands were visited. But little of importance was effected, and
Marchand soon decided to sail for China with the few furs which
had been obtained. Hawaii was touched at on the way, the
further route leading by the Mariannes and Formosa to Macao.
Here the captain found that the sale of furs at the southern ports
of the empire had been prohibited, and therefore returned to
France by way of Mauritius, reaching Toulon on August 14, 1792.
This voyage found a chronicler in the French hydrographer
Fleurieu, and thus obtained greater notoriety than might other-
wise have been the case. The narrative was accompanied by
a comprehensive dissertation on the history of voyages to the
Pacific.
It is now time to speak of Vancouver's voyage, to the circum-
stances of which reference has already been made. It should be
premised that in England, as in Spain, a belief in the existence of
a passage connecting the Pacific with Hudson Bay still held its
own in some quarters, and that Meares in the narrative of his
voyages, pubHshed in 1790, endeavoured by various arguments to
show the likelihood that the so-called Juan de Fuca Strait — into
which, as already stated, he had himself entered some distance-
was the portal to an inland sea or archipelago occupying a great
part of the northern interior of the continent. In particular he
declared that the American sloop JVashington had in 1789 traced
a considerable part of this supposed inland navigation, and even
went so far as to show the course of the vessel on a map.
Although this proved to be a mistake — for the Washington had
really advanced no great distance within the strait — the views of
^ These islands were surveyed only a year later by Lieut. Hergest (see
p. 292), without knowledge of Marchand's voyage.
286 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O [CHAP.
Meares and others had an important bearing on the geographical
side of Vancouver's task, which was carried out with a thorough-
ness rarely equalled in the history of maritime exploration.
Captain George Vancouver.
Like others of the navigators of this time, Vancouver had
served his apprenticeship to maritime discovery under Cook, to
whose example he no doubt owed many of the quaHties to which
his success was due. Already in 1789 a new expedition for
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 287
maritime research had been planned, but its field of action was
to have been the south, not the north. Preparations had so far
advanced that the commander was named, the choice faUing on
Captain Henry Roberts, likewise one of Cook's officers, with
whom Vancouver was associated as second in command. A new
vessel, bearing once more the honoured name of the Discovery^ was
chosen, and its equipment was being pressed forward when the
Spanish difficulty caused the preparations to be abandoned, and
on its eventual settlement the Discovery was assigned to Vancouver
for the purposes of the expedition to North-West America, to
which he was appointed. As the second ship of the expedition,
the choice fell on the Chatham, with Lieut. W. B. Broughton as
commander, and among the other officers of the two ships (who
one and all proved zealous coadjutors in the survey work and
whose names were honoured by being given to many of the
features of the coasts of North- West America) were Lieutenants
Zachariah Mudge, Peter Puget, Joseph Baker, James Hanson, with
the respective Masters, Joseph Whidbey and James Johnstone.
Vancouver received his commission on December 15, 1790, and
at once joined the Discovery at Deptford, where he pressed for-
ward the equipment so energetically that the ship was ready to
proceed down the river on January 7, 1791. After some detention
at Portsmouth, the Chatham being not yet ready, the Discovery
proceeded to Falmouth, whence both ships finally sailed on
April I.
For the outward route Vancouver chose that by the Cape
of Good Hope, whence, after stopping to complete his supplies,
he sailed on the voyage across the Indian Ocean on August 17,
purposing to devote what time could be spared to an examination
of the south-west coasts of New Holland. Throughout the voyage
observations were carried out with much assiduity for the deter-
mination of longitude, chiefly by the method of lunar distances,
and the rates of the chronometers were checked whenever oppor-
tunity offered. Much stormy weather was encountered after
leaving the Cape, and an attempted search for shoals thought to
exist near the line of route had to be abandoned. Vancouver
also failed to sight the islands of St Paul and Amsterdam (which
he had been anxious to do in order to clear up a discrepancy in
288 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I780-180O [CHAP.
the charts as to their relative positions), though the reckoning
showed the course to lie between the two islands. Sailing over a
little frequented part of the ocean, he passed the position assigned
in the charts to Lyon's land without meeting with it ; but on Sep-
tember 24 soundings of 70 fathoms were obtained, and on the 26th
the Australian coast was at last sighted, a conspicuous headland
being named Cape Chatham, after the President of the Board of
Admiralty. The coast was now explored eastwards and a spacious
inlet was discovered to which the name King George's Sound was
given, and of which formal possession was taken on September 29.
The country in general presented a desolate appearance, and the
signs of human habitation were of the most wretched description.
Over a wide area the trees and other vegetation bore signs of the
ravages of fire, the cause of which was difficult to account for.
The examination was continued past Doubtful Island Bay to a
little beyond Termination Island, in 122° 8' 30" E., when the
advance of the season rendered it prudent to sail for the Pacific
without further delay. A stretch of coast extending over some
300 nautical miles had, however, been carefully surveyed for the
first time, though some idea of it had been obtained as far back
as 1627 by the voyage of the Gulden Zeepaard.
The coast of Tasmania was sighted on October 26, but the
ships held on their course for Dusky Bay in New Zealand, where,
in spite of some severe storms, the northern arms of the inlet,
which had not been examined by Cook, were surveyed. The
crews having benefited much by their stay, the voyage to Tahiti
was resumed, the ships soon becoming separated. The Discovery
placed on the chart for the first time the group of rocky islets
south of New Zealand, called by Vancouver The Snares, and
subsequently fighted on the inhabited mountainous island of
Oparo, in 27° 36' S., 144° i' 30" W. The Chatham discovered
Knight Island (48° 15' S., 166° 42' E.) and the Chatham group
east of New Zealand.
The ships eventually joined company once more at Tahiti,
where some stay was made, and it was not until January 24, 1792,
that they left for the Sandwich group, Hawaii being sighted on
March i. Visiting in turn Oahu, Atui and Niihau, Vancouver
noticed considerable changes since his visit wath Cook, and
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 178O-I80O 289
deplored especially the introduction of firearms by the fur-traders.
Putting to sea on March 17, the voyagers sighted the coast of
"New Albion" on April 17, in about 39° 30' N., and the real work
of the expedition now began, the whole coast being carefully
examined from this point northwards. Its course was generally
straight, and sheltered inlets were searched for in vain, though
the country behind was pleasant — often tree-clad and mountainous.
Cape Mendocino, where the high interior country approaches the
coast and forms a pronounced headland, was passed, and beyond
Cape Orford (a name bestowed by Vancouver) some of the few
inhabitants seen on this part of the coast were encountered, their
honesty and friendliness making a favourable impression. The
northernmost point seen by Cook was passed, and the Cape
Disappointment of Meares was soon afterwards reached. Here-
abouts the sea took the colour of river-water, but Vancouver was
unfortunate in not recognising the mouth of the Columbia river
(probably, with the exception of the Yukon, the largest river
draining the whole Pacific slope of America), to which this dis-
coloration was no doubt due. Before reaching the entrance to
Juan de Fuca Strait, while abreast of the high mountain named
Olympus by Meares, Vancouver spoke the American ship Columbia^
of Boston, commanded by Captain Robert Gray, the same whom
Meares supposed to have carried out an extensive inland naviga-
tion in the Washington. It was found, however, that he had
really advanced no great distance within the strait, so the English
voyagers had not been forestalled in their task. Gray had, how-
ever, seen the mouth of the Columbia, to which he subsequently
gave the name of his ship, and his priority in this respect was to
prove of much importance when the disputed sovereignty of this
coast had eventually to be settled^
The entrance to the much talked-of strait of Juan de Fuca was
reached on April 29, and the ships entered the passage the same
evening. The voyagers now began a systematic survey of the
whole complicated series of channels and inlets which are such
a characteristic feature of this coast — a survey hardly to be
matched for thoroughness in the whole history of pioneer voyages.
^ The actual discoverer of the mouth of the Columbia seems to have been
Captain Bruno de Heceta, of the Spanish expedition of 1775.
H. 19
290 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 178O-180O [CHAP.
Vancouver was determined to leave unexamined no portion of
the coast-line which might conceal a possible passage towards the
Atlantic Ocean, and owing to the intricate labyrinth of channels
which here run far into the land, an extraordinary extent of ground
had to be traversed in' carrying out this task. His plan was to
find from time to time a secure anchorage for the ships, and from
this to send out boat expeditions to trace the ramifications of the
channels, especially on the continental side, where the passage, if
any, would be found. Some of these parties were placed in
charge of one or other of the officers, while the commander also
took an active part in the work himself In the course of these
operations abundant information was collected on the physical
character of the country, its productions and inhabitants, and
Vancouver's remarks as to its future possibilities are of great
interest in view of the high degree of development it has since
reached.
One of the first stations for the ships was Port Discovery,
on the south side of the inlet. From this point, and from a
subsequent station further to the south-east, the various southern
branches of these inland fjords were examined, one and all
proving to end more or less abruptly, after running many miles
into the interior. The most important arm received the name,
under which it has since become so widely known, of Puget
Sound, after the second lieutenant of the Discovery^ afterwards
Admiral Peter Puget. The extreme beauty of the landscape —
forests interspersed with pleasant lawns — made a great impression,
though much of it was then an uninhabited wilderness, the former
inhabitants having to all appearance migrated no long time before.
The scarcity of running streams was, notwithstanding, somewhat
remarkable, and the great depth of the channels, which pre-
sented, like all those of this region, a typical fjord-like character,
made it difficult to meet with good anchorages. High snowy
mountains were seen in the interior, the most prominent being
the fine peak to which the name Rainier was given, after a naval
officer who eventually attained the rank of admiral.
No passage having been found in this direction, the explorers
gradually felt their way northwards, continuing the same tactics
and examining the many inlets running east from the main gulf.
Xl] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 29 1
which was named Gulf of Georgia in honour of the king, while
successive portions of the mainland received the since discarded
names of New Georgia and New Hanover. Before proceeding
far up the strait separating Vancouver Island from the mainland
to the east, the commander experienced some degree of mortifica-
tion in finding that he had been preceded here by rival explorers
— Dionisio Galiano and Gaetano Valdes — in command, respec-
tively, of a brig and a schooner belonging to the Spanish navy.
These vessels had been previously attached to the expedition of
Malaspina, whose visit to North-west America in 1791 has already
been mentioned. While he was employed at the Philippines,
they had sailed from Acapulco on March 8, and after a stay at
Nootka had started on June 5 to explore the inland passage.
The means at their disposal were, however, not great, and
Vancouver had the satisfaction of finding that they had not traced
the inlet to its termination or junction with the ocean, so that this
piece of work was still to be done. Cordial relations were kept
up while the ships were in the same neighbourhood, and on
separating the English continued their survey towards the north,
finding the channel trending more and more westwards, while the
country became, in their eyes, more desolate and forbidding. The
mountains showed much bare rock — which, however, still gave
a footing for forests of conifers — while cataracts poured down their
sides in many places. The great mountain range continued
to be seen occasionally, and appeared for a time to block all
passage to the east, though to the northward it either receded
from the sea or became lower. The survey party which traced
the channel through its narrowest portion, sufficiently far to render
its junction with the ocean north of Nootka a certainty, was in
charge of Mr Johnstone, master of the Chatham^ whose name
the strait still bears. Natives who had had dealings with the
Europeans at Nootka were at last met with, and, in spite of the
dangers of the navigation, which placed both ships temporarily in
a perilous position, both in turn running on the rocks, Queen
Charlotte Sound was safely reached, and the ocean sighted on
August 9. Vancouver's exhaustive surveys had proved that no
channel leading across to Hudson Bay could possibly exist in
these latitudes.
19 — 2
292 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I780-180O [CHAP.
The season was still early enough to permit of further work,
so the voyagers turned their attention to the coast to the north,
attempts being made, by the agency of boat parties, to trace the
inlets running inland from Fitzhugh Sound. But having met with
a trading vessel from Bengal, Vancouver learnt that the Daedalus
store ship had arrived at Nootka without her commander —
Lieutenant Hergest — who with the astronomer Mr Green and a
seaman had been murdered at Oahu, in the Sandwich Islands'.
Hearing also that Senor Quadra, the Spanish commissioner, was
awaiting his arrival, the English commander decided to defer
further surveys to the north until the next year, and sailed for
Nootka, where the two ships arrived on August 28, 1792. A
friendly intercourse was soon established between Vancouver and
Quadra, but in spite of protracted negotiations it was found im-
possible to come to an agreement respecting the manner in which
the terms of the treaty were to be carried out. It was therefore
decided to refer the matter to the home governments, Vancouver
sending his first lieutenant home with despatches, in which the
state of affairs was explained to his superiors in England. He
himself remained at Nootka refitting until October 12, when, with
the Chatham and Daedalus^ the Discovery sailed south for the
coast of California. During his stay. Lieutenant Jacinto Caamano
had arrived from the north, where he had been surveying some of
the channels beyond the point reached by Vancouver, though he
had left much to be done by the latter when he returned to the
task in 1793.
A piece of work which the English commander hoped to
accomplish during his southward voyage was the examination of
the river spoken of by the American, Robert Gray (who since
meeting with Vancouver early in the year had succeeded in
entering its mouth), as well as of the harbour reported to exist to
the northward of it. On reaching Cape Disappointment the
Chatham led the way into the mouth of the Columbia, through
the breakers which almost closed it ; but, bad weather threatening,
it was quite impossible for the Discovery to follow. Vancouver
^ The Daedalus had made the voyage by the Falklands and Marquesas, to
the north-west of which latter group Lieutenant Hergest had discovered a
small cluster of islands to which his name was given.
XlJ THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 293
therefore continued his voyage to San Francisco, while Lieutenant
Broughton made his way for some distance up the river. Leaving
his ship at the mouth, he proceeded with the boats, and by seven
days' hard work against the strong current reached a point 84
miles from the entrance, sounding the various channels, and noting
the characteristics of the country and people, the latter proving
very friendly. At and near the farthest point reached, a fine
snowy mountain was seen a little south of east, and it received the
name Mount Hood — after the distinguished sailor, Lord Hood —
which it still bears ^ The result of the exploration was to show
that the Columbia could hardly be pronounced navigable by
ships, and Broughton came to the conclusion that Gray had
not advanced more than 15 miles from Cape Disappointment,
his examination having been confined to the outer bay into which
the river proper debouches. Mr Whidbey, now master of the
Daedalus, had meanwhile been engaged in examining Gray's
harbour north of the Columbia, which he found to be of little
importance. The two ships now proceeded south, and the whole
expedition was once more united at Monterey about the end of
November.
After staying at Monterey until the middle of January,
Vancouver sailed for the Sandwich Islands, leaving Lieutenant
Broughton to proceed to Europe with despatches, and giving
the command of the Chatham to Mr Puget. A search made
en route for islands laid down in the Spanish charts between 19°
and 21° N., 135° and 139° W., proved their non-existence, while
during the stay in the Sandwich group some surveys were effected.
On March 30, 1793, the expedition sailed once more for the
American coast, to resume the survey where it had been broken
off the previous autumn. The intricacies of the coast made the
task an arduous one, but it was carried out with the usual
thoroughness, and by the close of the summer the various
channels and inlets as far north as 56° 44' had been carefully
examined either by Vancouver or by his of^cers, Messrs Whidbey
and Johnstone in particular taking a large share in the work. The
farthest point reached on the open ocean was that on the western
^ Mount Hood, one of the highest summits of the Cascade range, has a
height of over 12,000 feet.
294 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O [CHAP.
side of the entrance to Clarence Strait, and this received the name
Cape Decision, as up to it the extent of the possible navigation
towards the interior of the continent had once for all been
decided. Other names, among many, applied during this season's
work were Chatham Sound, Portland Canal, Prince of Wales
Archipelago^ and Observatory Inlet, while some at least of the
Spanish names bestowed the previous year by Caamano were
retained. Such was that of the Canal de Revilla Gigedo (com-
memorating the Viceroy of New Spain) ; and in acknowledgment
of the help given to the expedition by his orders Van-
couver extended the name to the large island on its northern
side.
While returning south, Vancouver paid special attention to
the examination of the external coast-line, particularly that of the
Queen Charlotte group, which, he had reason to think, had been
erroneously shown on the pubHshed charts. After coasting along
the precipitous western shores of this group, the ships passed its
southern extremity, Cape St James of Dixon, and, after some
delay from adverse weather, reached Nootka on October 5,
1793.
At Nootka, Vancouver stayed only long enough to effect some
necessary repairs, sailing on October 8 for the coast of California,
which he wished to examine to the south of the part already
visited. After touching at San Francisco, the ships proceeded
to Monterey, where they were joined by the Daedalus, returned
from a voyage to New South Wales. At Monterey their reception
was far from cordial, so Vancouver decided to refresh once more
at the Sandwich Islands, first continuing his voyage along the
American coast, which he examined as far as San Diego. While
at the Sandwich Islands he made use of the opportunity of com-
pleting the survey of such parts as had not already been accurately
mapped, while friendly negotiations with Tamaahmaah, the most
influential native chief, resulted in the declaration of a British
Protectorate — a proceeding, however, which led to no practical
result.
On March 14, 1794, the Discovery and Chatham sailed for a
third summer's work on the American coast, the plan being to
begin the season's survey at Cook's River in the north-west and
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I/SO-lSoO 295
work down the coast to the south-east, so as to connect the new
work with that of the previous year, which had terminated at
Cape Decision. During the passage the Chatham fell behind,
the Discovery reaching Cook's River first, and beginning the
survey independently. The weather was still bitterly cold, and
the ice and shoals in the sound added to the difficulties of the
work. For a time Vancouver entertained the idea that the inlet
would lead him far into the interior, but after each of the several
arms had been examined, all alike proved to end more or less
abruptly. During the survey, friendly intercourse was kept up
both with the natives and with the Russians established on the
shores of the sound, but the latter proved so ignorant of
geography that little information of value could be obtained from
them. Meanwhile Mr Paget, in the Chatham, had also reached
the inlet and had been carrying out a part of the survey previously
allotted to him, so that on the meeting of the ships the full extent
of the sound was accurately known. In accordance with its true
character, its name was altered from Cook's River to Cook's
Sound. Hence the ships proceeded east to Prince William Sound,
the shores of which were in turn surveyed by boat parties,
Messrs Whidbey and Johnstone as usual taking a leading part
in the work. Before leaving the neighbourhood Vancouver sent
on the Chatham to survey the outer coast to the eastward,
himself following a little later.
It is unnecessary to describe in detail the surveys by which
the rest of this intricate coast-line was accurately mapped down
to the point at which the work had ceased in 1793. On reaching
Port Mulgrave (Yakutat bay) Vancouver found that Puget had
finished the examination of the coast up to and including this
inlet, which was pronounced to be almost certainly identical
with the bay visited by Bering, whose name Vancouver therefore
applied to it ; the supposed bay further west, called Bering Bay
by Cook, having proved non-existent\ During the whole voyage
down the coast the majestic range of snowy mountains made a
great impression on the navigators, and Vancouver correctly
^ The late Prof. G. Davidson, however, who closely studied the question
of the course sailed by Bering, did not suppose that he visited Yakutat Bay.
Section of Vancouver's General Chart of N. W. America.
CH. XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 297
concluded that it formed a continuous barrier, precluding the
possibility of a water-passage into the interior of the continent.
On reaching Cross Sound, the northern entrance to the labyrinth
of channels partly explored in the previous seasons, Mr Whidbey
was once more sent on a boat expedition, which led him north to
the head of Lynn Canal (so named by Vancouver from his birth-
place in Norfolk), and south almost to Cape Decision, reached in
1793. The work was rendered arduous by cold and wet weather,
and some of the natives also proved hostile. At the end of a
fortnight — the period for which the party had been provisioned —
it became imperative to return to the ship, leaving some of the
more eastern channels to be explored later. The ships therefore
sailed south along the outer coast as far as Cape Ommaney,
which forms with Cape Decision the southern entrance to the
waters lately explored, and had been examined and named a few
years previously by Colnett. A secure harbour was found on the
inner side of the island terminated by this cape, and hence the
last remaining inlets were surveyed by boat parties under Whidbey
and Johnstone. On effecting a fortunate meeting on the con-
clusion of their work, these officers marked the successful
termination of the task by formally proclaiming British sovereignty
over all the coasts and islands examined ^ Their return to the
ships, some time after the date to which the parties had been
provisioned, relieved Vancouver of much anxiety, and the happy
occasion was celebrated in fitting fashion by the whole of the
crews.
The geographical work of the expedition was now accom-
plished. With great determination and perseverance Vancouver
had completed perhaps the most arduous survey that it had fallen
to any navigator to undertake, and this in spite of serious ill
health during the latter part of the voyage. He now directed
his course to Nootka — still keeping an eye, e?i route, to the
improvement of the map, whenever possible — and on arrival
learnt of the death of his friend Quadra, and of the appointment,
as governor, of Brigadier-General Jose Alava, who had arrived
^ This did not avail, however, in the sequel, to secure the more northern
part of the coast region, now part of Alaska, for Great Britain.
298 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O [CHAP.
only the day before, but was still without the requisite authority
for the settlement of the pending questions. Vancouver occupied
the time until the middle of October in refitting the ships,
carrying out astronomical observations to serve as a check on
the recent survey, and in a visit to the chief Maquinna. He then
determined to sail southward, and after touching at Monterey
and one or two points off the coast of Lower California, made
his way to Chile by the Galapagos Islands, still putting additional
touches to his astronomical work. In May, 1795, the voyage
was resumed, Cape Horn being rounded (at some distance) in
stormy weather, and St Helena reached after a brief and in-
effectual search for the supposed Ilha Grande in 45° S. At
St Helena the day which had been gained during the eastward
passage round the world was dropped. War was now in progress
between Great Britain and France and Holland, and Vancouver
was able to give some slight assistance to the expedition then
being organised against the Cape. The Chatham, which had
arrived late at St Helena after a trying voyage, was sent with
despatches to the coast of Brazil and made her way home thence,
while the Discovery sailed direct in company with a convoy,
reaching the Shannon in safety on September 12, and the Thames
on October 20, 1795. Only one man of her crew had died of
disease during the ^\ years the voyage had lasted, though five
had been lost by accident ; while the Chatham had lost not a
single man during the same period.
Vancouver did not long survive the completion of his im-
portant task, but after writing the official narrative of the voyage,
died in May, 1798, at the early age of 40, while on a visit to
Richmond in Surrey, and was buried in Petersham Churchyard.
One more English voyage to the Northern Pacific, which may
be regarded as in some way an outcome of Vancouver's great
achievement, remains to be spoken of in this chapter. It was
carried out by Captain W, R. Broughton, who, as will be remem-
bered, had commanded the Chatham during the early part of
Vancouver's voyage, and had only relinquished his post in order
to carry home his leader's despatches. Anxious to further
distinguish himself, he applied for a new^ command, and was
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-180O 299
sent out in the Frovidefice sloop to complete the outHne of the
North Pacific coasts by surveys on the Asiatic side, where much
remained to be done in spite of the good work performed by
La Pe'rouse. His first lieutenant was Zachary Mudge, who had
also been with Vancouver. The Providence^ which had lately
returned from a voyage to the West Indies under Captain Bligh
(see p. 314, infra), was fitted out with every requisite, and sailed
from Plymouth Sound in February, 1795, in company, at starting,
with a convoy of merchantmen.
After touching at Rio, Broughton decided to take the east-
ward route via Van Uiemen's Land and New Holland. He
endeavoured, on the way, to fix the position of Gough Island
in the South Atlantic, but was hindered by bad weather.
Nootka Sound having been reached by way of Tahiti and the
Sandwich Islands on March 17, 1796, intelligence was obtained
of Vancouver's departure for England more than 15 months
before. At length, early in August, 1796, Broughton sailed from
the Sandwich Islands for Japan to begin the serious part of his
task. His plan was to keep to the latitude of 28^° N., thereby
crossing an unvisited part of the ocean, but though a look-out
was kept for reported islands, none was discovered. After losing
her sails in a gale, the Providence sighted Japan on September 7,
a little south of the strait between the main island and Yezo,
called by Broughton the Straits of Matsmai or Sangaar (Tsugaru),
the name Insu being appHed by him to Yezo. The outline and
true character of this island was still largely a matter of con-
jecture, though, apart from the Dutch voyage of Vries with the
Kastrikoin and Breskens in the seventeenth century, its coasts
had been touched at various points both by La Perouse and by
the Russian Spangberg earlier in the eighteenth century.
Crossing the entrance to the strait, Broughton examined
Volcano Bay on its northern side, coming across natives who
were found to be in strict subjection to the Japanese. He then
followed the east coast of Yezo and touched at several of the
Kuriles before turning south again, on the approach of winter,
in about 48° 50' N. Rough weather making it impossible to pass
through the Strait of Sangaar, he went south along the east coast
300 THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, 1780-I800 [CHAP.
of Japan (getting a good view of Mount Fujiyama), and after
passing down the outer side of the Liu-kiu group, reached Macao
on December 13, 1796. During the 22 months' absence from
England only one man had so far been lost by sickness.
Some time was now spent in preparing for the resumption
of exploration towards the north in 1797, and a schooner was
purchased and made ready to accompany the Providence. A new
start was made in April, and after some delay Formosa was
passed and the vessels skirted the south-west portion of the
Liu-kiu group, keeping this time on the inner or northern side.
Several islands had been passed when, on May 17, the Providence
struck on a coral reef, and, the wind freshening, the situation
quickly became so serious that it was necessary to take to the
boats. All reached the schooner in safety, though with the loss
of everything they possessed. The ship now became a total
wreck and few stores could be saved, but the condition of the
crew was alleviated somewhat by the ungrudging hospitality of
the natives of Taipinsan Island. It was now necessary to return
to Macao for supplies to permit a continuance of the voyage
in the schooner. When the start was once more made the season
was so far advanced as to give no great hopes of accomplishing
much, and considering this and other disadvantages, the amount
that was done was most praiseworthy. Running north along the
outer coast of Nippon, the schooner refitted at Endermo in
Southern Yezo, and then passed through the Strait of Sangaar
to the town of Matsumai. Passing the western entrance to La
Perouse Strait, Broughton coasted the island of Sakhalin to
nearly 52° N., but, like La Perouse, turned south without
traversing the narrowest part of the strait between it and the
mainland, or reaching the mouth of the Amur. Returning south,
he followed the mainland coast, with few intermissions, to the
southern extremity of Korea, thus filling in some parts that had
been missed by La Perouse. Few natives were seen until, after
approaching the island of Tsusima, the schooner crossed the
channel since known by Broughton's name to the port of Chosan
on the Korean coast, where some intercourse was had with the
inhabitants. After passing through a cluster of small islands
XI] THE NORTHERN PACIFIC, I780-180O 3OI
Quelpart was visited and its coasts partially examined. Hence
the schooner cruised westward, but was prevented by thick
weather and adverse winds from making the coast of China or
Korea. Broughton therefore gave up all attempt at further
discovery and made his way once more to Macao (November 27,
1797). He did not finally reach England till February, 1799.
With the voyages described in this chapter, the period of
pioneer exploration in the Northern Pacific may be said to have
closed.
CHAPTER XII
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O
While the work of Cook had thus been actively followed up
in the Northern Pacific, it led to no less immediate and important
results in the southern parts of the same ocean. Here, too, the
objects in view were rather economic than purely geographical,
but in their prosecution fresh light was incidentally shed on the
seas and lands of that remote region. In 1786 a step destined to
lead to the most far-reaching results was taken in the decision of
the British government to found a penal settlement on the east
coast of Australia ; Botany Bay, one of the points at which Cook
and his companions had landed during the first exploration of this
coast, being selected as its site. The command of the expedition
equipped for this object was given to Captain Arthur Phillip, an
officer who had seen a good deal of naval service during the late
war with France, who sailed with a small fleet of transports and
store-ships, supported by two armed vessels, in March, 1787.
Among his subordinates, several of whom did useful geographical
work in the course of their duties, were Captain John Hunter (who
commanded the frigate Sirius), Lieuts. Ball, King, and Shortland
(the first in command of the armed tender Supply), and Captains
Marshall and Gilbert, in charge of two of the transports. After
touching at the Canaries, Rio, and the Cape, Governor Phillip
went forward in the Supply, and sighted the coast of New South
Wales on January 3, 1788, Botany Bay being reached on the i8th.
After the whole fleet had arrived, an examination was made of the
neighbouring inlet of Port Jackson, which was found to possess
great advantages over Botany Bay, and was therefore chosen as
the site of the settlement. Among the many minor indentations
CH. XII] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O
303
of this wonderful harbour the choice fell on one on the southern
shore, which received the name Sydney Cove, and on which arose
in time the city of Sydney. A thorough survey was made of the
Governor Arthur Phillip.
ramifications of Port Jackson, and something was done as oppor-
tunity offered to examine the region around, though no great
extent of country was covered by the earliest expeditions under-
taken with this object.
304 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
The governor soon decided to form a subsidiary settlement on
Norfolk Island — a solitary point of land discovered by Cook in
the ocean to the east — with a view to the cultivation of flax and
other crops. He entrusted the founding of this settlement to
Lieutenant Philip Gidley King, who with a party of marines and
convicts was conveyed thither by Lieutenant Ball in the Supply.
The latter discovered en route the small, but high and rocky, unin-
habited island to which he gave the name of Lord Howe. It was
examined more carefully on the return voyage. Meanwhile the
transports had landed their stores, and preparations began to be
made for their departure. The first to sail (May 5, 1788) was the
Lady Petirhyn^ Captain Lever, which had on board Lieutenant
Watts — an old officer of Cook's— to whom we owe a short account
of the voyage. An easterly route was at first adopted, and it led
to the discovery, on May 31, of the small volcanic islands of Curtis
and Macaulay of the Kermadec group (so named a year or two
later by D'Entrecasteaux), a landing being effected on Macaulay
— the larger — in spite of the precipitous cliffs which surround it.
Before Tahiti could be reached scurvy had reduced the crew to
a nearly helpless condition, but the refreshments there obtained
soon improved matters. A friendly welcome was received from
Cook's old friends Otoo and Oedidee, but news was obtained of
the death of Omai. On the further voyage to Macao a low flat
island was discovered some distance north of the Society group,
which under the name Penrhyn still records the name of the ship.
The Scarborough^ Captain Marshall, left Port Jackson only a day
later than the Lady Penrhyn (May 6, 1788), her destination being
likewise Macao. After touching at Lord Howe Island, Marshall
was joined by Captain Gilbert in the Charlotte^ and most of the
voyage was made in company. After passing Norfolk Island, and
sighting a small rocky island (Matthew's Island) in 22° 22' S.,
170° 41' E., the voyagers traversed the little-known part of
the Pacific occupied by the groups of small islands to which
their names have since been attached. A number of these
islands, which were found to rise abruptly out of a deep sea,
were sighted and named, among them Lord Mulgrave's Islands
towards the south end of the Marshall group. The natives were
as a rule shy, and little intercourse was had with them. Fmally,
XIl] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, I786-180O 305
after passing Saypan and Tinian in the Ladrones, the ships
reached Macao roads on September 7, 1788.
Early in July four of the transports were got ready to return
to England, Lieutenant John Shortland, who had sailed as agent
for the transports, being placed in command of the Alexander^
and entrusted with despatches for the Home government. Only
one of the other ships — the Friendship — kept company with the
Alexa?ider, these two making the voyage by a new route to the
north of New Guinea, which led to some geographical discoveries.
The ships were ill prepared for the difficulties of the voyage,
having no surgeon on board, nor any means of combating disease,
which in course of time played havoc with the crews. After
passing and naming Middleton Shoal, Shortland lighted on a
high island with a remarkable peak, which he named Sir Charles
Middleton's Island. Continuing to sail nearly due north, he
sighted land on July 31, and coasted along it to the north-west.
It was a part of San Cristobal, the most southerly of the main
islands of the Solomon Islands, the geography of which group was
still very imperfectly known. Shortland pursued his voyage along
its southern border, sighting land repeatedly and believing it to
form one continuous island, to which he gave the name New
Georgia — a name still retained for the central cluster of the
southern chain of islands, which had been till then practically
unknown, and which has been very imperfectly charted down to
the present day. While passing along the south coast of Guadal-
canar he had sighted the high peak, his name for which — Mount
Lammas — is still retained, as are also those given during this
voyage to many of the prominent headlands of the several islands.
Shortland had failed to find the passages between the more eastern
islands, supposing them to be merely lowlands intervening between
the higher lands visible, although at two points he had felt some
doubt as to the continuity of the land-mass. After passing the
westernmost of the New Georgia group — where friendly natives
were met with, who called their land Simbu — he was successful in
his endeavour to push north, making his way through the strait
between Choiseul and Bougainville Islands already discovered by
the French navigator Bougainville. While passing through this
strait, to which his name is sometimes given, Shortland kept to
H. 20
306 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
the eastern side, but sighted the various small islands which block
its western half, giving them the name Treasury Islands, though
the largest (Alu), with its immediate satellites, is now generally
known as Shortland.
Misfortunes now began, scurvy making its appearance, and, in
the absence of fresh provisions and other remedies, running its
course unchecked. At the Pelew group a first attempt to obtain
supplies was unsuccessful, but the commander hesitated to delay
the voyage further, thus losing an opportunity which he had deep
cause to regret. The crews became more and more enfeebled,
and after the ships had narrowly escaped disaster among the reefs
and currents between Mindanao and Borneo it was found necessary
to evacuate and sink the Friendship. At Batavia help was obtained
from the Dutch, but on resuming the voyage only four of the
original crews were capable of duty. The Alexander reached the
Cape on February 18, 1789, and Shortland found Captain Hunter
there in the Sirhis. He also learnt that the two other transports
had made the voyage by the southern route, and had been heard of
at Rio. England was finally reached on May 28, 1789
The voyages of Captain John Hunter, commander of the frigate
Sirius, also deserve mention. On October 2, 1788, he sailed to
the Cape for supplies by the Cape Horn route, making a vain
search on the way for the island of Diego Ramirez, supposed to
lie to the south-south-west of Cape Horn. Returning to Port
Jackson in 1789 he carried out surveys of Broken Bay, Botany
Bay, and other parts of the coast of New South Wales, also
making a voyage to Norfolk Island, where the Sirius was unfor-
tunately lost, early in 1790. On March 27, 1791, he sailed for
Batavia in the Waaksaviheyd transport, taking, like Shortland,
a route to the north of New Guinea, which resulted in some few
gains to geography. After sighting the Isle of Pines, at the south
end of New Caledonia, and escaping with difficulty from the
dangerous reefs in its neighbourhood, he held on a course
calculated to take him to the east of the Solomon Islands,
between these and the Queen Charlotte group. No trace of
the latter could be seen, and Hunter concluded that it must lie
further east than had been shown on the charts. On May 10, in
8° 27' S., 163° 18' E. according to his observations, he came upon
XII]
THE SOUTHERN FACIEIC, 1786-180O
307
20-
308 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-I80O [CHAP.
five small islands, well covered with trees, which he named
Stewart's Islands, correctly judging by their position that they
must be distinct from Carteret's Islands, though in the same
latitude. On May 14 an archipelago of small islands was reached,
32 being visible from the masthead. The natives had canoes with
triangular sails. This group, along the southern side of which
Hunter sailed, received the name of Lord Howe — an instance of
the inconvenient way in which names were duphcated by the
sailors of this period, the island between Australia and Norfolk
Island having received the same name only three years before.
It was the same group as that named Ontong Java by Tasman.
Passing other islands, probably identical with some of those seen
by Carteret, Shortland and others. Hunter approached New
Ireland, and, after many difficulties caused by calms and cur-
rents, landed at Duke of York's Island for the purpose of
obtaining water. An attack by the natives was followed by a
reconciliation, and after passing the Admiralty group and a
double island to which Hunter gave the name of his chief
(Phillip Island), the voyage was continued through the Malay
Archipelago, Batavia being reached on September 27, 1791.
Thence, after purchasing the Waaksamheyd from the Dutch
authorities. Hunter continued the voyage to England, which was
reached on April 22, 1792.
Meanwhile, the voyage to Batavia had also been made by
Lieutenant Ball, in the Supply; Lieutenant King, who had been
ordered to return to England with despatches, taking passage with
him so far. During the voyage, which was begun in April, 1790,
Ball was able to add a few additional features to the chart. A
shoal was found in 21° 24' S., and was named Booby Shoal, from
tlie stupidity of the look-out man in taking it for the reflection of
the setting sun, though bearing east. On May 3, when nearing
the position in which Shortland had found land, birds and floating
trees were seen, and on the morning of the 5th land was sighted
stretching from north-north-west to west-north-west. It proved to
be the eastern part of the Solomon group, and a small island at its
extremity was named Sirius Island. The land, which was high
and well wooded, was kept in view for several days, but at a
distance too great to allow the several islands to be distinguished.
XII] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, l786-l8(X) 309
Like Shortland, who had followed a parallel route on the south-
west side of the group, Ball seems to have regarded the land seen
as forming one continuous mass, to the north-east coast of which
he gave the name Ball's Maiden Land. On the 19th an inhabited
island (Tench's Island) was met with in 1° 39' S., 150° 31' E. The
naked, copper-coloured natives were remarkably stout and healthy.
A little later another island was reached, and it was named, at
King's suggestion, Prince William Henry Island, after the third
son of George III (afterwards WiUiam IV), though better known
by Dampier's name, St Matthias. A high mountain in its centre
received the name Mount Phillip. The voyage through the
Archipelago led past the islands of Karkelang and Karkarolang,
through the passage between Gilolo and Celebes and the Strait of
Salayer, and so to Batavia. Here King secured a passage home
in the Dutch ship S?ieli/ieid, but his experiences were far from
pleasant, a malignant fever breaking out among the crew and
causing many deaths. Ball sailed home by the Cape Horn route
in November, 1791, having on board a live kangaroo — the first
which any navigator had attempted to take to England. The
voyage was more fortunate than others, being finished in a shorter
time than any yet made by the Cape Horn route ; but it did not
result in any new discoveries.
These various voyages, though not individually of the first
importance from the geographical point of view, had, in the
aggregate, results far from insignificant. Of these, the traverse
by Marshall and Gilbert of the hitherto almost unknown portion
of Micronesia which now bears their names, and the additions to
the knowledge of the Solomon group made by Shortland, were
no doubt the most important.
Voyages to the South Seas now followed in such quick succes-
sion that many of them can be only briefly mentioned. Another
project of the British government which, though of minor im-
portance, led incidentally to the addition of various small islands
to the map, was that of the introduction of the bread-fruit tree
into the West Indian colonies. Three separate voyages were
made in connection with this scheme, and they were to a large
extent simultaneous with the Australian voyages above described.
At the instance of various merchants and planters interested
3IO
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, I786-180O [CHAP.
in the British West Indian Islands, a ship was fitted out
during the latter half of 1787, Sir Joseph Banks warmly aiding
with his experienced advice. It was named the Bounty^ and
placed under the command of Lieutenant William Bligh, another
of Cook's old officers, who in course of time acquired a good deal
of notoriety in connection with the settlement of New South
Wales. He was an energetic and capable officer, but somewhat
overbearing and not always happy in his relations with his
subordinates. This first voyage for the transport of the bread-
Captain William Bligh.
fruit tree was notable chiefly for the mutiny among the crew,
which frustrated its object and entailed some harrowing experi-
ences on the commander and those who stood by him. The
voyage was to have been made by the Cape Horn route, but the
tempestuous weather experienced in the neighbourhood of that
cape determined Bligh to bear away for the Cape of Good Hope,
whence the voyage to Tahiti was completed by way of St Paul
Island (in the Indian Ocean) and Van Diemen's Land. Beyond
XII] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, I786-180O 3 II
the latter the Bounty took the route to the south of New Zealand,
lighting upon the group of islets and rocks which have since borne
the ship's name.
A long stay was made at Tahiti and a large number of bread-
fruit trees were procured, after which, in accordance with Bligh's
instructions, the Bounty sailed for Java. In the north of the
Cook or Hervey group the island of Aitutaki was discovered, but
though the natives were friendly no stay was made, as Bligh had
decided to put in for refreshments at Anamuka in the Friendly
group. It was shortly after leaving the latter island that the
mutiny broke out, without the least warning, the ringleader being
Fletcher Christian, one of the master's mates. Its main motive
seems to have been the desire to enjoy a life of ease in one of the
island paradises of the South Seas^ Bligh and 18 others (includ-
ing the master, surgeon, gunner, boatswain, etc.) were cast adrift
in the small ship's launch, with no firearms and but a scanty stock
of provisions and water. In this over-laden boat, the unfortunate
men made the long and dangerous voyage to Timor in the archi-
pelago, suffering intensely from hunger and thirst. At Tofoa,
the first island touched at, they . narrrowly escaped disaster from
a treacherous attack by the natives. Steering without the aid of
a chart, they passed various islands in the Fiji group and northern
New Hebrides, and at last made the coast of New Holland, by
good fortune finding a passage through the Great Barrier Reef in
about 13° S. A small island off the coast was named Restoration
Island, in allusion both to the date (May 29, 1789) and to the
encouragement offered by their progress so far on their journey.
Some small relief in the form of oysters, boobies, etc., was
obtained during the six days' coasting voyage which followed,
and Torres Strait was successfully passed by the channel north
of Prince of Wales Island. In spite of increasing weakness from
the hardships and starvation undergone, the voyagers sighted
Timor on June 12, 41 days after leaving Tofoa, having covered
a distance of over 3600 miles. That this was accomphshed
without the loss of a fife is a striking proof of Bligh's resource
and determination. At the Dutch settlement of Kupang they
^ The mutineers, or some of them, settled at Pitcairn Island ; which is
still peopled by their descendants.
312 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
were received with great humanity, and BHgh was able to purchase
a small schooner in which the voyage to Batavia, and eventually
to England, was successfully carried out. Several of the party
succumbed, however, after Kupang had been reached, among
them Mr Nelson, the botanist, who had taken part in Cook's last
voyage, and while in the Bounty had devoted unremitting attention
to the object of the enterprise.
An indirect result of the same scheme as had occasioned the
despatch of the Bounty was the voyage of the Fajidora, Captain
Edwards, in 1790-92. This was undertaken partly with a view
to bringing the mutineers to justice, and partly for the purpose of
effecting a survey of Endeavour Strait, between the northern point
of Queensland and Prince of Wales Island, in the interest of
navigation to Botany Bay. It likewise proved unfortunate, though
some discoveries were made. Cape Horn was successfully passed,
and after sighting Easter Island on March 4, 1791, Edwards
discovered some small islands in the Low Archipelago, which
were named respectively Ducie, Lord Hood, and Carysfort. The
two latter have been identified with those known by the native
names of Marutea and Tureia.
After a considerable stay at Tahiti, during which some of the
mutineers were captured, the Pandora resumed the voyage in the
direction of Endeavour Strait, touching at other islands of the
Society group and making a search for traces of the Boimtfs men
at Aitutaki (May 19) and the Palmerston Islands (May 22). At
the latter the jolly-boat and her crew were lost, and all search
proved unavailing. In his further search for the missing mutineers,
Edwards now cruised over a considerable extent of latitude, geo-
graphy thus benefiting by the discovery of several new islands.
Steering at first north-west, he lighted (June 6) on one of the
islands of the Tokelau or Union group, which he named Duke of
York Island, though it seems to have been identical with Atafu,
discovered by Byron in 1765. Turning south he next touched at
Nukunono, which he named Duke of Clarence Island, and passing
rapidly through the Samoa or Navigators' Islands made his way
to Namuka in the Friendly group. Further cruises took the
Pandoj-a north, past various northern islands of this same
archipelago, to Tutuila of the Samoan group (where the ship's
XIl] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O 313
tender unfortunately parted company and could not be found
in spite of a careful search), and south as far as Pylstaart in
22°23'S.
Resuming his voyage to the west, Edwards discovered Onooa-
fow (Niuafu), which he named Proby's Island, and after touching
at Wallis Island, in 13° 22' S., 176° 15' 45" W., came upon the
hitherto undiscovered island of Rotumah, which he christened
Grenville, though the native name has since held its own. It
was well peopled and the hills were cultivated to the top, but the
inhabitants, who were perfectly ignorant of firearms, showed some
inclination to hostility, and were great thieves. They are described
as uncommonly athletic and strong. A dangerous coral reef in
171° 52' E. received the name of the ship, while a little further to
the north-west the islands of Fataka and Anuda were discovered,
and named respectively Mitre and Cherry — the latter after the
Commissioner of the Victualling Office, in gratitude for the various
luxuries provided by him. Another island, to which the name
Pitt was applied, seems to have been Vanikoro in the Santa Cruz
group, the scene of the shipwreck of La Perouse, though, as no
landing was effected, no light was thrown on this still mysterious
catastrophe. Having reached the dangerous neighbourhood of
Endeavour and Torres Straits, the Pandora became involved in
the reefs, and, striking, at once began to fill rapidly. A night of
intense anxiety was spent, and the ship went down about dawn, a
number of the crew being drowned. The rest saved themselves
in the boats, and, after sufferings fully equalling those of Bligh
and his men, though somewhat less prolonged, made their way to
Timor, where, like their predecessors, they received a warm wel-
come from the Dutch at Kupang. On reaching Samarang in
Java,^they had the satisfaction of finding their tender, which had
been navigated by the young officer in command, Mr Oliver. The
sufferings of her crew had, if possible, exceeded those of the
wrecked crew of the Pandora, and it had been necessary, in the
absence of a passage, to beat the boat over the reefs in Torres
Strait. Meeting with a small Dutch vessel, they were at first
taken for the mutineers of the Bounty, and were sent under
escort to Samarang, where their true character was satisfactorily
estabUshed. The survivors of the expedition eventually took
314 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
passage to Holland, %nd the Cape, afterwards crossing over to
England, where three of the captured mutineers were executed.
In 1791-92 Bligh made his way once more to the Pacific in the
Providence sloop, accompanied by a second vessel, the Assistant.
He succeeded in conveying a supply of bread-fruit trees to the
West Indies, but the voyage was not important from the point of
view of discovery. Perhaps the most noteworthy performance in
this respect was the survey carried out on the eastern coast of
Tasmania just two months before the first visit of the French
navigator next to be spoken of. A MS. chart by Lieutenant
Bond, one of Bligh's officers, shows that a part at least of the
enclosed waters of D'Entrecasteaux Strait was reconnoitred on
this occasion \
Simultaneously with these English enterprises, the French
expedition under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was busy in the Western
Pacific, though with no political aims. As has already been
mentioned, its main object was the search for the missing ex-
pedition of La Perouse, whose mysterious disappearance had now
given rise to serious concern for his safety. Two ships, named
the Recherche and Esperance in reference to the objects of the
voyage, were placed at the disposal of D'Entrecasteaux, who sailed
from Brest on September 28, 1791. The Esperance was com-
manded by Huon de Kermadec — who is doubly commemorated
in the nomenclature of the South Seas — and various scientific
experts also took part in the voyage, among them being the
naturalist Labillardiere, who eventually wrote a- narrative of the
voyage, and the hydrographers Rossel and Beautemps-Beaupre,
who were concerned respectively with the publication of D'Entre-
casteaux's own journal after his unfortunate death, and of the
charts of the coasts visited.
On October 13 the ships reached Santa Cruz in Tenerife,
some of the naturalists making the ascent of the peak during
their stay. The Cape was reached in January, 1792, and here
information was obtained to the effect that Capt. Hunter, in his
voyage to Batavia after the loss of the Sirius, had seen uniforms
1 See Geographical Journal, Vol. xxxviii., 191 r, p. 582, with reproduction
of Bond's chart.
XIlJ THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-I80O 315
of French officers at the Admiralty Islands, north of New Guinea,
to which group it was therefore decided to direct the ship's course.
The voyage across the Indian Ocean commenced on February 16,
but progress was so slow that it became evident that the proposed
destination could not be reached by the route to the north of New
Holland, and a course was therefore steered for Van Diemen's
Land (the modern Tasmania). This course led the ships between
the islands of Amsterdam and St Paul, which, as mentioned
already, Vancouver had missed on his outward voyage in 1791 ;
the position of the former being determined with a close approach
to accuracy. After a passage of 64 days from the Cape the ships
reached Van Diemen's Land on April 21, putting by mistake into
a bay to the west of Adventure Bay, which seems to have been
wrongly identified with the Storm Bay of Tasman\ In it an
excellent anchorage was discovered, to which the name Port
D'Entrecasteaux was given. Here a stay of some length was
made, the naturalists employing the time to advantage by ex-
cursions into the country. The enormous size of the gum trees
{Eucalyptus) made a great impression, and specimens of the black
swan and kangaroo were seen and some natives encountered.
Surveys of the coasts revealed the existence of a strait leading
east, and affording an interior passage towards Adventure Bay,
and this was successfully navigated by the ships. It, too, received
the name of the commander, who was also commemorated in
the name Bruni given to the island which it separates from the
mainland.
Having once more reached the open sea, the voyagers quickly
rounded Cape Pillar, and shaped a course for New Caledonia.
This island was sighted on June 16. Its south-west coast had
not been surveyed, Cook on his second voyage having confined
his examination to the opposite side. Like Hunter in the previous
year (see p. 306) D'Entrecasteaux and his comrades with difficulty
surmounted the dangers of navigation among the reefs which
fringe the coast, and which became still more formidable towards
the north. The examination of this side of the island was
^ In the charts accompanying the official narrative of the voyage, pub-
Hshed some years later, the name vStorm Bay is rightly assigned to the large
bay east of Adventure Bay.
3l6 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
nevertheless successfully carried out, its general form being thus
laid down with fair accuracy. The chain of mountains which
form its backbone were reckoned to extend about 80 nautical
leagues from south-east to north-west. Still hampered by reefs
and sighting various small islands, the voyageis approached the
strait between Choiseul and Bougainville of the Solomon group,
but after passing near the Eddystone rock and Treasury Islands
of Shortland held on a course to the south of Bougainville, which
was now examined for the first time on this side, as was also
the neighbouring island of Buka. Passing through St George's
Channel between New Britain and New Ireland, and putting
in at Carteret's Harbour, they eventually reached the Admiralty
group, which was examined without yielding any traces of the
missing voyagers. The natives proved friendly, though here
as elsewhere much caution was observed by the visitors. The
Hermit and Echiquier groups were next visited, and after sailing
along the north coast of New Guinea, the expedition made its
way to Amboina to replenish supplies.
After more than a month's stay at Amboina, the productions
of which were examined by the naturalists, D'Entrecasteaux once
more set sail, making a circuit to the west and south so as to
strike the coast of New Holland near its south-west point. The
voyage along this coast was to some extent a repetition of that of
Vancouver in 1791, but it extended farther to the east, though
not sufficiently far to clear up the question of the separation of
Van Diemen's Land from New Holland. The ships took refuge
from a storm in an anchorage discovered by Legrand, whose
name was given to it. Excursions were made on the land and
its botany and zoology studied. The roadstead was in the
neighbourhood of the archipelago of small islands at which the
Dutch discoveries of Pieter Nuyts had terminated, and the
French voyagers were surprised to find how accurately that
navigator had determined his latitudes on this coast. During
a visit to the mainland, one of the naturalists — Riche by
name — lost his way and wandered almost without food for more
than two days, the search made by his companions being almost
abandoned as hopeless.
In their efforts to advance eastward the voyagers were much
XII] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O 317
hindered by easterly winds, and on January 5, 1793, the water-
supply having fallen very low, it was decided not to attempt
to trace the coast further, but to steer once more for the southern
part of Van Diemen's Land. The longitude reached, according
to the observations made, was 129° 10' east of Paris, or 131° 30'
east of Greenwich. The strength of the current flowing west
along the coast led D'Entrecasteaux to conjecture that a channel
existed between Van Diemen's Land and New Holland, as
was proved to be the case a few years later. On reaching Van
Diemen's Land the mountains were found to be much less
covered with snow than on the previous visit. An anchorage was
found in a bay which received the name Bay of Rocks, and here
the ships stayed some time, the voyagers entering into friendly
relations with the inhabitants, who, in spite of the coolness of
the weather, were almost entirely unclothed. An interesting
account of their manners and customs is given by Labillardiere.
Coal was observed to exist in the neighbouring country. On
February 15, the ships set sail in order to pass through D'Entre-
casteaux Strait into Adventure Bay, which latter was left on
March i. Passing near the north end of New Zealand, D'Entre-
casteaux steered for Tongatabu, discovering several small islands
on the way. From the Friendly Islands, where the ships stayed
till April, the course was due west to the northern part of New
Caledonia. Several of the southern islands of the New Hebrides
were sighted en roiite^ and while passing Tanna, pillars of smoke
were seen to issue from its volcano, illumined at night by the
mcandescent matter within the crater.
Some stay was made at New Caledonia, and advantage was
taken of this opportunity of making some exploration of the
interior of the island, excursions being made into the mountains
and a view obtained on one occasion of the sea on the opposite
or south-western side. The natives were on the whole friendly,
though some collisions occurred and unmistakable signs of their
cannibalism were seen. No traces of La Perouse could be found,
nor were the natives in possession of any of the objects presented
by Cook, though a trace of his visit was seen in the form of the
rusty base of an iron candlestick. Before leaving the island, the
expedition had the misfortune to lose the Captain of the
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
Esperance, Huon de Kermadec, who was buried on shore, his
place being filled by the promotion of Lieut. Dauribeau of the
Recherche.
The ships now sailed nearly north to Santa Cruz, where they
met with some hostility on the part of the natives. On May 22,
the Volcano Island of Carteret was sighted, l-ut no signs of
activity were noticed. Once more steering west, the easternmost
of the Solomon group was soon sighted, and after coasting along
the small group of the Three Sisters, the ships passed between
San Cristobal and Guadalcanar, passing along the south side
of the last-named and of New Georgia, and then steering for the
Louisiades of Bougainville. This part of the voyage — through
the labyrinth of islands east of the east end of New Guinea —
was perhaps the most important of all, for this area had been but
imperfectly known as a result of Bougainville's voyage, and many
new islands were brought to light, the names of several of the
officers (Rossel, Joannet, Renard, St Aignan, Trobriand) being
still found on our maps as alternative names for islands now
sighted, while the group of larger islands nearest to New Cyuinea
bears the name of D'Entrecasteaux himself. The ships were
frequently in danger from the many reefs of those seas, but a
passage was always found in the end. On May 25, the coast of
New Guinea itself was made, and the deep bay which has since
borne the name of Huon Gulf in honour of the deceased Captain
of the Esperance was entered for the first time. It was bounded,
especially to the north, by high mountains, terminating in the
Cape King William of Dampier, the western portal of Dampier
Strait. Through the eastern branch of this the French voyagers
now passed, as had the English navigator to whom it owes its
name. But instead of at once taking a westerly course parallel
to the north coast of New Guinea, D'Entrecasteaux sailed east
along the north coast of New Britain, the approximate form of
which he was thus the first to lay down. He did not, however,
keep near enough to the land to trace all the indentations of the
coast, and left it uncertain whether the group of peaks lying to
the north of the main mass were islands or portions of a peninsula
— an uncertainty which was not cleared up until a century later.
Having reached the north-eastern extremity of the island he
XII] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1 786- 1 8oO 319
steered west for the archipelago, but on August 21 died after
only two days' illness, leaving the command to Dauribeau, who,
as already mentioned, had been lately made Captain of the
Esperance. D'Entrecasteaux had shown himself an energetic and
capable commander, and his loss was seriously felt by the
survivors. Disease now began to spread among the crews, who
were much weakened by it before reaching Java. On arriving
at Surabaya in October, 1793, war was found to have broken out
between France and Holland, and several prominent members
of the expedition were made prisoners of war, Dauribeau having
apparently secured favourable terms for himself at the expense
of his companions. He died soon after his arrival at Samarang,
and after long delays the prisoners (among Avhom was Labil-
lardiere) found their way in 1795 to Mauritius, and thence, a
year later, to France.
Although without result as regards the search for La Perouse,
the expedition had made some useful additions to geographical
knowledge, and the researches of the naturalists into the little-
known productions of the countries visited were of special value.
Labillardiere's collections, which had been seized and taken to
England, were restored to him through the good offices of
Sir Joseph Banks.
A voyage which corresponded very closely with the latter part
of this of D'Entrecasteaux was that of Captain, afterwards Com-
modore Sir John, Hayes of the Bombay Marine, who, obtaining
leave of absence, persuaded some Calcutta merchants to join him
in a venture for the purpose of bringing back nutmegs and other
spices from the western parts of New Guinea, thus repeating the
project of Captain Forrest, spoken of in Chapter ix. Sailing
from Calcutta on February 6, 1793, with two ships — the Duke of
Clarence and the Duchess — Hayes found the winds unfavourable
for the direct voyage to New Guinea, and he therefore decided,
after reaching Tmior, to proceed first to Tasmania and thus
approach his destination from the east after a wide circuit throucrh
the Western Pacific. He was on the Tasmanian coast only a
couple of months after D'Entrecasteaux's second visit, of which
he was completely ignorant, and his surveys there had been
anticipated by the French Admiral as well as by Bligh. The
320 THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O [CHAP.
further voyage also led him more or less in the tracks of D'Entre-
casteaux. He visited New Caledonia, and ventured closer to
land than his predecessor among the dangerous reefs which fringe
the south-west coast. Thence he sailed north-west, and reached
the Louisiade Archipelago, cruising in various directions among
these islands. Here he seems to have been in advance of his
French rival, and was the first white man to land on Rossel
Island, which D'Entrecasteaux merely named in passing. Reach-
ing the scene of the proposed commercial enterprise, he found
the nutmeg and other spice-producing trees growing as he had
expected, and he built a fort on which he hoisted the British flag,
taking possession of the country under the name New Albion.
He then sailed for Calcutta, but failing to obtain support, was
obliged to abandon the scheme. The journal which he kept
during the voyage was never published, though it still exists in
manuscript.
Voyages to the Pacific had now become a matter of yearly
occurrence, and although small islands, previously unvisited,
continued to be brought to light, the discoveries were not of
sufficient importance to call for a description of each separate
voyage. A few of those to which the discovery and naming of
such islands were due may, however, be briefly mentioned. In
T793, Capt. James Mortlock added to the map the small group
in the Caroline Archipelago which still bears his name. Captain
Buder, who made several voyages between 1794 and 1803, lighted
upon one of the islands of the Loyalty group, which had not been
seen by Cook at the time of the discovery of New Caledonia, as
well as one or two others in other parts of the Pacific. Captain
Fearn (in the Hunter)^ and the American Captain Fanning,
also made some new discoveries, including the small islands
which now commemorate their names. In 1796, Captain Wilson,
who had already had considerable experience of Pacific navi-
gation, was sent out in the Duff on behalf of a newly-formed
missionary society, which had chosen as its field of action
Tahiti, the Friendly Islands, Marquesas, Sandwich Islands, and
others. In 1797, the Duff reached Tahiti by a route south
of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand, afterwards making
XII] THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, 1786-180O 32 1
several cruises, in the course of which she visited the Marquesas,
traversed the Low Archipelago, and from Tongatabu made the
voyage to Canton through the Fiji and CaroHne groups. Some
results were gained in the way of a more precise knowledge of
some of the islands visited, especially in the eastern part of the
Fiji group, of which, as of the island of Tongatabu, Captain
Wilson gave a chart in his published narrative. Although not
entirely a new discovery, the small Duff group, to the north of
the Santa Cruz Islands, has its name from Wilson's ship.
By the close of the eighteenth century the general outlines
of Pacific geography had at last been completed, the last four
decades of the century having yielded greater results than the
whole time which had previously elapsed since the first track
across that ocean had been drawn by Magellan. Future work,
in the performance of which such navigators as Liitke, D'Urville,
Krusenstern, Wilkes, and others did useful service, consisted
chiefly in the filling in of small details. The island continent of
Australia was now to form the principal field for pioneering work
in the southern hemisphere.
H. 21
CHAPTER XIII
THE FRENCH AND BRITISH IN NORTH AMERICA,
I 700- I 800
I. The Great North-west.
We have seen in a former chapter how, under the energetic
leadership of men like Champlain and La Salle, the French
adventurers in Canada had, during the seventeenth century,
pushed steadily westward until the whole region of the Great
Lakes, with a large stretch of country to the south, had been
brought within their sphere of action ; Jesuit missionaries having
likewise played no inconsiderable part in the work of exploration.
Farther north the still earlier voyages, principally English, to
Hudson Bay had revealed the whole outHne of that interior
sea, though practically no progress had been made towards a
knowledge of the vast regions lying inland from its shores. We
have now to take up the story and show how, in the course
of the eighteenth century, the westward advance was continued
until, in the closing years of the century, the boldest pioneers had
succeeded in reaching the long-desired goal of the western sea.
During the first half of the century the French still bore the
burden of the day, the chief advance being effected in the more
southern zone, due west from Lake Superior, towards which
restless spirits like Greysolon, Sieur Du Lhut (or Du Luth), had
begun to push their enterprises, even before the close of the
seventeenth century. Some few attempts were made from the
northern base on Hudson Bay, by agents of the Hudson Bay
Company, but these remained more or less isolated episodes
until, after the middle of the century, the competition of their
CH. XIIl] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, I/OO-lSoo 323
southern rivals showed the company the need of more energetic
action. With the transfer of Canada to the English as a result of
Wolfe's victorious campaign, the French pioneers disappeared
from the scene, and both in the north and south the work was
carried on by men of British origin, though displaying for a
time a still keener rivalry among themselves than had been
maintained between the French and EngHsh at an earlier
date.
We must go back to the eighties of the seventeenth century
for the first beginnings of an advance into the unknown region
west of Lake Superior. The Kaministikwia River, which enters
that lake on its north-west shore, and at the mouth of which
Du Lhut had built a fort, was ascended about 1688 by Jacques de
Noyon, who reached the " lake of the Cristinaux," since known
as Rainy Lake, and wintered at the mouth of the Uchichig or
Rainy River, which enters the lake at its western end. His
farther route is somewhat obscure, but he seems to have gone
by the Rainy River to the Lake of the Woods, which he knew by
the names Lac des Assiniboiles (Assiniboines) or Lac aux lies.
It has been held that the Lac des Cristinaux was really the
Lake of the Woods, and the farthest lake reached, Winnipeg,
but for this belief there hardly seem sufficient grounds. After
this, little was done until the second decade of the next century,
when, in 17 16, the governor De Vaudreuil and the Intendant
Begon drew up a report suggesting steps for western discovery.
As a result, Lieutenant Zachary de la Noue was sent in 171 7 to
establish a post on the Kaministikwia River, which he did, possibly
also founding a post on Rainy Lake. In 17 18, a detailed memoir
was drawn up by Father Bobe, in which various possible routes
to the west were discussed. Although containing some judicious
remarks, many of the ideas put forward in this memoir were quite
the reverse. Bobe greatly under-estimated the difficulties to be
encountered in the exploration of a route to the Western Ocean,
which he thought could be reached with comparative ease.
A few years later the historian Charlevoix was sent to make
enquiries on the spot, and he also put down his conclusions in a
report to the Government. He suggested two possible courses,
one to push west l)y way of the Upper Missouri, the other to
324 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
establish a mission amongst the Sioux as a base for a farther
advance. Though he was himself inclined to favour the first
of these plans, the second was adopted, as involving a smaller
amount of trouble and expense. With this object, an expedition
went, in 1727, across Lake Michigan to Green Bay and by the
Fox and Wisconsin rivers to the Missouri, but it was without
result as regards western discovery.
About this time, however, there came on the scene a pioneer
worthy to be ranked with a La Salle for his whole-hearted
devotion to the cause of discovery. This was Pierre Gaultier de
Varennes, Sieur de la Verendrye, generally known to posterity by
the last name. Born at Three Rivers in 1685, he went to Europe
in search of a more active career than offered itself in Canada,
and, entering the French army, fought and was wounded at the
battle of Malplaquet. Returning to Canada, he took to the
adventurous life of a "courreur des bois," and in 1726 we find
him in command of the trading post of Nipigon, on the northern
shore of Lake Superior. His thoughts were turned towards
western discovery by the reports of an Indian chief, Ochagach
by name, who came from Kaministikwia with accounts of a great
water that ebbed and flowed, and which La Verendrye was
sanguine enough to take for the Western Ocean, though if the
report had any foundation it probably referred to Lake Winnipeg,
whose waters have been known to rise and fall locally under the
influence of the wind. Fired with the ambition of making his
way to this sea, La Ve'rendrye went to Quebec and submitted
a scheme for western discovery to the governor, the Marquis
Le Beauharnois. Although personally favourable, all the support
the governor could obtain for the would-be explorer was the grant
of a trading monopoly, armed with which the latter succeeded in
persuading certain merchants of Montreal to supply funds for the
venture, and returned to his post to make preparations.
It was in the summer of 1731, that, accompanied by his
nephew De la Jemeraye and three of his sons, La Verendrye
started from Grand Portage at the mouth of the Pigeon River,
near the west end of Lake Superior, for a first advance west-
ward. In this year he reached Rainy Lake, and after building
Fort St Pierre at the Rainy River exit, returned to winter at
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, I7OO-180O 325
Kaministikwia. In June, 1732, his party was again at Fort
St Pierre, whence the Rainy River was descended to the Lake
of the Woods (Minitie or Ministik, meaning really "lake of
islands "). Here, on the south-west side of the lake, another fort,
Fort St Charles, was built. From this as a base, Jean Baptiste,
the explorer's eldest son, descended the Winnipeg River (named
Maurepas in honour of the French Minister) to the lake of the
same name, being the first who is known with certainty to have
reached its shores. La Ve'rendrye's supplies were now exhausted,
and he once more went down to Montreal, where he with
difficulty persuaded the merchants to equip a new expedition.
Returning to Fort St Charles in 1736, he found the garrison in
straits for supplies, while his son arrived from Fort Maurepas —
which had been built at the mouth of the Winnipeg River — with
the unfortunate news of the death of La Jemeraye. Another
disaster soon followed, for his eldest son, Jean Baptiste, having
started to meet the supphes, was attacked by Sioux and himself
and his whole party massacred. La Verendrye's other two sons
had, however, done some good work in the exploration of Lake
Winnipeg, and of the Assiniboine River as far as the site of the
future Portage la Prairie, where a new post, Fort la Reine, was
soon to serve as a starting point for still more extended journeys.
The future highway west of Winnipeg, followed eventually by the
Canadian Pacific Railway, was thus already being opened up by
slow degrees.
The year 1737 was partly occupied by a journey to Montreal,
and it was not until October, 1738, that La Ve'rendrye found
himself able to undertake further explorations, which now took a
direction well to the south of west. He then set out, with his
two sons and a party of Canadians and Assiniboines, for the
country of the Mandans who dwelt on the Upper Missouri,
within the modern state of North Dakota. Following an Indian
trail across the prairie, the explorers reached on December 3 one
of the Mandan villages, whose chief had met them on the way.
The 1 00th meridian west of Greenwich had now been crossed
for the first time in this latitude, and considerably more than half
the distance between Montreal and the shores of the Pacific had
been traversed ; but though some farther advance was shortly
326 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
afterwards made by this route, it was not by it that the Western
Ocean was first to be reached.
The desertion of the Assiniboine interpreters prevented the
explorers from making satisfactory enquiries of the Mandans, and
although it was the depth of winter, La Verendrye decided to
return to his base. His own severe illness, and the freezing
winds encountered on the bleak and snow-covered prairie, made
the journey one of the most trying imaginable, but by dogged
determination the party at length reached Fort la Reine on
February 19, 1739. The state of the leader's health put it out
of the question for him to continue the task of exploration, which
now devolved on his sons. In the autumn of 1739, two men,
who had been left with the Mandans, returned with news of the
arrival among that tribe of strange Indians who told of bearded
white men living by the shores of the sea. La Verendrye at once
sent his son Pierre to renew the attempt in that direction, but he
was unable to procure guides at the Mandan villages, and there-
fore returned unsuccessful.
During the next two years nothing further was attempted, but
in 1742 La Verendrye's two sons set out on what proved to be
their most important expedition. Reaching the Mandan villages
once more, they waited some time expecting the arrival of Indians
from the country in front (spoken of as " Gens des Chevaux "),
but being disappointed of this they set out with Mandan guides.
Passing the Little Missouri, and noticing the many-coloured
earths of that region, they reached the country of the " Beaux
Hommes," who seem to have been Indians of the Crow family.
Continuing on a south-west course they eventually reached a
village of the "Gens de I'Arc " or Bow Indians, and joined a war-
party proceeding westward against the dreaded " Snake " Indians.
In the company of this party the French explorers came to the
foot of a range of mountains with snow-clad peaks, and sides
covered with firs and pines. Here they found a deserted camp
of their enemies, and suspecting that its recent occupiers were
making a raid on their own villages, the " Bows " beat a hasty
retreat, much to the chagrin of the Frenchmen, who had hoped
to find the ocean on the other side of the mountains. It is not
certain how far west the La Ve'rendryes had penetrated, some
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-1800 327
historians thinking that they pushed almost to the source of the
Missouri, at the foot of the main chain of the Rocky Mountains,
others that the Bighorn Mountains, further east and south, formed
the Hmit of the adventurous journey. In any case it was only an
isolated episode, and for a number of years no further advance in
the same direction took place.
The return journey was made by a somewhat different route.
The Missouri was struck either above or below the Mandan
villages, to which the travellers then followed its banks. They
were once more at their starting-point at Fort St Pierre on
July 2, 1743.
Meanwhile some progress had also been made by a more
northern route. Before 1738, the La Verendryes had discovered
Lake Manitoba (called on their maps Lac des Prairies), on the
shore of which Fort Dauphin was soon afterwards established.
Before long one of the sons seems to have reached the
Saskatchewan, though no particulars of the journey are known.
Before 1749, it had been explored to the junction of the two
main branches, while a fort (Fort Bourbon) had been built on
its lower course, and another (Fort Paskoia) at the point since
known as Le Pas. These several achievements mark the close of
the exploring activity of La Ve'rendrye and his sons. A tardy
recognition of the value of their work was forthcoming in the
bestowal on the father of the rank of Captain, and his decoration
with the Cross of St Louis. But though proposals for a new
expedition were entertained and La Verendrye set about the
necessary preparations, the final break-down of his health
frustrated his hopes, and he died at the end of the same year
(1749). With little outside help or encouragement he had
accomplished work which entitles him to be regarded as one of
the most meritorious of the pioneers of Western discovery in
North America.
After La Verendrye's death an act of great injustice was com-
mitted by the new governor. La Jonquiere, who not only refused
permission to the explorer's sons to continue their father's work,
but made over all their posts and effects to one Jacques de St
Pierre, who was ordered to continue the search for a way to the
west. In 1750 he started for Fort la Reine, and sent on the
328 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
Chevalier de Niverville to continue the exploration of the Sas-
katchewan. The journey was made in winter, and the upper fort
on the Saskatchewan was reached with great difficulty. In the
spring of 1751 De Niverville, being himself ill, sent on some of
his men to ascend the Saskatchewan beyond the La Verendryes'
farthest, and they are said to have reached a spot not far from
the Rocky Mountains, and to have built a fort. Opinions differ
as to whether this was on the North or the South Saskatchewan,
but the probability seems slightly in favour of the latter. At this
fort, which was named after La Jonquiere, accounts were given
by the Indians of white men living on an island near the west
coast, with whom trade was carried on, but it is doubtful whether
these had any real foundation.
This was the only exploring achievement effected during the
term of office of St Pierre, who seems to have been injudicious in
his dealings with the Indians, making them little disposed to aid
in the task. His successor, De la Corne, also did little or nothing,
and jio further progress had been made when the cession of
Canada to Great Britain in 1763, as a result of Wolfe's victorious
campaign, changed the whole course of future exploration in this
region.
Before continuing the story of the advance by this southern
route, it will be necessary to consider briefly the progress made by
British explorers towards a better knowledge of the interior from
the base afforded by Hudson Bay, where, it will be remembered,
the agents of the Hudson Bay Company had been at work since the
sixties of the seventeenth century ; suffering, however, many checks
from the aggressions of the French. The first half-century of the
Company's existence was marked by practically no step forward
from the point of view of exploration, the Company's activity being
almost entirely confined to the shores of the bay. A single excep-
tion is formed by the journeys of Henry Kellsey, a young man
in the service of the Company, who associated himself with the
Indians, and in their company ventured some distance into the
interior, though much uncertainty exists as to the extent and
precise direction of his travels. The most important journey
seems to have been made in 1690-92, when he is said to have
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 329
reached the country of the Assiniboines (whether on his own
account or under orders from his superiors is not quite certain),
his object being to persuade the Indians of the interior to trade.
The probability is that he pushed north-west to the borders of the
" Barren Lands," though some have supposed his route to have
been rather west or south-west. An interesting fact is his meeting
with herds of " buffalo " (properly bison). In any case he was the
first to explore any part of the interior from the Hudson Bay
base, though the accounts he gave were too vague to be of much
practical value, and it was long before this small beginning of
exploration was followed up.
Some attempt to explore the coasts of Hudson Bay, with a
view to finally settling the question of a sea passage to the west,
were made in the first half of the next century, though they led to
little more than negative results. In 17 19, Captain James Knight,
a veteran of nearly 80, had sailed with the Albany and Discovery^
in the hope of discovering the long talked of strait of Anian.
But he met with disaster at Marble Island, where he wintered,
and where the entire expedition died eventually from disease and
starvation. Captain Scroggs made a vain search for the lost ex-
pedition in 1721-22, and not until 1767 was its fate ascertained
by the discovery of relics at Marble Island. While the Company
appears to have been lukewarm in its efforts to find a passage, an
energetic advocate of more vigorous action appeared in the person
of Arthur Dobbs, a fierce critic of the Company's methods, who,
in 1 741, after agitating for some years, persuaded the British
Admiralty to fit out an expedition, which was placed under the
command of Captain Christopher Middleton. Sailing with the
Fur?iace and Discovery^ Middleton reached Churchill in September,
1 741, and started for the north in July, 1742. He discovered
Roe's Welcome, Wager Bay, Repulse Bay, and Frozen Strait, but
proved that no passage to the west led out of this part of Hudson
Bay. He landed to the south of Cape Frigid, on an island which
he took to be part of Southampton Island, but which has since
proved to be separate. This voyage was valuable as bringing to
light the largest previously unknown portion of the western shores
of the bay, and so completing the work of Bylot, Foxe, and
James, more than a century earHer. A still later voyage, carried
330 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O [CHAP.
out by Captain Charles Duncan in 1790, had no result of
importance \
It was not until after the middle of the eighteenth century
that the first journey of real importance into the interior west of
Hudson Bay was made. It was carried out by Anthony Hendry,
of whose earlier history, as in the case of so many of the successful
adventurers of the time, Httle is now known. It appears that he
had been outlawed in 1748 for smuggling, but only six years later
we find him suflficiently trusted by the Hudson Bay Company to
be employed as leader of the important expedition now to be
described. In June, 1754, he left York Factory for the interior
with a party of Indians. His route has not been ascertained with
certainty, but in the opinion of the most competent writers it was
probably as follows. Ascending first the Hayes, and then the
Steel River, Hendry entered the woods, and after effecting various
portages necessitated by rapids and shallows, reached a lake which
he spoke of as Deer Lake, but which seems to have been that now
known as Oxford. Hence he reached a lake which he called
Christianaux, but which can hardly be Winnipeg, to which the
French had previously applied that name ; the route taken being
probably that by Cross Lake, Pine River, and Moose Lake to the
Saskatchewan, which river Hendry was the first Englishman to set
eyes on. He ascended it to one of the forts already established
by the French, the officer in charge of which, though polite, was
inclined to oppose his advance. But he did not venture to use
force, and Hendry continued his journey to the south-west, passing
Saskeran Lake and Carrot River. Leaving his canoe, he struck out
across the plains — finding plenty of game, and coming in touch
with the Assiniboines — and for the first time explored the country
between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan.
Going south-west across the Pasquia hills, on August 15,
Hendry came upon the first "buffalo." Touching first the South
and afterwards the North Saskatchewan, he advanced over a
pleasant country, abounding in game, and early in September met
with a party of Indians, whom he names Archithinue, but who
without doubt belonged to the tribe afterwards widely known as
^ For Duncan's work on this coast in 1791-2 see Appendix.
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 33 1
the Blackfeet, witli whom he was soon to form an intimate
acquaintance. On October 1 1 he crossed a river, which seems to
have been the Red Deer, and three days later came up with the
main body of the Blackfeet. On November 21 he reached his
farthest west, probably not far short of 114° W. and a httle south
of 52° N. Hendry spent the winter in the Blackfeet country,
travelling in various directions, and pushing north as far as Devil's
Pine Lake. On April 28, 1755, he embarked on the Red Deer
river, and began his homeward journey. The French fort below
the forks of the Saskatchewan was passed, as well as that visited
the year before, and, keeping to the route followed in the outward
journey, Hendry reached York Fort in safety on June 20, 1755,
having performed a most creditable piece of work.
Thus even before the British conquest of Canada, an English
explorer had equalled, if not outdone, the French in western
discovery, and though for a few years the latter continued their
westward advance, it was under the new political regh?ie that the
great object of ambition, the attainment of the western ocean, was
at last achieved. It was to the agents of the future North-West
Company, the great rival of the Hudson Bay Company, that
most of the honours subsequently fell, but some later journeys
by agents of the older company may here be spoken of.
The first in point of time, that of Samuel Hearne in 1770,
covered a different field, far to the north, and before speaking of
this another journey in the basin of the Saskatchewan, carried
out by Matthew Cocking in 1772, must be mentioned, as it was
in many ways a counterpart of that of Hendry. Cocking was
" second factor " under the Hudson Bay Company at Fort York,
and the object of the journey was "to take a view of the inland
country, and to promote the Hudson Bay Company's interests,
whose trade is diminishing by the Canadians yearly intercepting
natives on their way to the settlements." (This refers to the
activity of the British traders from Montreal, to be spoken of
later.) Cocking started on June 27, 1772, and, ascending the
Hayes River, made his way by various other rivers and portages,
including part of the Nelson River, to the lower Saskatchewan ; his
route probably differing somewhat, though to no great extent, from
that of Hendry. From a point near the French Fort a la Corne
332 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O [CHAP.
he went south-west, again by a different route from Hendry's,
into the country between the north and south branches of the
Saskatchewan. His farthest was by no means so remote as
Hendry's, for he seems to have turned before reaching 110° W.,
making his way back to Fort a la Corne by a route somewhat to
the north of his outward one. He added considerably to the
knowledge of the country within the two branches of the Sas-
katchewan (which he found already being overrun by rival traders
from Canada) and saw a good deal of the Blackfeet Indians, of
whom he has much to tell in his journal. But he can hardly rank
among the great explorers of Canada, either French or English.
Samuel Hearne, the explorer of the north referred to in the
last paragraph, was perhaps the most meritorious, as he is the best
known, of all the agents of the Hudson Bay Company who
devoted themselves to the task of exploration before the amalga-
mation of that company with its great rival, the North-West
Company, in the early part of the nineteenth century. Again we
have to be content with somewhat meagre details regarding his
earlier career, and we only know that, having been left an orphan
at an early age, he entered the navy as a midshipman under the
future Lord Hood, but after a few years left the service and
obtained employment under the Hudson Bay Company, serving
as mate in a schooner trading with the Eskimo on the shores of
the bay. It is in 1769 that he first comes on the scene as an
explorer, being then commissioned to go north-west in search of
a river spoken of by the natives as flowing through a country
abounding in copper ore, while he was also instructed to aim at a
solution of the question of a passage westward out of Hudson
Bay. Attempts in the same direction may possibly have been
made before, for we know that tales of rich copper mines had
engaged the attention of the Company's officers for some time,
and the Indians of the north-west are said to have been visited
before Hearne's time, both by Richard and by Moses Norton,
the latter of whom, as governor of Fort Prince of Wales, near the
mouth of the Churchill, was largely instrumental in sending
Hearne on his present quest.
The explorer started on his first journey on November 6, 1769,
with two Englishmen and a party of Indians, but before long the
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, I70O-180O 333
latter began to give trouble, and eventually deserted, so that
Hearne was forced to return. He soon set out again (February 23,
1770), this time with five Indians only, going west up Seal River to
Lake Shethani, where he waited till the rigour of winter should
be past. Starting again, he turned north, and on June 30 reached
the Kathawachaga or Kazan river, at a spot which he placed in
63° 4 N., but which seems to have really been more than a degree
further south. By the end of July he seems to have reached the
north end of Dubawnt Lake, but, having the misfortune to break
his quadrant on August 11, decided to return. Travelling by
a somewhat different route, he once more reached Fort Prince of
The Great Slave Lake in "Winter.
(From Hearne's Journey to the Northern Ocean. )
Wales on November 25, the journey having been a failure as
regards its main objects, though a certain amount of new ground
had been covered.
During the return march Hearne had been joined by an Indian
chief, Matonabi, who gave as one cause of his failure the omission
to take the wives of the Indians to help with the transport, etc.
It was therefore arranged that this chief and his followers, with
their women, should accompany the explorer on a third venture,
and a renewed start was made on December 7, 1770. A more
southerly route than had been followed earlier in the year brought
334 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, I7OO-180O [CHAP.
the explorer to Nueltin or Bland Lake on December 31, and on
February 6, 1771, the Kazan was once more crossed. In May
the party was joined by a band of Chipewyans, bent on attacking
the Eskimo of the country to the north, and the rate of progress
was increased by leaving behind the women and the heavier
baggage. Journeying north, and crossing the Arctic circle, the
party encountered the Copper Indians towards the end of June,
and reached the Coppermine river on July 13, pushing on to its
mouth on the i8th, after a heartless massacre of the Eskimo had
been perpetrated — without Hearne's connivance — by the Indian
aUies. The Arctic Ocean had for the first time been reached in
this quarter of the globe.
The position assigned by Hearne to the mouth of the river
(nearly 72° N.)is something like 4° too far north, and his mapping
generally seems to have been loose and inaccurate, but he had
performed a notable exploit in traversing so great an extent of
hitherto unknown country, some of which has hardly been visited
since his time. His examination of the copper deposits, however,
proved very disappointing.
On the return march Hearne adopted a new route, to the west
of south, which led him through more new country and resulted
in the discovery (December 24, 1771) of one of the great lakes of
the Canadian North-West. It is spoken of by him as the Great
Athapuscow, and has therefore naturally been identified with Lake
Athabasca, though from the general direction of Hearne's route it
is practically certain that it was really the Great Slave Lake.
After crossing the lake — to which he assigns the fairly correct
length of T20 leagues — he ascended the river which enters it from
the south for 40 leagues, and then went east, through a country
still little known, to the Kazan, and so to Fort Prince of Wales.
It is on this adventurous journey that Hearne's fame mainly
rests, but he continued for some time to take an active part in the
affairs of the company. Two years later, being sent to form a
post inland, he chose a site on Cumberland Lake, just north of the
lower Saskatchewan, and there built Cumberland House, long
important as a rendezvous of the fur traders. In 1775 ^^ ^^^^
governor of Fort Prince of Wales, and was in command of this
at the time of the hostile descent of La Perouse in 1782 (see
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-1800 335
Chapter xi), when, being quite unprepared for resistance, he
submitted to the unpleasant necessity of surrendering both the
fort and its contents to the French commander. La Pe'rouse
courteously allowed him to keep the journals of his northern
journeys, urging him to publish them, which he did after some
delay.
From this time onward exploration from the side of Hudson
Bay is so interwoven with that from Canada — the two series
overlapping both in time and place — that it is not always easy
to determine to which side the priority in any particular dis-
covery belongs. After Hearne's journey, the northern company
was content to rest on its laurels for some years, while the keen
British traders who had succeeded to the heritage of the French
in Canada pushed not only west, but north, into the field already
to some extent exploited by their rivals. It will therefore be
necessary, the better to preserve chronological sequence, to speak
of the doings of these southerners during the decades immediately
following the English conquest of Canada.
Before anything had yet been achieved by the Canadian
traders, an ambitious scheme of exploration had been proposed to
himself by an outsider, one Jonathan Carver, of Connecticut,
whose idea was to push west to the Pacific from the Upper
Mississippi. He started in 1766, and, according to his own
statement, ascended the St Pierre (Minnesota) river to the
country of the Sioux ; but, finding it impossible to advance farther,
returned to the Mississippi and thence to Lake Superior, hoping
to make his way westward from that base. Unable to obtain
supplies, he abandoned the attempt and returned to Boston
(October, 1768). He published a volume of travels, illustrated
by a map — neither entirely trustworthy — and he cannot be said to
have made any important contribution to geographical knowledge.
Among the first British traders to push west from Canada into
the region of the Saskatchewan were, according to the scanty indi-
cations we possess, James Finlay and Thomas Curry, who were
already in the country when Matthew Cocking, the agent of the
Hudson Bay Company, made the journey already spoken of.
Other traders were Peter Pond, a native of Connecticut, who
seems to have entered this country in 1768, and Thomas and
336 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O [CHAP.
Joseph Frobisher, the last of whom pushed north to the Churchill
in 1774. After them came Alexander Henry (the elder of that
name), who in 1775 reached Cumberland House, the post built
by Hearne in 1774, by vvay of Grand Portage, Lake of the Woods,
and Lake Winnipeg. He was accompanied during the latter part
of the way by Pond and the Frobishers. Further journeys in
various directions were made by these men^ either independently
or in company. In 1776, Henry and the Frobishers went by
Frog Portage to the Churchill and lie a la Crosse Lake, in the
country of the Chipewyans, from whom Henry obtained some
information regarding the geography of the country, being told of
Lake Athabasca, Slave River and Lake, the Peace River, and the
Rocky Mountains. A fort— destined to be of great importance —
was soon afterwards built by Thomas Frobisher on lie a la Crosse
Lake.
In 1778, Pond started on a more extended journey, which
resulted in the exploration of a good deal of new country. Having
reached Lake lie a la Crosse, he continued his route north-west to
Lakes Clear, Buffalo, and La Loche, and across the " Height of
Land " (as the water-parting was called) to the Clearwater river.
The portage across the divide, known as Portage La Loche or
Methye portage, was soon to become the universally frequented
route from the Saskatchewan to Lake Athabasca and the region
beyond. By the Clearwater he descended to the Athabasca, and,
at a point not far from its entry into the lake of the same name,
built a fort, in which he and his men spent the winter. Hence,
in course of time, he made his way to Lake Athabasca and
possibly as far as the Peace River, though much uncertainty has
hitherto prevailed as to his exact movements \
It was about this time, namely in the winter of 1783-84, that
the various Montreal merchants, chief among whom was Simon
McTavish, decided to unite their forces and form a trading
company, which received the name of the " North- West Company."
Pond and some others, however, held aloof, forming themselves
into a rival association, the most energetic member of which was
Alexander Mackenzie, a young Scotsman destined to become the
1 Pond's journals have lately been brought to light and printed in America.
XIIl] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 337
most famous of all the adventurers in the far north-west. His
cousin, Roderick Mackenzie, was another partner, and likewise
played an important part in western enterprise. After three years
of rivalry the two bodies united in 1787, though dissensions arose
later and led once more to disruption.
Pond — who, after leading the opposition for a time, seems to
have soon gone over to the North- West Company— continued to
Alexander Mackenzie.
(From the engraving after Lawrence in his Voyages through the Continent
of North A 7n eric a.)
be active in its behalf until 1788, when he retired, returning to
New England in 1790. He was of a somewhat intractable dis-
position, and was implicated in more than one affray which
resulted in the death of a fellow-trader. He was the author of
several maps, in which his explorations were laid down, but, as he
H. 22
338 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
was not an expert in surveying, his representation of the geography
is far from accurate as regards the positions assigned to the
various features. Lake Athabasca, for example, is placed far too
near the shores of the Pacific.
Alexander Mackenzie, who in 1785 had taken charge of the
Churchill River district on behalf of his partners, soon began to
look farther afield, and to make plans for an expedition to the
shores of the Arctic Ocean. His cousin Roderick having, in 1 788,
founded Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca for the purpose of
trade with the Chipewyan Indians, he proceeded thither and set
about the preparations for his proposed journey, which was to take
him north by way of the Great Slave Lake, to which region traders
had already begun to penetrate. One of the first to make his way
thither after Hearne's discovery of the lake in 1772 was Laurent
Leroux, who was now to accompany Mackenzie thus far on his
journey and build a fort on the lake shore. The party, which
included also a German named Steinbriick and several Canadian
voyageurs and Indians, left Fort Chipewyan on June 3, 1789, and
soon entered the Slave River at the western end of Athabasca.
Passing the mouth of the strongly-flowing Peace River, they
descended the broad stream, making portages past its dangerous
rapids to the Great Slave Lake, beyond which all was virtually
unknown ground. The weather was still very severe and the lake
in great part still covered with ice, so that the crossing was only
with difficulty effected, halts being several times necessary at islands
on the route. Approaching the northern shore, and coasting to
the westward, the voyagers proceeded up the North Arm of the
Great Slave Lake, where they met a number of Red Knife
or Copper Indians, with whom trade was opened. On June 25
Mackenzie once more started onwards, leaving Leroux to estabhsh
a post among the Copper Indians, while he returned down the
western side of the north arm to the main body of the lake. After
some days spent in coasting to the south-west, the wished-for
outlet of the lake was at last reached. This river, to which
Mackenzie's own name has fittingly been given, gradually narrowed,
while its current increased in rapidity. The Horn Mountains, on
the right bank, and the mouth of the Liard River, on the left, were
passed in succession. Indians were seen, but most of them fled
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O 339
at the voyagers' approach, while others, by magnifying the dangers
ahead, terrified Mackenzie's Indians, and much firmness was
needed to prevent their deserting. On July 3, mountains were
seen near the left bank, and Mackenzie ascended a hill which rose
almost perpendicularly from the river, gaining an extensive view.
Warm weather now gave place to great cold, but the explorer
pushed on with great determination, passing the mouth of the
clear-flowing Great Bear River (coming from Great Bear Lake),
and occasionally meeting Indians, who still preserved a shy and
suspicious attitude. After passing the rapids since known as
Sans Sault, which presented but trifling difficulties, the voyagers
entered the narrow defile in which the river passes for some
distance between perpendicular limestone cliffs, now known as the
Ramparts. Beyond these, on entering the lowland which borders
the Arctic coast of the continent, the river widened out and split
into many different channels. From a new tribe of Indians now
met with, intelligence of the Arctic Ocean was at last obtained.
Supplies were by this time almost exhausted, but though his
Indians became discontented at the continuance of the voyage,
Mackenzie was determined to persevere. At last, on July 12,
having passed the 69th parallel of north latitude, his little flotilla
reached a point where the river widened out into a lake-like
expanse, across which it proceeded to a high island, whence a
wide view was obtained. This was evidently at the mouth of the
river, and the object for which the leader had been striving had
thus been attained, but he seems to have been hardly convinced
that he had really reached the ocean. An observation taken on
the 13th gave the latitude as 69° 14' N. Numbers of small whales
were seen, and the island on which the party had landed was
named Whale Island. On it a post was erected with a record of
the visit, and, a search for Eskimos among the neighbouring
islands having proved fruitless, on July 16 Mackenzie reluctantly
began his return voyage. He had traced the great river which
bears his name for a distance, by the windings of its course,
of over 1000 miles from its exit from Great Slave Lake.
The re-ascent of the Mackenzie, above the apex of its delta,
involved severe labour owing to the strength of the current. From
the inhabitants of an Indian village Mackenzie heard some vague
340 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O [CHAP.
accounts of the sea to the west, and of visits to it by white
men (probably the fur-traders on the coast of Alaska), as also of
a great river which seems to have been the Yukon. A little above
Bear River the right bank of the Mackenzie was noticed to be
burning, as it has by more recent explorers, this being due to
the seams of lignite which there crop out. On reaching Great
Slave Lake, August 22, Leroux was met, returning with Indians
from a hunting expedition, and at his house Mackenzie dismissed
his Indians. He was once more back at Fort Chipewyan on
September 12, having been absent on his expedition some three
months and a half.
This journey, important as it was from a geographical point of
view, seems to have attracted but little notice at the time, but
Mackenzie's exploring ardour was not thus to be checked. For
a time he was content to wait, quietly maturing his plans for
a new venture, and in 1 791-2 paid a visit to England for the
purpose of procuring instruments, and otherwise qualifying himself
for the task before him. This time his plan was to ascend the
Peace River (the main feeder of the Mackenzie, which it joins
shortly after the latter's exit from Lake Athabasca) towards the
Rocky Mountains, and push west across these until the Western
Ocean should be gained. Having made his final preparations at
Fort Chipewyan, he left that post in October 1792, and pro-
ceeded by canoe across the western end of Lake Athabasca, and
by its emissary to the Peace River. Pushing rapidly up this, as
winter was now approaching, he passed the highest posts pre-
viously established on its course, and, after reaching the mouth
of the Smoky River, decided to go into quarters for the winter.
A fort was built at a point between 17° and 18° W., and here he
and his men stopped until the spring was advanced enough to
permit the continuance of the journey. During the stay Mackenzie
was visited by Indians who told him of the lake (belonging to the
basin of the Athabasca River) now known as the Lesser Slave
Lake, and also of a river flowing west beyond the mountains.
Having secured the services of two Indians as guides, Mackenzie
set out in a newly-built canoe on May 9, 1793, accompanied,
in addition to the Indians, by Alexander Mackay and six French
Canadians. Continuing to ascend the Peace, through hitherto
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 34I
unexplored country abounding in game and displaying much
beautiful scenery, the explorers found the river constantly broken
by rapids during its passage through the Rocky Mountains, and
only with great difficulty was the advance carried out, the canoe
being often within an ace of destruction in the foaming waters.
7^^
^/7Ca
Western part of Mackenzie's Map, showing his routes.
{Outline sketch.)
First Expedition
Second Expedition .-.-.-.-.-.
The men grew discontented, and urged a return, but Mackenzie
would listen to no such proposal, but decided to cut a road
through the bush on the motmtain side so as to transport the
canoe and goods to the smoother water above the gorge. This
342 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
was accomplished by heroic eftbrts, and they at length reached
the point of junction of the two upper branches of the Peace,
since known as the Parsnip and the Finlay — the latter named
after its first explorer some years later.
Somewhat against his own inclination, Mackenzie decided to
follow the advice of the Indians and ascend the southern branch —
the Parsnip. This river was in flood and its violent current could
only be stemmed by immense exertion. Meeting at last with
Indians who had never before seen a white man, Mackenzie
obtained somewhat vague reports of the westward-flowing river
of which he was in search. He soon afterwards reached the source
of the Parsnip, and had thus in his two journeys followed the
whole course of the Mackenzie, from the source of one of its
principal head-streams to its mouth in the Arctic Ocean. Dragging
the canoe across the continental divide, Mackenzie was the first
white man to reach, by an overland route, a stream flowing west
to the Pacific in the northern half of North America. It was a
rapid mountain river, a tributary of the important stream after-
wards known as the Fraser, from its explorer a few years later.
Its descent nearly led to irretrievable disaster, the canoe being
almost dashed to pieces on the rocks of a cataract. The men
were ready to mutiny, but once more the leader, by sheer force of
character, prevailed on them to go on, and at length, after incre-
dible difficulties, the more easily navigable waters of the Fraser
— thought by Mackenzie to be identical with the Columbia of
Pacific navigators — were gained. The explorers' struggles were
still not over, for rapids again necessitated a portage, and on
meeting with Indians it was only by the exercise of the utmost
patience and tact that they could be induced to lay aside their
suspicions and open a friendly intercourse.
The accounts now received of the difficult navigation of the
Fraser, and the report of an easier route west across the mountains,
decided Mackenzie to abandon the attempt to trace the river
seawards. To find the Indian trail it was necessary to re-ascend
it some distance, and to build a new canoe. Meanwhile the
Indians again proved suspicious, and it was with great difficulty
that a guide could be induced to accompany the party. The
march was begun on July 4, the men being heavily laden, while
XIIl] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, I70O-180O 343
short rations and the inclennency of the weather added to their
troubles. They were cheered, however, by reports of the sea and
of white men frequenting the coast. The travellers ascended the
valley of the Blackwater, a right-bank tributary of the Fraser, and
after crossing a secondary divide, came upon a friendly tribe of
coast Indians, dwelling on the banks of the Bella Coola River.
From them canoes were obtained, and the descent of the Bella
Coola was continued until, on July 20, its mouth was reached,
and the western coast — the object of so many ardent aspirations —
was thus at last gained. The point at which it was struck had
been visited a little time before by Vancouver, and the surveys of
explorers from east and west were thus for the first time linked
together.
The Indians here proved unfriendly, so, after fixing his position
as about 52° 21' north latitude, and painting on a rock the simple
but pregnant inscription, " Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada,
by land, the twenty-second of July, one thousand seven hundred
and ninety-three," the traveller at once began his homeward
journey. The Indians on the Bella Coola caused some trouble,
but were overawed by Mackenzie's resolute attitude, and the
march was continued with all speed, the supplies being by this
time nearly exhausted. By August 14 the party had already
reached the Fraser, and by the 17th, the Parsnip. The descent
of the latter and of the Peace was effected at a very different rate
of progress from that maintained during their toilsome ascent, and
on August 24 the fort on the Peace River was gained and the toils
and dangers of the expedition were at an end. The return from
the Pacific had occupied little more than a month.
This second expedition of Mackenzie was one of the most
important ever carried out in this part of North America, and its
ultimate results were of a far-reaching character. The determina-
tion with which he overcame the most serious obstacles places
him in the front rank of pioneer explorers. After he had thus
shown the way to the Western Ocean, others soon followed in his
footsteps, and it was not long before the general features of the
Rocky Mountain zone and Pacific slope in the modern province
of British Columbia were disclosed to the world. But the story
of the future exploration of this region — associated above all with
344 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O [CHAP.
the names of David Thompson, Alexander Henr)^ the younger,
and Simon Fraser — belongs almost entirely to the next century
and thus lies outside the limits of our period.
A new period of exploration in the far west was ushered in by
Mackenzie's epoch-making journey, but a good deal remained to
be done before even the pioneer work in the region east of the
mountains could be said to be finished. At the period at which
we have now arrived some tardy steps were taken by the Hudson
Bay Company to do its share in the exploration of the western
interior. At the instance of the Colonial Office in London, the
Company commissioned a surveyor, PhiUp Turner by name, who
had been for some time in its service, to explore the country
between Cumberland House and the Great Slave Lake. He
travelled over this country in 1790-92, and the resulting map
gave for the first time an approximately correct representation of
Lake Athabasca, with the river system of the southern part of the
Mackenzie basin, while other details were filled in from informa-
tion collected. He was succeeded by Peter Fidler, who seems to
have assisted him in a part of his work, and who executed
important surveys for the Company, though the full details of
his explorations — which appear to have begun in 1792 — are not
now known. From the map which he constructed, and a few
other indications, it appears that his journeys covered a very wide
area, both in the basin of the Saskatchewan and, further north, in
those of the Mackenzie, Churchill, and other rivers emptying
themselves into Hudson Bay. In the west they extended to the
Lesser Slave Lake and the lower course of the Peace River, and
in the east they resulted in the first map of the lower Churchill,
and in an improved representation of various other rivers and
lakes between Athabasca and the shores of Hudson Bay. Fidler
continued his labours till well into the next century, and though
a good deal of the ground covered was not entirely new, his
surveys were a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the
geography of this region.
During the same period, equally extensive journeys, in part
over the same field, were made by David Thompson, one of the
most active and determined explorers produced either by the
Hudson Bay Company or its great rival. Few, in fact, of the
XIIl] NORTHERN .NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 345
world's explorers by land have covered such a great extent
of unknown or imperfectly-known country, or continued their
activity through so long a period as did David Thompson. The
first part of his career was spent in the service of the Hudson
Bay Company, and though much of his time was necessarily given
up to trading and the founding of stations, he showed throughout
the greatest zeal in laying down his routes, and in fixing his
positions by astronomical observations. In 1797, after his
wanderings had taken him over the length and breadth of the
region between Hudson Bay and the Rocky Mountains, he left
the Hudson Bay Company's service, in which his passion for
exploration no longer found sufficient scope, and joined the
North-West Company, which was more ready to encourage such
enterprise as Thompson had at heart. In its service a wide field
for exploration opened before him in the almost unknown wilder-
nesses stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, but,
as has been said above, this part of the history falls within the
nineteenth century and cannot be dealt with here.
By the close of the eighteenth century the broad outlines of
the geography of the vast region between Hudson Bay, the Great
Lakes, the Arctic Ocean, and the Rocky Mountains had thus been
sketched in, while the pioneer journey of Mackenzie to the Pacific
had already paved the way for the opening up of the region still
farther west. Political events had brought it about that the work
during the latter part of the century had fallen entirely to British
subjects, while British traders and surveyors, working inde-
pendently from the side of the Pacific, had likewise secured an
undisputed position on its more northern coasts, and thus helped
to lay the foundation of a British Dominion from shore to shore
of the continent.
II. The Mississippi Basin.
While the latter part of the eighteenth century was thus a
period of rapid advance into the far north-west of Canada,
nothing at all comparable to these achievements took place in
the more southern region of the continent, now occupied by the
United States. As in the earlier period, when the French were
rapidly pushing outwards in Canada and on the Mississippi, the
346 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O [CHAP.
English settlers on the Atlantic seaboard were long content with
a more gradual and steady expansion. The nearly continuous
range of the AUeghanies formed a natural barrier to the growth
of the Eastern colonies, and long marked the extreme limit of
knowledge from the east, though, as we have seen in an earlier
chapter, the French, as represented by La Salle and his coadjutors,
had by their descent of the Mississippi drawn a band of known
ground round the hinterland of the British colonies. No such
unlimited field was therefore open here to touch the imagination
and fire the ardour of explorers as in the Canadian West, though
an important and arduous task awaited them in the opening up of
the rough wilderness between the AUeghanies and the Mississippi.
A few figures stand out amid the host of nameless pioneers as
having contributed to a knowledge of this region. About the
middle of the eighteenth century many journeys to the region of
the Ohio were made by agents employed to negotiate with the
Indians both before and during the French wars\ Conrad
Wieser, a Wiirtemberger who had settled in Pennsylvania and
became a noted interpreter, was sent to negotiate with the
Indians in 1748. George Croghan, an Irish settler in Penn-
sylvania, also noted as an Indian agent, made a number of
journeys to the Ohio between 1747 and 1765, in which last year
he carried out a rough survey of the river during a tour down it
towards Illinois. In 1758-59 a Moravian missionary, Christian
Frederick Post, undertook embassies to the Indians on the Ohio,
whose neutrality he secured at a critical juncture. He afterwards
founded a mission within the limits of the modern State of Ohio.
Kentucky also began to be systematically explored only about
this time, though it had been reached by individual adventurers
much earlier-. The first to do much with a special view to
exploration was Dr Thomas Walker of Virginia, who in 1748
discovered the pass near the southern end of the Alleghany
^ The French on the Great Lakes had long known the general course of
the Ohio, at least in its upper portions, the river being used as a line of approach
to the region beyond. But neither they nor the early English pioneers had
gone far into the wildernesses on the south side.
^ Among these were Colonel Wood, who penetrated into the country soon
after the middle of the 17th century; and, some years later, traders named
Doherty and Adair.
XIII] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 34/
system, destined to play so important a part in the future history
of the region, and ever since known by Walker's name of Cum-
berland Gap. The Cumberland Mountains and River were also
named by Walker, who two years later made a more extended
exploration, with five companions, to the headwaters of the
Kentucky. Between 1751 and 1767 adventurers spread them-
selves in increasing numbers over these great hunting grounds,
names deserving mention being those of Christopher Gist, Wallen,
Kentucky and its approaches.
James Smith, Harrod, and Finly. But among the host of "back-
woodsmen," who made their order famous for determination and
hardihood, few stood out as markedly more meritorious than their
fellows, and for a time little practical result ensued.
It was to a farmer of North Carolina, Daniel Boon by name,
that the first real impetus towards the opening up of the great
central basin of the modern United States was due. A typical
backwoodsman, passionately devoted to the wandering life of the
348 NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
hunter and explorer, Boon exhibited the daring, fortitude, and
self-rehance of his class in a peculiar degree, coupled with other
qualities which .inspired confidence and enabled him to play a
leading part among his associates. Leaving his home, with five
others, on May i, 1769, and crossing the mountains by difficult
paths. Boon descended westward into the fertile and forest-clad
plain of Kentucky. During his wanderings here he had the
misfortune to be captured by Indians, but, effecting his escape,
joined his brother, who had followed him across the mountains.
In 1773, he decided to move with his family into this new and
promising region, and the first step towards the settlement of
Kentucky was thus taken. Various survey parties soon visited
the country. One of the most active leaders was John Floyd,
who in 1774 led a party down the Kanawha and Ohio to the
Kentucky River and beyond, traversing the country in various
directions as far as the Falls of the Ohio. Floyd made his way
back amid considerable hardships by way of the Cumberland Gap.
About the same time settlements began to be made in the upper
basin of the Tennessee River, between the Cumberland Mountains
on the north-west and the Great Smoky Mountains on the south-
east ; the most active pioneers in this direction being two young
men named John Sevier and James Robertson.
The war between the colonists and Indians which took place
in 1774, and is known as Lord Dunmore's War from the English
Governor of Virginia who carried it through, led to a temporary
withdrawal from Kentucky, though by weakening the power of
the Indians it helped in no small degree to make possible the
further opening up of this central region. In 1775 settlement on
a more extended scale was inaugurated by an enterprising pioneer
named Nathaniel Henderson, who had raised himself by his
personal qualities from a low station. Securing the cooperation
of Boon and others, he obtained a concession from the Indians
and for a time formed a semi-independent republic in the wilder-
ness. During the troublous time of the revolution, from 1775
onwards, operations were extended into the country north of the
Ohio, then occupied by scattered French settlements under British
suzerainty. The daring scheme of the conquest, for the revolted
colonies, of this important tract (lying between the Great Lakes, the
XIIl] NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA, 170O-180O 349
Ohio, and the Mississippi) was due to the enterprising Kentucky
pioneer George Rogers Clark, who in 1778 descended the Ohio
almost to its mouth with a small force of frontiersmen, and made
a bold march north into the heart of this region, taking Vincennes
on the Wabash by surprise, and even holding his own against the
English Governor Hamilton who marched against him from
Detroit. In this way an immense tract of territory, first opened
up from the side of Canada, passed eventually into the possession
of the United States. By the end of the century most of the
country east of the Mississippi had thus been brought within the
ken of civilisation. The lands beyond the Mississippi had, for
the most part, to wait their turn till the new century had begun.
CHAPTER XIV
SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA, 17OO-180O
I. North America.
Besides the maritime efforts spoken of in a previous chapter,
a certain amount of land exploration was effected during the
eighteenth century on the western side of North America from
the base afforded by the Spanish settlements in Northern Mexico.
It will be remembered that, quite in the early days of the Conquest,
Spanish adventurers like Coronado had pushed north into the
basin of the Colorado, but their achievements had to a large
extent fallen into oblivion, and the later explorers had virtually to
begin afresh in this direction. As in other parts of the Spanish
dominions at this epoch, most of the advance was due to the zeal
of the missionaries, particularly the Jesuits, who extended the
bounds of knowledge either by journeys with the special object
of exploration, or incidentally to the prosecution of their more
special work. Some attempts were also made on the part of the
Spanish Government, but the want of energy and settled plan
with which they were prosecuted rendered them in great part
fruitless. It had long been a desired object with the Mexican
authorities to discover a harbour or harbours on the coast of
California at which the ships from the Philippines might refresh
on first striking the coast of North America, and it was with this
purpose that the voyages of Vizcaino in 1596 and 1602 had been
undertaken. Somewhat later, a special object of investigation
was the ascertainment of the true character of the peninsula of
Lower California, for though in the early maps based on Spanish
voyages during the sixteenth century (among others, that of
CH. XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 35 1
Sebastian Cabot in 1544) it had been correctly shown as a penin-
sula, an error was subsequently introduced and persisted throughout
the next century, by which California was held to be an island \
Among the Government expeditions during the latter part of
the seventeenth century the most important was that of Don
Isidro Otondo, in 1683-85, in which three Jesuits, Fathers Kiihn
(Kino in Spanish), Copart, and Goni took part. In the person of
the first-named an actor appeared on the scene who was to play
an important part in the opening up of this region. Attempts
were made to found settlements on the eastern side of the penin-
sula, and parties were also sent into the interior. But the barrenness
and rugged nature of the country stood in the way of success,
and, difficulties with the natives also arising, Otondo eventually
found it necessary to reembark the whole of the intending settlers
and sail back to Mexico. The work of nearly three years was
thus without any direct result. But the expedition was not without
its influence on future events. Kiihn's interest in California was
not allowed to slumber. Having obtained an appointment in the
Sonora Missions on the opposite mainland, he succeeded in com-
municating his own enthusiasm to another Jesuit, Father Juan
Salvatierra, during a visit of inspection by the latter. After many
rebuffs Salvatierra was authorised to establish a mission in the
peninsula, and he set out for that purpose in October, 1697. In
spite of many difficulties, both from the nature of the country and
the fickleness of the natives, he succeeded in establishing the
mission on a more or less solid foundation, aided by Father
Piccolo and others. From the mission of Loreto, on the inner
side of the peninsula, expeditions were made into the interior,
and on one of these a sight of the Pacific was obtained. Mean-
while Father Kiihn had not been idle. With untiring energy
he traversed the length and breadth of Sonora, opening up new
missions towards the north, and using every opportunity of
extending geographical knowledge. On some of his journeys he
w^as accompanied by an officer, Juan Mateo Mange, whose diaries
supply a detailed account of their experiences. In 1694 Kiihn
went north as far as the Gila (the last important tributary of the
^ This was due to a false report that ships had sailed out into the ocean
from the northern end of the Gulf of California.
352 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
Colorado), and in 1697 accompanied a military expedition to that
river. He again made his way to the Gila in 1698, and thence
reached the coast of the gulf, where he found a good port with
fresh water and wood. Determined if possible to settle the
question of the junction of California with the mainland, he set
out again in September, 1700, accompanied by Indians of various
tribes. Reaching the Gila once more, he descended it to its
junction with the Colorado, in the country of the Yuma Indians.
Failing to reach the sea, he turned back and, climbing a high
mountain, obtained a distant view of the mountains of California
and the mouth of the Colorado,
Kiihn was now convinced of the peninsular character of
California, though he had not actually proved its connection with
the mainland. Before the end of 1700 Salvatierra paid a visit to
Sonora and in March, 1701, Kiihn and he undertook a new
journey in concert. They at first tried to cross the wide expanse
of sands near the head of the gulf, but without success, though
Kiihn climbed a hill and gained a view of the opposite coast and
the Californian mountains. Trying again by a more inland route
they obtained another distant view, but were then forced to retrace
their steps. In November of the same year Kiihn went north
again, and, after crossing and recrossing the Gila, followed the
Colorado through the country of the Yumas and Quinquimas,
and crossed to its western bank on a "balsa" constructed of trees.
He found great numbers of Indians inhabiting a level and partially
wooded country, with a good soil, and learned that the South Sea
could be reached in ten days. But having no means of taking his
animals across the Colorado, there a stream 200 yards in width,
he had once more to retrace his steps. Finally in February, 1702,
he made a last attempt, accompanied by Father Gonzales. This
time he followed the Colorado to its mouth, but the serious
illness of his companion once more necessitated a return, the
latter succumbing to the fatigues of the journey on reaching the
first mission station.
By these journeys Kiihn virtually solved the problem which
had so long exercised the minds of his contemporaries, though it
was left to another of the missionaries to finally set at rest all
doubts on the subject.
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 353
Other workers had now joined Father Salvatierra in the
peninsula, the most active among them being Father Ugarte,
who from his station on the mainland had already done much to
help by collecting and forwarding supplies to the advanced posts
in California. In 1703, among other journeys, Salvatierra made
one across the peninsula to its outer coast. Three years later
Ugarte, accompanied by Father Bravo, carried out a further
examination of that coast, but found it barren and unpromising.
His party was reduced to serious straits for want of water and
only made its way back to the gulf after suffering severe hardships.
In 1 719 Father Guillen likewise made an attempt in the same
direction, but though he reached the Magdalena Bay of Vizcaino,
near the southern end of the outer coast, he too found the scarcity
of water an insuperable obstacle. A more successful expedition
on the gulf side of the peninsula was carried out in 1721 by
Ugarte, who sailed from the port of Loreto in May of that year
to survey the coasts to the north. Besides a larger vessel, he had
at his disposal a pinnace and boat, which permitted the survey
of the shallower waters adjoining the coast. After following the
west coast of the gulf for some days, the expedition crossed over
to the mainland side and opened communication with the mission
of Caborca, one of those founded by Kiihn. Ugarte now became
seriously ill, but resolutely stuck to his task. Crossing to the
west side of the gulf in three days, the party experienced much
difficulty on account of the violent tidal currents. The sea also
changed its colour, becoming generally reddish from the effect of
the Colorado water. The vessels anchored at last near the eastern
mouth of the river, which was in flood and carried down large
quantities of grass, leaves, tree-trunks, etc. The junction of the
peninsula with the mainland was ascertained by a distant view,
and the height of the tides was also regarded as indicating that
the gulf was completely closed in to the north. On July 16 Ugarte
turned south, but the troubles of the expedition were not yet over.
Scurvy made its appearance, and with their reduced strength the
voyagers had to combat a succession of storms, which so impeded
their progress that it was not till September that they were once
more back at their starting point.
The general contours of the gulf were now ascertained with
H. 23
The Jesuit Map of Southern California.
(From Venegas's History of California.)
CH. XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 355
more or less accuracy, and much credit is due to Ugarte for the
determined way in which he carried out his task in the face of
many obstacles. His work was somewhat improved upon a quarter
of a century later by Father Consag, who, in view of the contem-
plated completion of the conquest of California, was commissioned
to make a survey of the coasts of the gulf as far as the Colorado
River. This he did in 1746, making besides a fruitless effort to
ascend the Colorado ; the result being, however, to confirm the
general correctness of Ugarte's statements. Consag afterwards
(1751-53) made journeys on the outer coast of the peninsula,
towards the north, while in 1756 Father Wenzel (Wenceslaus)
Link partially explored the northern peninsula by land.
Further attempts had been made a little before this to extend
the Spanish influence northwards from the side of the mainland,
though little had been added to the knowledge previously acquired.
One of the objects in view was the estabhshment of missions
among the Moqui Indians, to the north-east of Sonora, in a region
towards which some advance had already been made by the
Franciscans. In 1743 Father Keler set out on a journey to the
north, but he had but an insufficient escort, and was forced to
turn back after proceeding some days' journey beyond the Gila.
In 1744 Father Sedelmayer made an attempt in the same direction,
but though he visited the Yuma Indians, he shed no new light on
the geography of the region. A more important journey was
made some years later by Father Garces, a Franciscan who had
been in charge of the mission of San Xavier del Bac in Sonora^;
for, since the expulsion of the Jesuits from all the Spanish do-
minions in 1767, their place in these missions had been taken
by the Franciscans.
From 1768 onwards Garces made various expeditions for
missionary purposes, partly to discover new routes between the
widely-scattered stations in Sonora and California. The first two,
in 1768 and 1770, were of no great importance. In 1771 he
descended the Rio Gila to the Colorado, and crossed the latter to
its western bank in the country of the Yumas. His wanderings are
not easy to trace, but he seems to have almost reached the mouth
^ The province of Sonora then extended beyond the limits of the modern
Mexico, and San Xavier was in what is now Arizona, a little south of Tucson.
23 — 2
356 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
of the Colorado before returning to the Gila, and so south to
Caborca. About this time more serious efforts were being made
by the Spanish authorities to extend their settlements along
the coast of Upper California, as has already been mentioned
in the chapter dealing with Pacific voyages; and it was felt
to be particularly desirable to open up an overland route to
the port of Monterey on that coast (occupied in 1770), while
the extension of the missions in this direction was also taken in
hand. In 1774 Captain Juan Bautista de Anza was commis-
sioned to find a way overland from Mexico to Upper California,
and Garces accompanied him as chaplain. The party made its
way, by the Gila and Colorado, to the mission of San Gabriel,
which had been established near the coast of Upper California in
about 34° N., not far from the modern town of Los Angeles. The
main body returned by the same route, while Garces turned aside
to visit one of the Yuma tribes on the Colorado. In 1775 Anza
was sent on a more important errand — for the establishment of a
mission and government station at San Francisco — and Garces
again started with him. On arriving at the Yuma country, how-
ever, he once more went exploring on his own account. From
the Colorado mouth he ascended the river to Mojave in lat.
35° N., proceeding thence west by a new route across country
to San Gabriel. Once more setting out from this station, he
made a trip north to the Tulare valley, afterwards returning to
Mojave, and continuing his journey eastward to the Moqui
country, which, it will be remembered, had been an objective
of several of the Jesuit missionaries in the closing years of their
regime. This was his farthest towards the north-east, and he
now retraced his steps by Mojave to the Yuma country and
returned by the Gila to his station of Bac, which was reached on
September 17, 1776.
This journey of Garces had broken a certain amount of new
ground, and it was quite the most important of his entradas, as
these pioneer journeys of the missionaries were styled at the time.
Three years later it was decided to found a mission among the
Yumas, several coadjutors being assigned to Garces for the
purpose. The attempt led to disaster, the measures adopted
being injudicious. Some of the best lands of the Yumas were
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 357
appropriated by the settlers, and the discontent naturally fostered
by this proceeding led to a wholesale massacre of the Spaniards,
Garces and his fellow-workers falling victims among the rest.
A still more important journey was made at this time by two
other Franciscan friars, Fathers Escalante and Dominguez, still
with the object of opening up an overland route from Northern
Mexico to the Pacific seaboard. The starting point was the city
of Santa Fe, long before established on the northern frontier of
the Spanish dominions, and as this lay far to the east of Sonora,
a correspondingly longer journey was involved than in the case of
attempts from the western province. The friars did not actually
accomplish their purpose, but they traversed a large extent of
new country, and their journey constituted the most important ex-
ploration achieved before the beginning of the nineteenth century
in the south-west of the modern United States. Setting out from
Santa Fe in July, 1776, with two officers and five soldiers, they
took a north-westerly course, crossing the Upper Rio Grande and
entering the basin of the Colorado. On reaching the head-waters
of the San Juan, its eastern tributary, the party seems for a time
to have turned to the west, but again took a more northerly
course across the plateau region between the San Juan and the
Upper Colorado, following for a time the course of the Rio
Dolores. After visiting an encampment of Yuta (Utah) Indians
the travellers crossed the Grand River or Colorado early in
September, and continuing on a north-west course soon after-
wards came to the Green River, the second main head-stream
of the Colorado, before reaching which a buffalo was killed. On
crossing the Green River they were in the country raided by the
dreaded Comanche Indians, but they do not seem to have en-
countered any of these. A difficult route across the mountains
brought them to a stream flowing south-west into a lake, known
to the natives as Timpanogos, but which has since received the
name Utah — the small lake which discharges north into the Great
Salt Lake, the hydrographical centre of the vast tract of inland
drainage now known as the Great Basin. The natives hereabout
(Yutas or Utahs) lived in primitive fashion, and the fathers found
no towns like those of the Moquis and Zuhis as they had
hoped. At first timid, these people soon became friendly and
358 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
expressed their willingness that a mission should be established
among them. They also gave a good deal of information on the
geography of the surrounding region, telling in particular of a
larger lake to the north (the Great Salt Lake of later days),
whose saline waters were very injurious to those who bathed in
them.
The fathers had now pushed considerably north of the direct
route to Monterey, whether from a desire to find out as much as
possible about this northern terra incognita, or because the
difficulty of crossing the region of canons about the middle
course of the Colorado had necessitated their making a circuit.
It was therefore necessary, in view of the advancing season, to
turn their steps southwards, a direction which led them by the
valley of the Sevier River (which they called Santa Isabel) and
past the lake of the same name. When in the valley now known
as Escalante they enquired in vain for the sea or the Spanish
settlements, and after a difference of opinion had been settled by
casting lots, they turned eastward for the Colorado, which was
reached on October 26. Some days were occupied in the search
for a ford, which was at last found in 37° N. The first settlements
of the Moquis were reached on November 16, but though these
people expressed a readiness to live in friendship with the
Spaniards, they declined to allow the establishment of a mission.
Zuni was passed towards the end of the month and on January 2,
1777, the party was once more back in Santa Fe. The fathers
had achieved an important piece of exploration, and Escalante's
narrative of the journey contains a good deal of information
on the features of the country, its climate, products, and people.
This journey marks the farthest advance of the Spaniards in
the interior of North America. It was not followed up, and it
was half a century later that fur hunters and other adventurers
from the United States first made their way to the region of the
Great Salt Lake.
II. South America,
Like the century which preceded it, the eighteenth century
was in South America a period of strong missionary activity, the
Jesuits and other orders continuing to push their posts farther
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESt: AME:RICA 359
and farther afield, until, at the time of their greatest extension,
there were few parts of the continent in which their influence was
not to some extent felt. The quest of mineral wealth and slaves
was accountable, too, for a good deal of exploring activity,
especially in the Portuguese possessions. Some of the first
purely scientific work in South America was also done during the
century, but this was but a beginning, though an important one,
and it can hardly be said to affect the general character of the
century's output.
To begin with the part of the interior longest open to European
influence — that of the upper basin of the La Plata — we have seen
in a previous chapter how various attempts were made in the
seventeenth century to establish missions among the tribes known
by the general names of Chiriguanas and Chiquitos, towards the
frontiers of Bolivia, and how the Spanish missions to the latter
had begun, at the close of the century, to feel the encroachments
of Portuguese adventurers from the side of Brazil. The Chiri-
guanas proved so intractable that the attempt to convert them
was soon abandoned, efforts being concentrated on the more
amenable Chiquitos. The desire to open up a shorter and easier
route from the more eastern missions to the Chiquitos country led
to various journeys which did something to improve the knowledge
of the upper basin of the Paraguay. In 1702 Fathers Francisco
Hervas and Miguel de Yegros went east from the Chiquitos
mission of San Rafael, reaching a river which they thought
to be the Paraguay or a branch of it, and setting up a cross as
a landmark. In 1703 Hervas, with Father de Arce and several
others, was sent up the Paraguay in order to reach the same spot.
In spite of the treacherous behaviour of the Payaguas dwelling on
the river's banks, they pushed on, but searched in vain for the
mark set up the year before. It became necessary to turn back,
and the return journey was only accomplished with much hard-
ship. In 1704-5 Yegros made a new attempt from the Chiquitos
country, and ascertained that the river reached in 1702 had no
connection with the Paraguay. In 17 15 Fathers de Arce and
Blende tried once more from the side of the Paraguay, but failed
to effect the desired junction, and on their return were both
murdered by the natives, in revenge for wrongs done by Spanish
36o
SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA
[CHAP.
adventurers. The attempt by the Paraguay was now given up,
and attention turned to the Pilcomayo, its most important western
tributary. In 1721 it was arranged that parties should start from
both sides simultaneously, Fathers Patifio and Rodriguez ascending
the river, while a party from Tucuman endeavoured to meet them.
The latter advanced no great distance before turning back, but
^
^
deliSierra*'/;
Chiriguanes
-^^., Zamucos
ri]a^
LE
/■ oiilesPR.PPde.la
'^ Conipagnie de Jesus
[ \0^ ontrepandu hwslfisslons
— -4733 -_^^
H-/<j
o
iiption-
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^V
Buenos-
Pampas ou Plaines
qui sont dcseries
s3
11
The Jesuit Map of Paraguay as shown by D'Anville.
{Outline sketch.)
Patiho and his companion did a notable piece of work, which no
traveller improved upon for many years. The labyrinth of channels
and the extensive swamps which characterise the middle course
of the Pilcomayo make both its navigation and travel along its
banks a matter of great difficulty — so much so that a portion
remained imperfectly known at the beginning of the twentieth
i
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 361
century. Having ascended the river for 60 leagues in a vessel of
some size, the fathers went on in boats a distance which they
estimated at 1000 miles, and their turning point was said to have
been only some 60 miles below Santa Barbara. A treacherous
attack by the Toba Indians necessitated a retreat, the return
being accomplished in safety, though the main object of the
journey remained unfulfilled. Twenty years later, in 1741, a
renewed attempt to ascend the Pilcomayo was made by Father
Castanares, but he too was forced to turn back. The next year
he went to Bolivia, and, starting from Tarija, began the descent
of the Pilcomayo, hoping to find the difficulties less in this
direction. But on reaching the neighbourhood of Santa Barbara
he was attacked and murdered by Indians — the Mataguayos —
and this, like all previous attempts to open the Pilcomayo route,
thus ended in failure. The explorations of the Jesuits in this
region were finally brought to a close by the expulsion of the
order from all the Spanish dominions by the decree of 1767.
The extent of the Jesuit knowledge of this part of South America
is well shown by the maps of Matthew Seutter, D'Anville and
others. D'Anville's version, prepared for the Lettres Edifia7ites et
Curie uses, is here reproduced in outline.
The missions to the tribes known to the Spaniards by the
general designation Moxos were gradually extended farther afield
during this century, but with no great results from a geographical
standpoint. A greater extension of knowledge was due to the
Portuguese adventurers in Mato Grosso, that vast and thinly
peopled wilderness, most difficult of access of all the Brazilian
provinces. In 1734 mines were discovered in this region by
Antonio Fernandez de Abreu, and adventurers soon began to
flock in in the hope of making a speedy fortune. Among these
was Manoel Felix de Lima, one of the original companions of
Abreu, who, failing to make profit out of the mines, turned his
energies to an exploring venture still farther afield, in the direction
of the great Madeira tributary of the Amazon. Although the
Moxo missions had been long established on the head-waters of
the Madeira system, the middle course of the great river was still
but little known, though some attempts to push upwards from its
lower basin had been made from the side of Para. Thus some
362 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
twenty years before the date of Manoel Felix's venture, an
expedition under Francisco de Mello, acting under the orders of
the governor of Para, had ascended as far as the Mamore. The
Spanish authorities had put obstacles in his way and he had been
forced to return, no practical result being gained by his journey.
Manoel Felix was a native of Portugal, and, though supersti-
tious, of a somewhat higher class than many of the adventurers of
the time ; but his companions were in great part men of broken
fortunes, who joined him with a view to escaping their creditors.
A start was made in 1742. After following down the Sarare to
the Guapore, and beginning the descent of the latter, the party
divided, some of the adventurers being dismayed at the difficulties
in store. Manoel and the rest continued the voyage, and with
some difficulty found their way to a mission on the Baures, in
charge of a German Jesuit who had adopted the half-Spanish
name of Gaspar de Prado. This was the most recent estabHsh-
ment of the Moxo missions, and the Mura Indians among whom
the father was working were under very partial control. Both
here and at a settlement on the Ubay (under Joseph Reiter,
a Hungarian) the voyagers were well received until orders
came from the Provincial of the missions that they were to be
dismissed. Re-entering the Guapore, they soon reached its
junction with the Mamore, and continuing the voyage, passed the
mouth of the Beni, the third great head-stream of the Madeira.
They now encountered dangerous falls and rapids, while their
troubles were increased by the shortness of their food-supply and
the constant plague of flies. The canoe struck on a rock and was
lost, but another was providentially discovered caught between
two rocks near an island. The last fall having been passed, traces
were seen of an abandoned settlement of the Portuguese from
Para. Hunger began to press severely on the party, but they at
last obtained relief at a Portuguese mission station, and, passing
two others, eventually entered the main stream of the Amazon,
having traced down its largest tributary from almost the very head
of one of its main branches.
On reaching Para Manoel was sent to Lisbon to report on
his journey, which the authorities regarded as of considerable
importance. He had himself formed an inordinate idea of the
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 363
value of his services and made correspondingly excessive claims.
He frequented the court for some years in the vain hope of getting
them recognised, and died in extreme poverty. Some of his
comrades, after returning to Mato Grosso, made a second expedi-
tion under Francisco Leme, but it was without important result.
Somewhat further east, one Joao de Sousa e Azevedo made
an adventurous journey about this time in the borderlands be-
tween the Paraguay and Amazon basins, through country that has
remained but imperfectly known down to our own times. From
Cuyaba in south-east Mato Grosso he descended the Guy aba
River to the Paraguay, ascended the latter river and one of its
tributaries to the water-parting, and made his way across this
to the basin of the Tapajos, one of the great southern tributaries
of the Amazon.
The Portuguese and Spaniards had now come in contact in
the very centre of the continent, and efforts were made on both
sides to secure control of the debateable ground forming the
frontier zone. In 1749 an expedition was organised from Para
for the purpose of repeating Manoel Felix's journey in the reverse
direction by ascending the Madeira to Mato Grosso ; and it was
placed under the leadership of Francisco Leme and his brother.
Though the object in view was eventually attained, the expedition
underwent many dangers and hardships on the way. About three
weeks up the Madeira it was attacked by a band of Muras, but
they were repulsed. Light canoes were built for the passage of
the rapids, but these were surmounted only with great labour,
frequent portages being necessary. On reaching the first Spanish
mission near the mouth of the Mamore, the travellers were
agreeably surprised at receiving a friendly welcome, the accession
of Ferdinand VI to the throne of Spain having, through the in-
fluence of his Portuguese queen, greatly improved the relations
between the two kingdoms. But their troubles were not yet over.
It was now the most unfavourable season of the year for travel :
all the rivers were rising, and the retreat of animal life from the
banks made it almost impossible to procure food-supplies from
the woods. Some help was obtained from Father Gaspar at San
Miguel, but difficulties in the shape of flooded lands, disease,
and want of food, still pursued the party. It became necessary
364 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
to send on the most fit in canoes, to bring supplies from the
nearest Portuguese settlements, and with this aid they at last
reached the Sarare, and three days later the post of Pescaria,
having spent nine months on the journey. . The water-route thus
opened up now became fairly frequented.
Further south, exploration was carried on little by little in the
western parts of the La Plata basin, and on the coasts of Northern
Patagonia, though the wild region known as the Gran Chaco long
remained almost untraversed by white men, except on its outer
borders. Political events had much to do with the increase of
activity displayed during the second half of the eighteenth century.
It had become eminently desirable that the possessions of Spain
and Portugal should be more clearly delimited in the centre of
the continent than had hitherto been the case, and the improved
relations now prevailing between the two crowns soon had their
outcome in a treaty, concluded in 1750, by which the entire
mutual frontier in South America was defined in detail, so far as
geographical knowledge permitted. The information recently
gained made it possible to draw the line of partition with some
regard to geographical facts, though in certain parts, especially
along the extreme north-west borders of Brazil, it was perforce left
extremely vague pending further examination of the country.
This treaty is noteworthy for its recognition of accomplished facts
and the setting aside of old claims based on the Pope's division
of the newly-discovered lands between Spain and Portugal at the
time of the discovery of America. But it was not destined to
come into force, for the threatened transfer to Portugal of some
of the Spanish missions among the Guaranis, and eviction of these
from their homes, led to a revolt of that people, and before this
had been finally quelled, both parties to the treaty had become
dissatisfied with its terms. By mutual consent it was allowed to
lapse, to be replaced nearly thirty years later (1777) by a new
treaty, which has ever since formed the basis of the political
partition of South America, though its ambiguities gave rise to
many disputes in after times.
This treaty was the means of bringing on the scene one of the
greatest travellers in South America during the eighteenth cen-
tury, whose activities in the southern half of the continent were,
XIV]
SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA
365
however, soon to be matched and even surpassed by those of
Humboldt in the northern half. This was Don Felix de Azara,
a Spanish officer born in 1 746, who, after receiving a severe wound
in the campaign against the Algerian pirates in 1775, was in 1780
Don Felix de Azara.
(From the portrait in the atlas to his P^oya^es.)
appointed one of the Spanish commissioners for the delimita-
tion of the boimdary between Brazil and the Spanish provinces
in the basin of the La Plata. Azara, who received the naval rank
366 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
of captain in connection with this appointment, was one of
several commissioners who set sail for South America in 1781.
The boundary to be laid down extended from the sea in the
south-east, to the Madeira below the junction of the Mamore and
Guapore in the north-west. It was divided into five sections, the
second pair of which, starting from the sea, were assigned to
Azara as his share of the work on hand\ Proceeding at once to
Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, he began operations, but
soon found that the Portuguese commissioners, dissatisfied with
the course assigned by the treaty to the boundary, were in no
haste to complete their task, The delays thus occasioned were
utilised by Azara in extensive journeys on his own account through
various parts of Paraguay (which then extended much beyond the
limits of the modern state of that name), it being his ambition to
map the province for the first time in accordance with the new
standards of his day. From his description of the methods he
employed it is evident with what care and efficiency his work was
performed, and the result was the acquisition of a knowledge of the
Paraguay region far in advance of anything previously available,
though Azara was obliged to supplement his own work with the
most trustworthy of previous data. Not content with a mere topo-
graphical survey, he devoted himself with untiring energy to the
investigation of the natural history of the region — a task which he
took up under serious disadvantages as he had had no previous
training in these branches of study. But this want was in part at
least made up for by the extreme care with which his descriptions
were written down, so that his works on the natural history of
Paraguay were long drawn upon as standard authorities.
After 13 years' work in the northern interior, Azara received
a new commission, being placed in charge of the whole southern
border, where the authorities were desirous of extending Spanish
influence in the regions of the Pampas Indians. The desert
nature of much of the country, and the risks of attack by the
wild inhabitants, rendered the task a difficult one, but here too a
greatly improved knowledge resulted from Azara's labours. After
completing this mission, he turned his attention to the region of
the lower Parana (which was surveyed in conjunction with two
^ The two nearest the sea were assigned to Azara's colleague Varela.
XIV] SPANISH- AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 367
assistants, Cerviho and Ynciarte) and the district of Santa Fe.
After this he was sent to the eastern frontier, which he surveyed
and mapped, and his last service was the settlement of colonists
in this part of the country near the sources of the Ybicui. These
various labours occupied him till the beginning of the new century,
and it was only in 1801, after twenty years' arduous work, that he
received permission to return to Spain. He had suffered much
from the jealousy of the authorities in South America — one viceroy
even making the attempt to palm off Azara's natural history
memoirs as his own — and everything had been done to prejudice
him with the home government. That he persevered with his
(in part at least) self-imposed tasks in spite of these drawbacks is
one of his most cogent claims to our admiration \
We must now go back somewhat in time, and consider the
advance effected during the eighteenth century in the northern
half of South America, where also some progress was made,
though hardly so much as further south, until a new era was
opened by the masterly labours of Humboldt begun in the last
years of the century. As mentioned m a previous chapter, the
expeditions of Teixeira and his colleagues on the main stream of
the Amazon were followed by inroads of Portuguese adventurers
into the regions watered by its various tributaries. Their main
object was the quest of slaves, which they procured by the detest-
able practice of stirring up wars among the native tribes, and then
"ransoming" the captives taken by one side or the other. In
this way, during the first half of this century, they had begun to
frequent the region of the upper Rio Negro, and so to approach
the Spanish settlements pushed south from Venezuela by way of
the Orinoco. As usual, the most advanced posts were those
established by the missionaries, who had already settled in the
region of the falls on the middle course of the Orinoco. In order
to gain a knowledge of existing conditions in the frontier zone,
Father Ramon set out early in 1744 from the highest Spanish
mission, and making his way towards the upper river, encountered
^ Owing to the obstacles put in his way by his superiors, only a part of the
voluminous results of Azara's researches was published during his life-time, and
at least one important memoir did not see the light till our own times.
368 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
a party of Portuguese slave-traders at the confluence of the two
main upper branches — the Guaviare from the west, and the
shorter branch conventionally known as the Upper Orinoco,
from the east. He accompanied them by way of the Cassiquiari —
the stream which connects the basins of the Orinoco and Amazon
and of -'.vhich, till then, little precise information had been ob-
tained— to the Portuguese settlements on the Rio Negro, where,
after waiting some time, he met the Portuguese Jesuit Avogadro.
He returned by the same route, the existence of which he was
thus the first to make generally known, though its true character
remained for some time imperfectly understood by geographers
in Europe-^. Further w^ork was done in the same region 12 years
later by a Government expedition under Iturriaga and Solano —
the latter acting as geographer — organised a few years after the
boundary treaty of 1750 spoken of above, and generally known as
the "expedition of the boundaries." Solano founded a mission
station at the confluence of the Guaviare and Upper Orinoco,
and this received the name San Fernando de Atabapo, the
Atabapo being a third stream which comes in from the south at
the same spot. The new settlement had many difficulties to
contend against and was forced to draw supplies from so distant
a base as Colombia, by way of the rivers Meta and Vichada — a
fact which is of interest as showing that a certain amount of
intercommunication across the still little-known area east of the
Andes of Colombia was possible even at this date-. A little later
a renewal of interest in the fabled El Dorado, with the city of
Manoa and the great lake Parime, then located by geographers
to the south of the Guianas, led to some journeys to the more
easterly parts of the borderland between the Orinoco and Amazon
basins. The Spanish governor of Angostura on the Lower
Orinoco — Don Centurion — was ambitious of effecting the long-
dreamt-of discovery, and various attempts were made, some by
^ Some information regarding Ramon's journey was brought to Europe by
the French scientific traveller La Condamine, whose descent of the Amazon
from Peru to the Atlantic, to be spoken of shortly, took place about this time.
^ This region had been the scene of several adventurous journeys in quest
of El Dorado as early as the i6th century (see introductory chapter), though
these had not been followed up.
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 369
way of the Caura and Paragua, but they either ended in disaster,
or were at least without practical result. The most important
expeditions were those of Nicolas Rodriguez and Antonio Santos
(17 75-1 780), the latter of whom is said to have made his way
south by the Caroni and Paragua Rivers and across the Pacaraima
Mountains as far as the Rio Branco in the north of the Amazon
basin. But these efforts were soon relaxed and no further Hght
was thrown on this part of South America until many years
later.
One other great undertaking in the northern half of South
America, of a character which places it in a category apart from
the pioneer work already dealt with, remains to be spoken of in
this chapter. This was the geodetic measurement for the deter-
mination of the length of a degree of the meridian in the
equatorial region, carried out on the Andean tableland under
the auspices of the Paris Academy. It was the first great
operation of the kind ever undertaken, though carried out
simultaneously with a similar piece of work, taken up under
the same auspices, in the north of Europe ; the object being to
determine the figure of the earth by a comparison of the length of
the degree in different latitudes \ The work near the equator
was entrusted to Bouguer, Godin, and La Condamine, who
sailed from La Rochelle in May, 1735, accompanied by the
physician Joseph de Jussieu and others. After some stay at the
island of San Domingo, the party went to Carthagena, where they
were met by the Spanish officers Jorge Juan and Antonio de
Ulloa, who had been appointed by the King of Spain to aid the
French savants in their labours. The coast of Peru was sighted
in March, 1736, and here Bouguer and La Condamine stayed
behind for scientific observations, all the party being once more
reunited at Quito by June of the same year. The geodetic opera-
tions were carried out with the greatest precision then attainable,
^ The northern arc was measured in Lapland, in the vicinity of the Arctic
Circle. The French savants in charge were Maupertuis, Clairaut, Camus,
Monnier and the Abbe Outhier, while they also had the cooperation of the
Swedish astronomer Celsius. These observers started in 1736, a year later
than the American party, but as the difficulties were considerably less, the
measurement was completed in a shorter time than the other.
H. 24
370 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA [CHAP.
and owing to the difficulties of the ground, the nature of the
climate, and other obstacles, occupied in all several years, much
valuable information on the nature and productions of the Andean
tableland being also collected. The final operations were com-
pleted in March, 1743, Bouguer and La Condamine then re-
turning to Europe, while Godin, who had been joined in Peru
by his wife, remained some years longer. Bouguer, who returned
by the sea route, reached Europe first and presented the pre-
liminary results of the undertaking to the Academy, while La
Condamine decided to take the route of the Amazon across the
entire breadth of South America before embarking for France.
His voyage down the great river, though not actually opening up
any unknown ground, was of value as being the first descent of
the Amazon by a trained man of science, and his narrative did
much to elucidate the geography and ethnography of the region
passed through e?i route.
Before finally returning to France Godin and his wife were
destined to experience the most distressing reverses of fortune.
Family affairs compelled the husband to proceed down the
Amazon in advance in 1749, and the war then in progress for
years frustrated all his efforts to return to fetch his wife. When
arrangements were at last made in 1766, his illness necessitated
the employment of an agent, who proved untrustworthy, and it
was not till 1769 that Madame Godin, accompanied by her two
brothers, at length set out by the route down the Pastaza for
Loreto on the Amazon, where a Portuguese vessel was awaiting
her. The journey was attended by the most harrowing ex-
periences. Abandoned by their native escort, and left destitute
by the upsetting of their canoe, the small party wandered through
the pathless forests, exposed to every kind of privation, to which
all Madame Godin's companions succumbed, leaving her to
struggle on alone until providentially succoured by Indians.
Eventually she completed the voyage to Para, and thence re-
joined her husband in Guiana after a separation of over 20 years.
Her experiences form one of the most remarkable episodes in the
whole history of travel.
It was in the closing year of the century that the most famous
scientific explorer of northern South America, Alexander von
XIV] SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE AMERICA 37
Humboldt, began his epoch-making journeys, during the course of
which a flood of new hght was thrown on the physical and human
geography of the Spanish territories now forming the Republics of
Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. But the story of these travels
belongs rather to the nineteenth than to the eighteenth century —
to the modern period of detailed scientific research rather than to
the pioneer stage with which we are here mainly concerned.
CHAPTER XV
ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O
We have seen in the last few chapters how, in the latter part
of the eighteenth century, vast tracts of land and sea had been for
the first time added to the known parts of the world, particularly
in the Pacific and Southern Oceans and in the northern half
of North America, in both of which regions a beginning of
scientific exploration and survey had been made. In other
parts of the world the progress was slower, and though some
important journeys are to be placed to the credit of this period,
they were rather of the nature of disconnected episodes than
stages in a continued course of progress, though to some extent
preparing the way for the more rapid advance which marked
the nineteenth century. This quickened activity set in in certain
regions, it is true, during the latter years of the previous century,
but as these first beginnings of methodical exploration, particularly
in Africa, belong more properly to the new period then opening,
which lies outside the scope of this volume, it will be sufficient
here to allude to them very briefly.
I. Asia.
Beginning with Asia — the more eastern parts of which, as
explored by the Russians in the far north, and by Jesuit and
other missionaries within the limits of the Chinese Empire, have
been already dealt with in previous chapters — one or two im-
portant journeys in the western and central parts, from the side
both of Russia and of India, remain to be mentioned. The
reign of Peter the Great, whose interest in the extension of
knowledge in the extreme east of his dominions has been spoken
of in the tenth chapter, saw the first beginnings of Russian
enterprise in the region to which the name Central Asia has been
CH. XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO 373
more particularly applied — that of the vast steppes to the east
of the Caspian and the Khanates of Khiva and Bokhara along
the course of the Oxus. With a view to curbing the incursions of
the nomads of the steppes and opening up commercial intercourse
with the countries beyond, the Czar decided on steps for the
establishment of Russian influence in this region. In 1714 a
young Circassian, who had obtained a commission in the Russian
army and had taken the name Eekovich Cherkaski, was entrusted
with an embassy to the Khan of Khiva (who had offered to
become a vassal of the Czar) and was at the same time instructed
to carry out explorations in the country to be crossed en route.
In 17 15, Bekovich embarked on the Caspian, and followed its
east coast southward until he found a spot suitable for the erection
of a fort. Thence he went east into the desert and examined the
old bed of the Amu Darya or Oxus, the Czar being anxious to
ascertain whether it might be possible to bring back that river
into its ancient course towards the Caspian. Bekovich returned
from this expedition and made preparations for a renewal of the
enterprise with a stronger force. He set out again in 1717,
with a small army, numbering about 4000 in all, and this time
proceeded by land from the mouth of the Ural across the in-
hospitable Ust Urt desert between the Caspian and the Sea of
Aral. At the lake known as Barsa Kilmas, near the south end of
Aral, he built a fort, the remains of which are still to be seen.
But he soon afterwards met with disaster at the hands of the new
Khan of Khiva, who viewed the Russian advance with suspicion,
and taking Bekovich's forces in detail, completely annihilated
them. Thus ended for a time the attempt to extend the Russian
dominion in this direction, though before the middle of the
century a portion of the Kirghiz hordes to the north had accepted
the rule of the then reigning empress, and the limits of the
empire were pushed forward to a line running roughly from
the north end of the Caspian to the head-waters of the Irtish.
In Siberia, the eighteenth century saw the first acquisition
of scientific knowledge, both in the field of geography, and in
those of ethnology and natural history. Between 1720 and
1726, extensive journeys were made by the Prussian naturalist
Messerschmidt, who had taken service under the Russian Emperor.
374 -'^SIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
Starting in 1720, and spending the first winter at Tobolsk, he
was joined by the Swedish prisoner Phihpp Johann Tabbert,
better known by the name Strahlenberg which he adopted on
being subsequently ennobled by the King of Sweden \ The two
travellers set out in March, 1721, and explored portions of the
Obi and Yenesei systems. Strahlenberg then returned to Sweden,
where in 1730 he brought out a description of the whole of
Northern Asia, accompanied by a large map, which was long a
source of information on this part of the world. After his de-
parture, Messerschmidt descended the Yenesei almost to 66° N.,
but failed to reach the Arctic Ocean. Re-ascending the river
he started for Eastern Siberia, and having reached Nerchinsk by
water, crossed the steppes to the mines on the Argun and went
thence to the Dalai Nor. In 1725 he returned west and explored
portions of the Obi and Irtish, wintering on the latter river and
returning to St Petersburg in 1726. His labours meeting with
scant recognition, he sailed for his home at Danzig, but had the
misfortune to lose all his collections, and thereupon returned
once more to St Petersburg. But he still failed to secure due
recognition, and died in want in that city in 1735.
Another of the band of Swedes whom fortune carried to
Siberia after the disastrous campaign of Charles XII was Johann
Gustaf Renat, whose wanderings, according to documents brought
to light within recent years, seem to have extended to some of
the inmost recesses of Asia. He spent some years (17 16-1733)
among the Kalmucks, and learnt much about the geography of
those regions, partly by enquiry and partly, it seems, by actual
travel ; some supposing that he even visited Lop Nor. A map
by his hand, based no doubt to some extent on native infor-
mation, represents the general features of the central core of
Asia — Dzungaria, the Tarim basin and neighbouring districts —
with considerable accuracy, as is shown by the accompanying
sketch of a contemporary copy by Benzelstiern in 1738-.
^ The various Swedes who went as prisoners to Siberia at this time had
been in the retinue of King Charles XII in his ill-fated expedition to Russia.
^ A facsimile reproduction of the map was published by the Russian
Geographical Society in 1880 ; another, on a smaller scale, in Peter mantis
Miiteilungen for February, 191 1.
XV]
ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O
375
The labours of Miiller, Gmelin the elder, and other savants
employed on land in connection with the great exploring projects
of Peter the Great have already been touched upon. Later in
the century, another series of important journeys was undertaken
under the orders of the Empress Catherine, and led to valuable
results. It having been decided to despatch a party of astronomers
to observe the transit of Venus in 1769 — the same which gave
occasion for the first of Cook's great voyages — the St Petersburg
Academy was instructed to name various experts capable of
Renat's Map of Central Asia.
(From Benzelstiern's copy of 1758.) Outline sketch.
making a thorough examination of the products and resources
of the remoter parts of tlie empire.
Among the savants thus named the best known for the extent
of his travels and the value of his observations was Peter Simon
Pallas, who left St Petersburg on June 21, 1768, on a series of
journeys which was to occupy fully six years. He devoted the
first two seasons to investigations in South European Russia and
the region of the Caspian, wintering first at Simbirsk and secondly
376 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO [CHAP.
at Ufa. After the first winter he went south, in March, 1769, by
Samara and Orenburg to Gurief at the mouth of the Ural, whence
he examined the shores of the Caspian to the south. The
summer of 1770 was spent in investigations of the geology and
mineralogy of the Ural range, especially in the mining districts
near Ekaterinburg. Towards the end of the year he turned his
steps eastward towards the remoter parts of Siberia, and after
wintering at Tobolsk made his way in 1771 to the then little-
known region of the Altai Mountains and the Upper Irtish, where
he again carried out fruitful researches concerning the structure
and conformation of the region. Continuing his eastward progress
he fixed his next winter quarters at Krasnoiarsk, and in March,
1772, started for Irkhutsk, whence he crossed Lake Baikal and
visited the frontier town of Kiakhta and the region of the Upper
Amur. After another winter at Krasnoiarsk, where intense cold
was experienced, Pallas returned to Europe, devoting the latter
part of 1773 to further researches in the region of the Lower
Volga. Finally, after new journeys in the spring of 1774, he
once more reached St Petersburg on July 30 of that year.
Besides gathering much new information on the plants and
animals of the countries visited, he had made valuable obser-
vations in regard to the origin of mountain ranges, and had carried
out careful enquiries into the conditions of commercial inter-
course between the Russian Empire and the territories adjoining
it on the south.
Another of the savants employed under the same scheme
was Samuel Gottlieb (or Theophilus) GmeUn, nephew of the
elder traveller of that name. He had made the acquaintance of
Pallas when studying at Leyden, and had subsequently, while at
Paris, secured the interest of the French botanist Adanson,
eventually becoming Professor of Botany at St Petersburg.
Starting on his travels, like Pallas, in June, 1768, he first visited
the Valdai hills and after wintering at Voronesh made his way
south to the shores of the Caspian. After a stay at Astrakhan,
where he met Guldenstaedt, another of the same band of in-
vestigators, he embarked in June, 1770, on the waters of the
Caspian. Touching at Derbent and Baku he made his way to
the Persian province of Ghilan, on the south-western shore of the
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O 377
Caspian, where he wintered at EnzeU. In 177 1 he continued
his journey in an easterly direction, parallel to the southern coast
of the Caspian, and had reached the province of Mazandaran
when he found it impossible to advance further. Returning
westward, he reached Barfrush but was thrown into prison
as a spy. Making his escape, however, he once more reached
Astrakhan in the spring of 1772, and thence explored the steppes
to the south. After a meeting with Pallas, who had then com-
pleted his Siberian journeys, he made a new start in 1773, this
time taking the route to the east of the Caspian, in the hope
of continuing his researches in Northern Persia. But the farthest
point reached was Astrabad, near the northern frontier of that
kingdom, whence he found himself compelled to retrace his steps
to the Caspian. Crossing that sea to Enzeli he went by land
to Derbent (January, 1774), but, difficulties arising with the
native ruler, he was ordered to leave and started north for the
Terek. Even so, he failed to elude his enemies, and was thrown
into prison at Ahmetkent in the Caucasus, where he died of
disease in June of the same year. ' His notes were afterwards
published under Pallas's supervision, and the results of his journeys
were thus not entirely lost. They consisted chiefly in an improved
knowledge of the steppes on both sides of the Caspian and of
the wandering hordes inhabiting them, as well as of the moun-
tainous regions of Northern Persia, then almost a terra incognita
in Europe.
Meanwhile the neighbouring and equally obscure region of
the Caucasus had been explored, apart from its snowy central
fastnesses, by a third member of the same association of experts —
Johann Anton Guldenstaedt — a native of Riga, who after com-
pleting his education at Berlin and Frankfort- on-Oder was sum-
moned to St Petersburg to take his part in the great exploration.
Having wintered at Moscow, he set out for the south in March,
1769. At Astrakhan, as already mentioned, he met Gmelin, and
in January, 1771, he reached the Terek, on the threshold of the
region assigned to him as his field of work. During the next two
years, he traversed the Caucasus in various directions, making
observations on the natural history, and on the languages of the
peoples inhabiting that region. During the first season he
378 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
attached himself to the suite of the Prince of Georgia (south of
the main chain), and thus visited Tiflis and the districts to the
south of that town. In 1772 he visited the petty kingdom of
Imeritia, still south of the range, but west of Georgia, near the
shores of the Black Sea. Thence he crossed the range and
devoted the next year to researches in the region to the north
of the Elburz group, including the district of Great Kabarda and
the country watered by the Kuma River. Turning his steps home-
wards, he investigated the region of the Lower Don and other
parts of Southern Russia, and was on his way to the Crimea
when he was recalled to St Petersburg on the outbreak of war,
arriving there in March of 1773. The preparation of his material
for publication occupied some years, and he was carried off by
fever before any of the results of his journeys saw the light.
They were, however, eventually published, first by Pallas, and
subsequently in a corrected form by the Prussian savant Klap-
roth, himself an explorer of the Caucasus early in the next
century.
Another of the same fraternity was the Swedish physician
John Peter Falk, who after taking his degree at the University
of Upsala, became Professor at St Petersburg, and received a
commission to travel in Siberia in 1768. In 1771-72 he studied
the countries watered by the Obi and Irtish, but suffering from
ever-increasing hypochondria, was forced to relinquish his task,
and in 1774 committed suicide. By these several explorations a
large amount of new information was gained on the detailed
geography of the Russian Empire in Asia, though as a general
knowledge of its outstanding features had been acquired pre-
viously, no striking discovery on a large scale was possible.
From the side of India some advance was also made into the
central core of the continent in the latter part of the eighteenth
century, though here too the field was not entirely new, for the inter-
course with Lhasa maintained by the various missions in the seven-
teenth and early eighteenth centuries had already spread some
knowledge of Tibet among European nations. But until the time
we are speaking of no share in the work had been claimed by
Englishmen. It was under the enlightened administration of
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O 379
Warren Hastings that the first British deaHngs with Tibet took
place. The immediate impulse to this intercourse arose from the
encroachments of the ruler of Bhutan — the semi-independent state
occupying the eastern part of the Himalayan range — who in 1772
invaded the small state of Kuch Behar to the north of Bengal.
Military operations under Captain John Jones, carried out in
1772-73, resulted in the expulsion of the Bhutanese, followed by
the intervention, as peacemaker, of the Teshu (or Tashi) Lama —
the head of one of the principal sects in Tibet. This led to
the organisation of a British mission, which was instituted to
carry on negotiations both with the Deb Raja (the ruler of
Bhutan) and with the Tashi Lama, whose residence was at
Tashi Lhunpo on the south side of the valley of the Sanpo or
upper Brahmaputra. The head of the mission was George Bogle,
an energetic and capable member of the Bengal civil service,
who was supported by Dr Alexander Hamilton, also a man of
considerable ability. The expedition set out in May, 1774, pro-
ceeding through Kuch Behar and entering Bhutan by the Buxa
Duar route. At Tassisudon, the capital, negotiations with the
new Deb Raja were entered upon, and though difficulties were
at first put in the way of an advance into Tibet, permission was
at last given for the mission to proceed. The route led by Pari
Jong (near the head of the Chumbi valley between Bhutan and
Sikkim) and thence nearly due north until the valley of the Sanpo
or upper Brahmaputra was reached. The Tashi Lama was at
the time at a place called Desheripge to the north of that river,
and thither the mission proceeded. Bogle succeeded in establish-
ing most cordial relations with the Lama, who showed himself
well disposed to further the Governor-General's views of friendly
intercourse between India and Tibet.
A counter-influence was, however, at work at Lhasa, where the
Chinese agent did all he could to put obstacles in the way, and
this to some extent neutralised the efforts of the mission, a firm
refusal being given to the further entry of foreigners into Tibet.
Bogle returned with the Lama to his residence at Tashi Lhunpo,
on the southern side of the Sanpo valley, and, after some stay
there, set out on the return journey through Bhutan, where further
negotiations resulted in the Deb Raja's consenting to the passage
38o ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO [CHAP.
of merchandise through his country to and from India and Tibet,
though all efforts to obtain permission for English merchants to
enter the country proved unavailing.
In 1775 Bogle's companion, Dr Hamilton, was entrusted with
a second mission to Bhutan, for the purpose of discussing further
questions between the two countries, and, entering again by
the Buxa Duar route (as the shorter route by Lakhi Daar proved
not feasible), visited the Deb Raja at his winter residence at
Punakha. He returned in 1776 and was sent in 1777 on a third
mission to offer the Governor-General's compliments 10 a new
Deb Raja. In 1779, a new attempt to gain entrance into Tibet
was organised, and Bogle was again appointed to lead an ex-
pedition, but this was abandoned on receipt of intelligence that the
Tashi Lama had undertaken a journey to Peking. He died there
before the close of 1780, Bogle himself also dying less than six
months later.
The Governor-General, however, still kept his object in view,
and in 1782 decided to send yet another mission to Tibet, the
occasion being offered by the supposed re-incarnation of the
Tashi Lama, who, according to the customary belief of the
Tibetans, was thought to have returned to this world in the person
of an infant. A young oflicer related to Warren Hastings —
Captain Samuel Turner — was placed in command, two other
Europeans, Lieutenant Samuel Davis and Dr Robert Saunders,
being appointed to accompany him. I'he mission, like Bogle's,
proceeded first to Bhutan, and the Raja's summer palace at
Tassisudon was reached in June, 1783. An insurrection against
the Raja caused some delay, but, this having been put down,
Turner and his companions paid a visit to the winter palace at
Punakha, as well as to the fort of Wandipore lower down the
valley in which Punakha is placed. Resuming their journey to
Tibet, they reached Tashi Lhunpo on Sept. 22 and stayed there
some time, holding intercourse with the Regent — a brother of
the late Tashi Lama. Early in December, Turner visited the
infant Tashi Lama at a monastery two days' journey to the
south, and then set out homewards, passing once more through
Bhutan and reaching Patna in March, 1784.
The observations made by Bogle and Turner during these
XV]
ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O
381
missions added much to the knowledge of Bhutan and Tibet
possessed by the English, although it was not till nearly a century
later that Bogle's journals and notes were made generally available
by being printed under the care of Sir Clements Markham. The
removal of Warren Hastings from the head of affairs in India, in
1785, brought this intercourse to a close, and with the exception
of a single episode early in the nineteenth century, when Thomas
Manning — Charles Lamb's friend — made his way to Lhasa in
View of Punakha.
(Sketch by Lieutenant Davis in Turner's Embassy.)
an unofficial capacity, no further advance was made towards the
opening of Central Tibet till the beginning of the present century.
From one other corner of Asia we have to record the beginning
of scientific research before the close of the eighteenth century,
namely from Yemen in South- West Arabia — one of the original
homes of the coffee shrub, whence some trade in coffee had
already been developed by Dutch and English merchants trading
to the East. As the one productive portion of the vast peninsula
382 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
of Arabia, it was natural that it should early attract the attention
of investigators. The work to be done here was not strictly of
a pioneer character, for Yemen had several times previously been
visited by European travellers, from Varthema, in the quite early
days of European intercourse with the East, to Englishmen like
Sharpeigh, Middleton, and Jourdain, of the early voyages of the
English East India Company. The work now taken in hand was
therefore of a more detailed and scientific character, attention
being directed to such matters as the natural resources —
especially botanical — of the country, the economic conditions of
the people, and the fixing of positions with the degree of accuracy
attainable by the methods and instruments of the time.
Like the Russian enterprises already spoken of, the scheme
for exploration in Arabia had the advantage of Royal patronage.
The enlightened monarch who supported it, and who himself
drew up the instructions for the participants, was Frederick V of
Denmark, to whom it seems to have been suggested by the learned
Michaelis of Gottingen, principally with a view to the elucidation
of Biblical questions. Five savants were appointed to take part
in the expedition, each an expert in some particular branch of
research — viz. Peter Forskall, a Swede (as botanist), Frederick
von Haven (linguist), Carsten Niebuhr (surveyor), C. C. Cramer
(zoologist), and W. Baurenfeind (artist) — no one of these taking a
decided precedence over the rest. A Danish ship of war was
placed at their disposal, and the party, having sailed early in 1 761,
and having visited Constantinople and Egypt, proceeded in the
autumn of 1762 in a pilgrim ship to Jidda, on the Arabian coast
of the Red Sea. The fanatical hatred of Europeans which has
been as a rule one of the greatest obstacles to the exploration of
Arabia, was little in evidence at this particular time, and the
travellers found no great difficulties placed in their way. From
Jidda they coasted down to Loheia, and there began their more
special labours by carrying out excursions through the Tehama, a
lowland strip intervening between the Yemen highlands and the
Red Sea ; touching also on the outer fringe of the higher ground.
Little by little they made their way south and reached Mokha
before the end of April, 1763. They had been traveUing in the
hot weather and their health had suffered seriously. Von Haven
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO 383
was the first to succumb, and was buried at Mokha, the rest
then deciding to move inland away from the unhealthy coast-
lands. They went first to Tais, on the outer step of the highlands,
and were summoned thence by the Imam to Sana, the capital of
Yemen. Before reaching this a second of the party, Forskall, fell
a victim to the cliniate. At Sana, which was reached about the
middle of July, the three survivors were well received, and during
their short stay were able — particularly Niebuhr — to make some
useful observations. They were now impatient to leave the
r
Carsten Niebuhr.
(From the portrait in his Reisebeschreibting, Vol. ill, 1837.)
country and hastened back to Beit-el-Fakih (the chief coffee-mart)
and thence to Mokha, where they found a friend in an English
merchant, Francis Scott, who gave them a passage to Bombay.
On the way Baurenfeind died, and Cramer too succumbed after
reaching India. The one survivor, Niebuhr, returned home by
the Persian Gulf, Persia, and Asiatic Turkey, taking with him
the copious notes and observations secured by himself and
his colleagues, all of which were eventually utilised in the
384 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
preparation of his great Description of Arabia — one of the most
important geographical works produced during the eighteenth
century, embodying not only the results of actual observation in
regard to Yemen, but a fund of information which Niebuhr had
been at pains to gather from the natives of the country and others.
It long remained the standard authority on Arabia, and has not
been entirely superseded at the present day.
No further progress in the exploration of A^rabia took place
until the next century.
II. Africa.
In Africa the eighteenth century was, broadly speaking, a
period of stagnation as regards geographical discovery until its
closing years, when a new start, destined to lead to almost un-
interrupted progress down to our own times, was made. And
though the beginnings of this movement fell within the period
now under consideration, they were so closely interwoven with
later developments that they cannot suitably be described here.
Less closely connected with the modern period was the famous
journey of the Scottish traveller, James Bruce, through Abyssinia
to the source of the Blue Nile, but this forms a more or less
isolated episode, somewhat in advance of its time, and little in
touch with the work of the century as a whole. As a bold
achievement, marking the first important step towards the British
exploration of the African interior, Bruce's journey occupies a
high place, though its actual results from a geographical point of
view have sometimes been overrated — just as they were under-
rated by many of the traveller's contemporaries. They were
rather a re-opening to European view of ground that had been
temporarily neglected than an actual unveiling of the unknown.
As has been narrated in an earlier chapter, the work of the
Portuguese Jesuits in the seventeenth century, and the relations
sent home by them to their superiors in Europe, had at the time
made Abyssinia almost the best known part of the African
interior, and the maps drawn in that century were not materially
to be improved upon until quite modern times. Bruce was him-
self aware of the labours of the Jesuits, and, in particular, of
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 17OO-I8OO 385
the travels and writings of Paez — the first white man to visit and
describe the source of the Blue Nile. But in his own narrative he
somewhat unfairly disparaged the work of his predecessors, with the
conscious or unconscious object of heightening the value of his
own achievements. He has been accused of actual dishonesty
in denying that the Jesuits had ever reached the sources, and it
seems almost certain that he might, had he taken the trouble,
have made himself better acquainted with what had previously
been accomplished. But considering the strenuous fight against
difificulties of all kinds that he maintained in his efforts to grasp
the coveted prize, there can hardly be a doubt that, at least at
the time of the journey, he honestly believed that he was the first
white man to have traced the Blue Nile to its source. The far
greater remoteness of the source of the White Nile was then
hardly suspected, the reaction against the earlier hypothetic
cartography of the African interior, encouraged by the work of
DeHsle and D'Anville in France, having swept from the map the
representations of the Upper Nile lakes based on the inter-
pretation of Ptolemy's geographical account by the cartographers
of the Renaissance.
After engaging for a time in the wine trade, Bruce had suc-
ceeded to his father's estate of Kinnaird, Stirlingshire, in 1758.
He had a natural bent towards travel and adventure, and, the
problem of the Nile sources having been a subject of discussion
with his friends, became fired with the ambition of solving it
himself. As a step likely to open possibilities in the desired
direction he in 1763 accepted the post of Consul-General at
Algiers, and on leaving for that destination took with him various
scientific instruments, in the use of which he had acquired some
proficiency, for the purpose of observing the transit of Venus
then looked forward to by astronomers. He had also acquired
some slight knowledge of medicine — a qualification which proved
of much use during his travels. After some residence in Algiers,
he visited various parts of North Africa, examining the anti-
quarian remains, and on one occasion narrowly escaped with
his life from a shipwreck on the coast of Tripoli. Passing over
to Crete and Asia Minor he eventually made his way to Syria
(where he visited the ruins at Palmyra and Baalbek) and thence
H. 2;
386 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
to Egypt, hoping there to find the means of carrying his great
design into execution, his correspondents in Europe having now
despatched to Alexandria the last of the instruments necessary for
the fixing of positions on his proposed journe)-.
James Bruce. (From the Portrait in the National Gallery.)
At Cairo, Bruce secured the countenance of Ali Bey, lately
restored to power after many vicissitudes of fortune, and obtained
letters of recommendation to the authorities in Upper Egypt,
as also from the Greek patriarch to the Greek Christians in
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 17OO-180O 38/
Abyssinia. Having completed his preparations he procured a
Nile boat of the kind known as canja^ and set out to ascend the
river on December 12, 1768. A successful voyage, during which
he noted the various antiquities passed en route, brought him to
Syene (Assuan), whence, after fixing the latitude and visiting the
first cataract, he returned to Keneh in order to take the desert
route to the Red Sea at Kosseir. This journey was made in
company with a mixed and disorderly caravan. At Kosseir,
besides fixing the latitude, he obtained a longitude by observations
of Jupiter's satellites, and, after a coasting trip to the "Mountain
of Emeralds" (without finding any trace of these gems), hired
a vessel to convey him down the Red Sea to Massaua, the final
starting-point for the journey into the interior.
The voyage in this native craft was by no means a luxurious
one. It began wdth a circuit of the northern end of the Red Sea,
and a visit to Tor on the south-west coast of the Sinai peninsula,
after which the vessel coasted down the Arabian side, touching at
various points e?i route. At Jidda Bruce found a number of
English merchantmen, and though his poverty-stricken appearance
secured him but a doubtful reception at first, the merchants
made up for the mistake, and on leaving he was honoured with
a salute from all the ships. During his stay he obtained valuable
letters of recommendation from the Sharif of Mecca, and from
his chief Minister, Metical Aga — himself a native of Abyssinia,
and a man of considerable influence on both sides of the Red
Sea. The support of this ally proved invaluable in the sequel.
From Loheia, further down the coast — after a trip to the Strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb — the voyagers crossed over by the Dhalak archi-
pelago to Massaua on the African side of the Red Sea, the
passage being signalised by the supposed appearance of a ghost
on board, by which the crew were much terrified, and by the
running of the vessel on a reef, from which however it was
happily got off without serious damage. Massaua was reached
on September 19, 1769, and Bruce thus found himself on the
threshold of the most serious part of his enterprise.
In the further prosecution of his task Bruce was faced by many
obstacles. The rapacious and overbearing character of the petty
chief of Massaua more than once threatened a catastrophe, and
25—2
388 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
the difficulties were by no means over when he was at last fairly
started for Gondar. The steep ascents of the plateau escarp-
ments, first by the pass of Taranta to the highlands of Tigre, and
afterwards by that of Lamalmon to the still higher plateau on
which Gondar is placed, were exceedingly arduous, the transport
of the large quadrant for astronomical work proving especially
troublesome. As the strongest of the party the traveller took
a personal share in the labour. The country too was in a dis-
turbed state owing to the campaign then in progress between the
old General Ras Michael (acting on behalf of the young King
Tecla Haimanout, whom he had set up after deposing two others)
and the insurgent Fasil. Arrived in safety at the capital, Bruce
was favourably received by the Queen-mother, and his services as
physician were soon requisitioned, several members of the Royal
household being ill with small-pox. The success of his treat-
ment procured him her patronage throughout his stay in Abyssinia.
On the return of the King and Ras Michael, he was received
in audience, and, according to his own account, as a step towards
the execution of his task, was granted the governorship of the
province of Ras-el-Fil, containing the source of the Blue Nile of
which he was in quest. But a favourable opportunity for
travelling thither was long in coming. The traveller's health
declined, and he retired for a time to Emfras, on a hill over-
looking Lake Tsana, whence he paid a visit to the cataract of
Alata — on the Blue Nile below its exit from the lake — which had
already been described by the Jesuits. He afterwards joined the
King and Ras Michael during an expedition across the Nile
against Fasil, but this proved disastrous and ended in a disorderly
retreat. By a sudden volte-face^ however, Fasil made his peace
with the King, and this gave the traveller the chance he had been
waiting for so long, as the insurgent chief dominated the country
about the Nile source. After witnessing the retirement of the
King and Michael to Tigre, he set out once more from Gondar on
October 28, 1770, proceeding at once to Fasil's camp with letters of
recommendation. His reception was at first anything but satis-
factory, but his bold front impressed the chief, who became
suddenly gracious, and gave him the facilities he required, binding
his Galla subordinates by a solemn obligation to forward the
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO 389
traveller's wishes in every possible way, and giving him his own
horse as a token of his protection.
Starting on November 2, and passing through a beautiful
country, Bruce once more crossed the Nile above its entrance
into Lake Tsana, finding it a rapid stream nearly 100 yards wide,
and four feet deep in the centre. It forms a cataract in this
neighbourhood, but this was found to have a height of barely
15 feet. The route now led towards a gently rising hill, near the
top of which was the church of St Michael of Geesh. From this
spot the traveller's eyes were at last gratified by the sight of the
fountains, whence, beside a hillock, of green sod, the Blue Nile
has its first small beginnings. Casting off his shoes in deference
to the feelings of the natives, who regarded the spot as possessing
a special sanctity, he rushed down the flowery slope and, standing
by the principal fountain, indulged the feelings of rapture induced
by the thought that he had at last gained the prize for which he
had laboured so long.
Bruce flattered himself that he had thus solved the ancient
mystery of the Nile sources, though on the one hand he was not
the first European to visit the fountains of the Blue Nile, and on
the other he had done nothing at all to unveil the far more remote
sources of the White Nile. But in once more describing to the
world the hydrography of a portion of the Nile system which
plays a part of prime importance in the general regime of the river
and its inundations, he had performed a service of distinct value,
if not of the unique importance he was inclined to claim for it.
Now that his task was accompHshed his one wish was to set out
on his homeward journey, but on returning to Gondar he found
himself condemned to weary waiting owing to the continued
poHtical disturbances. At last, in December, 1771, over a year
after his return from the Nile source, he was able to set out by
the land-route to Egypt through Sennar.
Descending the western escarpment of the Abyssinian high-
land, through a thickly wooded country, the traveller joined in
a grand battue held by one of the royal princes, and was treated
to a display of the methods of elephant-hunting of the Arab
swordsmen known as Agagir. Reaching Sennar after some
adventures, he found himself surrounded by enemies, whose
390 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO [CHAP.
intrigues thwarted him at every turn, and it was only by seUing
a good part of the gold chain given him by the Abyssinian king
that he at last procured the means of continuing his journey.
The passage of the dreaded Nubian desert proved well-nigh
disastrous, the small party coming near suffocation by the parching
simoom, being overwhelmed by moving pillars of sand, or perishing
of thirst after the water-supply had given out. They struggled
into Assuan (Syene) after abandoning most of their impedimenta,
but by sending back a party Bruce was able to rescue the precious
notes and observations made during his extensive journey ings.
The further journey to Cairo was accomplished without serious
difficulty, the Egyptian capital being reached on January lo,
1773-
Although Bruce had made few if any positive geographical
discoveries, his journey was important, by reason of the general
attention it attracted in Europe, as a stimulus to further interest
in African exploration, to be seriously taken in hand not many
years later. And his narrative, published some time after his
return, in spite of occasional exaggerations and embeUishments,
has remained one of the most striking pictures of exploration
that have come down to us. The strangeness of some of the
details caused the whole, quite undeservedly, to be viewed with
suspicion by his contemporaries, whose verdict has however been
reversed by later generations. The five bulky volumes in which
it originally appeared embody, if in somewhat undigested form,
a large amount of information on the history and manners of the
Abyssinians, as well as on the geography of their country.
The only other part of Africa where exploration made any
great headway during the eighteenth century was the extreme
south. Here, after long forming merely a port of call for
Portuguese, EngHsh, and Dutch ships eri route for the East
Indies, the Cape had at last begun to be settled by the Dutch
about the middle of the previous century, farms being established
for the supply of provisions to the ships. The arrival of the
French Huguenots in 1688 had an important effect in necessi-
tating the occupation of new land, while the desire to escape the
exactions of the Dutch East India Company's officials led the
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O 39:
"burghers" (as the settlers were termed in distinction from the
officials) to push farther afield than at first. Even in the seven-
teenth century some attention had been paid to exploration pure
and simple. In 1655 Jan Wintervogel had carried out an ex-
pedition to the north, and the work was continued by Gabbema
and others in 1657-8. In 1660 the governor Van Riebeck sent
out a party to seek for the empire of Monomotapa, which previous
maps had so misplaced as to encourage the belief that it lay at no
great distance from the Cape. The expedition, which was headed
by Jan Danckert, passed the Olifants River, but returned without
advancing any great distance beyond. A somewhat greater
advance northward was made in 1661 by two parties under
Pieter Cruythof and Pieter van Meerhof, and both of these went
on a second expedition in 1662, during the course of which they
came upon representatives of the Bushmen — that wandering race
from whose treacherous attacks the colonists had afterwards to
suffer so much. Another noteworthy expedition was that of
Lieutenant Hieronymus Cruse, eastward to Alossel Bay, in 1668.
But the most famous journey was that of the governor Simon
van der Stell in 1685. It occupied five months and the European
personnel amounted to over 50, with native followers in proportion.
The principal object was the discovery of the copper district of
Little Namaqualand, which it succeeded in reaching, returning
by a different route along the west coast.
In spite of these eftbrts, the greater part of the South African
interior, even south of the Orange River, remained virtually unknown
at the opening of the new century, during the course of which
a more decided advance was to be made.
Quite early in the eighteenth century some attention was
turned to the south-east coast, as offering a possible field for
settlement, and especially for the supply of timber to the more
sparsely-wooded west. An expedition was sent to Natal by sea
in 1705 in the Postlooper, with Theunis van der Schelling as
master, but it accomplished little. In 1720 a Dutch fort was
established on the coast of Delagoa Bay, which had been
abandoned by the Portuguese some years before. The bay was
sounded and charted, and some attempt made to explore the
neighbourhood, but the settlers had to encounter many obstacles.
392 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
In the hope of finding a way to the reported gold fields of the
interior, an expedition under one Jan Mona started inland in
1725, but it was attacked by the natives and forced to return
without penetrating any great distance. Of land expeditions
from the Cape during the early part of the century one deserving
mention is that of Hermanns Hubner, who in 1736 led a strong
party of elephant-hunters eastward towards the Kafir country on
the south-east coast. It was important as one of the first which
brought the Dutch into contact with the Bantu tribes of the east,
their previous intercourse having been almost entirely with the
Hottentots. The party seems to have reached the lands of the
Xosas, Tembus, and Pondos\ by whom they were at first received
with friendliness, but on reaching the Xosas on the return journey
a treacherous attack was made on Hubner's section of the
expedition, and he and all with him were massacred, and the
waggons burnt. The rest, though pursued, succeeded in making
their escape, and on reaching Cape Town gave the authorities an
account of their journey.
Although this expedition had advanced farther east than any
previous one, it was of an unofficial character, and the geographical
information it brought back was far from precise. But under the
energetic administration of Governor Tulbagh, which began in
165 1, exploration was more actively supported by the govern-
ment, and some important results were gained. An elaborately
organised expedition was despatched eastward early in 1752
under August Frederik Beutler, supported by an escort of
soldiers, as well as by two surveyors, a botanist, various artificers,
and others. It was in all respects the best-equipped expedition
that had left the Cape down to that time. The Gouritz River was
crossed, Mossel Bay passed, and on April 5 the last settlement
towards the east, a short distance beyond the Little Brak River,
was reached. Crossing the mountains, the expedition traversed
the valley known as the Long Kloof, running east between two
ranges, and reached the sea at the j^resent St Francis Bay. The
party now kept more or less close to the sea, examining the
shores of Algoa Bay and crossing the Great Fish and other rivers.
^ The last are spoken of as "Nomotis." Among them three Englishmen
were found living like natives.
XVj ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O 39;
Early in June, the boundary between the Hottentots and Bantu,
at the Keiskama River, was passed, and the country became more
thickly peopled. The scene of Hubner's massacre was passed,
but the force was sufficiently strong to command respect. The
Kei was crossed on July 3, and friendly intercourse established
with the Tembu chief Tzeba. The fatigues experienced now
began to tell, both on the men and the oxen, so after advancing
a few days longer in a north-easterly direction, it was decided, on
July 10, to turn back.
During the return journey, a somewhat more inland route was
adopted, for a part of the way, than on the outward march,
and some new country, inhabited by Bushmen, was passed
through. The Fish River valley was ascended for some distance,
but the country here was suffering from a severe drought, and
both grass and trees were burnt up. The explorers therefore
turned once more towards the sea, and while some took a
direct route to the Cape, the leader, according to instructions,
endeavoured to find a bay reported to exist in the neighbourhood
where Knysna lagoon has since been found. He did not reach
its shores, but gave up the attempt and was back in Cape Town
early in November.
This achievement marks the farthest advance eastward for
many years, and subsequent efforts were for some time directed
rather to the north and north-east. It is not certain when the
largest South African river — the Orange — was first reached, but
at any rate it seems to have been first crossed in 1760, by a
settler named Jacobus Coetsee, who went north with a party
of Hottentots to hunt elephants, and gained intelligence of the
black-skinned Damaras ("Damroquas," as he heard them called)
some distance beyond his turning-point. This adventure led the
way to further advance in the same direction, for, Coetsee's story
having come to the ears of a militia officer, Hendrik Hop, the
latter made a successful application for the command of an
exploring expedition, which included the surveyor Brink, the
botanist Auge and the surgeon Rykvoet, the last also taking
charge of the mineralogical work. A start was made on August 16,
1 76 1, from a point near the mouth of the Olifants River, the
whole caravan numbering over 80 persons, including 13 who
394 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
accompanied the party as settlers. Passing the Copper Mountains,
visited by the great expedition of Van der Stel] in 1685, the
expedition reached the Orange River at the end of September,
and, crossing it, held on a northerly course between 18° and
19° E. long, and reached a point probably in about S. lat. 26^
The heat and scarcity of water then made it necessary to turn
back, and some time was spent on the banks of the Orange,
where a sudden flood during the night of January 11, 1762,
placed the party in some danger. While among the "Great"
Namaquas north of the river enquiries were made as to the
peoples of the region beyond, and intelligence seems to have
been gained, under the name " Briquas," of a section of the great
Bechuana tribe. Giraffes were seen to the north of the Orange,
and the skin of one was brought back \ The expedition was
back in April, having achieved a considerable measure of
success.
The expedition of Governor Van Plettenberg to the north-
east and east in 1778 had political rather than geographical
aims, though it led through some of the less-known border districts
in the directions specified. The next important contributions to
geographical knowledge were due to British travellers — Captain
(afterwards Colonel) Robert J. Gordon, a Scottish officer who had
taken service with the Dutch, and Lieutenant WiUiam Paterson,
who came to the Cape in order to satisfy his bent for travel and
natural history studies in a new country. Their journeys were
made partly in company, though some of the more important
results were due to Gordon alone. Both arrived at the Cape
during 1777 — Gordon (who, according to Paterson, had already
travelled a good deal in the interior) as second in command
of the Cape garrison. They left Cape Town in company on
October 6, and went somewhat north of east up the valley of the
(eastern) Olifants River — the upper course of the Gouritz. Arrived
near its source, Paterson, w^ho w^as suffering from ill-health, decided
to stay behind, while Gordon proceeded north-east, through the
Bushmen's country, towards the Sneeuwberg. In this, as in his
subsequent journeys, Paterson paid especial attention to the
^ It was sent to the Museum at Leyden by the Governor, and was the first
to find its way to Europe.
I
XV]
ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O
395
botany, getting together a valiial)le collection of South African
plants, but also securing specimens of the birds, etc. Gordon
crossed the Sneeuwberg and reached the Orange River near the
junction of its upper course with the second main branch — the
Vaal — which he seems to have been the first to locate on the map.
He was unable, however, to find a ford, and so returned without
crossing to the northern bank.
Paterson set out again in May, 1778, and this time had the
company of a young Dutch gentleman, Mr Van Reenen, member
of a family which owned several farms in the interior, and which
subsequently showed considerable enterprise in the way of ex-
'Pp Pod ran
C. desAciuWes
Paterson's routes in South Africa, 1777-79. (Outline sketch of
the map in his Narrative of Four Journeys, etc. )
ploration. The two travellers experienced some difficulty from
the snow-covering of the mountains, but by making a circuit to
the east across the Karroo reached the Roggeveld, and then went
somewhat west of north till they struck the Orange in its lower
course, after experiencing a trying time in crossing the sandy
desert south of it. They crossed the river by swimming, and
Paterson, besides engaging in his usual botanical researches,
secured a number of beautiful birds, while Mr Van Reenen shot
a giraffe. The return was in a generally southward direction
through the copper district already well known to the Dutch,
Cape Town being reached on November 20. A month later
396 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I7OO-180O [CHAP.
Paterson again set out, intending now to visit the Kafir country
on the extreme eastern borders of the Colony. He was again
accompanied by Van Reenen, and succeeded in advancing some
distance beyond the Great Fish River, though the waggon could
not be taken on during the last stages owing to the thickness
of the bush. Paterson claims to have been the first European
to have penetrated into the Kafir country, meaning, no doubt,
the first of European birth, as the colonists had already gone a
good deal beyond his turning-point \ The return journey calls
for no special remark.
After three months, i.e. towards the end of June, 1779,
Paterson was ready to set out again accompanied by Sebastiaan
Van Reenen"^, a brother of whom, Jacobus by name, subsequently
joined the party too. This fourth journey led nearly due north
and was made for the most part in company with Colonel Gordon
(as he now was), whom Paterson joined on the banks of the
Green River, near the Kamisberg. The usual difficulties from
want of water and grass were encountered, and various members
of the party had unpleasant experiences through losing their way
in the desert, but they came safely through in the end. The
Orange River was at last reached on August 17, the unwonted
greenery and abundant water-supply making it seem to the
travellers a new creation after their nine days' transit across an arid
and sultry desert. Colonel Gordon had brought a boat, which
he launched the same evening at the river's mouth, hoisting Dutch
colours and giving the river the name which it has since generally
borne in Europe, in honour of the Prince of Orange. Excursions
were made in the neighbourhood, and on the 25th the party
set out eastwards, ascending the valley of the Orange for some
distance through a barren hilly country. On the 29th they
left the river, returning southward to recruit at a Dutch homestead,
^ Dr Andrew Sparrman, the Swedish naturalist who accompanied Capt.
Cook during the first voyage of the Resolution, had also visited the borders of
Kafir-land, and his general account of his South African travels, before and
after that voyage (1772 and 1775-6), forms one of the most important items in
the literature of South African travel in the eighteenth century, though he did
little actual exploration.
2 It does not appear from Paterson's narrative whether this was the same
member of the family as had been his companion previously.
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO 397
but again going north to examine a part of the river above that
previously visited. Paterson and Gordon soon separated, the
latter going east, while Paterson and Van Reenen crossed the
Orange and went north-east, through a country still barren and
hilly, in which a specimen of the giraffe was secured. On
October 21 they re-crossed the river, and Paterson made the
homeward journey in leisurely fashion, investigating the botany
of the country. He was back at Cape Town on December 21.
By these several journeys a fair general knowledge of the
lower course of the Orange, for a considerable distance from the
sea, had been gained.
Another traveller from Europe — the French naturalist Le
Vaillant — visited the Cape the year after the journey just de-
scribed, and travelled extensively in the interior. He made a
first journey in 1780-82, visiting the borders of the Kafir country
and returning from the Sneeuwberg across the Great Karroo ;
and a second in 1783-85, during which he went north across the
Lower Orange^. His graphic narratives are perhaps the best
known of all the similar works on South Africa which appeared
during the eighteenth century, but they have been generally re-
garded as not entirely trustworthy in matters of detail. The
Dutch, whose exploring activity (if we except the work of Colonel
Gordon, a Scotsman by birth) had been somewhat in abeyance
during the 'seventies and 'eighties, again showed some enterprise
during the last decade of the century. One of the Van Reenens,
Willem by name, who owned a farm on the Olifants River, came
forward in 1791 and undertook an expedition to the north with a
view of testing the truth of the idea that gold was to be found in
the desert region north of the Orange River. With several Dutch
companions, including one Pieter Brand, he started in September,
1 791, crossed the Orange in November, and pushed on beyond
^ In the map accompanying Le Vaillant's narrative of his travels, the
distances traversed were greatly exaggerated. Thus the route followed on the
first journey is extended to the neighbourhood of Natal, and that on the
second to the tropic of Capricorn, though Barrow (see below) showed reason
for believing that he had not advanced beyond the Orange River. Not
content with finding many new species of birds, Le Vaillant brought back a
number of "faked" species — tail of one kind, wings of another, etc. Many of
these were found out long after his death on being remounted.
398 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
the farthest point reached by Hop 30 years earUer. At a mountain
occupied by Namaqua Hottentots, with whom a collision took
place, a camp was formed, and exploring trips in the surrounding
country were undertaken. The mountain, which Van Reenen
named Rhenius after the then Governor at the Cape, seems to
have been somewhere near the latitude of Walvisch Bay. Brand
went 15 days farther north, through country occupied by a
branch of the Damaras (dark-skinned Bantu people) who had
been subjected by the Namaquas, and seems to have met with
representatives of the wild tribe since known as Hill Damaras.
The camp at Mount Rhenius was shifted in March, 1792, but a
further halt of some weeks was made not far off, in a locality
where game was abundant. The waggons having been loaded
with ore — in reality copper, but thought at the time to contain
gold — the return march was begun, and, further investigations
having been made on the way, Van Reenen's farm was safely
reached in June, 1792.
This expedition had done more than any previous one to
throw light on the country and peoples north of the Orange River,
but, not content with what they had accomplished, the Van
Reenens appHed to the authorities for aid in a new venture.
Two of the family, Sebastiaan and Dirk Gijsbert van Reenen,
obtained a passage in the government vessel Meeri?ii?i^ com-
missioned to take possession, on behalf of the Dutch East India
Company, of various points on the coast of Great Namaqua-
land, north of the Orange — a coast hitherto unclaimed, though
for some time frequented by whalers. Before the Meerf?ii?i sailed,
a land party had been despatched under Barend Freyn, who had
taken part in Willem van Reenen's expedition, and had heard of
the existence of a friendly Hottentot chief named Ynemand. He
set out before the end of 1792 with orders to try to reach this
chief's residence ; the Van Reenens' plan being to land on the
south-west coast, and, pushing inland, to effect a junction with
Freyn. The first point touched at by the Meerfnin was the
island since known as Possession. Here the Company's flag
was hoisted, and the ship proceeded to the neighbourhood of
Angra Pequeha (a locality w^iich came into prominence a century
later in connection with the German occupation of this coast).
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O 399
where explorations were carried out without any trace of Freyn
being met with. The voyage was therefore continued to Walvisch
Bay, where Pieter Pienaar, a member of the Van Reenens' party,
was sent to explore inland. He returned after three weeks with
no tidings of the land expedition, which, as it afterwards turned
out, had found the excessive drought an insuperable obstacle to
an advance. It was therefore decided to return, and beyond a
partial examination of this inhospitable strip of coast, whose
moving dunes have stood in the way of thorough exploration
down to our own day, no very important geographical results were
gained.
This was the last serious attempt at northern exploration
under the Dutch regime, for the political events at the close of
the century, which ended in the British occupation of the colony,
engrossed the attention of the government. After the surrender
to the British, a journey of considerable extent through the
interior was made by Mr (afterwards Sir John) Barrow, who had
been sent out officially in connection with the establishment of
the new government. Barrow's narrative, published in two parts
in 1 80 1 and 1804, long remained one of the most used sources
of information on South Africa, though the ground traversed by
him had already, for the most part, been made known by
previous travellers. His farthest in the interior was at a point
on the Upper Orange River, beyond the Sneeuwberg, and above
the junction with the northern tributary, the Vaal. This was the
only portion of his route which led him much beyond the limits
of the country settled by the Dutch.
The journeys described in this chapter had resulted in a fair
general knowledge of the interior up to the line of the Orange
River, and had shed some light on the tracts immediately north
of its lower course. They constituted a stage in the progress of
exploration in South Africa, and it was not until w^ell on in the
next century that a further decided step forward was made, leading
to the unveiling of the more distant interior up to and beyond the
Zambezi.
400 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 17OO-180O [CHAP.
III. Arctic.
In the first chapter of this book we spoke of the great
period of Arctic Exploration which began about 1550 and was
characterised, firstly by the search for a northern passage to the
East Indies, and secondly by the whaling enterprise in the
northern seas, chiefly around Spitsbergen. During the whole
subsequent period, between the first quarter of the seventeenth
and the last quarter of the eighteenth century — i.e. for about a
century and a half — a pause in Arctic discovery ensued, and so
little had been effected that material for a continuance of the
story has been almost entirely lacking. The early activity had
been called into play by practical considerations^ and when it
had been virtually established that no feasible route for trade
purposes existed in the far north, the inducement to continue the
struggle was in great measure removed. Two or three voyages
from this intermediate period must, however, be referred to before
touching upon the Arctic occurrences of later date.
Among the voyages of the Dutch whalers and walrus hunters
subsequent to 1625, the one which has attained most celebrity is
that of Willem de Vlamingh in 1664. According to the state-
ment of Witsen, this bold seaman, during a voyage to Novaya
Zemlya, rounded the northern extremity of the group, and
passing near the scene of Heemskerk's and Barents's distressful
wintering on the east coast, sailed E.S.E. to a point in 74°, where
he saw nothing but open water. It is sometimes stated that
De Vlamingh visited the winter quarters of the earlier Dutch
voyagers, but as no mention is made of the house there erected
(which was still standing in the latter half of the nineteenth
century), it is probable that no landing was made on this side of
Novaya Zemlya. Another statement of Witsen, on which implicit
trust cannot be placed, is to the effect that in 1700 Captain
Cornelius Roule had sailed north in the longitude of Novaya
Zemlya and had sighted a previously undiscovered land. As has
been so often the case in Polar voyages, it is probable that a
bank of fog had been mistaken for land. Various rumours were
also current at this time, in Holland and elsewhere, that ships
had either sailed right up to the Pole itself, or had made the
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, I/OO-lSoO 4OI
voyage from Japan to Europe across the Polar basin, reaching a
latitude of 84°. But all such statements, like the similar claim
said to have been made by Mandeville three centuries earlier, are
obviously purely imaginative.
Partly through trust in these statements, and partly from a
study of the voyages of Barents and other early navigators, and
from theoretic considerations, an EngHshman, Captain John
Wood, put forward a scheme for a voyage through the polar sea
in search of a passage to Japan and Tartary, which he thought
would most probably be found midway between Spitsbergen and
Novaya Zemlya, as the ice, in his view, would cause most
obstruction near a coast-line. Having obtained the support of
the King, the Duke of York, and other influential persons, he
sailed in 1676 with two ships — H.M.S. Speedwell and the Pros-
perous pink — the latter in command of Captain William Flawes.
But the voyage was unfortunate. Unbroken ice was found to bar
the way wherever a passage was attempted, and the ships could
not advance beyond 76° N. Encountering stormy weather and
thick fog in the ice off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, the Speedwell
ran on a rock on June 29 and was lost, the Prosperous narrowly
escaping a like fate thanks to her smaller size. Wood and his
men got to land with great difficulty, and found themselves in
almost hopeless case until providentially rescued by Captain
Flawes. The result was entirely to shatter Wood's belief in the
chances of a passage, and to make him brand as intentionally
misleading the reports which had seemed to favour such a possi-
bility. Naturally, nothing further was done to prosecute the search.
Another voyage of this period deserving mention is that of
the German surgeon Frederik Martens, who in 167 1 visited
Spitsbergen, and wrote an excellent account of that ice-bound
land, on which it long remained the standard authority.
From the early part of the i8th century the only voyage to
this part of the Arctic regions which calls for notice is that of the
Dutch whaling captain, Cornells GiUis or Giles, to the north-
east of Spitsbergen in 1707. In this year the sea appears to
have been particularly free from ice in these parts, for Gillis was
able to pass the latitude of 81° to the north of the Seven Islands,
and then sailed east in an open sea until, bending his course to
H. 26
402 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
the south-east and south, he came, in 80°, to new land that was
not again sighted for over a century and a half. It must have
been the White Island of modern navigators, lying between
Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land, which forms an inaccessible
mass of snow-covered land. Gillis is said to have returned
through Hinlopen Strait, and did not therefore complete the
circumnavigation of the Spitsbergen group. He seems to have
made accurate surveys of its coasts, though little was known of his
voyage until, nearly 70 years later, his papers fell into the hands
of the English writer, the Hon. Daines Barrington, and so
attained publicity.
Of the Arctic voyages during the eighteenth century some
have already been spoken of in chapters dealing primarily with
other parts of the world. The Russian surveys on the north
coast of Siberia have been described in Chapter x, while in
dealing with Captain Cook's voyages it was necessary to pass
from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean in telling of the attempt
to push north through Bering Strait which formed one of the
main tasks laid down in the programme of the third voyage.
Again, certain attempts from the side of Hudson Bay have
fallen naturally into place when speaking of the exploration of
Northern Canada. One or two other efforts at northern dis-
covery during our period remain to be mentioned here. None
was in itself of great importance, but one at least — that of Captain
Phipps in 1773 — marks a new start in Arctic enterprise, and may
be regarded as constituting to some extent a preliminary stage of
the great Arctic campaign of the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries.
It was once more to the initiative of a private individual that
the impulse in this direction was due. The Hon. Daines
Barrington, a son of Viscount Barrington and brother of a dis-
tinguished admiral and also of a bishop, having turned his
attention to the subject of Arctic voyages, collected all the in-
formation thereon that he could lay hands on, and placed it before
the Royal Society with a view to showing that the attainment of
the North Pole itself was quite a feasible project. This was perhaps
the first time that this object was held out as something to be
striven for in itself, the earlier Arctic ventures having almost
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O 403
invariably been undertaken with some practical and commercial
aim in view. The age of scientific exploration was now beginning,
and the scheme set on foot by Barrington was but one out of
many manifestations of the spirit of enquiry now abroad, which,
as we have seen already, found its opportunity during the period
of peace ushered in by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. As a matter
of fact Barrington's information was far from trustworthy, but he
succeeded in interesting the Royal Society in the matter, and,
this body having approached the King through the Earl of Sand-
wich, the despatch of a Government expedition was resolved upon.
The command was entrusted to Captain Constantine Phipps
(afterwards Lord Mulgrave), who sailed in the Racehorse^ while
a second ship, the Carcass, was placed under the command of
Commander Lutwidge. Both vessels were of the kind technically
known as bombs, and were therefore unusually strong and specially
suited for ice-navigation. They were fitted out with great com-
pleteness, and, among other appliances, their equipment in-
cluded the apparatus for distilling water invented by Dr Irving,
who sailed in X\\t Racehorse as surgeon \ The ships left Deptford
towards the end of May, 1773, finally sailing from the Nore on
June 10. After some delay from unfavourable winds and fogs,
the expedition was off the south part of Spitsbergen before the
end of the month, the weather remaining mild. The land was
sighted on the 29th in about 77° 59'N., being composed of high
black rocks, with snow-filled valleys. Continuing their northerly
course past Magdalena Hoek, the navigators reached the ice-field
on July 5, and now began a vain attempt to find a passage through
it. At first they pushed through the looser ice towards the
north-west, but on the 9th, having reached by their reckoning
Long. 2° 2 E. in about Latitude 80° 36' N., found the main field
to form a compact impenetrable body, and therefore turned east-
ward once more. After anchoring on the 13th at Vogelsang near
the rocky point called the Cloven Cliff, they made successive
attempts to push east or north, but in vain. In the former
direction the ice joined the land, while to the north, in about
^ Apart from its geographical significance, the expedition is noteworthy
from the fact that the future hero, Horatio Nelson, served in it as a midship-
man.
26 — 2
404
ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-180O [CHAP.
Lat, 80° 37' N., it ran in an unbroken line from east to west.
Passing in sight of the Seven Islands, the ships reached the mouth
of Vaigatz Strait, where one of the boats had an adventure with
Constantine John Phipps, Earl of Mulgrave.
(From the portrait in the National Gallery.)
a number of walruses. The weather was delightful and the sea
smooth, but the ice soon began to close round the ships. It was
feared that they would not get clear, and preparations were made for
XV] ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 170O-1800 405
abandoning them, but thanks to a favouring wind they were forced
through on August 10, and once more reached open water. In
view of the lateness of the season, Captain Phipps now decided
to return, and after a favourable passage reached the Nore on
September 25. The results of the voyage were purely negative
the ice having apparently offered an unusually solid barrier,
though the weather conditions had been favourable. Little en-
couragement was therefore forthcoming for a renewal of the
attempt, and no further effort to push north by this route was
made for some years.
Somewhat farther west, on the south-east coast of Greenland,
an isolated attempt at exploration was made before the end of the
century by a Danish expedition — one of the many about this time
which enjoyed Royal patronage, King Christian VII of Denmark
taking a personal interest in it. In spite of this advantage the
expedition met with but little success. It was despatched in
1786 under Captain Lowenorn and Lieutenant Egede, with the
object, besides other exploration, of searching for the old colony
supposed to have existed in Eastern Greenland many years
before, but long lost sight of. The voyagers encountered great
obstacles in the masses of ice which beset the Greenland coast
and which entirely barred access to it in the latitudes within
which the attempt was made — roughly between 65° and 67° N.
The ships returned to Iceland, whence Egede made a second,
equally fruitless, effort to reach the land later in the same summer.
He wintered in Iceland and returned to the task, accompanied
by Lieutenant Rothe, in May 1787, but was forced to turn back.
In June he started once more, but the obstacles still proved too
formidable, and he was obliged to abandon the attempt, without
accomplishing anything in the way of actual exploration. It was
not until well on in the nineteenth century that any real progress
towards a knowledge of Eastern Greenland was made. Its coast
is perhaps more persistently ice-bound than any other part of the
Arctic regions, rendering its exploration a matter of exceptional
difficulty.
From the American side of the Arctic regions an abortive
attempt at further exploration had been made a few years be-
fore this (1776-77) in connection with Cook's third voyage, the
406 ASIA, AFRICA, AND ARCTIC, 17OO-180O [CH. XV
intention being to prepare the way for the return of that naviga-
tor, should he have been successful in finding a passage from the
Pacific to the Atlantic by the far north. In 1776 Lieutenant
Richard Pickersgill was sent -by the British Admiralty in the armed
brig Lion^ primarily for the protection of British whalers in Davis
Strait, but, this task accomplished, he was instructed to make
a survey of Baffin Bay in view of a proposed repetition of the
voyage in the following year. The Lion left Deptford on
May 25. On June 29 soundings of 320 — 330 fathoms were
struck in the North Atlantic in 57° N., 24° 24' W. — a position
roughly corresponding to that in which the imaginary Busse
Island of Frobisher had been placed on the charts, and this sub-
marine bank was taken by Pickersgill to represent the remains of
that island. On July 7 Cape Farewell was passed, and on the
8th the Lion became entangled in the ice-field off the south-west
coast of Greenland. The commander now made the mistake of
clinging too closely to this coast, and the ice drifting along it
made progress slow. By August 3 he had only reached 65' 37' N.,
though by moving out into the central channel between the two
ice-fields he was able to make much better progress the next day,
and reached 68° 37' N. But he now lost heart and decided to
turn back, though practically nothing had been done towards
carrying out the intended survey.
The Lion was sent out again the next year in command of
Lieutenant Walter Young, who was instructed to explore the
western coasts of Baffin Bay, searching for inlets which might offer
hopes of a passage westward. If any such were found, an attempt
was to be made to push on in that direction. Nothing of the
kind, however, was accomplished. Cape Farewell was reached
early in June, but on entering the ice-pack stormy weather was
encountered. In spite of this, the latitude of 72° 42' N. — con-
siderably higher than had been attained the previous year — was
reached on June 8, but, the channel between the ice-fields on
either side having then become extremely narrow. Young gave up
all attempts to prosecute the objects of the expedition, and re-
turned homewards, reaching the Nore on August 26. Thus ended
the last serious attempt for many years to push northward by the
Baffin Bay route.
I
CONCLUSION
A rapid \iew may now be taken of the main characteristics
and phases of exploration during the period dealt with in this
volume. Opening with the retirement of Spain and Portugal
from the position of chief actors in the drama, its early stages
were marked by the rising activity of the Dutch and English in
the maritime struggle for the eastern trade ; of the French in the
exploitation and partial settlement of northern North America;
and of the Russians in the conquest of the wide plains of Siberia.
In none of these cases did exploration for its own sake form the
ruling motive of the pioneers by whom these conquests were
achieved, but incidentally to the quest for commercial advantages
much was done to extend the bounds of geographical knowledge.
From the point of view of general world-knowledge the most
notable achievements during the first half of our period were
the voyages of Tasman, which did more than any others to draw
back the veil from the previously unknown Australasian area;
and the various Arctic voyages of the Dutch and English in search
of the north-east and north-west passages.
After about the middle of the seventeenth century maritime
discovery entered, temporarily, upon a less active phase, though
the doings of the Buccaneers helped to extend acquaintance
with the South Seas, though mainly confined to certain definite
routes. The name of Dampier stands out among the rest as
most meritorious from our point of view. Land exploration
owed much at this time to the energy of the Jesuit and other
missionaries in various parts of the world, especially in Spanish,
Portuguese, and French America, in all of which they showed
themselves active as pioneers in the wilds beyond the hmits of
regular settlement.
408 CONCLUSION
About the middle of the eighteenth century may be said
to have begun the modern period, par excellence^ of geographical
discovery, which has continued with no decided break to our
own times. Exploration was now first definitely undertaken with
scientific, rather than commercial aims. After the conclusion of
the Treaty of Paris in 1763, expeditions for research purposes were
inaugurated on all hands, investigations into the natural history
of the regions visited being combined with survey-work of a more
precise character than had previously been undertaken. The
transit of Venus in 1769 supplied the incentive for some of the
most important exploring work of the century, being the im-
mediate cause of the despatch of the first of Cook's famous
expeditions, as well as of the series of research expeditions carried
out by Russian savants in Siberia. Elsewhere, too, exploration
began to take on a more scientific character, as evidenced in the
work of men like David Thompson in the west of Canada.
Glancing now at the regional extension of exploring work
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it may be said
that the most marked characteristic of the whole period was the
unveiling of the great Pacific Ocean, which down to the end of
the sixteenth century had been traversed by one or two routes
only, the greater part of the area remaining entirely unknown.
By the close of the eighteenth century its waters had been covered
with a complete network of routes, and all the important island
groups had been laid down on the charts with an approach to
accuracy, while the last of the unknown continental coast-lines
bounding the same ocean had been surveyed — in some cases, as
by the work of Vancouver in North- West America, with a high
degree of precision. Land exploration during our period had
shown the most decidedly new departures in the case of northern
North America and Northern Asia, which, practically unknown
to civilised man at its opening, had before its close taken their
place among the regions of the world of which at least the major
features had been laid down on the maps. In other parts of these
continents some extension of previous knowledge had been
brought about, though the central core of Asia still remained to
a great extent a terra incognita. In Africa only the fringe of the
vast interior had been touched before the close of the eighteenth
CONCLUSION 409
century, while in the case of AustraHa all but the coast-line
remained absolutely unknown. The North and South Polar
Regions had also been touched only on their outskirts. The ex-
ploration of these, and of the interior of Africa and Australia
(and to a smaller extent of Asia), remained as the special tasks of
the nineteenth century.
Although, as we have said_, the contemporary period may be
considered to stretch back, in its opening stages, to considerably
before the end of the eighteenth century, yet that point of time,
which has been taken as the limit of this volume, does mark a
real epoch in the history of geographical exploration. The general
distribution of sea and land, and the contours of the great land
masses within the habitable portion of the globe, had then first
become matters of definitely established knowledge.
APPENDIX
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
Chapter I. Dutch NoTth-East Voyages (pp. 25, 30). The fame of
Barents has so over-shadowed that of his associates in the quest for the North-
East Passage that there is perhaps a risk of giving these less than their due of
the credit for the results gained. The reputation of Rijp in particular has, in
the opinion of some, suffered somewhat unjustly for this reason. While
Barents held to the route by Novaya Zemlya, Rijp saw more chance of success
by keeping to the open sea, and it was with this idea that he made his deter-
mined effort to push north through the Barents Sea east of Spitsbergen. Some,
even of Barents' companions, seem to have doubted the wisdom of his course
of action, as has been pointed out by the Dutch historian, Dr S. Muller.
Rijp's experiences were of some importance in connection with the renewed
attempts in 1611-12, under Jan Cornelisz. May, of which mention should have
been made in the text. Like so many Arctic voyagers, Rijp had been misled
into thinking that he had sighted land (named by him Fish Island) at his
farthest north, and it was the verification of this supposed discovery that formed
one of the special tasks assigned to May.
This voyager, known to his contemporaries by the sobriquet "Menscheter"
(man-eater), has remained less known than he deserves to be, no doubt from
the fact that his Arctic journal has only lately been made generally accessible.
He had already commanded a ship in Van Neck's voyage to the East Indies in
1598, and was afterwards captain of Spilbergen's ship on his voyage of circum-
navigation in 1614-17. The idea that a course through the open Polar sea
might meet with less obstruction from ice than one which hugged the land
held its ground even after Hudson's failures to find a passage, and it had the
influential support of Plancius, among others. It also received some encourage-
ment from a book brought out in 16 10 by a German doctor, Helisaeus Roslin,
under the title Alitternachtige Schiffarth. The actual project for a new voyage
was put forward by two private adventurers, Ernest van de Wall and Pieter
Aertsz. dejonge, who after one or two vain attempts persuaded the vStates General
— urged thereto largely by the representations of Plancius — to fit out two ships
for the venture (January 161 1). In order to avoid the drift-ice it was urged
that the voyage should be made as early in the year as possible, and prepara-
tions were therefore hurried forward. The commander was to sail in the Vos,
while his colleague, Symon Willemsz. Cat, was appointed to the Craen. The
pilots were Pieter Fransz. and Cornelis Jansz. Mes, and the two projectors
I
APPENDIX 411
sailed as factors — \^an de Wall in the IV9, De Jonge in the Craen. May's
nephew Jan Jacobsz. May also sailed with him. The ships left the Texel on
March 28, 161 1, passed the North Cape on April 14, and Vjegan their search
for a passage between Spitsbergen and the supposed Fish Island of Rijp.
But the ice offered an insuperable barrier, as was also the case on a second
attempt between the supposed Fish Island and Novaya Zemlya. Nor were
they more successful on once more trying Barents's old route along the coast
of Novaya Zemlya. It was therefore resolved to pass to the second part of the
programme, the examination of the coast of North America (Nova Francia).
Sighting Newfoundland on October 29 they sailed south along the coast,
searching for harbours and entering into some traffic with the natives, though
this was marred by a fatal affray. The most southerly point reached seems to
have been south of the Hudson, in 40° 35' N., and some of the names given to
features on this coast held their ground in later maps.
Early in 161 2 it was resolved that the Craen should remain on this coast
while May in the Vos renewed the attack on the ice-fields. Conditions were
even worse than in 161 1 and though on two successive attempts to sail N.W.
from Novaya Zemlya latitudes of 77° and over were attained, the voyagers
had again to own themselves beaten. The Vos was back in Holland early in
October, the Craen having already arrived in July.
A geographical result of the voyage was the elimination from the map of
the various lands placed conjecturally in the space between vSpitsbergen and
Novaya Zemlya — " Willoughby's land," " Matsyn," and "Fish Island." An
indirect result was the further prosecution of enterprise by companions of May,
both in the Arctic sea and on the American coast. On one of the voyages,
carried out in 1614 by the younger May with Joris Carolus (see p. 44) as pilot,
the island of Jan Mayen was visited, and it is to the commander on this
occasion that the island appears to owe its name, and not, as was once thought,
to his uncle. It has been held by some that it was then first discovered, though
the belief in the identity of the island with "Hudson's Tutches" (see p. 28)
seems a reasonable one, while the island may also have been visited by others
before 161 4. The voyages to the American coast had an important result in
the founding of the Dutch ''Compagnie van NieuwNederland," the forerunner
of the Dutch West India Company.
Chapter V. Early Jesuit Journeys to Tibet (p. 131). h. good deal of
misconception has hitherto prevailed on the subject of Andrade's journey to
Tibet, but the actual facts have been clearly stated by Mr C. Wessels in an
article in De Studien (Nijmegen), 191 2. Misled by the identity of name
between the chief place in Garhwal and Srinagar in Kashmir, some have
supposed that the journey led through the latter country, which is quite a
mistake. It has also been held that the traveller made his way to Lake
Manasarowar, but this seems equally erroneous. The only body of water
spoken of by him is a ianqite or pool at the source of the Ganges, which,
according to the latest information, does actually exist. There is also no
foundation for the statement that Andrade continued his journey across
Northern Tibet to China. After reaching Chaprang for the second time he
spent several years in missionary work there, and after he left his labours were
412 APPENDIX
continued by other missionaries. Another Jesuit, father Cacella, appears to
have reached Shigatze in south central Tibet in 1627, and to have been
succeeded on his death in 1630 by Father Cabral. After 1650, the Jesuit
missions in Tibet ceased for over 60 years. Except the above missionaries, no
traveller is known to have visited the source of the Ganges or to have crossed
the western Himalayas until the nineteenth century.
Chapter VIII. Spanish Discovoy of the Caroline Islands, 1 686-1 733.
While, as has been seen in Chapter viii, the English circumnavigators usually
held to a more or less definite track across the Pacific, passing one or other of
the Ladrone Islands, something was done during the same period by the
Spanish authorities to bring to light the small scattered islands to the south of
that group, since known as the Carolines. The first discovery is said to have
been made in 1686, when a Spanish ship commanded by Don Francisco Lazeano
lighted upon a "large island" which he named Carolina in honour of the
reigning king of Spain, Carlos 11. The Ladrones had by this time been
occupied by Spain, and about 1688 the governor Quiroga sent an expedition to
search for this island, but without result. In 1 696 the island Faroilep is said to
have been discovered by a pilot, Juan Rodriguez, between 10° and 11° N. — a
latitude which corresponds better with that of Falalep, considerably further
west. Further information was gradually acquired — in part from the reports of
natives carried from their homes by storms — and the idea of establishing a
mission in the islands took shape among the Jesuits of the Philippines, who
gave the name New Philippines to the new discoveries, and sent to Europe
information about them which was printed in the Letlres Edifiantes. The first
attempts, including one in 17 10, under Don Francisco Padilla, accompanied by
Fathers Duberron and Cortil, led to no result ; but eventually Father Juan
Antonio Cantova, a missionary who had previously been stationed at Guam and
had thence collected more definite information than had been before available,
made his way to the Carolines in 1722 ; visiting, so far as can be made out, the
group east of Yap known as Garbanzos. He returned with a colleague in
1 73 1, but two years later was murdered by the inhabitants of Mogmog, near
Falalep.
Chapter IX. French and Spanish Voyages in the Pacific, 1769-74. The
English enterprise in the Pacific from 1764 onwards, and the reports of dis-
coveries resulting therefrom, led indirectly to several voyages by navigators of
other nations, in addition to those mentioned earlier in this book. One of these,
under Jean Francois de Surville, was organised in 1769 by the French in
Bengal in the hope of exploiting for purposes of trade the reported English
discovery of a large rich island in the Central Pacific — a report probably based
on a distorted version of Byron's or Wallis's discoveries. The voyage, made in
the Saint Jean Baptiste, was disastrous. Contrary winds made it impossible
to advance far in the required southerly direction, and the voyagers were
reduced to great straits by attacks of scurvy and the lack of fresh water.
After sighting Juan Fernandez, and at length reaching the coast of Peru,
their misfortunes culminated in the loss of their commander by the capsizing of
a boat.
APPENDIX 413
Just at this time the Spanish authorities were viewing with jealous eye the
British doings in the Pacific, and the Viceroy of Peru, Don Manuel de Amat y
Junient, had obtained permission to fit out an expedition to search for and
occupy the long reported Davis's Land, by some identified with Easter Island,
visited by Roggeveen in 1722. Two ships of war were fitted out and placed
under the command of Don Felipe Gonzalez, who sailed in the Sa?i Loi-enzo,
while the frigate Santa Rosalia had as captain Don Antonio Domonte. The
expedition sailed from Callao on October 10, 1770, reaching Easter Island on
November 15, The island was formally annexed to the Crown of Spain under
the name San Carlos, and a survey carried out ; while, on leaving, a search for
other land to the west was made. Only in 1908 was this voyage rescued from
oblivion by the care of Dr Bolton Corney, by whose researches several
imprinted documents bearing on it had been unearthed.
The Spanish authorities followed up this voyage by others, all with Tahiti
as their destination ; but little information about them has yet been made
public. During Cook's visit to Tahiti in the course of the second voyage,
news was obtained of the visit of a Spanish vessel early in 1773, which has been
wrongly thought to have been that commanded by Don Cayetano de Langara
y Huarto (who did not sail till 1775). In reality the first two voyages were
made by Don Domingo Bonechea, who sailed on the first in 1772. Having
returned to Peru, he again left Callao in the frigate Santa Maria Magdalena
(or Aguila), accompanied by the despatch vessel San Miguel, on September 20,
1774 ; Tahiti being reached on November 15 of the same year. A consider-
able stay was made there, and a good deal of information on the island is
contained in a journal kept by the interpreter Maximo Rodriguez, of which a
MS. copy is in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society. This too
Dr Corney hopes shortly to publish for the first time, like that of Gonzalez,
under the auspices of the Hakluyt Society. Bonechea died at Tahiti.
Chapter XIII. Exploration on North- West Coast of Hudson Bay, i8///
century (pp. 3'29-33o). Some additional details on this subject may here be
given. The voyage of Christopher Middleton in search of a western passage by
this route has been spoken of on p. 329. Its results were not considered satis-
factory by Dobbs, who in a heated controversy with Middleton maintained
that the desired passage was still probable. Funds were raised for a new
expedition, which sailed in 1746 in the ships Bobbs and California, Captains
William Moore and Francis Smith respectively, the former of whom had taken
part in Middleton's expedition as Captain of the Discovery. Mr Henry Ellis
also sailed with the commission to chart the anticipated discoveries, and he
eventually wrote the narrative of the expedition. Having wintered near York
Factory, the ships sailed north in 1747 and explored the coast. Moore and
Ellis in the Dobbs' s long-boat discovered Corbett's Inlet, while Smith in the
California attempted to enter Rankin's Inlet (discovered by Lieut. John
Rankin of the Furnace in 1742). Subsequently the two long-boats continued
the exploration in company and discovered the most important inlet of the
whole coast — Chesterfield Inlet — which received its name on this occasion. It
was ascended for a long distance, its width fluctuating between three or four
and six or seven leagues. But though it seemed to open out at the farthest
414 APPENDIX
point leached, the explorers ' 'were discouraged from proceeding farther, because
that the water from being sah, tiansparent, and deep ; with steep shores, and
strong currents, grew fresher, thicker, and shallower, at that height." After
this the ships went north again to examine the so-called Wager Strait ; but
finding it to be a bay only, they gave up the task and sailed for England.
The main chance of finding a westward passage now lay in the further
exploration of Chesterfield and Corbett's Inlets, and for this purpose Captain
Christopher was sent north in 1761 in the ChiwchilL He is said to have
ascended Chesterfield Inlet for about 100 miles, but then turned back as the
water had become almost fresh. Returning next year accompanied by Mr Norton
he pushed on to the freshwater lake into which the Dubawnt river debouches ;
but without seeing this. The lake received its name. Baker Lake, on this
occasion. In 1764 Rankin Inlet was explored by Captain Johnson, whose
surveys, like those of Christopher, are embodied in a MS. chart preserved at
the Admiralty,
The despatch in 1790 of Captain Charles Duncan — the same whose voyage
to N.W. America is referred to on p. 281— was due to the solicitations of
Alexander Dalrymple, who urged on the Hudson Bay Company the possibility
of still finding a passage by way of Roe's Welcome. Reaching Hudson Bay in
1790 Duncan found so much obstruction put in his way that he returned with-
out doing anything. In 1791 he was sent again in a new ship, the Beaver, but
was so delayed by ice in Hudson Strait that he could dc nothing beyond
carrying out an examination of Corbett's Inlet to its head. In 1792 he went in
the Beaver to Chesterfield Inlet, which he then ascended by boat, proceeding
on through Baker Lake to the river which enters at its head. It had been part
of his commission to trace the supposed connection between this river and the
outlet of Dubawnt Lake discovered by Hearne ; but finding the river to come
for some distance rather from the north than the west, he gave up the attempt
after tracing it upwards some 30 miles. With this voyage all efforts to
prosecute the search ceased for the time.
Chapter XIV. Dutch Exploration in Guiana, 18/// century. During
this century much enterprise was shown by Dutch traders and prospectors in
pushing into the interior of their colony of Guiana, especially during the
vigorous administration of the Governor Storm van 's Gravesande, whose
despatches were first printed in 191 1 by the Hakluyt Society under the editor-
ship of Messrs Harris and De Villiers. They show that a considerable know-
ledge of the geography and peoples of the intericjr, up to and beyond the
borders of Brazil, was possessed by the authorities. From about 1740 onwards
miners pushed up into the Upper Essequibo region in search of ores, while
a Treatise on the Posts, written by Storm in 1764, shows that traders regularly
made their way by the Essequibo and Rupununi to the interior savannahs, and
that some had advanced down the Takutu and Rio Branco as far as the
Portuguese Missions. Documentary evidence has lately been brought to light
showing that the journey to the Rio Branco had been made as early as 17 18 by
a Jew named Gerrit Jacobs. The claim of a mining prospector, Salomon
Sanders, to have ascended the Corentyn to its source in 1720, seems not to be
trustworthy, though he probably advanced some distance up that river.
APPENDIX 415
Chapter XV. The French in Madagascar, i%th coihtry. A renewal of
French activity in this great island during the latter part of the i8th century
brought about some additions to knowledge. In 1750 a concession of the
island of Ste Marie off the north-east coast was obtained on behalf of the
Compagnie des Indes, and in 1768 Fort Dauphin was re-occupied by M. de
Modave for the French government. Among scientific travellers who visited
Madagascar about this time, besides Commer9on and Sonnerat (see p. 224),
were M. Poivre and the Abbe Rochon. In 1774 the Hungarian adventurer
Benyowski, who had gained the countenance of the authorities, established a
settlement on Antongil Bay, but, being eventually disavowed, he entered upon
a career of lawlessness which ended in his death in 1786. The most important
travels in the interior were those of one Mayeur, interpreter at the French
establishments, who between 1774 and 1785 traversed the northern part of
the island to the Sakalava country, visited the northern extremity, and made
two journeys to the Hova province of Imerina. His accounts were not entirely
superseded until the end of the nineteenth century.
INDEX
Note. Names of Ships are in Italics.
Abai River, Abyssinia, shown on Fra
Mauro's map, 144 ;/., desci-ibed by
Paez, 145
Abendroth Island, Pacific, 2 1 1
Abreu, Antonio Fernandez de, dis-
covers mines in Mato Grosso, 361
Abriis precatoriiis, seeds of, 193
Abyssinia, Le Blanc's travels in, 62 ;
Jesuit and other intercourse with,
144 j-^^.; Fra Mauro's knowledge
of, 144 «.; Jesuits expelled, 149;
Capuchins and others try to estab-
lish Mission, ibid.\ mistakes of
cartographers respecting, 150 ;
journeys to, by Nile, 151, (Krump's)
152 ; Bruce's journeys in, 384 seq.\
anticipated by Jesuits, 384 ; his
descent of western escarpment, 389 ;
his description of, 390
Academy of Sciences, Paris, 212 ;
geodetic operations of, 369
Acapulco, Anson at, 202 ; Malaspina
at, 283
Acapulco Galleon, buccaneers lie in
wait for the, 187; smaller, taken by
Woodes Rogers, 198
Accault, his journey Avith Hennepin,
113
Achani tribe, Amur, 125
Acuna, Cristoval d', voyage down
Amazon and narrative, 173
Adair, trader to Ohio, 346 n.
Adams, William, takes part in Dutch
voyage to Japan, 50 ; his residence
there, 52 ; meets Saris, 57; voyages
to Siam, ibid.
Adanson, French botanist, patron of
Gmelin, 376
Aden, lessened importance of, 56
Admiralty Islands, N. of New Guinea,
named by Carteret, 221 ; Hunter
at, 308 ; French uniforms seen at,
315; D'Entrecasteaux at, 316
Adua, Abyssinia, 152
Adventure, sails on Cook's second
voyage, 235 ; parts company, 238 ;
rejoined by Resolution in New
Zealand, 239; scurvy on, ibid.\
again separated, 240 ; at Queen
Charlotte Sound, 243 ; disaster to
boat's crew and voyage home, 244
Adventure Bay or Sound, Tasmania,
Cook at, 246 ; D'Entrecasteaux at,
3/5' 317
Africa, knowledge of, A.D. 1600, 7 ;
Le Blanc's travels in, 62 ; 1 7th cent.
exploration in, 143 seq.\ i8th cent.
exploration in, 384 seq.\ interior
almost unknown in 1800, 408
Africa, North, Bruce's travels in,
Africa, South, early travels in, 1 60 ;
exploration in, 17th and i8th cent.,
390 seq.\ position in 1800, 399
Africa, West, travel in, 17th cent.,
153 •5"^'/-; slave trade in, 155; De
Gennes touches at coast, 203 ; {see
Gambia, Sierra Leone, Senegal,
etc.)
African Galley, 210; wrecked, 211
Agagir elephant hunters, 389
Agau countries, visited by Lobo, 149
Agra, visited by Sharpeigh, 56 ; by
Coryat, 62 ; by >Iandelslo, 65 ;
Goes starts from, for China, 130;
Grueber reaches, 135
Aguarico River, Upper Amazon basin,
172
Aguila, 413
Aguirre, descent of Amazon by, 8,
172
Ahmetkent, Gmelin dies at, 377
Aigle, Bouvet's ship, 207 ; Bougain-
ville's ship, 2 [4, 222
Aigun, station of, Amur, 127
Ainus of Yezo, Vries hears of, 88
27
4i8
INDEX
Aitutaki Island, S. Pacific, 311, 312
Ajmere, Jehangir's court at, 6^
Akbar, Emperor, merchant from
China at court of, 130
Aksu, E. Turkestan, 130
Alaba, Galla-land, 148
Alaseya River, Siberia, reached by-
Russians, 120
Alashan range, Mongolia, 138
Alaska, Cook on coast of, 250-252;
Gvosdef reaches coast of, 260, 268
(map) ; Bering and Chirikof on
coast of, 266 ; fur-traders in, 269 ;
explorations on coast of, by La
Perouse, 274; by British fur-traders,
279 se(/.; by Malaspina, 283;
British sovereignty proclaimed by
Vancouver, 297 ; white men's visits
to, reported to Mackenzie, 340
{see America, N.W. ).
Alaska penins. , Cook at, 250 ; Bering
at, 266
Alata, cataract of. Blue Nile, 145 ;
Bruce visits, 388
Alava, Jose, Spanish representative
at Nootka, 297
Albacaor Albay, Philippines, eruption
of, 77 «•
Albanel, Father, reaches Hudson Bay
from South, 109
Albany., voyage to Hudson Bay, 329
Albay volcano, see Albaca
Albazikha River, Upper Amur, 126
Albazin, Upper Amur, founded, 126;
sieges of, 127
Aldan River, Siberia, 123, 125
Aleppo, overland route to east from,
60 seq.
Aleutian Islands, Cook explores, 250,
252; Russians in, 252 ; Bering sights
volcanoes of, 266; Russian trappers
in, 269 ; Billings and Sarichef in,
271
Alexander, voyage in W. Pacific, 305
Alexeief, Feodot, voyages on N.E.
coast of Siberia, 121, 122
Alfred, King, Other's voyage narrated
to, 14
Algiers, Bruce consul-general at, 385
Algoa Bay, reached by Beutler, 392
Algonquins of Canada, 98 seq.
Ali Bey, ruler of Egypt, 386
Alleghanies, a barrier to advance
westward, 346 ; Walker crosses,
ibid. ; Boon crosses, 348
Aller, Julian de, his work among
Moxos, 177
Allouez, Father, journeys in Canada,
108
Almeida, Manoel d', History of
Abyssinia, 145
Altai Mts, Gerbillon hears of, 139;
Pallas's researches in, 376
Alvarez, embassy of, to Abyssinia,
144
Amapalla Bay, Cent. America, 197
Amatafu Island, see Tiafu
Amat y Junient, Don Manuel de,
413
Amazon River, Roe's visit to, d}^ ;
early explorations in basin of, 171
seq. ; descent by Spanish Mission-
aries, 172 ; ascent by Teixeira, 173;
Acuiia's work on, ibid. ; connection
with Orinoco, 174, 368; Dutch and
English on, 174 n.; Fritz's account
and map, 175; journeys in basin
of, r8th cent., 362-3, 367-8; de-
scent by La Condamine, 370; by
Madame God in, ibid.
Amazons, supposed female warriors,
174
Ambuina, English and Dutch at, 54 ;
Funnell at, 197 ; D'Entrecasteaux
at, 316
Ambrose, — , with Dampier in Cygnet,
191
Ambrym Island, New Hebrides, Cook
sights, 242
America, recognised as an independent
land-mass, 3 ; strait between Asia
and, 3, 13, 121; importance of Jesuit
journeys in, 407
America, Central, buccaneers in, 183
seq.
America, North, knowledge of, A.D.
1600,9; explorations in, 17th cent.,
97 seq. ; position of western ex-
tremity, 251 ; Vancouver disproves
idea of sea-passage across, 297 ;
land exploration in iSth cent., 322
seq. ; French in, 407 ; exploring
activity in, 408; Dutch on N.E.
Coast, 411
America, North West, proposed ex-
ploration by Narborough, 180;
Cook's voyage to ascertain relations
with Asia, 245, 248; Spanish voy-
ages to, 248, 281, 283, 291, 292,
294 ; supposed island otT extremity
of, 253 ; Bering'sand Chirikof svoy-
ages to, 266 ; Russian trappers in,
269 ; Ismaelof and others explore,
270, 271 ; La Perouse on coast of,
INDEX
419
274; voyages of fur-traders to, 279;
Vancouver's surveys, 289 seq. ; \see
Alaska)
America, South, knowledge of, a.d.
j6oo, 8; discovery in, 17th cent.,
168 seq.\ black-water rivers of,
174 ; buccaneers on coasts of, 183 ;
French on west coast of, 200, 203,
205, 206, 207 ; Malaspina's surveys
on coasts, 283 ; i8th cent, explora-
tions in, 358^-67.; political bound-
aries in, 364
Anigun River, Lower Amur, 127
Anioenitates Exoticae, title of work by
Kaempfer, dd
Amossof, Feodot, explorations off X.
Siberian coast, 257
Amoy, Clipperton at, 199
Af)iphitrite, voyage to China, 205
Amsterdam, Indian goods distributed
from, 2 ; Arctic ventures of mer-
chants of, 21 seq.
Amsterda?}i, voyage of the, 80
Amsterdam Island, Indian Ocean, De
Mamingh passes, 208 ; Crozet sails
for, 237 ; Vancouver misses, 287 ;
position fixed by D'Entrecasteaux,
Amsterdam Island, Pacific, 92, 240
Amu Darya, old bed examined by
Bekovich, 373
Amur River, Russians on, 12^ seq.;
main stream navigated by Poyarkof,
124; Khabarof's voyage, 125; ex-
plorations in upper basin of, 1 26 ;
lower basin evacuated, 127; crossed
by Jesuits from China, 139 ; Aca-
demicians on Upper, 261 ; mouth
not reached by La Perouse or
Broughton, 300 ; Messerschmidt
on Upper, 374; Pallas on, 376
Anaa, Low Archipelago, 72
Anabara River, Siberia, 263
Anachoretes, lie des, New Guinea,
224 ; D'Entrecasteaux at, 316
Anadyr River, Siberia, expedition in
search of, 122 and ;/.; reached by
Deshnef, ibid. ; sea-route to, not
used, 123; Paulutzki on, 261 ; route
to Kamchatka by, 258; reached by
Laptef, 264
Anadyrsk station founded, 122
Anamocka or Anamuka Island, see
Namuka
Anchorite Island, see Anachoretes
Ancient Mariner, Rime of the, igg n.
Anderson, Mr, sails with Cook, 246
Andes, geodetic operations in, 369
Andrade, Antonio de, journey through
Tibet, 131, 411
Afidi-eaji, 269
Andreief, journey of, in Siberian Arctic
Sea, 272
Angara River, reached by Russians,
120
Angasija, Comoro Islands, Beaulieu's
account of, 6r
Angelis, F. A. de, missionai-y in
Abyssinia, [45
Angelis, — de, Jesuit in Japan, 86
Angelo and Carli's journeys in An-
gola, i6^, i66
Angoche Island, S.E. Africa, 61
Angola, Remetszoon's voyage to, 79
Angostura, Orinoco, 368
Angra Pequena, S.W. Africa, Van
Reenens at, 398
Anian, supposed Strait of, 13, 121 ;
Knight's voyage to discover, 329
Anikieffs, Russian merchants, 20
Ankudinof, voyage of, wdth Deshnef,
122
Annapolis basin, 98
Anne, The, sails under Anson, 201 ;
condemned, 202
Anson, Lord, voyage round world,
201
Antarctic, field for discovery, 235 ;
Cook on borders of, 238, 240, 244 ;
exploration abandoned, 245
Antarctic Circle, first crossed by
Cook, 238 ; further crossings, 240
Antongil bay, Madagascar, French
at, 167, 415
Antwerp, Indian goods distributed
from, 2
Anuda Island, Pacific, discovered by
Edwards, 313
Anville, J. B. d', see D'Anville
Anza, Juan Bautista de, searches for
route 10 California, 356
Api Island, New Hebrides, 242
ApoUinaire, Brue's agent on Senegal,
158
Apolobamba, Peru, 176, 177
Aquiluna or Aquilonda, supposed
lake, 164
Arab sword-hunters, 389
Arabia, Middleton in, 56 ; visited by
Le Blanc, 62 ; early intercourse
with, 381 ; Niebuhr's journeys in
S.W., 382-4; his work on, 384;
Bruce on coast of, 387
Araguaya River, Brazil, 171
27—2
420
INDEX
Aratika Island, Low Archip., 211
Arce, Father de, work among Chi-
quitos, 178; journeys in Paraguay,
and death, 359
A 7-changel Michael, Spangberg's ship,
265
Archithinue (Blackfeet) Indians,
Hendry meets, 330, 331
Arctic Circle, crossed by Hearne, 334
Arctic Ocean, early voyages in, 14
seq.i 41 1 ; suggested route to Pacific
through, 247 ; Cook attempts to
navigate, 251 ; Gierke repeats at-
tempt, 254 ; islands in, off Siberian
coast, 257 ; Russian voyages in,
262 ; reached by Hearne, 334 ; by
Mackenzie, 339
Arctic regions, beginnings of ex-
ploration of, II, \\seq.\ explora-
tion in, 1 7th and 1 8th cent., 400 seq. ;
importance of Dutch and English
voyages, 407
Ardrah, W. Africa, [56
Arend, Roggeveen's ship, 210
Argonaut, voyage to N.W. Amei-ica,
282
Argun River, Upper Amur, 126 ; fort
on, 128; Messerschmidt on, 374
Arimoa Island, New Guinea, 211
Arizona, Spanish Missions in, 355 n.
Arkansas River, Marquette and Joliet
near, iii ; Joutel reaches, 116
Arkansas tribe, in, 114
Arkiko, Red Sea, 144
Armenia, Pere de Rhodes in, dd ;
Grueber in, 134
Am hem, 81
Arnhem's Land, 82
Arteaga, Ignacio de, exploration on
W. coast of N. America, 281
Artieda, Andres de, descends Ama-
zon with Teixeira, 173
Aru Islands, touched at by Duifken^
70 ; by Carstensz. and Pieterszoon,
82
Arzina, Lapland, Sir H. Willoughby
perishes at, 16
Ascencao Island of Frezier, 206
Ascension Island, Dampier at, 196 ;
De Gennes at, 204 ; Bougainville
at, 224
Ascension, 53
Asia, knowledge of, A.D. 1600, 5 ;
relations of, with N. America, 3,
245, 253, 256, 259, 268, 269;
N.E. extremity, Cook at, 251 ; [see
Deshnef, Cape)
Asia, Central, early knowledge of,
129; 1 8th cent, journeys in, 372
seq.\ Renat's, 374; his map, 375
Asia, Northern, in Mercator's map
of 1569, 18 n.\ 17th cent, advance
in, \\%seq.\ Strahlenberg's map
and description of, 374; exploring
activity in, 408
Asia, N.E. coasts, Dutch discoveries
on, 124, 258 seq.\ Russian ditto,
124, 256 seq.; La Perouse's ex-
ploration of, 276 ; Broughton's
voyage to, 299 ; {see Kamchatka)
Asia Minor, Coryat visits, 62 ; Pere
de Rhodes in, ()(i ; Bruce in, 385
Asnaf Segued, Emperor of Abyssinia,
145
Assiniboiles, Lac des, 323
Assiniboine Indians, with La Veren-
drye, 325 ; Kellsey visits, 329 ;
Hendry among, 330
Assiniboine River, exploration of, 325
Assistant, sails under Bligh, 314
Assomption Island, Ladrones, 275
Assuan, Bruce at, 387, 390
Astrabad, Gmelin at, 377
Astrakhan, Gmelin at, 376, 377 ;
Guldenstaedt at, 377
Astrolabe, sails under La Perouse, 273
Asuncion, Paraguay, 366
Asuncion Island, Ladrones, 275
Atabapo River, Venezuela, 368
Atafu Island, Pacific, Edwards at,
312
Atbara, head-stream crossed by Bre-
vedent, 152
Athabasca, Lake, not the Athapuscow
of Hearne, 334 ; tidings of, 336 ;
reached by Pond, ibid. ; misplaced
by him, 338 ; fort founded on, ibid.;
crossed by Mackenzie, 340 ; survey
by Turner, 344
Athabasca River, descended by Pond,
336
Athapuscow Lake (Great Slave L.),
discovered by Hearne, 334
Atiu Island, see Watiu
Atjeh, Sumatra, Houtman killed at,
50 ; Lancaster at, 54; Beaulieu at,
61 ; Dampier at, 191
Atlantic Ocean, supposed connection
with Pacific, 121
Atlantic Ocean, South, reports of land
in, 181, 184 ; Bou vet's search for
land in, 207 ; Vancouver's search
for Ilha Grande in, 298; {see Cir-
cumcision, Cape)
INDEX
421
Atlassof, Vladimir, expedition to
Kamchatka, 123, 128-9
Atrevida, voyage of, under Malaspina,
Attok, Indus, 130
Atui Island, Sandwich group, Cook
at, 248; Vancouver at, 288
Atures, cataract of, Orinoco River, 8
Auge, botanist on Hop's expedition,
S. Africa, 393
Augustinians in Peru, 176
Aurora Island, New Hebrides, 242
Aurungzeb, Bernier physician to, 67
Austral Islands, S. Pacific, 229; Cook
at, 247
Australia, discovery of, in r6th cent.,
doubtful, 4 ; Dutch voyages to, 70,
79 seq. ; proved an independent
land-mass, 93 ; north-west coast
explored by Tasman, 95 ; later
Dutch voyages to, 189; Dampier's
visits to, 190, 192 ; De Vlamingh's
voyage to, 208 ; east coast unknown
before Cook, 230, explored by him,
231-3; Vancouver's survey of S.
coast, 288; Broughton touches at,
299 ; decision to found penal settle-
ment in, 302 ; Bligh on coast of, 31 1 ;
D'Entrecasteaux surveys S. coast,
316; interior unknown, 1800, 409
Austrialia del Espiritu Santo, of Qui-
ros, 73; Bougainville identifies, 223
Avacha bay, Kamchatka, 254, 266 ;
La Perouse at, 277
Avogadro, Jesuit on Rio Negro, 368
Avondstond Island, Pacific, 211
Ayuthia, Siam, English factory at, 57
Azara, Don Felix de. South American
traveller, portrait, etc., 365; surveys
Spanish-Portuguese boundary, 366;
further work, ibid. ; his Scientific
Memoirs, 367 n.
Azevedo, Joao de Sousa e, journey in
S. Brazil, 363
Azevedo, Marcos de, discovers silver
and emeralds in Brazil, 170
Azores, longitudes observed by Cook
at, 244
Baalbek, Bruce visits ruins of, 385
Bab-el- Mandeb, Strait of, Bruce at,
387 . ..
Babylon, ruins visited by Delia \ alle,
63
Bac, see San Xavier del Bac
" Backwoodsmen " in American Colo-
nies, 347
Badakshan, Goes in, 130
Baddan, Nepal, 135
Badrinath, Andrade passes, 131
Baffin, William, North-West voyages
of, 38-40; voyages to Spitsbergen,
42, 44 ; takes longitude by lunar
distance, 39 ; death at Ormuz, 40
Baffin Bay, reached by Davis, 35 ; ex-
plored by Baffin, 40 ; Cook's search
for passage from Pacific to, 250;
Pickersgill and Young in, 406
Baffin Land, discovered by Frobisher,
31
Baghdad, Delia Valle at, 63
Bahia, Pyrard at, 60 ; taken by Dutch,
and retaken, 171 n.\ Dampier at,
192
Bahuida Steppe, 151
Baie Francaise (Bay of Fundy), 98
Baie Francaise, Strait of Magellan,
204
Baikal, Lake, reached by Russians,
120; crossed by Beketof, 126;
Gerbillon's information on, 139;
De la Croyere at, 261 ; crossed by
Pallas, 376
Bailey, William, astronomer on Cook's
third voyage, 246
Bailul, Red Sea, 148
Baker, Joseph, with Vancouver, 287
Baker Lake, Canada, discovered, 414
Baku, Gmeiin at, 376
Bakundi tribe, W. Africa, 163
Balambangan Island, Borneo, 225 and
71.
Balbi, Gasparo, 6
Baltimore, Lord, 104
Ball, Lieut., sails to N.S. Wales with
Phillip, 302 ; voyage to Norfolk
Island, 304; to Batavia, 308
Ball's Maiden Land, W. Pacific, 309
Bambara, W. Africa, 158
Bambuk, gold of, W. Africa, 158;
attempt to reach, ibid. ; reached by
Compagnon, 159
Banda, Keeling at, 56 ; search for
new route to, 189
Banderas, Bay of, Slexico, 187
Banks, Sir Joseph, accompanies Cook,
227 ; botanical collections in New
Zealand, 229; in Australia, 232;
in New^ Guinea, 234; portrait of,
231 ; intended participation in
Cook's second voyage, 235; sup-
ports despatch of Bounty, 310;
secures restoration of Labillardiere's
collections, 319
42:
INDEX
Bantam, Houtman reaches, 48; Lan-
caster at, 54; principal English
factory, 58 ; investment by Dutch,
61
Bantu of S. Africa, Dutch contact
with, 392
Baranof, Great Cape, 264
Baraze, Cypriano, work and travels
among Moxos, 177; murdered,
178
Barbela River, Congo, 164
Barbinais, Le Gentil de la, voyage
across Pacific to China, 206
Barbola, Lake, 165 ;/.
Barbosa, Duarte, 6
Barbot, James, Voyages to Calabar
and Bonny, 155
Barbot, John, description of Guinea,
155
Barclay, Capt., voyage to N.W.
America, 280
Barclay Sound, Vancouver Island,
280
Bardeliere, Michel Frotet de la,
Eastern voyage of, 58
Barents, Willem, his map of the
North, 5 ; Hondius's map of his
discoveries, iS n., 26; a pupil of
Peter Plancius, 20 ; Arctic voyages
of, 2 1 se(/. ; tries to pass Vugor
Strait, 23; favours route to north
of Novaya Zemlya, 24; wintering
there with Heemskerk, and death,
25 ; winter-quarters passed by De
Vlamingh, 400
Barfrush, Persia, Gmelin at, 377
Barker, Andrew, vovage to Green-
land, 38
Barontala, Tibet, 134
Barrakonda and falls, Gambia, 1^4,
161
Barren Lands, Canada, expeditions
to, 329
Barrington, Hon. Daines, publishes
account of Gillis's voyage, 402 ;
urges Arctic exploration, z'did.
Barros, Joao de, on avoidance of South
coast of Java, 49; on Portuguese in
Timbuktu, 1 54 n.
Barrow, Sir John, Journeys in S.
Africa, 399
Barsa Kilmas Lake, Central Asia,
373
Bashi Islands, China Sea, 188
Bass Strait, Islands in, seen by
Furneaux, 239
Basse des Fregates Francais, 275
Bassendine, agent of Muscovy com-
pany, 17
Bassora, Persian Gulf, 63
Basundi tribe, Congo, 163
Eatavia, founded, 53 ; Dampier at,
196 ; Funnell at, 197 ; Roggeveen
at, 211; Wallis at, 218; Carteret at,
I ; Cook at, 234 ; new route to
Canton from,
Shortland at.
306; Hunter at, 308; Ball and King
at, 309; {see Jacatra)
Batavia, 80
Batchelor's Delight, 184
Batchelour, sails under Narborough,
180
Bateke country, Congo, 163
Batta, Francois van, Journey in
Congo, 165
Battas, Duchene, voyage to Chile and
Peru, 206
Bauman, — , sails with Roggeveen,
21 1
Bauman Islands, Pacific, see Bouman
Baurenfeind, W., with Niebuhr in
Arabia, 382 ; death, 383
Baures, Baraze murdered by the, 178;
later missions to, 362
Baures River, Brazil, 362
Baxa, see Buxa
Bay of Islands, New Zealand, Marion
murdered at, 237
Bay of Islands, N.W. America, 250
Bear Island, discovered by the Dutch,
24
Bear Islands, Siberia, 264
Beauchene, Gouin de, voyages of,
204
Beaujeu, commands La Salle's ships,
Beaulieu, Augustin de, voyages of, 60
Beautemps - Beaupre, hydrographer
with D'Entrecasteaux, 314
"Beaux Hommes," N. America, 326
Beaver, trade in skins of, 107
Beaver, voyage of, to Hudson Bay,
414
Beccari, work on Abyssinian History,
145 n.
Becharof, voyage to Alaska, 270
Bechuanas, early reports of, 394
Begon, "Intendant" in Canada, 323
Behrens, Carl Friedrich, with Rogge-
veen, 210 n.
Beit-el-Fakih, coffee mart, Yemen,
383
Beketof, ascent of Selenga River by,
126
INDEX
423
Bekovich Cherkaski, enterprises in
Central Asia, 373
Belem, see Para
Beligatti, Cassiano, his journey to
Lhasa, 142 n.
Bell Sound, Spitsbergen, 25
Bella Coola River, British Columbia,
343
Bellefond, Villault de, voyage on
Guinea coast, 156
Bellin, Nicholas, map of Bering Strait
region, 269 •
Bemmelen, W. van, chart of mag-
netic variation, 77 ;/.
Benares, 135
Bencoolen, Dampier at, 191
Benedict XII, Pope, 129
Bengal, Pyrard's account of, 59 ; mer-
chants of, and American fur trade,
279. 292 ; and New Guinea trade,
319 ; and Pacific exploration, 412 ;
Bhutanese invasion of, 379
Beni River, Amazon basin, 176, 177 ;
mouth passed by De Lima, 362
Benin, knowledge of, A.D. 1600, 7 ;
Nyendael's account of, 155
Bennet, Stephen, names Cherie Is-
land, 24
Benyowski, adventurer in Madagas-
car, 415
Benzelstiern, copy of Renat's map by,
374-5
Bering, \ itus, 245 ; appointed to
command exploring expedition,
259 ; voyage through Bering Strait,
ibid. ; fixes S. point of Kamchatka,
260; new expedition, 261; super-
intends other explorations, 264 ;
begins voyage, 266 ; shipwreck and
death, 267
Bering Bay of Cook, 250; non-exis-
tent, 295
Bering Island, Bering's ship wrecked
on, 267
Bering Sea, Cook in, 250, 252 ;
Russian hunters in, 269
Bering Strait, early rumours of, 121;
said to have been discovered by
Deshnef, 122; Cook enters, 251;
Gierke in, 254 ; Bering's explora-
tion of, 259
Bermudo, Jose, work among Moxos,
177
Bernier, Fran9ois, journey to India,
and work, 67
Bernizet, scientist with La Perouse,
274
Berrio, Antonio de, 9
Best, Captain, victory of, at Swally,
58
Betagh, William, captured by Spani-
ards, 200 ; his account of Peru and
Chile, ibid.
Beutler, August Frederik, expedition
in S. Africa, 392
Bhatgaon, Nepal, 135
Bhutan, missions from India to, 379-80
Bichu River, Tibet, 142
Bighorn Mts, possibly reached by La
V ere nd ryes, 327
Bihouda, see Bahuida
Bileth, Robert, see Byleth
Billings, Capt., expedition to Bering
Strait region, 270
Biscayans, employed in Spitsbergen
whale fishery, 42
Bison ("Buffalo"), of N. America,
seen by Marquette and Joliet, no;
by Kellsey, 329 ; by Hendry, 330 ;
by Escalante, 357
Bissagos Islands, W. Africa, 158
Bissao, W. Africa, visited by Brue,
Biyurt, Senegal, 156
Black water rivers of S. America,
174;/.
Blackfeet Indians, Canada, 330, 331,
332
Blackwater River, British Columbia,
343
Blaeu, maps of Africa by, 150
Blanc, Vincent le, travels, 62
Blanco, Cape, W, Africa, 156
Bland lake, Canada, 334
Blende, Father, journey in Paraguay,
and death, 359
Bligh, William, sails with Cook, 246;
voyages in Bounty and Providence
to procure bread-fruit tree, 310, 314;
portrait, 310; mutiny of his crew,
311; perilous voyage home, 311-
12; surveys in Tasmania, 314
Bluet, Mr, life of Job ben Solomon by,
161
Bobe, Father, memoir on routes in
Canada, 323
Bocage, — du, voyage across Pacific,
207
Bocarro, journey towards L. Nyasa,
166
Bocca Tigris, Canton, Anson at, 203
Bogle, George, mission to Tibet, 379 ;
death, 380 ; publication of his
journals, 381
424
INDEX
Bolcheretsk, Kamchatka, 254
Bokange or Bocanga tribe, W. Africa,
163
Bokhara, Russian advance towards,
373
Bolivia, journeys on E, borders of,
see Paraguay
Bomba Archipelago, 223
Bombay, merchants of, and American
fur trade, 279
Bona Conjidentia, 16
Bona Esperanza, 16
Bonaventura, Father, his journey in
Congo, 165
Bond, Lieut. , surveys in Tasmania by,
314
Bonechea, Don Domingo, voyages of,
to Tahiti, 413
Bonin Islands, discovery of, 85
Bonjour, Father, begins survey of
Yunnan, but dies, 140
Bonny, Barbot's voyage to, 155
Bonthein, Celebes, 221
Booby shoal. Pacific, 308
Boon, Daniel, crosses Mts into Ken-
tucky, 348
Borabora, Society Islands, Cook at,
247
Borkhaya, cape, Siberia, 263
Borneo, visited by Van Noort, 52 ;
E. India Co.'s establishments in,
225 and 12.
Bosnian, Description of Guinea, 155
Boscawen Island, 78
Botany Bay, discovered and named,
232 ; site of penal settlement, 302 ;
surveyed by Hunter, 306 ; naviga-
tion to, 312
Botany Island, New Caledonia, 243
Boucan or dried meat, 182
Boudeuse, see La Boudense
Boudoir, Le, peak, Tahiti, 222
Bougainville, Louis Antoine de, Byron
meets, 214; early life, 221 ; takes
colonists to Falklands, 222 ; voy-
age round world, ibid.
Bougainville Island, Solomons, Bou-
gainville at, 223 ; Shortland at, 305 ;
D'Entrecasteaux's survey, 316
Bougainville Strait, Solomon Islands,
223; D'Entrecasteaux in, 316
Bouguer, his geodetic work in S.
America, 369
Bouman Islands, Pacific, 211
Boundaries, expedition of the, Vene-
zuela, 368
Bounty, voyage of the, 310; mutiny
on, 311 ; Edwards's search for mu-
tineers, 312; their fate, 311 «., 312,
314
Bounty Islands, Southern Ocean, 311
Bourbon, Fort, Cent. Canada, 327
Bourbon (Reunion) Island, 167
Bourdon, Jean, expedition to Hudson
Bay, 106
Bourges, M. de, 68
Boiissole, La Perouse's ship, 273
Bouvet, Jesuit in China, 136
Bouvet, Lozier, voyage to South Seas,
207 ; its influence on Cook's plans,
208
Bouvet's South land. Cook's search
for, 236, 238, 244; not identical
with Prince Edward Islands, 237 ;
Furneaux's search for, 244
Bow Indians, N. America, 326
Bowrey, Capt. T, , chart of Tasman's
discoveries by, 95 ;/.
Bracq, 93
Brahmaputra, Upper, see Sanpo
Brak River, Little, S. Africa, 392
Branco, Rio, N. Brazil, 369 ; reached
by Dutch, 414
Brand, Pieter, journey north of Orange
River, 397
Brandenburgers in W. Africa, 155
Bravo, Father, journey in California,
Brazil, Pyrard wrecked on coast of,
60; extension of knowledge of,
17th cent., 168 ^<?^.; enterprises of
the Paulistas in, 170; Jesuit and
Dutch journeys in, 171; Nieuhoff's
work on, ibid. ; Chatham sent with
despatches to, 298 ; pioneering in
Central, 361 seq.; boundaries of,
364; Dutch reach, from north, 414
Brazos River, Texas, La Salle on,
116
Bread-fruit, attempt to introduce, into
West Indies, 309
Brebeuf, Jesuit Missionary in Canada,
102
BreskeJis, 86
Brest, La Perouse sails from, 274;
D'Entrecasteaux sails from, 314
Brevedent, Charles de, journey to
Abyssinia, 151 ; death, 152
Brianta River, Siberia, 123
Brieba, Domingo de, descent of A-
mazon, 172
Brink, surveyor on Hop's expedition,
S. Africa, 393
"Briquas," S. Africa, 394
INDEX
425
Bristol, James's expedition fitted out
at, 41
British exploration in W. Canada,
^28 se^.; political results, 345; oc-
cupation of Cape Colony, 399 ; {see
English)
Broken Bay, N. S. Wales, 306
Broughton, W. B., sails with Van-
couver, 287; ascends Columbia, and
goes home with despatches, 293 ;
second voyage to N. Pacific, 298
Broughton Channel, Sea of Japan,
300
Brouwer, Hendrik, voyage to Staten
Land and Chile, 77
Browne, — , agent of Muscovy Co.,
17
Bruce, James, journeys of, 384 se(/. ;
in North Africa and Syria, 385 ;
reaches Egypt, 386; portrait, ibid.\
fixes position of Kosseir and em-
barks on Red Sea, 387 ; reaches
Massaua, 388 ; journey to Gondar,
residence there, etc., ibid. ; reaches
Nile source, and starts home, 389 ;
perilous journey to Egypt, 390
Bi-ue, Andre, activity on the Senegal,
1 5 7-60
Brugge, J. S. van der, winters in
Spitsbergen, 46
Brule, Etienne, loi
Brunei, Olivier, Northern voyages of,
20
Bruni Island, Tasmania, 315
Buriats, oppose Russians, 120
Buccaneers, voyages of the, 182 seq. ;
origin of name, 182 ; narratives of,
183 ; French, 203; results of voy-
ages of, 407
Buenaventura, Tierra de la. New
Guinea, 74
Bueno, Bartolomeu, seeks for precious
metals in Brazil, 170; discoveries
followed up by his son, 171
Buenos Aires, overland trade of, with
Chile, 200
" Buffalo " of N. America, see Bison
Buffalo Lake, W. Canada, 336
Buka, Solomon Islands, 2 [9; Bou-
gainville at, 223; D'Entrecasteaux's
survey of, 316
Bulkeley, — , gunner of Wager, 202
Bungo, Japan, reached by Dutch,
52
Bureya Mts, Amur, 125
Bureya River, Lower Amur, 127
Burhanpur, India, 63
Burney, James, on Pacific voyages,
181, 186; sails with Cook, 246
Burning banks of Mackenzie, 340
Burrough, Stephen, Arctic voyage of,
i6
Burrough, William, chart by, 17 ; in-
structions for Pet and Jackman, 18
Burrough Strait, 16
Buiu Island, Malay Archip., 224 ;
passage between Ceram and, 194
Busa, Elisei, reaches Lena delta and
explores Yana etc., 120
Busch, Henry, Dutch sailor in Siberia,
Bushmen, encountered by Dutch ex-
plorers, 391, 393
Busse Island, supposed, N. Atlantic,
406
Bustamante, J. de, sails with Mala-
spina, 283
Butler, Capt., voyages in Pacific, 320
Button, Sir Thomas, voyage to Hudson
Bay, 38
Buxa Duar, route to Bhutan by, 379,
380
Byleth or Bylot, Robert, with Hudson
in 1610, 36; voyages with Baffin
and others, 38, 39
Byron, Commodore John, narrative
of loss of Wager, 202 ; voyage round
world, 213; search for Pepys Island,
ibid.
Byron Island, Pacific, 215
Byron Strait, New Zealand, 221
Caamano, Jacinto, surveys coast of
N.W. America, 292, 294
Caaroans, Uruguay, 169
Caborca mission station, Sonora, 353,
356
Cabot, Sebastian, voyages of, 15 ;
helps to found mercantile associa-
tion, ibid.
Cabral, Father, his mission to Tibet,
412
Cabrillo, voyage on W. coast of N.
America, 248
Cacella, Father, missionary in Tibet,
412
Cacheo, Brue's journey to, 158
Cairo, Bruce at, 386, 390
Calabar, Old and New% 155
Calcutta merchants fit out New
Guinea Expedition, 319; [see
Bengal)
Caldeira, Francisco de, founds Para,
172
426
INDEX
California, Shelvocke visits, 200 ;
Frondac on coast of, 206 ; Van-
couver on coast of, 293, 294, 297 ;
search for harbours in, 350
CaHfornia, Gulf of, supposed passage
from head of, 351 11. ; explored by
Ugarte, 353 ; by Consag, 355
California, Lower, peninsular charac-
ter known in i6th cent., 350 ;
thought an island, 351; missionary
journeys in, ibid. ; Kiihn's attempts
to prove junction with continent,
California, 413
Calvert Islands, N.W. America, named
by Duncan, 281
Cambalik, see Chumbalik
Cambay, Gulf of, Sharpeigh at, 56
Cambodia, Dutch in, 67, 86
Campeachy, Dampier in, 183 n.
Camus, geodetic measurement by,
369 n.
Canada, French in, 17th cent., 97 seq.\
Cook's survey work in, 226; i8th
century explorations in, 322 seq. ;
western journeys by southern route,
323 ; from Hudson Bay, 328 seq.,
344 ; cession to Great Britain,
3^-8
Canada, Western, outlines of geo-
graphy completed, 345
Canadian Pacific Railway, route of,
325
Candish, Thomas, see Cavendish
Canga, Kwango River, 163
Canja, a Nile boat, 387
Cannibalism in New Zealand, 229
Canoes, War, of Tahiti, 241
Canons of the Colorado, 358
Canton, Shelvocke at, 200 ; Anson
at, 202, 203 ; new route from
Batavia to, 275
Cantova, Juan Antonio, missionary
to Carolines, 412
Cape Colony, beginnings of settle-
ment of, 390; explorations in, 391
seq. ; British occupation of, 399
Cape of Good Hope, Beaulieu's stay
at, 61 ; Dutch settlement at, and
visits to, 166 ; route to East Indies
by, 209 *, Wallis's longitude of,
218; Cook at, 234, 237; Marion
Dufresne at, 236; Vancouver at,
287 ; British expedition against,
298 ; Shortland and Hunter at,
306; D'Entrecasteaux at, 314; {see
Cape Colony)
Cape Verde Islands, 204; Cook touches
at, 237
Cape York Peninsula, 82 ; see York,
Cape
Captain Cook, trading ship, voyage of,
to N.W. America, 279
Capuchins in Tibet, 141-2; in Abys-
sinia, 149
Carabaya province, Peru, 176
Caravellas, Rio das, Brazil, [70
Carcass, Arctic voyage of, 403
Carib way of drying meat, 182
Carisfort, see Carysfort
Carli, journeys in Angola, 165, 166
Carlsen, Captain, visits Barents's
winter quarters, 25
Carlshof Island, Low Archip., 21 1
Carolina Island, discovered, 412
Caroline Islands, Mortlock in, 320 ;
Duff's voyage through, 321; Spanish
discovery of, 412
Carolus, J oris, explorations of,
around Spitsbergen, and map, 44 ;
his voyage to Jan Mayen, 411
Carpentai-ia, Gulf of, Duifken in, 70 ;
Carstensz in, 82 ; circumnavigated
by Tasman, 95
Carrot River, Canada, 330
Carstensz, Mount, New Guinea, 81
Carstenszoon, Jan, Journal of, 71 ;
voyage to Australia, 81
Carteret, Philip, voyage round world,
215, 218; discovers strait between
New Britain and New Ireland,
219 ; his chart, 220
Carteret group, Pacific, 219, 308
Carteret Island (Malaita), 219
Carteret's Harbour, New Ireland, 316
Carthagena, Colombia, 369
Cartier, Jacques, 10, 97
Carvalho, Jesuit in Japan, 86
Carver, Jonathan, attempts western
exploration in N. America, 335
Carysfort Island, Pacific, 312
Cassowary, brought home by Hout-
man, 49
Caspian, journeys on and beyond,
i8th cent., 373 J't'^.; Pallas's, 375;
Gmelin's, 376-7
Cassiquiari River, S. America, 174 ;
Ramon's descent of, 368
Castaiiares, Father, his exploration of
Pilcomayo, and death, 361
Castillo, Jose del, his work among
Moxos, 177
Castriciim, 86
Castries Bay, Manchuria, 277
I
INDEX
427
Cathay (China), shown by Herber-
stein as "Lake Kythay," 119 n. ;
Goes's search for, 129 ; identical
with China, 131; {see China)
Catherine, Empress of Russia, patron
of research in Asia, 375
Caucasus, Guldenstaedt explores, 377
Caura River, Venezuela, 369
Cavazzi da Montecuccolo, his travels
in W. Africa, and book, 162, 165
Cavendish or Candish, Thomas, route
of, south of Java, 49 n.
Caverne, lie de la, 237
Cecchi and Chiarini, their travels in
Galla countries, 148
Celebes, Dampier at, 188 ; Carteret
at, 221
Celery, Wild, as preventive of scurvy,
Celsius, aids French geodesists, 369 n.
Cenis Indians, Texas, 116
Centurion, Don, search for El Dorado,
368
Ceram, sea north of, unknown, 83 ;
Tasman's voyage to, and chart,
84 ; passage between Buru and,
194
Cervino, Azara's assistant, 367
Cespedes, Luiz de, 169
Ceylon, Dutch trade with, 53 ; Her-
bert visits, di. ; Mandelslo in, 65
Chain Island, Low Archipelago, 72
Chambers, Commander, 181 71.
Champlain, Samuel de, early career,
97 ; suggests canal across American
isthmus, 98 ; undertakings in
- Canada, ibid. ; exploring journeys,
99 seq. ; portrait, 100 ; death, loi
Champlain, Lake, 99 ; Jogues's de-
scription, 107
Chanal, Capt., sails with Marchand,
284
Chanal Island, Marquesas, 285
Chancellor, Richard, sails with Sir
Hugh Willoughby, 15 ; journey to
Moscow, 16 ; drowned, ibid.
Chanchamayu River, Peru, 176
Chang-pei-Shan, Mts, 137 «., 139
Chaprang, Tibet, Andrade at, 131,
411
Chardin, Sir John, visits to the East,
67
Charles II, supports Wood's Arctic
voyage, 401
Charles XII of Sweden, his officers
sent prisoners to Siberia, 374
Charles, Foxe's ship, 41
Charles Island, Galapagos, 186, 198
Charlevoix, Father, his report on
western routes in Canada, 323
Charlotte, voyage from Sydney to
China, 304
Chastes, Aymar de, 98
Chathatn, sails with Vancouver, 287 ;
homeward voyage, 298
Chatham, Cape^ W. Australia, 288
Chatham Sound, N. W. America,
294
Chaumont, Chevalier de, his mission
to Siam, 68
Chaves, Nuflo de, his expedition in
Central S. America, 178
Chechegin, supports Khabarof on
Amur, 125
Chekin, his explorations on Siberian
coast, 264
Chelyuskin, his explorations on Sibe-
rian coast, 263, 264
Chelyuskin, Cape, Siberia, 264
Cherie Island (Bear Island), so named
by Stephen Bennet, 24
Chernigofski, founds Albazin, 126
Cherry Island, Pacific, 3(3
Chesapeake Bay, explored by Smith,
104
Chesterfield Inlet, discovered and ex-
plored, 413-14
Chiarini, see Cecchi
Chichiklik Pass, Central Asia, 130
Chickahominy River, 104
Chidley's Cape, Hudson Strait, 35
Chieng-mai, Siam, English at, 57
Chiloe Island, visited by Narborough,
180; Shelvocke at, 199; Frezier's
account of Chonos of, 206
Chilande, Lake, Angola, 164 n.
Chile, Dutch aim at opening a new
route to, 89 ; attempt to open
English trade with, 180; Eetagh's
account of, and of French trade
with, 200 ; French buccaneers on
coast of, 203 ; Beauchene Gouin's
voyage to, 205 ; Feuillee's and
Frezier's accounts of, 206 ; La
Perouse on coast of, 274; Van-
couver ditto, 298
China, attempted discovery of North-
Eastern route to, 17; Quast and
Tasman to survey coast of, 85 ;
Western route to, 105 ; land route
to, 129 ; European knowledge of,
132 ; Mendoza's account of, and
work of Jesuits in, ibid. ; Atlas
Sinensis of Martini, 133; Dutch
428
INDEX
Embassies to, ibid. ; Navarette's
travels, 133 ; Jesuits' overland
journeys, 136; their survey and
map, 139-40; Clipperton in, IQ9 ;
Anson in, 202, 203; French trading
voyages to, 205 : voyages to N.W.
America from, 279, 280; {see Great
Wall)
China Strait, Torres at, 74; De
Prado's chart of, ibid.
Chinese Calendar, reform of, 132
Chinese Empire, Jesuit survey and
map of, 139-40
Chipewyan, Fort, founded, 338 ;
Mackenzie returns to, 3 40
Chipewyans, Hearne joined by, 334 ;
Henry and others in country of,
336
Chiquitos of Central S. America,
178; Spanish missions to, 359;
search for route to, ibid.
Chiriguanas of Paraguay, 178, 359
Chirikof, Alexei, Bering's colleague,
259, 261; commands St Peter, 266;
reaches American coast and returns,
ibid.
Chirikof Bay, N.W. America, 274
Chitaingof, mate with Bering, 267
Chittagong, Pyrard at, 59
Choiseul Island, Solomons {q.v.), 223
Chonos, of Chiloe Island, Frezier on,
206
Chosan, Korea, Broughton at, 300
Christian IV of Denmark, patron of
voyages, 40; Christian \TI, ditto,
405
Christian, Fletcher, leader of mutiny
on Bounty, 3 1 1
Christianaux Lake, of Hendry, not
Winnipeg, 330 ; {see Cristinaux)
Christmas Island, Indian Ocean,
Minors's and Dampier's visits, 191 ;
Anson sights, 203
Christmas Island, Pacific, Cook at,
247
Chronometer, Vancouver's longitudes
by, 287
Chugatsk Bay, Alaska, 270; {see
Prince William Sound)
Chukches, N.E. Siberia, first heard
of, 120; visited by Ignatief, 121 ;
Cook visits, 251 ; Shestakof's fatal
fight with, 260 ; Paulutzki's ex-
pedition to, 261 ; Billings opposed
by, 271
Chukutskoi-nos, N.E. Siberia, 122,
261
Chumbalyk, shoMn in Herberstein's
map, 119
Chumbi valley, Tibet, 379
Chunchos of Peru, 176
Churchill River, Canada, 41 ; fort
near mouth, 332 ; reached by
Frobishers and Henry, 336; Fidler's
"lap, 344
Churchill, 414
Cinque Ports, 196
Circumcision, Cape, discovered by
Bouvet, 207; Cook's search for, 236,
238, 244 ; not identical with Prince
Edward Islands, 237 ; Furneaux's
search for, 244
Circumnavigators, see Chapters viii,
IX, passijH
Claaszoon, Haevick, his voyage to
Australia, 79
Clairaut, geodetic measurement by,
369 ;/.
Clarence Strait, N.W. America, 294
Clark, George Rogers, march north
of Ohio by, 349
Clavius, Jesuit mathematician, 132
Clavus, Claudius, early map of the
North by, 15
Clear Lake, Canada, 336
Clearwater River, Canada, 336
Gierke, Charles, second in command
with Cook, 245 ; assumes chief
command, 253 ; attempt to pene-
trate Arctic Ocean, and death, 254
Gierke's Island, Bering Sea, 252
Cleveland Bay, E. Australia, 232
Clipperton, Captain, leaves Dampier
and crosses Pacific, 197; new voy-
age, 198; return and death, 199
Clove, voyage to Japan, 57
Cloven Cliff, Spitsbergen, 403
Coal, in Tasmania, 317
Coburg peninsula, N. Australia, 209
Cochin China, Pere de Rhodes's
labours in, 66, 67
Cocking, Matthew, journey on Sas-
katchewan by, 331
Cocks, Richard, factor in Japan, 57
Cocomas tribe, Peru, 175
Cocos Islands, discovered, 78 ; Tasman
sails for, 92 ; {see Kokos)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Dampier
misses, 191
Cod, Gape, 98, 103
Coen, Jans Pieterszoon, Dutch Gover-
nor in East, 53, 78
Coetivi, Chev. de, his voyage to East
Indies, 224
INDEX
429
Coetivi Island, 225
Coetsee, Jacobus, crosses Orange
River, 393
Cofanes Indians, Upper Amazon, 175
Coffee trade in Yemen, 381
Colbert, interests himself in Canada,
108
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner^ 199
Collaert, Gerrit, 208
Collingridge, George, reproduction
of De Prado's charts, 75 n.
Collins, Grenville, with Narborough,
180
Collins Cape, Spitsbergen, 27
Colnett, James, voyage to N.W.
America, 281 ; put under arrest,
283 ; Cape Ommaney named by,
297
Colombia, route between Venezuela
and, 368
Colorado River, Grand Cafion reached
before 1600,9; lo^^er course reached
and crossed by Klihn, 352 ; mouth
reached by Ugarte, effect of its
water, 353 ; Consag's attempted
ascent, 355 ; Garces on, 355-6 ;
Escalante's journey across upper
basin, 3i;7 ; river crossed on return,
Columbia^ American sloop in N.W.
America, 281, 289
Columbia River, possibly visited by
Heceta and Quadra, 249, 289 n. ;
mouth seen by Meares, 281 ; missed
by Vancouver, but seen by Gray,
289; examined by Broughton, 292;
Fraser identified with, 342
Comanche Indians, W. United States,
357
Commercon, Vjotanist with Bougain-
ville, 224
Comorin, Cape, Saris's latitude of,
58
Comoro Islands, touched at by
Houtman, 50; by Beaulieu, 61
Compagnies Landt, Japan, 87, 121
Compagnon, Sieur, journeys in W.
Africa, 159 ; his map and de-
scriptions, 160
Companies, Trading and Chartered:
Danish E. India, 40 ; Dutch W.
India, 105, 155, 210; English
African, 154, 160; French African
and W. Indian, 156 ; French
African, 167 ; Dutch E. India, 209,
211; French Pacific, 204; China,
205 ; Russian fur-trading, 269 ;
Dutch New Netherlands, 411; {see
East India Co., Hudson Bay Co.,
North-West Co., etc.)
Company's New Netherlands, 95
Compass, variation of, 90 ; observed
by Beaulieu, 60; in Pacific, 77
and n., 79
Concobella, Congo, 163
Concordia, Timor, Dampier at, 193
Condi, Kwango River, 163
Congo, kingdom of, travels in, and
literature on, 162 seq.
Congo River, early journeys on, 163;
central course unknown to Portu-
guese, 1 64
Consag, Father, surveys Gulf of
California, 355 ; explores coast of
peninsula, ibid.
Consent, 55
Constantinople, Danish savants in,
Continents, last coast-lines made
known, 408, 409
Cook, James, chosen to command
expedition to Pacific, 226; early
career, ibid. ; chart of his routes,
228 «., 254 ; reaches Tahiti, 228 ;
explores New Zealand, 229 ; ex-
plores Eastern Australia, 231 ;
his chart of the same, 233 ; reaches
England, 234; second voyage, 235,
237 ; seeks southern continent,
crosses Antarctic Circle, 238, 239,
241 ; his second visit to New Zea-
land, ibid. ; traverses S. Pacific,
240 ; visits Easter Island, etc. and
returns to Tahiti, 241 ; explores
New Hebrides, etc., 242 ; dis-
covers New Caledonia, 243 ; re-
visits New Zealand and re-
crosses Pacific, 243 ; visits South
Georgia and Sandwich Land, 244;
returns home by the Cape and the
Azores, ibid. ; Governor of Green-
wich Hospital, 245 ; new expedition,
ibid. ; his voyage via Tasmania and
New Zealand to Tahiti, 246 ;
reaches Hawaii, 248 ; explores
coast of N. America, 249-50 ;
passes through Bering Strait, 251 ;
returns to Sandwich Islands, 252 ; his
death, 253 ; accompanied by Swedish
naturalist, 396 //. ; Arctic voyages
for purpose of meeting, 405-6
Cook, John, buccaneer, 184
Cook Islands, S. Pacific, Bligh at
311; (see Hervey Islands)
430
INDEX
Cook, River or Sound, N. W. America,
Cook at, 250 ; Portlock and Dixon
at, 279; Douglas at, 280; Van-
couver surveys, 295 ; name changed,
ibid.
Cook Strait, New Zealand, Cook's
passages through, 230, 240
Copart, Father, in California, 351
Copper, in N. Canada, 332 ; in
South Africa, 394, 395 ; ore ob-
tained by Van Reenen, 398
Copper Indians, N. Canada, 3^4,
338
Copper mountains, Cape Colony, 394,
395
Coppermine River, N. Canada, reached
by Hearne, 334
Coral reefs, off E. coast of Australia,
232
Corbett's Inlet, Hudson Bay, 413,
414
Corhin, 58
Cordes, Simon de, in Dutch voyage
to Japan, 51 ; killed, ibid.
Corentyn River, Guiana, 414
Corne, Fort a la, 331, 332
Corney, Dr Bolton, 413
Coromandel Coast, Dutch trade with,
53
Coronado, North American explorer,
9
Correa, Alanoel, penetrates to Goyaz,
170
Corso, Father, in E. Peru, 177
Cortereal, Portuguese voyager, reaches
Greenland, 27
Cortil, Father, voyage of, towards
Carolines, 412
Coryat, Thomas, travels of, and
narrative, 62
Cossack explorers in Siberia, 258
Costa, Pedro da, with Teixeira on
Amazon, 173
Costing Sarch, corruption of Kostin
Shar (q. v.), 29
Cotton, Sir Dodniore, English agent
in Persia. 65
Coulange, Lake, 100
Coupang, see Kupang
Courtney, Stephen, sails with Woodes
Rogers, 198
Covadonga, Niiestra Seiiora de, taken
by Anson, 202
Coverte, Robert, returns overland
from India, 56
Covilhao, Pedro de, his embassy to
Abyssinia, 144
Cowley, Ambrose, Pepys Island of,
181 ;/., 184, 213; voyage to South
Seas and chart of Galapagos, 1 84-5
Coxe, Dr William, proposes north-
eastern voyage, 270
Coxon, John, buccaneer, 183
Craen, 410
Cramer, C. C, researches in Arabia,
382; death, 383
Crete, Bruce in, 385
Crevecoeur, Fort, on Illinois, 112
Crillon, Cape, Sakhalin, 277
Cristinaux, Lake of the, Canada, 323
{see Christianaux)
Croghan, George, journeys to, and
survey of, Ohio, 346
Croissant, 58
Cross Lake, Canada, 330
Cross Sound, N.W. America, 250,
280; Vancouver at, 297
Crow Indians, N. America, 326
Crozet, — , sails with Marion, 237
Crozet Islands, Southern Ocean, 237
Cruse, Hieronymus, expedition to
Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, 391
Cruythof, Pieter, exploration in S.
Africa, 391
Cubero, Don Pedro, travels of, 66
Cueva and Cujia, Fathers, work in
Maynas, Peru, 175
Cumberland Gulf, Baffin Land, visited
by Davis, 33
Cumberland House, Canada, built
by Hearne, 334
Cumberland Islands, Pacific, 216
Cumberland Lake, Canada, 334
Cumberland Mountains and Gap,
explored and named by Walker,
Cumberland River, Kentucky, named
by Walker, 347
Cummins, — , carpenter in Wager,
202
Cunningham, John, commands Danish
Greenland Expedition, 36
Curry, Thomas, Canadian trader,
335
Curtis Island, Kermadec group, 304
Cuyaba, reached by Dutch officials,
171; exploration from, 363
Cygnet, 185 ; voyage of circumnavi-
gation, 187 seq.
Cyprus, Teixeira in, 62
D'Abbadie, travels in Abyssinia, 146
Dablon, Father, explores Saguenay,
109
I
INDEX
431
Daedalus, voyage to N.W. America,
292 , second ditto, 294
Da Gama, Don Christopher, ex-
pedition to Abyssinia, 144; grave
found by Lobo, 149
Dagelet, see Lepaute-Dagelet
Dageraad or Dageroth, Pacific, 2 1 r
Dahome, D'Elbee's voyage to, 157
Dakota Indians, 102
Dakota, North, La Verendrye in,
325
Dalai Lama of Tibet, 134 n.
Dalai Nor, Lake, Upper Amur, 137,
138 ; reached by Messerschmidt,
374
Dale, Fran9ois de la, commercial
agent in Dutch Arctic voyages, 22
D'Almeida, Manoel, see Almeida
Dalrymple, Alexander, publishes
narrative of Torres"s voyage, 75 ;
his interest in Pacific discovery,
226
Damaras of S. Africa, reports of,
393 ; Brand visits, 398
Damaras, Hill, 398
Damascus, visited by Delia Valle, 63
Damot, Abyssinia, Lobo in, 149
Dampier, William, voyages of, to South
Seas, 179, 183 and ;^., 184; crosses
Pacific, 187; his portrait, 188; visits
Australia, 190 ; gunner at Ben-
coolen, and returns to England,
191 ; new voyage, 192 ; discoveries
near New Guinea, 193-4 ; dis-
covers insular character of New-
Britain, 194, 196; his chart, 195;
voyage in the St Geo?-ge, 196 ; pilot
with Woodes Rogers, 198 ; im-
portance of his work, 407
Dampier, Cape, New Britain, 194
Dampier Strait (between New
Guinea and New Britain), dis-
covered, 194
Dampier Strait (between New Guinea
and Waigiu), discovery of, 193 ;
D'Entrecasteaux's passage, 318
Damroquas, see Damaras
Danakil country, 146 ; crossed by
Mendez and Lobo, 148
Danckert, Jan, exploration in Cape
Colony, 391
Danger Islands, Pacific, 215
Dangerous Archipelago, 222
Daniel, missionary among Hurons,
102
Danish East India Company, 40
Danish voyages to north-west, 36 ;
enterprise in W. Africa, 155; re-
search in Arabia, 382 ; Greenland
expeditions, 1786-7, 405
Danube, Upper Yangtse compared
to. 134
D'Anville, J. B. B., maps of Chinese
Empire by, 140, 14 1 ; African maps
in Labat's works, 160, 162-4 >
map of Paraguay, 360, 361
Danzig, home of Messerschmidt, 374
Dapper, Oliver, on geography of
Congo, etc., 163, 164, 165
Darien Indians, Lionel Wafer among,
183
Da Sylva, in charge of mission in
Abyssinia, 144 ;/.
Daughters, The, peaks in New Britain,
219
Dauphin, Fort, Madagascar, 167, 415
Dauphin, Fort, Central Canada, 327
Dauphine, name for Madagascar, 167
Dauphine, Bale, Tierra del Fuego,
204
Daurians of Amur, 124, 125
Dauribeau, Lieut., with D'Entrecas-
teaux, 318; succeeds to command,
319
Davidson, Prof. George, on localities
visited by Bering, 295 n.
Davis, Edward, buccaneer, voyage
to South Seas, 184-7 ; sacks
Spanish towns, 186 ; supposed dis-
covery of island, 186, 210; Byron's
search for it, 214; Carteret's, 218
Davis, John, his discoveries shown
on Edw^ard Wright's map, 1 3 ;
" furious overfall " reported by,
29, 35 ; birth-place of, 33 ; north-
west voyages of, 33 seq. ; sails to
the East with the Houtmans, 49 ;
his gallantry, 50 ; in first voyage
under East India Company, ^j,
Davis, Lieut. Samuel, member of
Turner's mission to Tibet, 380 ;
his sketch of Punakha, 381
Davis's Land, Pacific, search for,
214, 218, 413
Davis's South Land (Falklands), 182
Davis Strait, crossed by Davis, 33,
35
Daybreak Island, Pacific, 211
Debarke, Nubia, 152
De Barros, see IBarros
Deb Raja of Bhutan, 379-80
De Castries Bay, Manchuria, 277
Deception Bay, N.W. America,
named by Meares, 281
432
INDEX
Decision, Cape, N.W. America, 294,
297
Dedelsland, W. Australia, 80
Dee, Dr John, instructions to Pet
and Jackman, 18; supports north-
west voyages, 33
Deer Lake, Canada, so named by
Hendry, 330
De Fano, Capuchin missionary to
Tibet, 141
Degree of meridian, measurement of,
369
De la Come, in charge on Saskat-
chewan, 328
De la Croyere, De Lisle, researches in
Siberia, 261 ; sails with Bering,
266 ; death, ibid.
De la Croyere Islands, 274
Delagoa Bay, Dutch at, 391
De la Pena, Father, in E. Peru,
177
Delaref, in charge at Kadiak Island,
271
Delaware River, 105
D'Elbee, Sieur, voyage to W. Africa,
'56
Delft, Maarten van, voyage to Aus-
tralia, 209
Delisle, Guillaume, map of Congo,
163 ; incorrect mapping of W.
African rivers, 164; shows upper
Kwango, 16^ ; African cartography
of' 385 ^ ....
Deliverance, Cape, Louisiades, 223
Delia Penna, Orazio, mission in Tibet,
142
Dembea or Tsana, Lake, Abyssinia,
shown by Era Mauro, 144 n.\ de-
scribed by Paez, 145; by Poncet,
152; Jesuits on shores of, 145;
{see Tsana)
De Mailla, assists Regis in survey
of China, 140
De Moucheron, Dutch merchant,
patron of north-eastern voyages,
20 seq. ; in East Indian trade,
49
D'Entrecasteaux, Bruni, voyage from
Batavia to Canton, 275; voyage
in search of La Perouse, 314 seq.;
visits Tasmania, New Caledonia,
etc., 315 ; refits at Amboina and
traces S. coast of Australia, 316;
second visit to Tasmania and cruise
in Pacific, 317; explores Loui-
siades and New Britain, 318; death,
319
D'Entrecasteaux Islands, New Guinea,
D'Entrecasteaux, Port, Tasmania, 315
D'Entrecasteaux Strait, Tasmania,
Bond's examination of, 314; D'En-
trecasteaux's, 315, 317
Deptford, Cook sails from, 228 ;
Vancouver fits out at, 287 ; Phipps
sails from, 403 ; Pickersgill, 406
Derbent, Gmelin at, 376, 377
Dermer, Thomas, explorations in
N. America, 105
Derrera, Nile, 151
Desceliers, Pierre, maps of Jave la
Grande, 4
Descubierta, Malaspina's ship, 283
Desheripge, Tibet, 379
Deshnef, Simeon, in N.E. Siberia,
121; said to have discovered Bering
Strait, 122, 260
Deshnef, Cape, naming of, 122 «.,
260 ;/. ; Bering rounds, 259
Desideri, Hippolito, journey to and
residence in Lhasa, 142
Des Marchais, Chevalier, travels in
W. Africa and Guiana, 160
Desolation, Land of (Greenland), 33
Desolation, Land of (Kerguelen
Island), 236
Detroit, Lake Michigan, Hamilton's
march from, 349
De Troyes, expedition to Hudson
Bay, 116
Deva, title of ruler of Tibet, 134
De Veer, Gerrit, narrative of
Barents's voyages (illustration
from), 23
Devil's Pine Lake, W. Canada, 331
De Witt's Land, W. Australia, 80
Dhalak Island, Red Sea, Bruce at,
387
Diamond mines, at Golconda, 63 ;
Tavernier's account of Indian, 67
Diamond trade. Eastern, Chardin
and, 67
Diaz, embassy of, to Abyssinia, 144
Diaz, Fernando, explores Minas
Geraes, 170
Dichu River, Tibet, 142
Didessa River, 146
Diego Ramirez, supposed island in
Southern Ocean, 306
Dieppe, trading voyages from, to
W. Africa, 154, 156
Digges, Sir Dudley, a patron of
north-west voyages, 36, 38
Digges Island, Pludson Strait, 37
INDEX
433
Dillon, P., discovers relics of La
Perouse's voyage, 278
Dinder River, Nubia, 152
Dirk Hartog Island, Australia, 79
Dirkszoon, Pieter, 79
Disappointment, Islands of, 214
Disappointment, Cape, N. W. America,
named by Meares, 281 ; Vancouver
passes, 289
Discovery, Hudson's ship, 36; sub-
sequent voyages, 38, 39
Discai'ery, sails under Cook, 245
Discovery, Vancouver's ship, 287
Discovery, voyage to Hudson Bay,
with Middleton, 329
Discovery, geographical, modern
period of, 408, 409
Distilling apparatus, Irving's, 403
Dixon, George, visit to Yakutat Bay,
270; voyage to N.W. America,
279
Dixon Entrance, N.W. America,
280
Dobbs, Arthur, urges north-west ex-
ploration, 329, 413
Dobbs, voyage of the, 413
Doce, Rio, Brazil, 170
Dodo, described by Herbert, 65; by
Dubois, 167
Dog Island, Pacific, 77
Doherty, trader to Ohio, 346 n.
Dolgoy Island, Arctic Sea, 21
Dollier, goes with La Salle to
Niagara river, 109
Dolores, Rio, Colorado, 357
Dolphin, Byron's ship, 213; Wallis
sails in, 215
Domenica, see La Domenica
Dominguez, Father, journey of, to
Utah, 357
Dominicans in W. Africa, 162
Domonte, Don Antonio, 413
Don River, Guldenstaedt on, 378
Donghel, Platon de, Senegal River,
159
Dongola, 151
Doi'drecht, 80
Dore, New Guinea, 225 and n.
Dorville, journey through Tibet, 134
Douay, Recollet friar, with La Salle,
Doubtful Island Bay, 288
Douglas, Capt., explorations on N.W.
coast of America, 280, 281 ; under
arrest, 282
Downton, Nicholas, voyage to India,
56
H.
Dragon, 53, 55
Drake, Sir Francis, his route south of
Java, 49 ti. ; voyage to T. del Fuego,
76
Dramanet, Senegal, 157, 158
Druillettes, Father, explores Sa-
guenay, 108 ; goes as envoy to
Boston, 108 n.
Dubawnt Lake, Canada, Hearne at,
333
Dubawnt River, Canada, 414
Du Bernat, Father, accompanies
Poncet, 152 n.
Duberron, Father, voyage of, towards
Carolines, 412
Dubois, Sieur, visits to Madagascar
and Reunion and account of dodo,
167
Duchess, sails with Hayes, 319; see
Dutchess
Ducie Island, Pacific, 312
Duclesmeur, Chevalier, 236
Duff, missionary voyage to Pacific,
320
Duff Islands, Pacific, 321
Dufresne, scientist with La Perouse,
274
Du Gay, his journey with Hennepin,
"3
Du Halde, Pere, editor of the
Lettres Edifia^ites, 68 ; publishes
Jesuit narratives, 136, 137, 14 1 ;
work on China by, 140
Duifken, voyage to Australia, 70
Duke, Woodes Rogers's ship, 198
Duke of Clarence, voyage to Tas-
mania and Pacific, 319
Duke of Clarence Island, Pacific,
312
Duke of York's Island, Patagonia,
183
Duke of York's Island, New Britain,
219 ; Hunter at, 308
Duke of York's Island (Eimeo),
sighted by Wallis, 217
Duke of York Island, Union group,
312
Du Luth or Du Lhut, explores head-
water of Mississippi, 114; activity
in Canada, 322-3
Duncan, Charles, his voyage across
Pacific, 207 ; voyage to N.W.
America and chart, 281 ; voyages
to Hudson Bay, 330, 414
Dundas Strait, N. Australia, 209
Dunes in S.W. Africa, hinder ex-
ploration, 399
28
434
INDEX
Dunmore, Lord, Governor of Vir-
ginia, his Indian war, 348
Durour Island, New Guinea, 2-21
Dusky Bay, New Zealand, Cook at,
238 ; Vancouver surveys, 288
Dutch, The, leaders in maritime dis-
covery, 2; north-eastern voyages of,
\C) seq., 410; whaling voyages, 44;
eastern voyages of, 47 seq. ; voyages
to Australasia, 69 seq. ; their maps of
Africa incorrect, 1 50 ; in North
America, 104 ; in S. Africa, 166 ;
in Brazil, 171; forts on Amazon,
174 «.; in Cape Colony, 390 j-^^.;
surrender to English, 399 ; as rivals
of Spain and Portugal, 407 ; in
Guiana, 414
Dutch East India Company, Hud-
son's voyage for, 29 ; founded, 52 ;
factories in East, 53 ; voyages for,
70 seq. ; monopoly of, 209 ; seizes
Roggeveen's ships, 211
Dutch West India Company, 105 ;
activity in W. Africa, 155 ; sup-
ports Roggeveen's scheme, 210
Dutchess, sails under Woodes Rogers,
Dzungaria, derivation of name, 134 n. ;
Renat's map of, 374-5
Eagle, see Arend
East Cape, see Deshnef
East India Company, Dutch, founded,
52 [see Dutch E. I. Co.)
East India Company, English,
founded, 53; voyages for, a seq.;
Forrest's voyage for, 225
East Indies, early voyages to, 47 seq. ;
Dutch trade in, 53 ; Dutch and
English in, 407
Easter Island, Pacific, supposed dis-
covery by Davis, 186; discovered
by Roggeveen, 210; stone figures
of, 211 ; Cook at, 241 ; La Perouse
at, 274; sighted by Edwards, 312;
Gonzalez visits, 413
Eaton, John, buccaneer, voyage to
South Sea, 184; chart of Gala-
pagos, 185
Echiquier Islands, New Guinea, 224 ;
D'Entrecasteaux at, 316
Eddystone Rock, Solomons, 316
Edge, Thomas, voyages to Spits-
bergen, 42, 44
Edge Island, Spitsbergen, 44
Edgecumbe, Mount, N.W. America,
250
Edward VI, King, letters missive to
foreign rulers, 15
Edzvard Bonavenhire, 16; makes first
English voyage to East Indies,
Edwards, Capt., voyage in search of
Boti7ity mutineers, 312 ; ship-
wrecked, 313
Eendracht, Schouten's ship, 76 ;
Hartogszoon's, 79
Eendrachtsland, Australia, 79; charts
of, 190
Efat Island, New Hebrides, 242
Egede, Lieut., voyages to E. Green-
land, 405
Egmont Island, Pacific, 216 ; of
Carteret, 219
Egmont, Port, Falklands, 213
Egypt, Le Blanc in, 62 ; Krump
starts for Abyssinia from, 152 ;
his account of, 153 ; Niebuhr's
party in, 382 ; Bruce in, 386, 390
Egyptian oases, 151
Eimeo Island, Pacific, Wallis sights,
217; war fleet sails for, 241
Ekaterinburg, Pallas's researches
round, 376
ElbiirgJi, voyage to Australia, 190
Elburz, explorations north of, 378
El Dorado, search for, 9, 171 ; in
I 8th century, 368
Elephant hunting in Abyssinia, 389
Eleuths of Mongolia, 137, 138, 140
Elisa, Francisco, his exploration on
N.W. coast of America, 284
Elizabeth, Davis's ship, 34
Elizabeth Bay, Strait of Magellan,
204
Elle7i, Davis's ship, 34
Ellis, Henry, in Hudson Bay, 413
Elmina, taken by Dutch from Portu-
guese, 155
Emeloord, voyage to Australia, 190
Emeralds, of Brazil, 170
Emeralds, mountain of, Bruce visits,
.S87
Emfras, Abyssinia, Bruce at, 388
Enarea, Galla country, reached by
P'ernandez, 146
" Encabellados," Los, 172
Endeavour, Cook's ship, 227 ; runs
on rock, 232
Endeavour River, Australia, 232
Endeavour Strait, 234 ; Edwards to
survey, 312 ; loss oi Pandora near,
313
Endermo, Yezo, Broughton at, 300
INDEX
435
Engano Island, Sumatra, Middleton
off, 54
Engel, 85
English, The, Eastern enterprise of,
2, 47, 53 seq., 225 {see East India
Co.); in N, America, 103; in
W. Africa, 154 seq., 160 seq. ;
voyages to South Seas, 180 seq. ;
in Canada, 1 8th century, ^2^ seq.\
occupation of Cape Colony by,
399 ; as rivals of Spain and Portugal,
407
English Government Expeditions,
Dampier's, 192 ; Anson's, 201 ;
Byron's, 213; Wallis's and Car-
teret's, 215; Cook's, 226 seq.\
Middleton's, to Hudson's Bay,
329 ; Arctic, 403, 406
Enkhuysen, Holland, enterprise of
merchants of, 20
"Entradas" of Spanish missionaries,
356
Entrecasteaux, see D'Entrecasteaux
Enzeli, Caspian, Gmelin at, 377
Erie, Lake, Joliet on, 108 ; explored
and mapped by DoUier and Gali-
vee, 110
Erromango Island, Pacific, 242
Escalante, Father, expedition to
Utah, 357
Esh Shebb, Egypt, 151, 153
Eskimo, Hudson Bay Company's
trade with, 332 ; massacre of,
during Hearne's journey, 334 ;
not seen by Mackenzie, 339
Esneh, route to Esh Shebb from, 153
Espirance, sails under D'Entrecas-
teaux, 314
Esperance, Terre de, Southern Ocean,
Espiritu Santo, Tierra del. New
Hebrides, 73 ; Cook surveys, 243 ;
^see Austrialia)
Essequibo River, Dutch on, 414
Etches, Richard C, promotes trading
voyages to N.W. America, 279,
,281, 282
Etoile, sails with Bougainville, 222
Eua Island, Pacific, Cook at, 240
Eucalyptus of Tasmania, 315
Europe, knowledge of, at end of
1 6th century-, 5
Eventide Island, Pacific, 21 r
Evreinof, his voyage to Kuriles, 259
Exchequer Islands, see Echiquier
Experiment, voyage to N. W. America,
279
Fabricius, Louis, embassy to Persia,
66
Pages, Pedro, expedition in Cali-
fornia, 249
Fairweather, Cape, La Perouse at,
274
Fairweather, Mt, Cook sights, 250
Fakarava, atoll of, 72
Falalep, Carolines, 412
Faleme River, Senegal, 157; ascent
by ApoUinaire, 158 ; Compagnon
on, 159
Falk, John Peter, travels in Siberia,
378
Falkland Islands, visited by DeWeert,
5 1 ; by La Roche?, 181; named, 182 ;
not Pepys Island, 184; Beauchene
at, 205 ; ships of St Malo at, ibid. ;
Byron examines and takes posses-
sion, 213; French scheme for
colonising, 213, 222; fauna of,
214; Malaspina at, 283; voyage of
Daedalus to, 292 n.
Falkland Sound, navigated by Strong,
182
False Cape, New Guinea, 75
Fame, 196
Fanning, Capt., his voyage to Pacific,
320
Fanning Island, Pacific, 320
Farewell, Cape, Greenland, 31 ; round-
ed by Davis, 33; Pickersgill and
Young off, 406
Farewell, Cape, New Zealand, 91 ;
Cook at, 230
Faroilep, Carolines, 412
Fasil, pretender to Abyssinian throne,
388 ; helps Bruce, ibid.
Fataka Island, Pacific, discovered by
Edwards, 313
Faticon, 203
Fearn, Capt., voyage to Pacific, 320
Fearn Island, Pacific, 320
Federmann, Nicholas, 9
Feira, Conde de, voyage to Goa, 60
Felice, Meares's voyage in, 280
Felu, rock in Senegal, 158
Ferdinand VI of Spain, accession of,
363
Fernandez, Antonio, journey south
of Abyssinia, 145
Ferrelo, voyage on N.W. coast of
N. America, 248
Ferrer, Rafael, mission founded by,
and descent of Napo, 175
Ferro, longitude reckoned from, 89
n.
28-2
436
INDEX
Feuillade, J. B. de la, voyage to the
East and round world, 205 «.
Feuillee, Louis, travels in Chile and
Peru, 206
Feynes, Sieur de, travels of, 60
Fidalgo, Salvador, exploration in
N.W. America, 284
Fidler, Peter, surveys in Central
Canada, 344
Fiji Islands, Tasman among, 92 ;
Bligh among, 311; Duff's voyage
to, and chart, 321
Finlay, James, Canadian trader, 335
Finlay River, Upper Peace River, 342
Finly, adventurer in Kentucky, 347
Firando, Japan, 52, 57, 58
Fire, used in war by New Guinea
natives, 234
Fish Island, of Rijp, 410-11
Fitch, Ralph, eastern journeys of, 6
Fitzhugh's Sound, N.W, America,
279; Vancouver surveys, 292
Fjord-like inlets, N.W. America,
289 seq. ,
Flacourt, Etienne de, in ]Madagascar,
Flawes, Capt. William, Arctic voyage
with Wood, 401
Flemish cartographers, maps of Africa
incorrect, 150
Flemish sailors with Clipperton and
Shelvocke, 198
Fletcher, Giles, ambassador to the
Czar, 5
Fleurieu, C. P. C, account of March-
and's voyage, etc., by, 285, 286
fleurieu Gulf, N.W. America, 274
Floriana Island, Galapagos, 186
Floyd, John, surveys in Kentuckv,
348
Fog in Arctic, Phipps impeded by,
403
Fontaney, Jesuit in China, 136
Fonte, Admiral, supposed discovery
of Strait by, on N.W. coast of
America, 250
Foreland, The, Spitsbergen, 24
Formosa, Tasman at, 86 ; mountains
of, 90; La Perouse passes, 276;
Marchand touches at, 285 ; sighted
by Broughton, 300
Forrest, Thomas, voyage to New
Guinea, 225
Forskall, Peter, researches in Arabia,
382; death, 383
Forster, Johann Reinhold, naturalist
with Cook, 235
Fort James, Gambia, 155 ; import-
ance of, 160; taken by De Gennes,
204
Fort Nassau, Gold Coast, 155
Fortuna, Shestakof's ship, 260
Fotherby, Robert, narrative of voyage
to Spitsbergen, 44
Foul wind, Cape, New Zealand, 91
Fox Islands, Aleutians, 269
Fox river, Lake Michigan, 102,
no; expedition to Missouri by,
324
Foxe, Luke, voyage to Hudson Bay,
41 ; narrative of, 42 ; map, 43
Fragio, his account of Angola, 166
Fra Mauro's map, 144
Francais, Port des, N.W. America,
^745 275
France, war with Holland, 1793,
319; {see French)
Franciscans in Canada, 102 ; in
Abyssinia, 149; in W. Africa, 162;
in Peru, 172, 176; in S. United
States, 355
Franquelin, hydrographer at Quebec,
his map, 116
Fransz., Pieter, Dutch pilot, 410
Eraser River, British Columbia, navi-
gated by Mackenzie, 342, 343
Frederick, Prince, 216
Frederick V of Denmark, supports
Niebuhr's expedition, 382
Fi-ederick Henricx Bay, Tasmania, 90
Frederick Henri' Island, New Guinea,
see Prince Frederick Henry
Frederik, Caesar, eastern journeys
of, 6
Freewill Island, New Guinea, 221
Fremona, Abyssinia, Jesuit mission
at, 144, 148
French, eastern voyages of the,
58 seq. ; in N. America, 97 seq. ;
in W. Africa, ii\seq.\ in Mada-
gascar, 167,415; on W. coasts of
S. America, 200, 203, 205 ; Pacific
company formed, 204 ; China ditto,
205 ; Compagnie des Indes, 207 ;
scientific voyages, 212 ; colony in
Falklands, 213; southern voyages,
236; exploration in Canada, i8th
century, 322 seq.\ opposition to
English on Saskatchewan, 330 ;
activity in N. America, 407
French River, Canada, loi
Freycinet, Louis de, brings away
De Vlamingh's record, 209 n.
Freycinet peninsula, Tasmania, 90
INDEX
437
Freyn, Barend, journey north of
Orange river, 398
Frezier, Amedee Francois, voyage
to Chile and Peru, and chart, 206 ;
visits Trinidad in Atlantic, ibid.
Fridelli, Father, assists in survey of
Manchuria, 139
Friendly Islands, Pacific, Cook at,
■240, 247 ; La Perouse at, 277 ;
Malaspina's survey, 284 ; Bligh at,
311; Edwards at, 312; D'Entre-
casteaux at, 317 ; mission in, 320
{see Tonga)
Friendship, voyage in W. Pacific,
305
Frigid, Cape, Hudson Bay, 329
Frisland, Greenland taken for, 31
Fritz, Samuel, missionary in Peru,
account and map of the Amazon,
175
Frobisher, Sir Martin, 30 ; voyages
in search of north-west passage,
31 ; portrait of, 32 ; his map shows
Strait of Anian, 121
Frobisher, Thomas and Joseph,
Canadian traders, 336
Frog Portage, Canada, 336
Frondac, — , voyage across Pacific,
205
Frontenac, Comte de. Governor of
Canada, no; retirement, 115
Frotet, see Bardeliere
Froward, Cape, Strait of Magellan,
204
Frozen Strait, Hudson Bay, 329
Fryer, Dr John, travels in the East
and narrative, 67
Fujiyama, mountain, Japan, sighted
by Quast and Tasman, 86 ; sighted
by Broughton, 300
Fulas in W. Africa, 157
Fundy, Bay of, explored, 98
Funnell, William, leaves Dampier
and crosses Pacific, 197
Furnace, voyage of, to Hudson Bay,
329. 413
Furneaux, Tobias, with Wallis, 216;
second in command with Cook,
235 ; his ship parts company, 238;
visits Van Diemen's Land, ibid. ;
reaches New Zealand and rejoins
Cook, 239; again separated, 240 ;
at Queen Charlotte Sound, 243 ;
voyage home, 244
Furneaux Islands, Bass Strait, 239
Fur traders, in Canada, 107 ; in
Siberia, 119; in N.W. America,
269, 279, and in Sandwich Islands,
289
Futa Jallon, i6r
Gabbema, exploration in Cape Colony,
391
Gabriel, Frobisher's ship, 3 1 ; Bering's
ship, 259 ; Shestakof's voyage in,
260 ; sails with Spangberg, 265
Gaetano, discoverer of the Sandwich
Islands, 10
Gal am, Senegambia, 157
Galapagos Islands, visited and charted
by buccaneers, 184-6; Woodes
Rogers at, 198 ; Beauchene at, 205 ;
Malaspina at, 283; Vancouver at,
298
Gali, Francisco, voyage in northern
Pacific, 121
Galiano, Don Dionisio, exploration in
N.W. America, 291
Galivee, goes with La Salle to
Niagara River, 109
Galla chiefs, instructed to aid Bruce,
388
Galla countries, European knowledge
of, 144 ; Fernandez visits, 145 ;
Lobo unable to traverse, 148
Gambia, English on the, 154, 155,
160 ; not a mouth of the Niger, 161 ;
Leach's survey of, 162
Gandwa or Gundwa river, Sudan,
Ganges, source of, visited by Andrade,
131. 411
Garbanzos Islands, 412
Garces, Father, journeys in California,
etc., 355 ; attempts mission among
Yumas, 356; death, 357
Garhwal, Andrade in, 41 1
Gastaldi, his map of Central Africa,
7» 150
Gatonby, John, narrative of Hall's
voyage to Greenland, 39
Geelvink, voyage to Australia, 208
Geesh, Abyssinia, Bruce at, 389
Gennes, Comte de, expedition to
S. America, 203
"Gens d'Arc," and "Gens des
Chevaux," N. America, 326
Geodetic measurements in S. America
and Lapland, 369
George, 1 7
George, Lake, N. America, 107
Georgia, Caucasus, Guldenstaedt in,
378
Georgia, Gulf of, N.W. America, 291
438
INDEX
Georgia, Island of, or South Georgia
{(/.v.), 244
Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, 10 r
Geographical Society, Royal, draw-
ing and MS. owned by, 239, 413
Gerbillon, Jean Francois, accom-
panies Chinese envoys to Ner-
chinsk, 127 ; journeys in Manchuria
and Mongolia, 136 sec/.; latitudes
observed, 137, 138, 139
Gerritsz, Dirck, supposed discoveries
south of Cape Horn, 51, 181
Gerritsz, Hessel, chart of Australia,
80
Ghilan, Persia, Gmelin in, 376
Gibbons, Capt. , voyage to Labrador,
38
Gibie, River, Abyssinia, shown in
Fra Mauro's map, 144 ;/. ; Fernan-
dez reaches, 146
Giesim, Sudan, 152
Gila River, Colorado, Kiihn's journeys
to, 351-2; Garces's, 355-6
Gilbert, Adrian, supports north-west
voyages, 33, 34
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, advocates
north-west route to India, 30 ;
death of, 32
Gilbert, Capt., sails to N. S. Wales
with Phillip, 302 ; voyage from
Sydney to China, 304
Gilbert Islands, Pacific, 215; Mar-
shall and Gilbert's voyage to, 304
Gilbert Sound, Greenland, named
by Davis, 33 ; revisited, 34
Giliaks of Amur, 125, 126
Gilies, Gillis, or Giles, Cornells,
voyage to Spitsbergen and beyond,
46, 40 [ ; Barrington publishes
narrative, 402
Gilolo, see Jilolo
Gimbo Amburi, Congo, 163
Gingiro, Galla countries, 146
Giraffe, first skin sent to Europe,
394 H. ; specimens shot in S. Africa,
395> 397
Girgeh, Nile, 153
Gist, Christopher, journeys in Ken-
tucky, 347
Glaciers of Mount St Elias, Malas-
pina's investigation of, 283
Globe, voyage to India and Siam, 57
Glory of Russia, exploring ship, 271
Glottof, Stephen, visits Kadiak Island,
269
Gloucester, sails with Anson, 201 ;
abandoned, 202
Gloucester Island, Pacific, 216
Gmelin, Johann Georg, researches in
Siberia, 261-2 ; returns to Russia,
269
Gmelin, Samuel Gottlieb, researches
on Caspian and in Persian, 376-7
Goa, Pyrard's account of, 59 ; Man-
delslo at, 65
Gobi desert, crossed by Gerbillon,
139
Godin, geodetic work in S. America,
369
Godin, Madame, adventurous journey
of, 370
God's Great Mercies, Bay of, 37
God's Mercy, Island of, Hudson
Strait, 37
Goede Hoop, voyage to Australia,
190
Goes, Benedict, journey from India
to China, 129
Gojam, Abyssinia, described by Paez,
145
Golccnda, Methold's visit to, 64
Gold, quest for, in S. America,
168 seq. ; trade in and mines, W.
Africa, 157, 158, 159, 161
Gold Coast, English on, 155; Dutch,
Danes, and Brandenburgers, ibid.
Gold and Silver Islands, N. Pacific,
84, 86
Golden Gate, California, 249
Golden Ti-ade, book by Jobson, 154
Golovin, Russian envoy at Nerchinsk,
127
Gombrun, 66
Gon^-alves, Father Francisco, ascent
of Rio Negro, 175
Gondar, Abyssinia, 152 ; Minorites
and Jesuits at, 1^3 ; Bruce at, 388,
389 ■ ' ...
Gongas, pagans of Abyssinia, 146
Goni, Father, in California, 351
Gonneville, Paulmier de, supposed
discovery of southern land, 207
Gonzales, Father, journey to Colorado,
and death, 352
Gonzales de Santa Cruz, Roque, on
Parana and Uruguay, 169
Gonzalez, Don Felipe, his voyage to
Easter Island, 413
Good Hope, Hudson's ship, 29 n. ; see
Goede Hoop
Good Hope, Cape of, see Cape
Good Hope, Cape of, New Guinea, 78
Good Intent, north-eastern voyage of,
INDEX
439
Gordon, Col. Robert J., journeys in
S. Africa, 394 seq. ; reaches junction
of Vaal and Orange, 395 ; visits
lower Orange, 396
Gore, John, in command after deaths
of Cook and Gierke, 254
Gosnold, Bartholomew, voyage to
N. America, 103
Gough Island, S. Atlantic, Broughton's
attempt to locate, 299
Gouin, Beauchene, voyages of, to
Spitsbergen and Pacific, 204
Gouritz River, Cape Colony, passed
by Beutler, 392 ; Upper, see Olifants
Government expeditions, in Arctic,
Phipps's, 403 ; Pickersgill's and
Young's, 406; {see English)
Govina, see Guina
Gower Island, Solomons, 219
Goyaz, Brazil, penetration of, 170
Goyer, Pieter van, embassy to Peking,
133
Graaf, Isaac de, chart of W. Australia,
208
Graft, 85
Grain coast, Snoek's account of, 155
Gran Chaco, The, 364
Grand Canal, China, 133
Grand Cyclades, Pacific, 223
Grande del Norte, Rio, Escalante on,
357
Grande Riviere (Hudson), 105
Grand Lama of Tibet, 134
Grand Portage, Canada, base for west-
ern discovery, 325, 336
Grand River, Colorado, 357
Gray, Robert, voyages to N.W.
America, 281 ; finds mouth of
Columbia River, 289, 292 ; {see
Washington)
Great Barrier reef, Bligh's passage
of, 311
Great Basin, W. United States, 357
Great Bear River, mouth passed by
Mackenzie, 339
Great Fish River, S. Africa, reached
by Beutler, 392 ; ascent of valley,
393 ; passed by Paterson, 396
Great Lakes of N. America, loi seq.
{see under respective names)
Great Salt Lake, 357; report of,
358; not reached till 19th century,
ibid.
Great Slave Lake, discovered by
Hearne, 334 ; traders reach, 338 ;
Mackenzie on, 338 ; north arm of,
ibid.
Great Smoky Mountains, United
States, 348
Great Sound, Spitsbergen, 44
Great Wall of China, 134 «., 137,
138, 139
Greek Christians in Abyssinia, 386
Greek patriarch at Cairo, assists
Bruce, 386
Green, Charles, astronomer in Cook's
first voyage, 227; observes transit
of Mercury, 229; death, 233
Green, Mr, astronomer with Hergest,
murdered, 292
Green Bay, Lake Michigan, 102 ;
Allouez on, 108
Green Islands, Solomons, 219
Green River, Cape Colony, 396
Green River, Colorado, 357
Greenland, sighted by Hudson, 27 ;
southern end sighted by Frobisher,
31; by Davis, 33; west coast
visited, 34 ; Danish voyages to,
36 ; Hall's ditto, 38; Danish voyages
to S.E. coast, 405 ; ice off the same,
ibid.\ Pickersgill on S.W. coast,
406
Gregorius Abba, communicates in-
formation on Abyssinia, 149
Grenier, Jesuit with Krump, 152
Grenville Island (Rotumah), Pacific,
313
Greyhound, commanded by Barents,
22
Greysolon, see Du Lhut
Griffin, 22; La Salle's vessel, 112
Grogniet, French buccaneer, 186
Groote Eylandt, Gulf of Carpen-
taria, 95
Groote Rivier (Hudson), 105
Groseilliers, explorations in Canada,
108 seq. ; goes over to English, 109
Grout, Fran9ois, eastern voyage of,
58
Grueber, Johann, journey through
Tibet, 134 ; new journey and death,
136
Guadalcanar Island, Solomons, Short-
land at, 305 ; coasted by D'Entre-
casteaux, 318
Guam, Ladrones, 186, 187; Woodes
Rogers at, 198 ; Clipperton at, 199
Guapay River, see Mamore
Guapore River, Brazil, De Lima's
descent of, 362
Guaranis of S. America, 169 ; ob-
ject to transfer to Portugal, 364
Guaviare River, S. America, 368
440
INDEX
Guayaquil, taken by buccaneers, i86;
by Woodes Rogers, 198
Guayra province, Paraguay, 169
Guerriers, Riviere des, Solomons,
Guiana, visited by Mocquet, 60; by
Roe, 63 ; 18th century journeys in,
368-9, 414
Guillen, Father, journey in California,
353
Guina falls, Senegal, 158
Guinea Coast, Europeans on, 155
seq.\ Labat's works on, 160
Guise, Capt., voyage to N.W.America,
279, 280
Guldenstaedt, Johann Anton, travels
in Caucasus, 376-7 ; return and
death of, 378
Gulden Zeepaard, voyage along south
coast of Australia, 80, 288
Gum trade, Senegal, 158
Gum trees of Tasmania, 315
Gurief, Caspian Sea, 376
Guyot, Duclos, sails with Bougain-
ville, 222
Gvosdef, Michael, surveys in Bering
Strait region, 260; reaches Ameri-
can coast, 260, 268 {rnap)
Hacke, William, collection of voyages,
184, 185
Hagen, Van der. Eastern voyage of,
54.
Haiti, see San Domingo
Hakluyt, Richard, collection of voy-
ages, Wright's map inserted in, 11;
prints commission to Muscovy
company's agents, 16; instructions
to Pet and Jackman, 18; supporter
of American colonisation, 103
Hakluyt Headland, Spitsbergen, 24,
27
Hakluyt Island, Arctic, 40
Hakluyt Society, documents pub-
lished by, 413, 414
Half Moon, Hudson's ship, 29 n.
Hall, Capt., voyage to Alaska, 271
Hall, James, sails in Danish Greenland
expedition, 36 ; commands English
ditto, 38 ; murdered, 39
Hall, — , with Dampier in Cygnet,
191
Halley, Edmund, voyage to S. Atlan-
tic, 206 ; shows Pepys Island on
chart, 213
Hamburg, skippers from, make voy-
age to Australia, 209
Hamelin, Capt., finds De Vlamingh's
record, 208 n.
Hami, Central Asia, 130
Hamilton, Alexander, journey with
Bogle, 379; second mission, 380
Hamilton, Governor, marches from
Detroit against Clark, 349
Hang-chou, 133
Hanna, Capt., voyage to N. W.
America, 279
Hanson, James, with Vancouver, 287
Hapai Island, Pacific, Cook at, 247
Harmful Islands, Pacific, 211
Harris, C. A., edits work on Guiana,
44
Harris, Peter, buccaneer, 183
Harrod, adventurer in Kentucky, 347
Hartogszoon, Dirk, voyage to Austra-
lia, 79 ; record of visit, 208
Hasselberg, pilot with Bering, 267
Hastings, Warren, encourages inter-
course with Tibet, 379; ill-effects of
his removal, 381
Hatley, Simon, shoots albatross, 199
n. ; captured by Spaniards, 200
Haven, Frederick von, researches in
Arabia, and death, 382-3
Havre, voyage from, 207
Havre de Grace, 98
Hawaii, Cook at, 252; his death,
253; La Perouse at, 274; Marchand
at, 285; j-^t' Sandwich Islands
Hawash, River, Abyssinia, shown on
Era Maux-o's map, 144 «.
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Cook at,
229
Hawkins, Captain, voyage to India,
55
Hawkins's Maiden land, 181;/.; search
for, by Roggeveen, 210
Hay, — , sails on the Bouvet, 207
Hayes, Sir John, voyage to Tasmania,
Pacific, and New Guinea, 319
Hayes River, Canada, 330, 331
Hearne, Samuel, early career, 332;
first Canadian journey,2(^zaf.; second,
and third, 333; reaches Arctic ocean
and discovers Great Slave Lake, 334;
surrenders to La Perouse, 335
Heart's Ease, exploring ship, 38
Heceta, Bruno, voyage on W. coast
of N. America, 249
Hector, 53, 55
Hector, Cape, Queen Charlotte Is-
lands, 274
Hedenstrom, explores New Siberia
Islands, 272
INDEX
441
Heemskerk, Jacob van, a pupil of
Peter Plancius, 20; in command of
Arctic voyage, 24 ; sails with Ba-
rents for Novaya Zemlya and winters
there, 25
Heemskerk, Tasman's ship, 88
Heeres, Prof. J. E., editor of Tasman's
journal, 82 n.
"Height of Land," Canada, crossed
by Pond, 336
Hekla, Mt, seen in eruption, 36
Helawe (Great Oasis), 151
Heley, Captain, his voyage to Spits-
bergen, 44
Heley Sound, 44
Henderer, assists Regis in survey of
China, 140
Henderson, Nathaniel, pioneer in
Kentucky, 348
Hendry, Anthony, journey inland from
Hudson's Bay, 330
Hennepin, Friar Louis, joins La Salle,
describes Niagara, 112; picture of a
bison, 113; on Upper Afississippi,
captured by Sioux, ihid.\ fraudulent
claims in his narrative, 115; his
vaz.}^, facing 116
Henry, Alexander (the elder), Canadi-
an explorer, 336; (the younger), 344
Herberstein, S. von, work on Russia,
and map, 5, 119
Herbert, Sir Thomas, journey to
Persia, d^
Herder, Jan van, journey in Congo,
163 «.
Hergest, Lieut., survey of Marquesas,
28^ n., 292?/.; murdered at Oahu,
292
Hergest Islands, Marquesas, 292 ;/.
Hermit Islands, New Guinea, see
Anachoretes
Hermogenes, Cape, N.W. America,
identified by Cook, 250
Hervas, Francisco, journeys in Para-
guay, 359
Hervey Islands, Pacific, discovered by
Cook, 240; again visited, 247; {see
Cook Islands)
Hicks, Zachary, Cook's first lieutenant,
sights Australia, 230
Hicks, Point, Australia, 230
Himalayas, crossed by Andrade, 131,
412 ; by Grueber and Dorville, 135 ;
journeys into, i8th cent., 379
Hindu Kush, crossed by Goes, 130
Hinlopen Strait, Spitsbergen, Gillis's
passage through, 402
Hippahs of New Zealand, 230
Hippon, Captain, voyage to India and
Siam, 57
Hirado Island, Japan, 52, 57
Hiwaoa Island, Marquesas, 241
Hochelaga, St Lawrence River, 98
"Hodmadods" (Hottentots), 191
Hokkaido, see Yezo
Hold with Hope, Hudson Strait, 37
Holman, Yde, sails with Tasman,
88
Holmes, Capt. , founds Fort James,
W. Africa, 160
Holstein, Duke of, sends embassy to
Persia, 6^
Holy Land, the, Mocquet's travels in,
60 ; Coryat's, 62 ; Delia Valle's, 63
Hondius, Henry, map of Barents's
discoveries, 18 7i., 26; of Drake's
route, 49 ;/.
Hood, Lord, Hearne serves under, 332
Hood, Mt, N.W. America, named
by Broughton, 293
Hooge Pijlstaerts Island, 92
Hoorn, Holland, 76; native ot, in
Siberia, 258
Hoorn, Pieter van, journey in China,
133
Jloorn, voyage to Pacific, 76
Hop, Hendrik, expedition across
Orange River, 393
Hope, Arctic ship, 22 ; Walton's ship,
265
Hope Island, Spitsbergen, 44
Hope Sanderson, Greenland, 34
Horn, Cape, discovered and named,
76; islands near, 77; supposed
land south of, 183; rounded by
buccaneers, 184, 187; Beauchene
fixes latitude of, 205; Cook rounds,
228, 244; La Perouse rounds, 274;
Hunter's voyage from Australia to
the Cape by, 306; Ball's rapid
voyage from Batavia by, 309;
route by, abandoned by Bligh, 310;
rounded by Edwards, 312
Horn Mts, Mackenzie River, 338
Plornbill, described by Compagnon,
160
Hottentots, 191; Davis's account of,
50; Ten Rhyne's, 166
Houtman, Cornelis de, first Dutch
eastern voyage under, 48 ; second
ditto, 49 ; death, 50
Houtman, Frederik de, eastern voy-
age of, 49; on west coast of Aus-
tralia, 80
44:
INDEX
Houtman's Abrolhos, 80
Huahine Island, Pacific, Cook at,
240, 241 ; Omai left at, 247
Huallaga River, Peru, 175
Hubbart's Hope, Hudson Bay, 41
Hubner, Hermanns, expedition from
Cape to Kafir country, 392
Hudson, Henry, Arctic voyages of,
27 seq.', visits E. Greenland and
Spitsbergen, and examines ice-
barrier between, 27; third voyage,
29; foiuth voyage, 36; fate of, 38;
voyage to N. America, 104
Hudson Bay, discovered by Hudson,
37; subsequent exploration, 38-42;
French and English rivalry on, 106;
reached by Albanel, 109; Cook's
search for passage from Pacific to,
250; La Perouse's expedition to,
273; supposed passage from Pacific
to, 283, 285; exploration inland
from, 328; on coasts, 329, 413;
Hearne to search for western passage
from, 332
Hudson Bay Co. formed, 106 ; full title,
107 «.;policyin Canada, 322; explor-
ations by agents of, 328 seq., 344
Hudson River, visited by Hudson and
named, 30, 105; map of, 105
Hudson Strait, 29 ; sighted by Davis,
35; probably entered by Weymouth,
36; navigated by Hudson, 37;
mapped by Munk, 41
Hudson's Tutches (Jan Mayen?), 28,
411
Huguenots in America, 97 ; attempt
to colonise Rodriguez Islands, 167;
in S. Africa, 390
Humboldt, Alexander von, journeys
in S. America, 370
Hunter, John, sails to N. S. Wales
with Phillip, 302 ; voyage to the
Cape and back, 306; voyage through
W. Pacific, ibid. ; sees French
uniforms among Admiralty Island-
ers, 314
Huntei', Fearn's voyage in, 320
Huon Gulf, D'Entrecasteaux in, 318
Huron, Lake, discovered, loi ; outlet
followed by Joliet, ro8
Hurons of Canada, 99 seq.
Huten, Philip von, 9
Hwang-ho, Grueber's crossing of, 134;
Gerbillon's journeys on, 138
Iberville, Le Moyne d', expedition to
Hudson Bay, 1 16
Ibiapaba, Serra de, Brazil, 171,
Ibicui, see Ybicui
Ice in Arctic sea, voyagers obstructed
by: Cook, 251 ; Gierke, 254; Wood,
401 ; Phipps, 403, 405 ; Danes on
E. coast of Greenland, 405 ; Pick-
ersgill, 406; how to avoid, 410;
in Southern Ocean, Bouvet's navi-
gation among, 207; Cook's, 238,
240; conclusions based on, 245
Ice Fjord, Spitsbergen, 25
Ice Haven, Novaya Zemlya, Barents's
and Heemskerk's wintering place,
25
Icebergs, Bouvet sails among, 207 ;
see Ice
Iceland, Egede in, 405
Ides, Everard Ysbrant, Russian en-
voy to China, 128
Idol point, Vaigatz, 22
Ignatief, Isai, visits Chukches, 121
lie a la Crosse lake, Canada, 336; fort
on, ibid.
Ilgen, Lake, 126
Ilha Grande, Atlantic, Vancouver's
search for, 298
Ilim River, Siberia, 261
Illinois River, reached by La Salle,
no, 112; mouth seen by Marquette
and Joliet, no; ascended, in;
mission founded on, ibid. ; fort
built, 115
Illinois tribe, no, 114
Illuluk Bay, Alaska, 271
"II Pellegrino," 63
Imeritia, Caucasus, Guldenstaedt in,
378
Imperial Eagle, voyage to N. W.
America, 280
Incas, supposed retirement to Eastern
forests, 177
India, Dutch trade with, 53; English
ditto, ■^y, Hawkins's journey in,
56; Pyrard's account of western,
59 ; various travels in, 60 seq.
Indian Ocean, southern route across,
79; Tasman's voyage in, 89; Dam-
pier's, 192; De Vlamingh's, 208;
Vancouver's, 287 ; D'Entrecas-
teaux's, 315
Indian Ocean, Southern, see Southern
Ocean
Indians of Canada, met with by
Mackenzie, 339, 343 ; {see Assini-
boines, Chipewyans, Coppers, Illi-
nois, Iroquois, Sioux, e'c.)
INDEX
443
Indians of U. S., envoys to, 346
Indias Australes, S. Pacific, 73
Indigirka River, discovered, 120
Indo-China, travels in, 66, 67
Indus, crossed by Goes, 130
Ingoda River, Upper Amur, 126
Ingram, Captain, voyage to Hudson
Bay, 38
Inkussu or Inkissi, Congo, 165
Inland sea, supposed, in N. America,
106
Insu, Broughton's name for Yezo,
399
Iphigenia, voyages to N. W. America,
280, 282
Irkutsk, Siberia, rebuilt, 128; Pallas
at, 376
Iroquois, confederation of the, 99,
Irtish River, Academicians on, 261;
Messerschmidt on, 374; Pallas on,
376; Falk in basin of, 378
Irving, Dr, distilling apparatus of,
Isle de Fi'ance, Sonnerat sails in the,
225
Ismaelof, meets Cook at Unalaska,
252 ; his voyage, 270
Isfahan, Poncet at, 152;/.
Islands, Bay of, New Zealand, 237;
Ditto, N. W. America, 250
Itatines tribe, Paraguay, 169
Iturbe, Juan de, narrative of Quiros's
voyage, 72^., 73
Iturriaga, expedition to Upper Orino-
co, 368
Iturup Island, Japan, 87
Ivan the Terrible, sends troops across
Urals, 119
Ivan Vassilivich, Emperor of Russia,
receives Chancellor, 16
Ivory coast, Snoek's account of, 155
Jabkan River, Mongolia, 139
Jacatra, Java, 61, 78; Dutch fort at,
53; {see Batavia)
Jackman, Charles, northern voyage
of, 17: fate of, unknown, 19
Jacobs, Gerrit, in Guiana, 414
Jacobszoon, Lenaert, voyage to Aus-
tralia, 79
Jaggas, tribe, W. Central Africa, 165
Jakin, W. Africa, 156
James, Thomas, voyage to Hudson
Bay, 41 ; his narrative, 42
James Bay, Hudson Bay, James win-
ters in, 41
James, Fort, see Fort James
Jamestown founded, 103
Janjero, Galla countries, 146
Jan Mayen Island, discovered by
Hudson, 28
Jannequin, Claud, travels in W. Africa,
Janssonius, map of Australia by, 71;
map of Africa, 1 50
Janszoon, Gerrit, sails with Tasman,
88
Janszoon, Willem, voyage to Austra-
lia, 70
Japan, first Dutch voyage to, 51; first
English ditto, 57 ; Kaempfer's visit
to, and history of, 66 ; Quast and
Tasman on coasts of, 86 ; Russian
ideas about, 258; Spangberg's and
Walton's voyages to, from north,
265 ; La Perouse's explorations N.
of, 276; Broughton's, 299; supposed
voyages to Europe from, by North,
401; Wood's plan for voyage to,
ibid.
Japan, Sea of. La Perouse in, 276
Japanese, Russians obtain information
from, 258
Japara, Java, Roggeveen at, 211
Jartoux, assists Regis in survey of
Manchuria, 139
Java, in maps of sixteenth century, 4;
Dutch and English voyages to, 48
seq.; Houtman follows south coast,
49; Dutch trade with, 53; supposed
to be part of southern continent, 69
[see Bantam, Batavia)
Jefferys, Thomas, his map of Bering
Strait region, 269
Jehangir, Emperor, Hawkins visits,
56 ; Roe's embassy to, 58, 63
Jelunga, Malay Peninsula, 68
Jenkinson, Anthony, travels in Russia
and Central Asia, 5, 129
Jesuits in Canada, 102 seq., 107 seq.;
in India, organise expedition to
China, 1 30 ; their travels in Tibet,
131, 134-6, 142,411; survey China,
139-40; in Abyssinia, i^\seq., 384-
5, (expelled) 149; in S. America,
168 seq.\ in N.E. Brazil, 171 ; in
N. Mexico, 350 seq.; their map of
Lower California, 354; in S. Ame-
rica, 358 seq. ; map of Paraguay,
360, 36 1; expelled from Spanish
dominions, 355, 361; in Venezuela,
367 ; importance of their travels,
407 ; mission of, in Carolines, 412
444
INDEX
Jidda, Arabia, Poncet at, 152 )i.\
Niebuhr, etc., at, 382; Bruce at,
387
Jilolo, Saris refreshes at, 57 ; sti-ait
between Waigiu and, discovered,
92; passage east of, 211; Funnell's
passage between New Guinea and,
197
Joannet Island, Louisiades, 318
Jobson, Richard, voyage to West
Africa and book, 154
Jogues, Jesuit missionary, reaches
Sault Ste Marie, 107; taken by
Indians to Lake Champlain, ibid.
Johnson, Capt., surveys Hudson Bay
coast, 414
Johnson, Dr Samuel, translator of
Lobo's narrative, 148
Johnstone, James, sails with Van-
couver, 287; surveys on N, W.
coast of America, 291, 293, 295,
297
Johnstone Strait, N.W. America, 291
Joliet, searches for copper mines of
Lake Superior, 108; meets La Salle,
109; discovers Mississippi, no; on
Hudson Bay and Labrador coast,
etc.. Ill
Jonck, Aucke Pietersz., voyage to
Australia, 190
Jones, Capt. John, expels Bhutanese
from Bengal, 379
Jones Sound, discovered, 40
Jonge, Pieter Aertsz. de, Arctic voy-
age of, 410-11
Joseph, Benjamin, voyages to Spits-
bergen, 42, 44
Jourdain, John, journey in Arabia,
Joutel, with La Salle, 116; journey to
Illinois and narrative, ibid.
Juan, Jorge, aids French geodesists,
369
Juan de Fuca Strait, not seen by
Cook, 250; entered by Barclay?,
280; by Meares, 281, 285; by
Quimper, 284; by the Washington,
285, 289; explored by Vancouver,
289-90
Juan Fernandez Island, 77, 184, 186;
Dampier at, 196; Selkirk left at,
ibid.\ rescued, 198; Shelvocke at,
199; Anson at, 201; Roggeveen at,
210; sighted by Surville, 412
Juba River, E. Africa, Lobo at, 148
Juet, Robert, mate with Hudson, 28;
narrative of Hudson's third voyage
by, 30; sails with Hudson on fourth
voyage, 36
Jupiter's satellites, Bruce's observa-
tions of, 387
Juruunas of Brazil, 174
Jussieu, Joseph de, with La Conda-
mine, 369
Kabarda, Great, Guldenstaedt in,
378
Kabul, Goes passes through, 130
Kadiak Island, Alaska, 266, 269 ;
station on, 270
Kaempfer, Engelbrecht, travels and
works of, 66
Kafir country, S. Africa, reached by
Dutch, 392 ; Paterson's journey to,
396 ; Sparrman's, 396 n. ; Le Vail-
lant's, 397
Kalmucks, 134; Renat's captivity
among, 374
Kambat, Gallas countries, 148
Kamchatka, approached by Desh-
nef, 122 ; possibly reached by his
companions, 123; Moroskoi's and
Atlassofs expeditions to, 12 8-9 ;
supposed to join Yezo, 129;
Gierke's visits to, and burial in,
254; Russians in, ^^'^seq.\ Bering's
expedition crosses, 259; Bering
disproves connection with Yezo,
260 ; Krasheninikof's researches,
and work on, 262 ; Steller in,
268; Billings in, 271 ; La Perouse
visits, 277
Kamchatka River, fort built on, 129,
259
Kamil, see Hami
Kaministikwia River, Canada, 323;
La Verendrye at, 325
Kamisberg, Cape Colony, 396
Kanawha River, Kentucky, 348
Kandahar, Coryat visits, 62
Kangaroo, specimen obtained by
Cook, 232 ; taken alive by Ball,
309; seen in Tasmania, 315
Kang-hi, Emperor of China, opposes
Russians on Amur, 127; employs
Jesuits, 136, 139
Kankakee River, Illinois, 112
Kao Island, Pacific, 92
Kara Sea, chart showing entrances to,
17; entered by Pet and Jackman,
19; Pavlof and Muravief in, 262
Kara Strait, traversed by Burrough,
16
Kara-hotun, ruins of, Mongolia, 138
I
INDEX
445
Karkarolang and Karkelang Islands,
Malay Archipelago, 309
Karroo, Paterson crosses, 395 ; Le
Vaillant in, 397
" Karu " or limits of Chinese empire,
Kashgar, 1 30
Kashmir, Bernier describes, 67
Kassan, Gambia, 154
Kassanje, Angola, 165
Kasvin, Persia, 6^
Kathawachaga (Kazan) River, Canada,
333> 334
Kauai Island, Sandwich group, Cook
at, 248
Kaye, Dr, Dean of Lincoln, 250
Kaye's Island, Alaska, 250; Billings
at, 271
Kaynura, Senegal, 158
Kayor, Lake of, Senegal, 158
Kazan River, Canada, 333, 334
Ke Islands, Papuan region, 70, 82
Keeling, Capt. , voyage to India, 55
Keeling Islands, 191
Keerweer, Cape, Australia, 71
Keerweer, Cape, New Guinea, 8r
Kei River, S. Africa, 393
Keiskama River, Cape Colony, 393
Keler, Father, journey north of
Mexico, 355
Kellsey, Henry, journey inland from
Hudson Bay, 328
Kendrick, Capt., voyages to N.W.
America, 281
Keneh, Egypt, Bruce at, 387
Kennebec River, Maine, attempt at
colony at, 103
Kentei Mountains, Mongolia, 138
Kentucky, exploration and settle-
ment of, 346 se(/. ; map of, 347 ;
Boon and others in, 348
Kentucky River, explored by Walker,
347
Keppel Island, Pacific, 78
Kerguelen-Tremarec, Ives Joseph
de, search for southern land by,
236 ; discovers Kerguelen Land,
ibid.
Kerguelen Land, Tasman passes
near, 89 ; discovery of, 236 ; Cook
sails in search of, 238
Kerlun River, Upper Amur, crossed
by Gerbillon, 137 ; headwaters
visited, 138, 139
Kermadec, Huon de, sails with
D'Entrecasteaux, 314; death at
New Caledonia, 318
Kermadec Islands, discovered by
Lever, 304
Kerulen, see Kerlun
Keyser, Jacob van, his embassy to
^ Peking, 133
Khabarof, his expedition to the Amur,
125
Khalkas of Mongolia, 137, 138
Khangai Mountains, Mongolia, Ger-
billon hears of, 139
Khatanga River, Siberia, mouth
reached, 263, 264
Khatmandu, visited by Grueber, 135
Khilok River, Lake Baikal, 126
Khingan Mountains, Mongolia, Ger-
billon's account of, 138
Khiva, Bekovich's embassy to, 373
Khotan, Goes visits, 130
Kiakhta, Pallas at, 376
Kia-kiang, China, 133
Kidnappers, Cape, New Zealand, 240
Kilande, Lake, see Chilande
Kildin, Lapland, 21
Kindersly, Matthew, sails with Fro-
bisher, 31
King, James, sails with Cook, 245;
commands Discovery, his journal,
.^54
King, Philip Gidley, sails to N. S.
Wales with Phillip, 302 ; to found
settlement on Norfolk Island,
^04 ; sent home with despatches,
308
Kifig George, Portlock's ship, 279
King George's Islands, Pacific, 214
King George III Island, Wallis's
name for Tahiti, 217
King George's Sound, W. Austra-
lia, discovered by Vancouver, 288
King George's Sound, Vancouver
Island, see Nootka Sound
King William's Cape, New Guinea,
194, 318
Kinnaird, Bruce's birthplace, 385
Kino, Father, see Kuhn
Kioto, Japan, 57
Kircher, Athanasius, China Ilhistrata
of, 135, 136; on Jesuits' mission
in Abyssinia, 145
Kirghiz hordes. Central Asia, 373
Kirilof, supports Bering, 261
Kirin, Manchuria, 137 n.
Kirk, David and Thomas, take
Quebec, loi
Kitson, Arthur, Life of Cook, 228//.
Kiu-pi-kiu, gate in great wall of
China near, 137
446
INDEX
Knight Island, Southern Ocean, 288
Knight, James, voyage to Hudson
Bay, 329
Knight, John, voyages to the north-
west, 36
Knysna lagoon, Cape Colony, 393
Kobdo River, Mongolia, 139
Koen, Jan Pieterszoon, founds
Batavia, 53 ; seizes Schouten's
ships, 78
Koko Nor, Van de Putte passes,
142
Koko Nor province, China, 134
Kokos Eiland, Pacific, 78; {see Cocos)
Kola, Lapland, Dutch post at, 20
Kolbe, Peter, in S. Africa, 166
Kolguev Island, Arctic voyagers at,
Kolniogro, White Sea, English
voyages to, 16
Kolyma River, Siberia, discovered,
J 20; explorations in region of,
257 ; Paulutzki's march to, 261 ;
Billings's attempted voyage from,
270
Kolymsk, see Nishne Kolymsk
Kompakova River, Kamchatka, 129,
258
Konam River, Siberia, 123
Kong Karl's Land, Spitsbergen, 46
Koon, Jans P., see Koen
Korea, Quast and Tasman to survey
coast of, 85 ; northern parts in-
vestigated by Jesuits, 140 ; La
Perouse on coast of, 276 ; Brough-
ton's survey of coast, 300
Kosirevski, Ivan, expeditions to
Kuriles, 258
Kosseir, Red Sea, Bruce fixes posi-
tion of, 387
Kostin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, 20,
28
Kotches, or flat-bottomed boats, 123
Kotelnoi Island, New Siberia, 272
Krakatau, Kao Island likened to,
92
Krasheninikof, researches in and ac-
count of Kamchatka, 128 «., 262
Krasnoiarsk, founded, 119; Pallas
winters at, 376; cold at, idid.
Krenitzin, voyage of, to Alaska, 269
Krump, Theodore, 151 n. ; visits
Tunis and starts for Abyssinia,
^152
Kucha, E. Turkestan, 130
Kuch Behar, Bhutanese invasion of,
379
Kuchum Khan, chief in W. Siberia,
"9
Ktihn, Father, goes with Otondo
to California, 351 ; journeys in
Sonora, idid. ; to the Colorado,
Kuku Khoto, Mongolia, 139
Kulun, Lake, Upper Amur, 137,
138
Kuma River, Caucasus, 378
Kumarsk, post on Amur, 125, 126
Kundi, see Muene Kundi
Kunene River, W. Africa, on De-
lisle's map, 164
Kupang, Timor, Dutch settlement
at, 311, 313
Kurile Islands, coasted by Schaep,
88; Russians reach, 258, 259;
Spangberg's reconnaissance, 265 ;
La Perouse at, 277 ; Broughton
at, 299
Kuttejar, Gambia, 161
Kwango River, Congo, early jour-
neys to, 163, 165 ; mapping of,
164, 165
Kwangtung, Jesuits in, 132
Kwanza River, 165 ; on Delisle's
map, 164
La Barre, Governor of Canada, 115
Labat, J. B., works on W. Africa,
160, 162
Labillardiere, naturalist with D'En-
trecasteaux, 314; his narrative,
314, 317 ; his collections seized
but restored, 319
La Botideuse, Bougainville's ship,
222
La Boudeuse Peak, Tahiti, 222
La Boussole Strait, Kuriles, 277
Labrador,^ Davis follows coast of, 34
Lac aux lies, Canada, 323
La Chine, La Salle's grant of land
at, T09
La Condamine, account of Ramon's
journey by, 368 n. ; geodetic work
in S. America, 369 ; descent of
Amazon, 370
La Decottverte, French ship, voyage
to China by, 207
La Dominica Island, Marquesas, 241
Ladrone Islands, 186, 187; touched
at by Dutch, 51 ; sighted in
Spanish voyages, 84 ; Anson at,
202 ; La Perouse at, 275 ; Mar-
shall and Gilbert at, 305 ; occupied
l)y Spain, 412
INDEX
447
Lady Penrhyn, voyage from Botany
Bay to Macao, 304
Lajemeraye, La Verendrye's nephew,
324 ; death of, 325
La Jonquiere, Fort, 328
La Jonquiere, governor in Canada,
Lakhi Duar route to Bhutan, 380
La Loche, lake and portage, Canada,
336
Lama Konju, Tibet, 134
Lama survey of Tibet, 140
Lamalmon, pass of, Abyssinia,
Bruce's passage, 388
Lamanon, — de, sails with La
Perouse, 274; murdered in Samoa
Islands, 277
Lamb, Charles, 381
Lammas, Mount, seen and named
by Shortland, 305
La Mocha, South America, De
Cordes killed at, 51
La Motte, with La Salle, 112
Lancaster, Sir James, Eastern voy-
ages of, 47, 53 ; to Pernambuco,
47
Lancaster Sound, discovered, 40
Land exploration, chief spheres of
work in, 408
Langara y Huarto, Don Cayetano,
his voyage to Tahiti, 413
Langle, Chevalier de, sails with La
Perouse, 273 ; murdered in Samoa
Islands, 277
Lan-ho, River, N. China, 137
Laos countries, Dutch in, 67
La Perouse, Francois Galaup de,
his expedition to N. Pacific, 273 ;
earlier career, ibid. ; voyage to
Hawaii and N.W. America, 274;
refits at Manila, 275; explores
seas and coasts north of Japan,
276 ; visits Samoa and Friendly
Islands, 277 ; reaches Port Jack-
son, 278; disaster to expedition
and mysterious fate, ibid. ; D'En-
trecasteaux's voyage in search of,
314 seq.'i takes British fort on
Hudson Bay, 334
La Perouse Strait, 277; Broughton
passes, 300
Lapland, geodetic measurement in,
369 ;/.
La Plata, Rio de, region of the,
168; Bougainville in, 222; Mala-
spina's survey, 283 ; upper basin
of, see Paraguay, Parana
La Pointe, Lake Superior, station
founded at, 108
Laptef, Dmitri, voyages east of the
Lena, 263
Laptef, Khariton, explorations on
Siberian coasts, 264
Lar, Persian Gulf, 63
La Reine, Fort, Central Canada, 325,
3?7
Larios, Cristoval de, missionary in
Peru, 1 76
Lark, 189
La Rochelle, 203, 204, 205
La Sagittaria of Quiros, not Tahiti,
217
La Salle, Robert Cavelier de, enter-
prise and explorations in Canada,
109 seq. ; organises expedition to
Mississippi, in ; starts from Lake
Michigan, but returns for succour,
112; reaches Mississippi, 113; de-
scends it to sea, 114; expedition
to Gulf of Mexico, 115; mur-
dered, 116
La Solide, Marchand's ship, 284
Lassinius, Lieut., expedition east of
the Lena, 264
La Subtile, voyage under D'Entre-
casteaux, 275
Laudonniere, 97
Laval, commercial enterprise of, 58
Lavapie, Punta de, 51
La Verendrye, Jean Baptiste, reaches
Lake Winnipeg, 325 ; death, ibid.
La Verendrye, Pierre, journeys to
Mandan country and beyond,
326 ; later work, 327
La Verendrye, Sieur de (Pierre
Gaultier de Varennes), early career,
324; attempts Western discovery
in Canada, ibid. ; journey to Man-
dans, 325 ; further explorations,
and death, 327
Lavkai, chief on Upper Amur, 125
Lazeano, Don Francisco, discovers
Carolines, 412
Leach, John, surveys the Gambia, 162
Le Beauharnois, Marquis, governor
of Canada, 324
Le Boudoir Peak, Tahiti, 222
Le Caron, Joseph, 10 r
Le Clerc, Recollet friar with La
Salle, 115
Le Comte, Jesuit in China, 136
Leetiwerik, 189
Leeiiwin, 80
Leeuwin, Cape, Australia, 80, 190
44^
INDEX
Le Gentil, see Barbinais
Legobien, Father, 141 ; editor of the
Lettres Edifiantes, 68
Legrand, officer under D'Entre-
casteaux, 316
Leguat, Francois, account of Rod-
riguez, 167
Le Hermite, Jacques, see L' Here-
mite
Le Hermite Island, Cape Horn
group, 77
Le Maire, Isaac, mercantile scheme
of, 29; promotes voyage of dis-
covery, 76
Le Maire, Jacob, voyage round
world, 76 ; death, 78
Le Maire Strait, discovered, 76 ; La
Roche sails to Peru by, i8t ;
Shelvocke's passage, 199 ; An-
son's, 201; Roggeveen's, 210;
Cook's, 244
Leme, Francisco, journeys in Mato
Grosso, 363
Le Moyne, Father, journeys in
Iroquois country, 107
Lena River, reached by Siberian
adventurers, 119; descended by
Busa, 120; Gmelin and Muller in
upper basin of, 262 ; De la Cro-
yere on, ibid. ; voyages from, on
Siberian coasts, 263
Leon, Nicaragua, burnt by Davis,
186
Leontief, his search for islands N. of
Siberia, 272
Le Pas, Central Canada, 327
Lepaute Dagelet, sails with La Pe-
rouse, 274
Lepers' Island, New Hebrides, 242
Le Picard, French buccaneer, 186
Leroux, Laurent, Canadian trader,
builds fort on Great Slave Lake,
338 ; Mackenzie meets, 340
Lescarbot, Marc, sails for Canada,
99 ; history of French in Canada by,
ibid.
Lesseps, J. B. B., with La Perouse,
his journey across Siberia, 277
Lesser Slave Lake, reports of, 340 ;
reached by Fidler, 344
Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, 68 :
map of Paraguay in, 361 ; account
of Carolines in, 412
Leutholf, see Ludolf
Le Vaillant, travels in S, Africa,
397 and n.
Levashef, voyage to Alaska, 269
Lever, Capt., voyage from Sydney
to Macao, 304
Leyden, Gmelin and Pallas at Uni-
versity of, 376
Leza, — de, pilot with Quiros, 72 ;
his narrative, 72«. , 73
Lhasa, visited by Grueber, 134 ;
latitude fixed, 135; Capuchin and
Jesuit missions to, 141-2 ; Van
de Putte in, 142 ; anti-English
intrigues at, 379 ; Manning's visit
to, 381
L'Heremite or Hermite, Jacques,
voyage of Nassau fleet under,
.'7' 78
Liakhof, explores New Siberia Is-
lands, 272
Liakhof Island, New Siberia, 271,
272
Liard River, Canada, mouth seen
by Mackenzie, 338
Liau-ho, N. China, 138
Lignite on Mackenzie River, 340
Ligonus, district of, Abyssinia, 149
Lima, Manoel Felix de, pioneer in
Central Brazil, 361 ; descent of Ma-
deira and Amazon by, 362 ; death,
.363
Limits, Treaty of, 364
Limmen, 93
Link, Wenzel, his exploration in
California, 355
Linschoten, Jan Hughen van, of
Enkhuysen, his long residence in
the East, 20 ; Arctic voyages of,
21 et see].', his map of Eastern
Asia, 48 ; on Java, 69 n.
Lion, Arctic voyages of Pickersgill
and Young in, 406
Lion and Lioness, Dutch trading
voyage to East in, 49
Lisbon, entrepot of Indian trade, 2
Lisburne, Cape, Alaska, 251
Liu-kiu Islands, Saris at, 57 ; La
Perouse passes, 276 ; Broughton's
visits, 300
Lobo, Jerome, travels in Abyssinia,
148
Loheia, Red Sea, Niebuhr, etc., at,
382 ; Bruce at, 387
Lok, Michael, supporter of Frobisher,
31
London Coast, Greenland, 34
Longitude, Vancouver's observations
for, 287
Long Kloof, Cape Colony, 392
Lopez, Duarte, 7
INDEX
449
Lop Nor, Central Asia, possibly
reached by Renat, 374
Lord Egmont's Island, Pacific, 219
Lord Hood Island, I'acific, 312
Lord Howe Island, S. Pacific,
discovered by Ball, visited by
Marshall, 304
Lord Howe Island (Ontong Java),
named by Hunter, 308
Lord Mulgrave Islands, Marshall
group, 304
Loreto, mission of, California, 351
Lorient, Bouvet sails from, 207
Loubere, M. de la, his embassy to
Siam, 68
Louis XIV of France, embassies
from, to Siam, 68
Louis XVI of France, encourages
exploration, 273
Louis le Grand Island, 204
Louisiade Islands, New Guinea,
sighted by Torres, 74 ; Bougain-
ville among, 223; D'Entrecasteaux
explores, 318; Hayes at, 320
Louisiana, named after French king.
Low Archipelago, Pacific, traversed
by Quiros, 72 ; by Schouten, 77 ;
by Roggeveen, 211; by Byron,
214; by Wallis, 216; by Bougain-
ville, 222; by Edwards, 312; by
the Duff, 321
Lowenorn, Capt., voyage to E.
Greenland, 405
Lowrie, Capt., voyage to N.W.
America, 279, 280
Loyalty Islands, Butler at, 320
Luach Oasis, Egypt, 153
Ludolf, Job, 145 ; his map, 147, 149
Lugano, Felipe de, missionary in
Peru, 176
Lukussu River, Congo, 165
Lumley's Inlet, possibly Hudson
Strait, 29
Lushin, voyage to Kuriles by, 259
Lussan, Raveneau de, French buc-
caneer, 186
Lussof, his explorations N. of Siberia,
272
Lutwidge, Commander, Arctic voyage
with Phipps, 403
Luzon Island, Tasman at, 85
Lynn Canal, N.W. America, 297
Lynn, Norfolk, Vancouver's birth-
place, 297
Lyon's Land, reported in Indian
Ocean, 288
H.
Macao, 134; visited by Valignan,
132; Stucess sold at, 199; Anson
at, 202; La Perouse at, 275;
Marchand at, 285 ; Broughton re-
fits at, 300 ; voyages from Sydney
to, 304
Macassar, 209
Macaulay Island, Kermadec group,
304
Mackay, Alexander, with Mackenzie,
340
Mackenzie, Alexander, joins tradmg
association, 336 ; first great jour-
"^^y-> 338; reaches Arctic ocean,
339 ; second journey, 340 ; map
of his routes, 341 ; crosses Rockies
and descends Eraser, 342; reaches
Pacific and returns, 343 ; import-
ance of his work, ibid.
Mackenzie River, descent of, by
A. Mackenzie, 338 ; ascent of its
main feeder by the same, 340 ;
source reached, 342 ; southern
basin mapped by Turner and
Fidler, 344
Mackenzie, Roderick, active in W.
Canada, 337 ; founds fort on
Athabasca, 338
Mackinaw (Michillimackinac), Strait
of, 102, no
McTavish, Simon, founds N.W.
Company, 336
Madagascar, Keeling in, 55; Beau-
lieu in, 6r ; French enterprise in,
i67» 415
Madeira River, Amazon, 173; jour-
neys from Peru to, 176 ; Portu-
guese on Upper, 178 «.; journeys
on, 361; De Lima's, 362; Leme's,
363
]Madre de Dios River, Peru, 176
Magdalena Bay, California, reached
by Guillen, 353
Magdalena Hoek, Spitsbergen,
403
Magellan, Strait of, Dutch voyages
by, 50 seq. ; voyages to, 180 seq. ;
Narborough's chart of, 180; Clip-
perton in, 199; Beauchene Gouin
in, 204 ; De Gennes in, 204 ; new
outlet from, discovered by Mar-
chand, 206; Byron in, 213, 214;
Wallis and Carteret in, 215 ;
mountain climbed, ibid. ; Bougain-
ville in, 222
Magini's edition of Ptolemy, Porro's
map in, 13
29
450
INDEX
Magnetic research, Halley's voyage
for, 206 ; declination, see Compass
Magon Island, Pacific, 197
Mahu, James, sails for the East and
dies of fever, 50
Maiden Land, Ball's, 309
Maiden Land, Hawkins's, 181 «. ;
Roggeveen's search for, 210
Maine, coast of, explored, 98, 103;
settlements on, 104 ; Druillettes's
journey through, 109
]Makian, Moluccas, 57
Makoko, kingdom of, Congo, 163
Malabar coast, Dutch trade with, 53
Malacca, Pyrard's account of, 59
Malaita Island, Solomons, 219
Malaspina, Alessandro, voyages to
Pacific and N.W. America, 282
seq. ; survey of Philippines, 282 ;
on coast of Alaska, 283 ; in
Southern Pacific, 284; return and
captivity, ibid.
Malaspina glacier, 283
Malay Archipelago, English and
Dutch in, 47 seq. ; English driven
out of by Dutch, 58 ; Pere de
Rhodes visits, 66 ; Navarette in,
133 ; Sonnei-at's and Forrest's
voyages to, 225
Malay Peninsula, route across, 67
Mald'ivh Islands, Saris at, 58 ; Py-
rard's shipwreck on, and account
of, 59
Maleg River, Abyssinia, 146
Malemba country, Angola, 165;/.
]Mallicolo, New Hebrides, Cook at,
242
Maloi Island, New Siberia, 272
Malplaquet, La Verendrye wounded
in battle of, 324
Mammoth, Ides's account of, 128
Mamore River, S. America, 177,
362, 363
Manasarowar Lake, Tibet, not reach-
ed by Andrade, 411
Manchuria, journeys across, in 17th
century, 127 seq. ; Gerbillon's and
others', i},-, seq.; Jesuit survey,
139; La Perouse on coast of, 277;
Broughton on coast of, 300
Manchus on Amur, 125, 126, 127
Mandans, Upper Missouri, La Ve-
rendrye visits, 325, 326
Mandelslo, J. A. de, embassy to
Persia and other travels, 6f^
Mandeville, Sir John, claims to have
sailed across N. Polar basin, 401
Mandingos of W, Africa, 158
Mange, Juan Mateo, journeys in
Sonoi^a, 351
Mangea Island, Pacific, 246
Manhattan Islands, 105
Manica, S.E. Africa, Portuguese
knowledge of, 8
Manicolo Island, see Vanikoro
Manila, La Perouse at, 275
Manila galleon, buccaneers lie in
wait for, 187
Manitoba Lake, discovered, 327
Manning, Thomas, journey to Lhasa,
381
Manoa, fabled city of, search for, 368
Manua Island, Samoa, death of De
Langle at, 277
Maquinna, native chief on Vancou-
ver Island, 298
Maranhao, journeys in interior of,
17^ 175 .
Marafion River, Spaniards on, 175
Marban, Father Pedro, works among
Moxos, 177
Marble Island, Hudson Bay, disaster
to Knight's expedition at, 329
Marcand, — , voyage to Strait of
Magellan, ^206
Marchand, Etienne, voyage to Paci-
fic and N.W. America, 284
Marchand Island, Marquesas, 285
Mareb Riv^er, Abyssinia, 152
Maria's Island, Tasmania, 90
Maria's Land, N. Australia, 83
Maria van Diemen, Cape, 91
Alariane, Frezier's voyage in, 206
Marianne Islands, see Lad rones
Marie, sails under Bouvet, 207
Marignolli, John de, 129
Marion Island, Southern Ocean, 237
Marion-Dufresne, voyage in search
of southern lands, 236; discovers
snow-clad island, 237
Maritime discovery, cessation of,
1650-1750, 179
Markham, Sir Clements, publishes
Bogle's journals, 381
Markof, Alexei, searches for islands
ofif Siberian coast, 257
Marmaduke, Thomas, voyages of, to
Spitsbergen, 42
Marques, Father, crosses Himalayas,
131
Marquesas Islands, Marchand ex-
plores, 285 ; Hergest's passage by,
292 n.\ voyage of the Dicff to,
321
INDEX
451
Marquette, Father, stationed on Lake
Superior, 108; joins Joliet's ex-
pedition to Mississippi, no;
death, in
Marquis de Castries, 236
Marsh, Anthony, agent of Muscovy
Company, 19
Marshall, Capt., sails to N. S. Wales
with Phillip, 302 ; voyage from
Sydney to China, 304
Marshall Islands, Pacific, Wallis
among, 217 ; Marshall and Gil-
bert's voyage to, 304
Martens, Frederick, voyage to, and
account of, Spitsbergen, 401
Martha's Vineyard, 103
Martinet, his expedition against French
interlopers in Chile, 200
INIartinez, Esteban Josef, expedition
to Nootka Sound, 281
Martini, Father, Atlas Sinensis of,
133
Martiniere, De la, scientist with La
Perouse, 274
Marutea Island, Pacific, 312
Maryland, settlement of, 104
Masafuera, E. Pacific, Byron at,
214; Carteret at, 218
Mascareigne, 236
Mascarenne Islands, 167
Mascontin Indians, 102
Maskat, Teixeira at, 62 ; Delia Valle
at, 63
Massa, Isaac, his map of Northern
Asia, 6, 119
Massachusetts, colonised, 104
Massachusetts Bay, 103
Massacre Bay, New Zealand, 91
Massaua, 145, 152 ; Bruce reaches,
387
Masse, Capt,, sails with Marchand,
284
Masse Island, Marquesas, 285
Masulipatam, route across India to,
56, 67
*' Matadores," 182
Mataguayos Indians, 361
]\Iatamba or Matemba country, An-
gola, 165
Matchedash Bay, Lake Huron, loi
Matfloe Island, Arctic Sea, 21,
22
Mato Grosso, pioneer work in, 361
seq.
Matonabi, Indian chief, accompanies
Hearne, 333
Matotchkin Shar, see Matyuskin
Matsmai or Matsumai, Yezo, 300
Matsmai Strait, see Sangaar
Matsyn, supposed island in Arctic
Ocean, existence disproved, 411
Mattawa River, Canada, loi
Matthew's Island, S. Pacific, 304
Matthias Island, Dampier discovers,
193; {see St Matthias)
Matty Island, New Guinea, 221
Matyuskin Shar, known to Russians
in 16th cent., 19
Maui Island, Hawaii, 252 ; La
Perouse at, 274
Maupertuis, geodetic measurement
by, 369 n.
Maiirepas, 204
Maurepas River, Canada, 325
Mauritius, visited and named by
Dutch, 49 ; described by Sir T.
Herbert, 65 ; Commer9on's and
Sonnerat's researches in, 224 ;
Marchand at, 285 ; Labillardiere,
etc., reach, 319
Mauritius, 79
Mauro, Fra, see Era Mauro
Maximof, journey with Beketof, 126
May, Jan Corneli.sz., Arctic voyage
of, 410-11
May, Jan Jacobsz., Arctic voyages of,
411
Mayeur, his journeys in Madagascar,
415
Mayflower, voyage of the, 104
Maynas, Peru, 175
Mayon, Philippines, eruption of,
77 «.
Mazandaran, Persia, Gmelin in, 377
Mazatlan, Mexico, 187
Meares, John, voyages to N.W.
America, 279 seq. ; in Juan de
Fuca Strait, 281 ; memorial to
Parliament, 282 ; views as to N.
American inland sea, 285
Mecca, Sharif of, gives letters to
Bruce, 387
Aleennin, voyage to Walvisch Bay,
398
Meerhof, Pieter van, exploration in
S. Africa by, 391
Mekong River, Tasman enters mouth
of, 86 «.
Melanesia, origin of name, 223
Melinde, E. Africa, 145
Mello, Francisco de, his ascent of
Madeira River, 362
Melville Island, N. Australia, 82,
209
29 — 2
452
INDEX
Membre, Father, joins La Salle,
112; Hennepin borrows from his
journal, 114; descends Mississippi
with La Salle, ibid. ; on new ex-
pedition, 115
Menard, Jesuit in Canada, 108
Mendafia, Pacific crossed by, 10
Mendez, Alfonso, missionary to Abys-
sinia, 148
Mendo9a, Furtado de, Portuguese
captain, 60
Mendocino, Cape, N.W. America,
289
Mendoza, Juan Gonzalez de, account
of China by, 132
Meneses, Jorge de, 78
" Menscheter," sobriquet of May,
410
Mentawei Islands, Sumatra, 6r
Mercator, his i-epresentation of New
Guinea and the Southern Conti-
nent, 4; of Northern Asia, 18 «. ;
of Central Africa, 7, 150
Mercury^ Arctic exploring ship, 20
Mermaid, Hudson's supposed sight-
ing of a, 28
Mermaid, Davis sails in the, 34
Merolla, account of voyage to Congo
by, 163
Mes, Cornells Jansz., Dutch pilot,
410
Mesopotamia, Coryat in, 62
Messerschmidt, travels in Siberia,
373-4
Meta River, Venezuela, 368
Meta Incognita, so named by Queen
Elizabeth, 31
Methold, William, travels in India,
63
Methye portage, Canada, 336
Metical Aga, supports Bruce, 387
Meticas, Kingdom of, Congo, 163
Mexico, Navarette's travels in, 133:
buccaneers on coast of, 185, 187;
Clipperton and Shelvocke, ditto,
199; Spanish advance from, i8th
cent., ^^oseq.
Mexico, Gulf of. La Salle reaches,
114; his expedition to, 115
Miako, Japan, 57
Mi 'ami Fort, 113, 114
Mi'amis, N. America, 110, 112,
114
Michael, sails under Frobisher, 31
Michaelis, urges Arabian explora-
tion, 382
Michigan, Lake, Nicollet's explora-
tions, 102 ; country beyond visited,
107 ; Allouez stationed on, 108 ;
explored by La Salle, 1 10 ; ex-
pedition across, to Missouri, 324
Michillimackinac (Mackinaw) Strait,
N. America, 102, no
Micronesia, Marshall and Gilbert's
voyage through, 304, 309
Middelburg Island, S. Pacific, 92,
240
Middleton, Christopher, voyage to
Hudson Bay, 329 ; his controversy
with Dobl)s, 413
Middleton, David, voyages to India,
55' 56
Middleton, Sir Henry, Eastern
voyages of, and death, 54, 56 ; in
Arabia, 382
Middleton Shoal, S. Pacific, 305
Mildenhall, Sir J., sent by Queen
Elizabeth to Great Mogul, 53
Milovanof, Ignati, exploration on
Amur, 127
Min River, China, 133
Mina or Mine, Blue Nile, 146
Minas Geraes, Brazil, opened up,
170; {see Brazil)
Mindanao, Swan and Dampier at,
187; Carteret at, 221; Forrest in,
Mines, search for, in S. America,
359' 361; {see Gold)
Minin, his voyage on Siberian coast,
262
Minitie or Ministik (Lake of the
Woods), Canada, 325
Minnesota River, Carver on, 335
Minors, William, discovers Christ-
mas Island, 191 n.
Missions, in Northern Mexico, i8th
cent., 350 seq. ; in S. America,
358 seq. ; {see Jesuits, Franciscans,
Capuchins, etc.)
Mississippi, first reports of, 107 ;
possibly reached by Groseilliers
and Radisson, and name heard
by Allouez, 108; La Salle and,
no, in; discovered by Mar-
quette and Joliet, ibid. ; Henne-
pin ascends, 113; descended by
La Salle to sea, 114; new ex-
pedition to mouth, 115; Tonty's
second descent of, ii6; French
advance on, 117; reports of Eng-
lish exploration doubtful, ibid. ;
Carver on, 335 ; i8th cent, ex-
plorations in basin of, 345
INDEX
453
Missouri River, La Salle passes
mouth of, 114; suggested western
route by, 323 ; La Verendrye's
journey to, 325
Missouri, Little, 326
Mitre Island, Pacific, 313
Mlyagin, Lieut., voyage to the Ob,
262
Mocha, 83
Mocha Island, S. America, 187
Mocquet, Jean, travels of, 60
Modder Eylandt, New Guinea, 71,
75
Modern period of exploration, 408,
409
Mogmog Island, Carolines, 412
Mogul Empire, Bernier on, 67
Mohammedans in W. Africa, 158
Mojave, Colorado River, 356
Mojos, see Moxos
Mokha, Arabia, Niebuhr, etc. at, 382 ;
Von Haven buried at, 383
Moluccas, Dutch voyages to, 49 seq. ;
English ditto, 54 seq. ; Dutch
driven out of, 56
Mona, Jan, searches for gold in S.E.
Africa, 392
Mondevergue, governor in Madagas-
car, 167
Mongolia, Gerbillon's journeys in,
137 seq. ; Van de Putte in, 142
Monnier, geodetic measurement by,
369 n.
" Monoceros," bird of W. Africa,
160
Monomotapa's kingdom, S.E. Afri-
ca, 8, 166; Dutch search for,
391
Monserrate, Antonio de, attempts to
reach Abyssinia, 144
Montague Bay, New Britain, 194
Montague, Cape, Sandwich Land,
-++
Montague Sound, Alaska, Billings
at, 271
Montanus, Arnold, on Dutch in
China, 133
Montecchio, Capuchin missionary to
Tibet, 141
Montecuccolo, Cavazzi da, journeys
in Angola, 162, 165
Monterey, California, Vizcaino at,
248 ; station founded, 249 ; Van-
couver at, 293, 294 ; overland
route from Mexico to, desired,
356
Monterey Bay, La Perouse at, 275
Montesarchio, Girolamo de, journey
in Congo, 162
Montevideo, Bougainville at, 222
Montfart, Comte de, travels of, 60
Montreal, founding of, 99 ; mer-
chants of, and western discovery,
(French) 324, 325, (British) 331,
336
Monts, Sieur de, Canadian enter-
prise of, 98
Moonshine, Davis's ship, 33, 34
Moore, Francis, account of Gambia,
161
Moore, William, explores coast of
Hudson Bay, 413
Moorea Island, Pacific, sighted by
Wallis, 217
Moose Lake, Canada, 330
Moqui Indians, S.W. United States,
355; Garces visits, 356; towns of,
357 ; Escalante visits, 358
Moraba, see Mareb
Moranget, La Salle's nephew, mur-
dered, 116
Morga, Antonio de, work on
Philippines, 85
Morgan, Sir Henry, buccaneer, 183
Morocco, visited by Mocquet, 60;
by Le Blanc, 62 ; Shirley's mis-
sion to, 65 n.
Moroskoi, expedition to Kamchatka,
128
Mortlock, James, voyage to Pacific,
320
Mortlock Islands, Carolines, 320
Morung, N. India, 135
Moscow, visited by Chancellor, 16;
Guldenstaedt at, 377
Mossel Bay, S. Africa, expeditions
to, 391, 392
Mothe, Mgr de la, mission in Siam
under, 67
Mother, The, peak in New Britain,
219
Motora, Simeon, in N.E. Siberia,
122
Mouat, Capt., sails with Byron, 213
Moucherons, Dutch merchants, 49 ;
[see De Moucheron)
Mountain sickness, 135
Mountains, origin of, Pallas's re-
searches on, 376
Moxos of E. Peru, missions to,
177 and «., 361-2
Mudge, Zachariah, sails with Van-
couver, 287; with Broughton, 299
Muene Kundi, Kwango River, 163
454
INDEX
Miiijden, Willem van, voyage to
Spitsbergen, 42
Mulgrave, Lord, see Phipps
Mulgrave, Port, 280; {see Yakutat
Bay)
Miiller, G. F., account of Deshnef s
voyage, 122;/.; researches in Si-
beria, 261-2; returns to Russia,
269; his map, 269
Muller, S., on i)utch Arctic voyages,
410
Munk, Jens, voyage to Hudson Bay,
40
ISIiinster, Sebastian, mapping of W.
vSiberia by, 119
jNIura Indians, Brazil, 362, 363
Muravief, Lieut., attempts to reach
Ob, 262
Murderer's Bay, New Zealand, 91
Mur-ussu or Upper Yangtse, 134 n.
]\Iuscat, see Maskat
INIuscovy Company, founded, 15 ;
enterprises of, 15 seq.\ Arctic
voyages promoted by, 27 ; whaling
ditto, 42, 44 ; map of Spitsber-
gen, 45
Nagiba, descent of Amur by, 125
Nai, Cornelius, a citizen of Enkhuy-
sen, 20 ; Arctic voyages of, 2 1 seq.
Namaqualand, Great, Hop in, 394;
Van Reenens visit, 398
Namaqualand, Little, Van der Stell
reaches, 391
Namuka Island, Pacific, Tasman at,
92; Cook at, 242, 247; Bligh at,
311 ; Edwards at, 312
Napo River, Upper Amazon, 172, 173
Narborough, Sir John, voyage to the
Strait of Magellan, 180
Narea, see Enarea
Narwhal, described by Beaulieu, 60
Nassau Bay, 77
Nassau Cape, Novaya Zemlya, 2 r
Nassau Fleet, voyage of, 77, 78
Nassau Strait, Dutch name for Yugor
Shar, 22
Natalia, 269
Natki tribe, Amur, 124, 125
Navarette, travels in Malay Archipe-
lago and China, 133
Navigators' Islands, named by Bou-
gainville, 223 ; La Perouse at, death
of De Langle, 277 ; {see Samoa)
Necessaire, sails under Coetivi, 225
Neck, J. van, voyage to Moluccas,
49, 410
Necker Islands, N.W. America, 274
Negro, Rio, see Rio Negro
Nelson, Horatio, midshipman under
Phipps, 403 n.
Nelson, W., botanist with Bligh, dies
at Kupang, 312
Nelson River, Hudson Bay, 38 ;
Cocking on, 331
Nepal, entered by Grueber, 135;
Delia Penna passes through, 142
Nercha River, Upper Amur, 126
Nerchinsk, Upper Amur, 126; treaty
of, 127; Ides visits, 128; reached
by Gerbillon, 137; by .Alesser-
schmidt, 374
Nets, — de, voyage to India, 60
Nevodsikof, explores Fox Islands,
Alaska, 269
New Albion, N.W. America, Cook
on coast of, 248 ; Spanish visits
to, ibid.\ Vancouver's survey of
coast, 289; {see America, N.W.)
New Albion, W. New Guinea, 320
New Amsterdam, 105; Island, see
Amsterdam
New Britain, coasted by Tasman, 93 ;
proved an island by Dampier, 194;
touched at by Roggeveen, 211;
Carteret at, 219; Bougainville at,
224; D'Entrecasteaux at, 316;
north coast explored by him, 318
New Caledonia, discovered by Cook,
243 ; Hunter among reefs of, 306 ;
D'Entrecasteaux's visits to, 315,
317; Hayes's, 320
New England, name given, 104
Newfoundland, Fisheries of, 97 ;
colonisation attempted, 104
New France, see Canada
New Georgia, N.W. America, 291
New Georgia, Solomons, named by
Shortland, 305 ; coasted l)y D'En-
trecasteaux, 318
New Guernsey, Pacific, 219
New Guinea, on Maps of ^lercator,
etc., 4 ; Wytfliet on, 6 ; doubts as
to insular character, 69 ; Dutch
exploration of, 70 seq. ; Torres on
S. coast of, 74 ; Schouten and Le
Maire on coast of, 78; Carstens-
zoon's voyage to, 81; Pool's, 82;
Tasman on north coast of, 92 ;
Dampier's explorations, 193; Bou-
gainville off eastern end of, 223;
Sonnerat's voyage towards, 225;
Forrest on north-west coast, ibid.\
Cook sails between Australia and.
INDEX
455
234 ; Banks on vegetation of, ibid. ;
D'Entrecasteaux on coasts of, 316,
318; proposal for British trade
with, 3 19; Hayes establishes station
in, 3-0
New Hanover, N.W. America, 291
New Hanover, W. Pacific, 78 ;
named by Carteret, 221
New Hebrides, visited by Quiros, 73 ;
by Bougainville, 223 ; Cook explores
and names, 242 ; Malaspina at, 284 ;
Bligh among, 311
New Holland, 96 ; {see Australia)
New Ireland, discovered by Schouten,
78 ; coasted by Tasman, 93 ; Dam-
pier at, 194; joined by him to
New Britain, 196; Carteret proves
separation from New Britain, 219;
coasted by him, 220; Hunter at,
308; D'Entrecasteaux at, 316
New Jerusalem, proposed settlement
in Pacific, 73
New Netherlands, see Company's
N. N., and Australia
New Philippines, 412
New Plymouth, colony at, 104
New Siberia Islands, heard of by
Stadukhin, 120; possibly sighted
by Vagin, 258 ; Shalaurof's voyage
to, 271; exploration by Liakhof,
Sannikof, etc., 272
New South Wales, Cook explores
coast of, 231 ; Malaspina visits,
284 ; voyage of Daedalus to, 294 ;
decision to found penal settlement
in, 302; Hunter's surveys in, 306
New Spain, see Mexico
New York, founded, 105
New Zealand, discovery of, 90;
natives of, 91 ; naming of, 91,
96 n. ; passage between Australia
and, 219; visited by Cook, 229,
238, 240, 243, 246; by Furneaux,
239, 243; Marion murdered by
natives of, 237 ; Hervey Islanders
recall natives of, 247 ; Malaspina
visits, 284: voyages south of: (Van-
couver) 2S8, (Bligh) 311, {Dttff)
320
New Zealand Alps, seen by Cook,
230
Niagara Falls, heard by La Salle and
Sulpicians, 109 ; Hennepin's de-
scription of, 112
Nichols, — , journey to Masulipatam,
56
Nicobar Islands, touched at on East
Indian voyages, 50, 54 ; Dampier
at, 191
Nicollet, Jean, Canadian explorer,
102
Niebuhr, Carsten, journeys in Arabia,
382-4; his portrait, 383; his great
work, 384
Nieuhof, Jan, journeys in Brazil, 133,
171
Niger River, delta of, 155; Senegal
thought a branch of, 1 56 ; informa-
tion about, 158
Niihau Island, Hawaii, Vancouver at,
288; (j^^ Oneehow)
Nijne Kolymsk, see Nishne
Nile, sources of, in early maps, 7,
150; flood of, explained by Paez,
145; Nile route to Abyssinia, 151 ;
Bruce 's voyage up, 387
Nile, Blue, source visited by Paez,
145; crossed by Fernandez, 146;
Lobo's account of, 149; Brevedent
on, 151 ; Poncet describes source,
152 ; Bruce's journey to source of,
384 seq. ; Jesuits' visits to, 385 ;
Bruce visits cataract on, 388, and
reaches source, 389 ; {see Abai)
Nile, White, importance of, not
realised, 385
Nine Islands, Pacific, 219
Ning-hia, Upper Hwang-ho, 138
Ningpo, Jesuits' overland journey
from, T36
Nip-chu, == Nerchinsk, q. v.
Nipigon, trading post, L. Superior,
Nipigon, Lake, reached by Groseilliers
and Radisson, 109
Nipissing, Lake, Canada, loi
Nipissings of Canada, 102
Nishne Kamchatka fort, 259
Nishne Kolymsk, station founded, 120
Niuafu Island, Pacific, 313
Niuatabutabu Island, 78
Nine Island, Pacific, Cook at, 242
{see Savage Island)
Niverville, Chevalier de, journey on
Saskatchewan, 328
Nodal, Brothers de, voyage to Ma-
gellan Strait, 76
Nomoti tribe, S. Africa, 392 n.
Non River, Niger delta, 155
Nonni River, Amur, 128
Noort, Olivier van, voyage of cir-
cumnavigation, 52
Nootka, voyage of, to N.W. America,
279
456
INDEX
Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island,
discovered by Perez, 249 ; Cook
at, 250 ; voyages of fur-traders to,
279 seq. ; Spanish attempts to take
possession, 281 ; claims withdrawn,
282 ; Malaspina at, 283 ; Vancouver
at, 292, 294,297 ; Spanish governors
at, 292, 297 ; Broughton at, 299
Nordenskiold, Baron A. E., on Pet's
voyage, 19 «. ; on latitude of Serdze
Kamen, 259
Nore, The, Resolution and Discovery
reach, 255
Norfolk Bay, N.W. America, 285
Norfolk Island, Cook discovers, 243 ;
JNIalaspina at, 284 ; settlement on,
304; passed by Marshall and Gil-
bert, ibid. ; visited by Hunter, 306
Norfolk Island pine, 243
Norsemen, voyages of, to Greenland,
etc., 14
North, Cape, N.E. Siberia, Cook at,
252
North East Land, Spitsbergen, 44
North East Passage, see Arctic Ocean
North Pole, supposed voyages to,
17th cent., 400; Barrington on
possibility of reaching, 402
North Star, sails with Davis, 34
North- West America, trading vessel
at Nootka, 282
North-West Company, Canada, ac-
tivity of, 331; founded, 336;
Thompson joins, 345
North- West passage, search for, 30
seq. ; from side of Pacific, 250, 283,
286; by Vancouver, 2()0 seq.
Norton, Richard and Moses, journeys
in N. Canada, 332, 414
Norton Sound, Alaska, 252
Noue, Zachary de la, founds post in
Canada, 323
Nova Britannia, named by Dampier,
194; {see New Britain)
Nova Francia, Dutch voyages to, 41 1
Nova Hollandia, Dutch name for
Australia, 96
Novaya Zemlya, sighted by Wil-
loughby, 16; by Pet, 18; Dutch
voyages to, 21 seq., 410; northern
end rounded, 25 ; De Vlamingh's
and Wood's voyages to, 46, 400
Noyon, Jacques de, journeys west of
L. Superior, 323
Nubia, Krump's account of, 153
Nubian desert, Bruce's dangerous
passage of, 390
Nueltin Lake, Canada, 334
Niiestra Seiiora de Covadonga, 202
Nukunau Island, Pacific, 215
Nukunono Island, Pacific, Edwards
at, 312
Nun River, Niger delta, see Non
Nutmegs, in New Guinea, 225 ; pro-
posed British trade in, 319
Nuyts, Pieter, voyage on S. coast of
Australia, 81; accuracy of his lati-
tudes, 316
Nuyts Archipelago, S- Australia, 316
Nuyts Land, see Pieter Nuyts Land
Nyendael, David van, account of
Benin, 155
Oahu Island, Vancouver at, 288 ;
Hergest and Green murdered at,
292
Oatafu Island, Pacific, see Atafu
Ob River, Pet and Jackman to
winter in, 18 ; English vessel lost
at, 19; Brunei's voyages towards,
20; reached overland in i2th
century, 118; Russian dominions
extended to, 119; shown on Her-
berstein's map, 119 n.\ Russian
voyages to, in i8th century, 262;
shores of gulf explored, ibid. ; ex-
plorations in basin of, 374; Falk's,
378.
Obdoria, W. Siberia, 119
Observatory Inlet, N.W. America, 294
Ochagach, spreads report of tidal
water in Central Canada, 324
Odoric, Friar, 6, 131
Oheteroa, S. Pacific, 229
Ohio River, discovered by La Salle,
no; mouth passed, 114; journeys
in basin of, 346 and n. ; descent
by Floyd, 348; Clark's march
north from, 349
Oita, Japan, 52
Okhotsk, station founded at, 120;
Bering's preparations at, 259, 261 ;
vessels built at, for Billings, 271
Okhotsk, Sea of, reached by Russians,
120; station founded on, 123;
Nagiba on, 125; Russians in, i8th
cent., 258, 260
Olaus Magnus, his map of Northern
Europe, 5
Olearius, Adam, accompanies em-
bassy to Persia, 65
Olekma River, E. Siberia, 124, 126
Olenek River, discovered, 120; later
Russian explorers on, 263
INDEX
457
Olifants River, Cape Colony, passed
by Dankerts, 391 ; Hop starts from,
393
Olifants River, Eastern, 394
Oliveira, Bento, ascent of Amazon
with Teixeira, 173
Oliver, Mr, perilous voyage in
Pandora's tender, 313
Olutorsk River, Siberia, l^^
Olympus, Mount, Washington, dis-
covered by Perez, 249; named by
Meares, 281 ; first ascent of, 281 n.
Omai, Society Islander, brought to
• Europe and takes part in Cook's
third voyage, 246 ; left at Huahine,
247 ; death, 304
Ommaney, Cape, N.W.America, 297
Oneehow Island, Hawaii, Cook at,
248; {see Niihau)
Onilahi River, Madagascar, visited
by Beaulieu, 61
Onooafow, see Niuafu
Ontario, Lake, crossed by Champlain,
loi ; explored by Poncet, 107;
navigated by La Salle, etc., 109
Ontong Java, Carteret's mistaken
identification, 219; Hunter at,
308
Oodidie, Society Islander, with Cook,
241 ; seen by Lever and Watts,
304
Oparo Island, S. Pacific, 288
Orange Islands, Novaya Zemlya, 21
Orange River, S. Africa, crossed by
Coetsee, 393 ; by Hop, 394 ; junc-
tion with Vaal reached by Gordon,
395 ; lower course visited by Pater-
son, Gordon, etc., 395-7; named,
396 ; crossed by Le Vaillant, and
by W. Van Reenen, 397 ; Barrow
on upper, 399
Ordos Country, Mongolia, visited by
Gerbillon, 138
Oree, native of Huahine, 2 40
Orellana, his voyage down the Amazon,
8, 172
Orenburg, Russia, 376
Orford, Cape, N.W. America, 289
Orinoco River, knowledge of, in
1600. 8 ; connection with Amazon,
174; journeys on, i8th cent., 367-8
Orkhon River, Mongolia, 139
Ormuz, Baffin's death at, 40 ; Teixeira
at, 62
Ortelius, his representation of New
Guinea and the Southern Continent,
4; of the Nile sources, 7; Porro's
copy of his world-map, 13; shows
Varzina River, 16 w.; his map of
Africa, 1 50
Osnaburgh Island, Pacific, 216
Osnaburgh Island, of Carteret, 218
Otaheite, see Tahiti
Other, northern voyage of, 14
Otondo, Isidro, voyage to California,
351
Otoo, native of Society Islands, 304
Ottawa River, explored by Champlain,
100, lOI
Outhier, Abbe, geodetic work in
Lapland, 369 n.
Oviedo, Bishop x\ndre de, establishes
Mission in Abyssinia, 144
Owzin, Lieut., voyages on Siberian
coast, 262
Oxford Lake, Canada, 330
Oxus, Upper, 130; old bed examined
by Bekovich, 373
Pacajas, Serra dos, Brazil, 174
Pacaraima Mountains, Venezuela, 369
Pacific Ocean, knowledge of, in 1600,
10; Spanish route across, 84; voy-
ages to, I'-jf) seq.', Clipperton and
Funnell cross, 197 ; French com-
pany for trade with, 204; voyages
across, 205 ; Roggeveen's voyage
across, 210, 211; Byron's, 212;
Wallis's, 216; Carteret's, 2r8;
Bougainville's, 222 ; Cook's voy-
ages to, 22^ seq.; their results,
253 ; involuntary voyage of is-
landers, 247 ; Malaspina's voyage
to, 282 j-^^. ; Marchand's, 285;
mission established in, 320; general
geography known, 321; tidings
of, received by Mackenzie, 340 ;
reached by the same, 343 ; unveil-
ing of, 408 ; French and Spanish
voyages to, 412
Pacific, North, rumoured islands in,
84 ; voyage of Tasman and Quast
in, 85 ; Gali's supposed voyage in,
121; Cook's exploration of, 247;
explorations in, 1 780- r 800, 273 seq. ;
Vancouver's search for islands in,
293 ; Broughton's voyage to, and
unsuccessful search for islands, 299 ;
end of pioneer period in, 301
Pacific, South, indications of land in,
214, 215 ; Cook's exploration of,
235, 240, 243; exploration in, 1786-
1800, 302 seq. ; {see Southern
Ocean)
458
INDEX
Padilla, Don Francisco, Expedition
of, to Carolines, 412
Paez, Pedro, missionary to Abyssinia,
144 ; visits source of Blue Nile,
145. 385
Palacios, Juan de, founds settlement
in Upper Amazon basin, 172
Pallas, Peter Simon, Coxe suggests
voyage of discovery to, 270; jour-
neys in Russia and Siberia, 375-6 ;
meets Gmelin, 377 ; edits his notes,
ibid.
Palliser, Sir Hugh, Cook serves under,
226; assists in organising Cook's
first voyage, 227
Palliser Islands, Pacific, 21 r
Pallu, Mgr, mission in Siam under,
67
Palmerston Atoll, Cook at, 242, 247
Palmerston Islands, Pacific, 312
Palmyra, Bruce visits ruins of, 385
Pamirs, crossed by Goes, 130
Pampas, Azara's work on the, 366
Panama, taken by buccaneers, 183 ;
Malaspina at, 283
Panama, Bay of, Dampier in, 196
Panama, Isthmus of, crossed by
buccaneers, 182
Pandora, voyage to Pacific, 312;
wreck of, 313
Pandora Reef, Pacific, 313
Panj, or Upper Oxus, 130
Pao-te, Hwang-ho, 138
Papua, Gulf of, navigated by Torres,
74
Papuan region, Sonnerat's researches
in, 225
Para, Brazil, founded, 172; expedi-
tions from, 172 seq.; ^lanoel Felix
reaches, 362 ; new expedition starts
from, 363
Para River, Brazil, see Tocantins
Paradise, Bird of, trade in skins, 197
Paragua River, Venezuela, 369
Paraguay, missions in, 169, 178;
Jesuits in, 359 sec/. ; their map,
361 ; Azara in, 366
Paraguay River, ascended by Spani-
ards before 1600, 8 ; explored by
Jesuits, 359 ; by Azevedo, 363
Parana River, reached by Spaniards
before 1600, 8; Jesuits on, 169; sur-
veyed l3y Azara, 366
Paranahiba River, Brazil, 171
Pari Jong, Himalayas, 379
Parime, supposed lake, S. America,
1 8th cent, search for, 368
Paris, Treaty of, 212, 222; its influ-
ence on exploration, 408
Paris Academy, geodetic operations
of, 369
Parkinson, Mr, draughtsman with
Cook, death, 234
Parsnip River, Upper Peace River,
34^, 343
Pashkot, founds Nerchinsk, 126
Paskoia, Fort, Central Canada, 327
Passion, Isle de la, Pacific, 207
Pastaza River, Peru, 175, 370
Patagonia, voyages to, i^oseq. ; buc-
caneers in, 183; "Pepys' island"
probably a headland of, 184; Anson
in, 201 ; Malaspina in, 283 ; ex-
ploration in Northern, 364
Patagonians, Byron's account of, 213;
Wallis's measurements of, 215
Patan, Nepal, 135
Patani, Siam, English factory at, 57
Paterson, Lieut. William, travels and
natural history researches in S.
x\frica, 394 seg. ; crosses Orange
River, map of his routes, 395 ;
journey to Kafir country and second
journey to Orange River, 396
Patience, Plall's ship, 38
Patino, Father, exploration of Pilco-
mayo River, 360
Patna, 135
Patta Islands, E. Africa, Lobo at, 148
"Paulistas," adventurers from Sao
Paulo, 169, 170
Paullet, Jesuit with Krump, 152
Paulutzki, Dmitri, expedition east of
Kamchatka, 260; to Chukche coun-
try, 261
Paumotu Islands, J-^^ Low Archipelago
Pavlof, Lieut., attempts to reach Ob,
262
Payaguas of Paraguay, 359
Payta, plundered by Anson, 202
Paytiti, supposed ruler in Eastern
Peruvian forests, 177
Payva, embassy of, to Abyssinia, 144
Peace River, tidings of, 336; mouth
passed by Mackenzie, 338 ; ascent
of, by him, 340 ; descent, 343 ;
Fidler's surveys on, 344
Pe-cha Mountain, Mongolia, 137
Pechili province, China, 138; survey
of, 1 40
Pechora River, Brunei loses ship in,
20 ; Pavlof and Muravief at, 262
Peereboom, J. P., voyage to Aus-
tralia, 190
INDEX
459
Pegan Island, New Guinea, 221
Pegu, visited by Le Blanc, 62
Peking, Ricci visits, 132 ; Tashi Lama
dies at, 380
Pelebere, or Poliwere, Moluccas, 57
Pelew Islands, W. Pacific, Shortland
at, 306
Pelham, Edward, winters in Spits-
bergen, 46
Pelsaert, Francois, voyage to Aus-
tralia, 80
Penang, English voyage to, 47
Penobscot River, 103
Penrhyn Island, Pacific, 304
Pentecost Island, Pacific, 242
Pepin, 1-ake. how named, 114
Pepys Island of Cowley, 181 ;/., 184;
Byron's search for, 213
Fera, 81
Pere, journeys in Canada, 109 and ;/.
Perene River, Peru, 176
Pereyra, journey to Nerchinsk, 127
Perez, Juan, voyage on west coast of
N. America, 249
Permakof, Jacob, searches for islands
off Siberian coast, 256
Pernambuco, Lancaster's voyage to,
47; Dutch in, 171; route from
Maranhao to, 175
Perouse, see La Perouse
Perrot, Nicholas, adventurer in Canada,
108 ; on Upper Mississippi, 116
Persepolis, ruins of, visited by Delia
Valle, 63
Persia, visited by agents of Muscovy
Company, t6 ; sixteenth century
travellers in, 62 se^. ; Grueber in,
134; Van de Putte's journey
through, 142 ; Gmelin's researches
in Northern, 376-7 ; Niebuhr's
journey through, 383
Persian Gulf, English trade with, 58 ;
Niebuhr in, 383
Peru, base of advance in 17th cent.,
168 ; explorations from, 172 ; Be-
tagh's account of, 200 ; French buc-
caneers on coasts of, 203 ; Feuillee's
account of, 206 ; Frezier's, t'dzd. ;
French geodesists in, 369
Pescaria, Central Brazil, 364
Peshawur, 130
Pet, Arthur, northern voyage of, 17-
19
Pet's Strait (Yugor Shar), ig
Peter the Great, his interest in Asiatic
discovery, 256, 258, 259; enterprise
in Central Asia, 372-3
Petrillofskoi, with Khabarof on Amur,
125
Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka, 266 ;
Gierke's burial and monument at,
254; Billings winters at, 271 ; La
Perouse at, 277
Phclipaiix, 204
Philip II of Spain, forbids Amsterdam
merchants to trade with Lisbon, 2
Philippines. Dampier at, 188; Anson
captures galleon off, 202 ; Mala-
spina's voyages to, and surveys,
282, 284
Philippines, New, 412
Phillip, Governor Arthur, voyage to
Botany Bay, 302 seq. ; portrait, 303
Phillip Island, New Guinea, 308
Phillip Mountain, St Matthias Island,
309
Phipps, Constantine John (Lord Mul-
grave), Arctic voyage of, 245, 402-
5 ; portrait, 404
Piasina River, Siberia, discovered, 119
Piccolo, Father, in California, 351
Pickersgill, Lieut. Richard, Arctic
voyage of, 406
Pienaar, Pieter, journey inland from
Walvisch Bay, 399
Pieter Nuyts Land, 81
Pieterszoon, Pieter, voyage to Aus-
tralia by, 82
Pigafetta, Filippo, his map of Africa,
7 ; Lake Aquiluna of, 164
Pigeon River, Lake Superior, 325
Pilcomayo River, Jesuits on, 360, 361
Pilgrim Fathers, 104
Pillar, Cape, Tasmania, 315
Pine River, Canada, 330
Pines, Island of. New Caledonia,
243; Hunter at, 306
Pinto, Fernao Mendez, 6
Piratical voyages, 180; {sec Bucca-
neers)
Pires, Manoel, journeys in Amazon
basin, 175
Pitcairn Island, discovered by Car-
teret, 218; mutineers of Bounty
settle at, 311 ji.
Pitt Island, Pacific, 313
Plancius, Peter, encourages Dutch
voyages, 20, 410; recommends route
north of Novaya Zemlya, 24
Playse, John, journal of Hudson's
first voyage by, 27
Plymouth, company for American
colonisation at, 103; Cook sails
from, 235
460
INDEX
Pocahontas, saves John Smith, 104
Poivre, M., in Madagascar, 415
Polar regions, largely unknown, 1800,
409
Poliwere, see Pelebere
Polo, Marco, his influence on later
ideas, 3, 4, 6
Poncet, Charles, journey to Abyssinia,
151
Poncet, Father, explores Lake Ontario,
107
Pond, Peter, Canadian trader, 335 ;
reaches Lake Athabasca, 336 ;
forms trading association, ibid. ;
retirement, character, and work,
337
Pondos of S. Africa, 392
Pontanus's History of Amsterdam,
map in, 18 ;/.
Pontgrave, French merchant in
Canada, 98
Pool, Gerrit Thomaszoon, voyage to
New Guinea, 82
Poole, Jonas, voyages to Spitsbergen,
4^ . .
Porro, Girolamo, his copy of Ortelius's
world-map, 13
I'ortage la Prairie, site of, reached,
325
Port Desire, Patagonia, 213
Port Discovery, N.W. America, 289
Port P^gmont, Falklands, 213
Port Famine, Patagonia, 213
Port Gallant, 215
Port Jackson, discovered and named,
232 ; Malaspina at, 284; chosen as
site for settlement, 302
Portland Canal, N.W. America, 294
Portlock, Nathaniel, visits Yakutat
Bay, etc., 270; his voyage to N.W.
America, 279
Portlock Harbour, Alaska, 2S0
Port Mulgrave, see Yakutat Bay
Portola, Don Caspar de, expeditions
in California, 249
Port Praslin, New Britain, 224
Port Royal, Canada, 98
Port Royal harbour, Tahiti, 217;
Cook at, 228
Portugal, relations with Spain in
S. America, 363, 364 ; decline of
exploring activity, 407
Portuguese, The, their supposed know-
ledge of Central Africa, 7 ; decline
of power in India, 59; in Abyssinia,
\j^\seq. ; Middle Congo not known
to, 164; enterprise in South America,
170 seq. ; meet Spaniards in centre
of S. America, 178; on Amazon,
367 .
Possession Island, Crozet group, 237
Possession Island, S.W. Africa, Dutch
flag hoisted at, 398
Post, Christian Frederick, envoy to
Indians on Ohio, 346
Postlooper, voyage to Natal, 391
Postnik, Ivanof, discovers Indigirka
River, 120
Potala, monastery of, Lhasa, 134 «.,
Potawattamies, 102
Potomac River, seen by Smith, 104 ;
site of colony, ibid.
Poutrincourt, Baron de, expedition to
Canada, 98
Poverty Bay, New Zealand, Cook at,
229
Powhatan, Indian chief, 104
Poyarkof, sent to discover Shilka
River, 123; descends Amur to its
mouth, 124
Prado, Caspar de, missionary in Brazil,
362, 363
Prado, Don Diego de, with Quiros
and Torres, 73; charts by, 74, 75,
82;;.
Prairies, Lac des, 327
Praslin, Port, New Britain, 224
Precious stones in Brazil, search for,
''■°. .
" Presidios," in California, 249
Prester John, search for, 144
Priaman, Sumatra, 54
Prickett, Abacuk, with Hudson on
fourth voyage, 37, 38
Prince's Island, Java, 234
Prince Edward Islands, discovered by
Marion-Dufresne, 237; Cook sails
in search of, 238
Prince Frederick, 2 r 5
Prince Frederick Henry Island, 70,
75, 81
Prince of Wales, voyage to N.W.
America, 281
Prince of Wales Archipelago, N.W.
America, 294
Prince of Wales Cape, Alaska, 251
Prince of Wales Fort, Hudson Bay,
332 ; Hearne surrenders to French,
334
PrDicess Royal, voyages to N.W.
America, 281, 282
Prince William Henry Island, Pacific,
216; {see St Matthias)
INDEX
46:
Prince William Sound, N.W. America,
Cook explores, 250 ; Russian ex-
ploration of, 270; Billings at, 271 ;
Portlock, Dixon, and Meares at,
279; Douglas at, 280; Vancouver
surveys, 295
Pring, Martin, voyages to N. America,
Proby's Island, Pacific, 313
Prontchishchef, Lieut., explorations
west of the Lena, 263
Prosperous, Arctic voyage of, 401
Providence, Brought on 's voyage in,
299; wrecked among Liu-kiu
Islands, 300 ; Bligh's voyage to
Pacific in, 314
Ptolemy's mapping of the Nile, 7 ;
map of Central Africa, 150; map
of Upper Nile discarded, 385
Puget, Peter, with Vancouver, 287 ;
Puget Sound named after, 290 ;
commands Chatham, 293 ; surveys
Alaskan coast, 295
Puget Sound, Vancouver explores,
260
Pulling, Captain, 196
Pulo Aur, Malaysia, 85
Pulo Condore, Dampier at, 188
Pulo Way, Middleton at, ^6
Puna, plundered by Dampier, 197
Punakha, Bhutan, Hamilton and
Turner at, 380; view of, 381
Purchas, Samuel, prints map of Spits-
bergen, 46
Pushkaref, exploration north of Si-
beria, 272
Pustozersk, N.E. Russia, 262
Pwir Nor, Mongolia, 138
Pylstaart Island, Edwards at, 313
[see Hooge Pijlstaerts)
Pyrard, Fran9ois, travels of, 59
Quadra, J. F. de la Bodega y, voyages
on west coast of N. America, 249 ;
voyage with Arteaga, 281 ; com-
missioner for cession of Nootka,
292 ; death of, 297
Quango River, see Kwango
Quast, Matthijs Hendricxsen, voyage
in N. Pacific, 85
Quebec, founding of, 99 ; taken by
Kirks, 10 1
Queen Charlotte, voyage to N.W.
America, 279
Queen Charlotte Islands, N.W.
America, La Perouse at, 274 ;
named by Dixon, 280 ; Douglas
sails between mainland and, 281 ;
Marchand at, 285 ; Vancouver
examines, 294
Queen Charlotte Islands, Pacific,
216, 219; Hunter's search for,
306
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zea-
land, Cook and Furneaux at, 238,
239; Cook again at, 240, 243, 246;
Vancouver reaches, 291
Queen Charlotte Sound, N.W.
America, 280
Quelpart Island, La Perouse sights,
276 ; Broughton at, 301
Quesada, Hernan Perez de, 9
Quijos, tribe andriver. Upper Amazon,
173 n.
Quimper, Manuel, exploration of
Juan de Fuca Strait, 284
Quinipissas tribe, jNIississippi, 114
Quinquimas of Colorado, 352
Quiroga, Benito, expedition in E.
Peru, 177
Quiroga, Governor of Ladrones, 412
Quiros, Pedro Fernandez de, voyages
of, ro, ^iseq.', observations of
magnetic declination, 77 «.
Quito, Amazon route to, 172-3;
French geodesists at, 369
Racehorse, Phipps's Arctic voyage
in, 403
Radisson, explorations in Canada,
10^ seq.
Rainier Mountain, named by Van-
couver, 290
Rainy Lake, Canada, first reached,
323; La Verendrye at, 324
Rainy River, Canada, French on,
323^ 324, 325
Raiotea, Society Islands, 211
Rairoa Island, Pacific, 211
Ralegh, Sir Walter, voyages to Gui-
ana, 9
Ramon, Father, journey from Orinoco
to Rio Negro, 367 ; La Condamine's
account of the same, 368 n.
Ramparts, Mackenzie River, 339
Ramusio's map of the Nile sources, 7
Rankin, Lieut. John, 413
Rankin's Inlet, Hudson Bay, 413, 414
Rarefied air, difficulty of breathing
caused by, 135
Ras-el-Fil province, Abyssinia, 388
Ras Michael, Abyssinian general, 388
Ratclifif, on the Thames, starting
point of expeditions, 15, 19, 31
46:
INDEX
" Ratti" seeds, 193
Raveneau de Lussan, French bucca-
neer, 186
Raymbault, Jesuit missionary, reaches
Sault Ste Marie, 107
Raymond, Captain, eastern voyage
of, 47
Raymundo de Santa Cruz, see Santa
Cruz
Recherche, D'Entrecasteaux's ship,
314 . , ^
RecoUet friars, 101 seq. ; with La
Salle, 112, 115
Red Deer River, W. Canada, 331
Red Knife Indians, 338 ; {see Copper
Indians)
Red Sea, Lobo's description of, 148 ;
Niebuhr on east coast, 382 ; Bruce's
voyage on, 387
"Reductions"' of Jesuit missions, 169
Regio Patalis, name for a southern
land, 4
Regis, Jean Baptiste, survey of China
by, 139
Reiter, Joseph, missionary in Brazil,
362
Remetszoon, Jan, supposed voyage
in search of southern continent, 79
Renard Island, Louisiades, 318
Renat, Johann Gustaf, wanderings in
Central Asia, 374; his map, 374-5
Rennefort, Souchu de, voyage to
Madagascar, 167
Repulse Bay, Hudson Bay, 329
Research work of explorers, 408
Resolution, Cook's ship, 235; second
voyage, 245
Restoration Island, N. Australia, 311
Retes, Ynigo Ortiz de, 78
Reunion, Dubois visits, 167; its ex-
tinct fauna, ibid.
Revilla Gigedo Channel and Island,
294
Rhenius Mountain, Or. Namaqualand,
398
Rhodes, Alexandre de, his labours in
Indo-China, travels, and death, 66
Rhytina gigas, 267
Ribaut, 97
Ribeiro, Diego, 7
Ribeiro, Jesuit in Brazil, 175
Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata, my-
thical islands in N. Pacific, 84, 86
Ricci, Matthew, labours in China,
132
Rich, Sir Robert, trading enterprise
of. in West Africa, 154
Riche, naturalist with D'Entrecas-
teaux, his adventure in Australia,
316
Richelieu River, Canada, 99
Richter, Henry, missionary in Peru,
175
Riebeck, Van, governor at Cape, 391
Rijp, Jan Corneliszoon, Arctic voyage
of, 24, 410; separates from Heems-
kerk, 25 ; meets survivors of his
crew, ibid.
Ringrose, Basil, buccaneer, 183
Rio Branco, N. Brazil, reached from
north, 369, 414
Rio Grande del Norte, Escalante on,
357
Rio Negro, Amazon, 173, 174; ascent
by Pires and Gon9alves, 175 ; Portu-
guese on, 367
Roberts, Henry, appointed to explor-
ing expedition, 287
Robertson, James, pioneer in Tennes-
see, 348
Robinson Crusoe, 196
Roca Partida, N. Pacific, sighted by
Shelvocke, 200
Roche, Antoine de la, trading voyage
to Peru, 181
Rochefort, Sieur de, see Jannequin
Rochon, Abbe, in Madagascar, 415
Rockingham Bay, Australia, 232
Rocks, Bay of, Tasmania, 317
Rocky Mountains, approached by La
Verendryes, 327 ; by De Niverville's
men, 328 ; Henry hears of, 336 ;
crossed by Mackenzie, 341 seq. ;
subsequent exploration, 343, 345
Rodriguez, embassy of, to Abyssinia,
144
Rodriguez, Father, journey up Pilco-
mayo, 360
Rodriguez, Juan, discovers Faroilep,
412
Rodriguez, Maximo, journal of, in
Tahiti, 413
Rodriguez Island and its fauna, 167
Roe, Sir Thomas, supports Luke
Foxe, 41 ; embassy to Jehangir, 58,
63 ; previous travels, 63 ; portrait.
Roebuck, Dzxry^iev S2i\\s ixi, 192; aban-
doned at Ascension, 196
Roebuck, Cape, New Britain, 194
Roe's Welcome, Hudson Bay, 329,
Roggeveen or Roggewem, his voyage
round world, 209
INDEX
463
Roggeveld, Cape Colony, Paterson
and Van Reenen in, 395
Romero, explores Uruguay, 169
Rongelap Island, Pacific, 217
Roquepiz Island, touched at by Lan-
caster, 53
Roslin, Helisaeus, on Dutch Arctic
voyages, 410
Rossel, hydrographer with D'Entre-
casteaux, 314
Rossel Island, Louisiades, 318 ; Hayes
lands on, 320
Rosetta, 152
Rothe, Lieut., voyage to E. Green-
land, 405
Rotterdam Island, Pacific, see Na-
muka
Rotti Island, 189
Rotumah Island, discovered by Ed-
wards, 313
Rouen, commercial enterprise of, 60,
(in W. Africa) 156; voyage from,
205 //.
Roule, Cornelius, Arctic voyage of,
400
Rowles, Captain, voyage to India, 56
Royal patrons of exploration, 40, 375,
382, 401, 405 ; {sec Peter the Great)
Royal Society, urges despatch of
Pacific expedition, 226; supports
Arctic exploration, 402-3
Rubruk, Willem de, 6
Rudolf II, Emperor, sends Shirley
to Morocco, 65 n.
Rupert, Prince, supports trade to
Hudson Bay, 106
Rupununi River, Guiana, Dutch on,
414
Rurutu Island, S. Pacific, 229
Russia, English trade with northern,
1 5 ; traversed by embassy to Persia,
65 ; Grueber's proposed journey
through, 136; Guldenstaedt in
Southern, 378
Russians, The, pioneers in Asia, 3 ;
on Amur, 123 x^^.; negotiations
with China, 127-8; in Alaska, met
by Cook, 252; North- East voyages
of, 1^6 seq.\ Vancouver meets, at
Cook's River, 295; in N. and
Cent. Asia, i8th cent., 372 j-^^. ;
work accomplished in Siberia, 407
Rykvoet, surgeon on Hop's expedi-
tion in S. Africa, 393
Ryswick, Peace of, 204
Saavedra, Spanish navigator, 78
Saghalien River, 137
St Aignan Island, Louisiades, 318
St Ambrose Island, S. Pacific, Car-
teret's search for, 218
St A ft to me, 205
St ^ Augustine's Bay, Madagascar,
Keeling at, 55 ; Beaulieu at, 61
St Charles Fort, Central Canada, 325
St Elias Mountain, Cook sights, 250;
discovered by Bering, 266; sighted
by Billings, 271; by La Perouse,
274; Malaspina's glacier observa-
tions near, 283
St Felix Island, S. Pacific, Carteret's
search for, 218
St Francis Island, S. Australia, 81
St Francis Bay, Cape Colony, 392
St George, Dampier's ship, 196
St George, Cape, New Ireland, 194
St George's Bay and Channel, New
Britain, 194, 219, 316
St Helena, Dampier touches at, 196 ;
Cook at, 234; Vancouver at, 298
St Helen's, Isle of Wight, 203
St James, Cape, Queen Charlotte
Islands, 294
St Jean Baptiste, 412
St John's Strait, Malay Archipelago,
197
St Joseph River, Lake Michigan, 112
St Joseph, Fort, Senegal, 157; evacu-
ated, 158
St Joseph, 206
St Julian, Port, 201
St Lawrence Island, Bering Sea,
252; named by Bering, 259
St Lawrence River, French on the,
98 seq.
St Louis, Cross of, bestowed on La
Verendrye, 327
St Louis, Fort, on Illinois, 115
St Lusson, takes possession of country
about Sault Ste Marie, 108
St Malo, commercial enterprise of,
58, 98; voyages from, to Chile,
200; to Falklands, etc., 205, 206;
Bougainville reaches, 224
St Matthias Island, discovered by
Dampier, 193 ; touched at by Ball,
309
St Paul, Bering's ship, 265
St Paul Island, Indian Ocean, De
Vlamingh passes, 208 ; Crozet sails
for, 237; Vancouver misses, 287;
Bligh at, 310
St Peter, Chirikof's ship, 266
St Peter Island, S. Australia, 81
464
INDEX
St Petersburg Academy of Sciences,
supports Siberian exploration, 261;
map prepared for, 268 ; directs re-
search in Asia, 375
St Philip and St James, Bay of, New
Hebrides, 73
St Pierre, Jacques de, succeeds La
Verendrye, 327
St Pierre, Fort, Faleme River, 159
St Pierre, Fort, Cent. Canada, 324
St Pierre River, Minnesota, Carver
on, 335
Ste Croix, French colony of, Canada,
98
Ste Marie Islands, Madagascar,
French at, 167
Sakalava country, Madagascar, 415
Sakhalin Island, reached by Vries,
88 ; La Perouse's exploration of,
276, 277; Broughton's, 300
Salayer, Strait of, Malay Archipelago,
309
Saldanha Bay, old name for Table
Bay, 50
Salisbury Island, Hudson Strait, 37
Sallizan, Jean Baptiste de, journey in
Angola, 165
Salvages, Rocks, N. Atlantic, 222
Salvatierra, Juan, founds mission in
California, 351 ; journey with Klihn
in Sonora, 352 ; crosses Lower
California, 353
Samara, Russia, 376
Samarang, Java, Edwards at, 313;
Dauribeau dies at, 319
Samarcand, visited by Le Blanc, 62
Samoa Islands, Roggeveen among,
2ri; Bougainville at, 223; La
Perouse at, death of De Langle,
277; Edwards at, 312
Samoyedes, mentioned by Herber-
stein and Waldseemliller, 119;^.
Samuel, Thomas, English factor in
Siam, 57
Sana, Arabia, Middleton at, 56;
Niebuhr, etc., at, 383
San Ambrosio, S. Pacific, 186
San Bias, Mexico, 281
San Carlos (Easter Island), 413
San Cristobal, Solomons, coasted by
Shortland, 305
Sanders, Salomon, prospector in
Guiana, 414
Sanderson, William, patron of ex-
ploring voyages, 33, 34 ; his Hope,
Greenland, 34
San Domingo (Haiti), 369
Sandridge, Devon, Davis's birthplace,
33
Sandwich, Earl of, promotes Arctic
expedition, 403
Sandwich Harbour, New Hebrides,
242
Sandwich Island, New Ireland, 221
Sandwich Island, New Hebrides, 242
Sandwich Islands, visited and named
by Cook, 248, 252 ; Cook's death
at, 253; La Perouse at, 274 ; Port-
lock and Dixon at, 279 ; Meares
at, 280; Douglas at, 281; Van-
couver at, 288 ; Hergest and Green
murdered at, 292 ; Vancouver re-
turns to, 293 ; third visit, British
protectorate declared, 294; Brough-
ton at, 299
Sandwich Land, S. Atlantic, Cook
at, 244
San Felix, S. Pacific, 186
San Fernando de Atabapo, Venezuela,
368
San Francisco, founding of, 249;
Vancouver at, 293, 294; Anza to
found station at, 356
San Francisco Bay, Spaniards reach,
248, 249
Sangaar Strait, Broughtonat, 299, 300
San Gabriel, mission station, Cali-
fornia, 356
San Juan River, Colorado, 357
San Lorenzo Harbour, see Nootka
Sound
San Lorenzo, 413
San Miguel, Azores, Goes's birthplace,
130;/.
San Miguel mission station, Brazil, 363
San Miguel, sails under Bonechea, 413
Sannikof, explores New Siberia Is-
lands, 272
Sanpo River, Bogle in valley of, 379
San Rafael Mission, Chiquitos coun-
try, 359
San Salvador, Congo, 162, 165
Sans Sault rapids, Mackenzie River,
339
Santa Barbara, S. America, 361
Santa Cristina Island, Marquesas, 285
Santa Cruz, Raymundo de, journeys
in Peru, 175
Santa Cruz, Roque Gonzales de, 169
Santa Cruz Islands, Pacific, discovery
of, 71; proposed colonisation of,
72 ; re-discovered by Carteret, 219;
La Perouse wrecked at, 278 ; D'En-
trecasteaux at, 318
INDEX
465
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, S. America,
.78
Santa Fe, Argentine, 367
Santa Fe, Arizona, Escalante starts
from, 357
Santa Isabel River, \V. United States,
358
Santa Maria Island, South America,
187
Santa Maria de la Aguada, Galapagos,
198
Santa Maria Magdalcna, 413
Santa Rosalia, Mount, western N.
America, 249
Santa Rosalia, 413
Santiago, Mexico, 187
Santiago, 24^
Santo Island, Pacific, see Austrialia,
and Espiritu Santo
San Xavier del Bac, Arizona, 355
Sao Francisco, Rio, journey to head
of, 171
Sao Paulo, Brazil, Portuguese adven-
turers of, 169, 170, 178;/.
Sarare River, Brazil, 362, 364
Sarikol, Pamirs, 130
Saris, John, voyage to Japan, 57 ; on
the voyage of the Duvfkeii, 70 n.
Sartine Islands, west end of Vancouver
Island, 274
Sarychef, Capt., voyage to Alaska, 27 1
Saskatchewan River, reached by La
Verendrye, 327 ; De Niverville
on, 328; Hendry on, 330; Cocking
on, 331 ; surveyed by Fidler, 344
Saskeran Lake, Canada, 330
Satlej, Upper, Andrade on, 131
Sauer, Martin, account of Billings's
voyage, 270
Sault Ste Marie, Lake Superior,
102 ; French sovereignty declared
at, 108
Saunders, Dr Robert, accompanies
Turner to Tibet, 380
Savage Island, Pacific, Cook at, 242,
247
Savu Island, Malay Archipelago, 234
Sawkins, Richard, buccaneer, 183
Saypan Island, Pacific, examined
during Byron's voyage, 215
Scarhorotigh, voyage from Sydney to
China, 304
Schaadelijk Islands, Pacific, 211
Schaep, Hendrik Cornelis, voyage
with Vries, 86
Schall, Johann Adam, labours in
China, 132
H.
Schelling, Theunis van der, voyage
to Natal, 391
Schouten, Willem Corneliszoon, voy-
age round world, 76 ; his discovery
of Admiralty Islands, 22 r
Schouten Islands, New Guinea, 78,
, .'93.
Scientific methods in exploration, 224,
256, 403, 408
Scott, Francis, merchant at Mokha, 383
Scroggs, Capt., voyage to Hudson
Bay, 329
Scurvy, preventives of, 53; Anson's
crews suffer from, 201 ; in Rogge-
veen's ships, 211 ; in Byron's, 214 ;
in Wallis's, 2t6; in Carteret's, 2r8;
in Bougainville's expedition, 223 ;
measures to combat, in Cook's voy-
ages, 228; successful results, 245;
outbreak on Endeavour, 230 ; on
Adventure, 239; in Bering's and
Chirikof's ships, 266, 267 ; in
Ismaelof's, 270; in Meares's, 279 ;
on the Lady Penrhyti, 304 ; on
Shortiand's ship, 306 ; in Ugarte's
expedition, 353
Scurvy grass, in Strait of Magellan
and Pacific Islnnds, 214, 216; use
of, by Cook, 239
Sea, blue-black colour of, 28
Seahorse Point, Hudson Strait, 39
Seal River, N. Canada, 333
Sea-otter, 267 ; trade in skins of,
279 n.
Sea Otter, voyage to N.W. America,
279
Searchthrift, t6
Sebald de Weert Islands, 184
Sedelmayer, Father, journey north of
Mexico, 355
Segued, Sultan, of Abyssinia, 145
Seixas y Lovera, on La Roche's voy-
age, 181
Selimbinsk, E. Siberia, 127
Selimeh oasis, Egypt, 151
Selimja or Silinji River, Amur, 127
Selivestrof, adventurer in N.E. Si-
beria, 122
Selkirk, Alexander, left at Juan Fer-
nandez, 196; rescued, 198
Senegal River, French voyages to,
^i^seq.; supposed to be branch of
Niger, ibid.; this doubted, 158;
Lambert's ascent of, 156; Brue's
voyages up, 157
Senegambia, trading journeys in,
153^^^.; Brue in, 157
30
466
INDEX
Sennar, Brevedent at, 151 ; Krunip
at, 153; Bruce at, 389
Sequeira, Bartolomeu Bueno de, search
for gold in Biazil by, 170
Serdze Kamen, Cape, N.K. Siberia,
259
Setebos Indians, Peru, 176
Seutter, Matthew, map of Paraguay,
Seven Islands, Spitsbergen, Gillis sails
north of, 401 ; Phipps sights, 404
Sevier, John, pioneer on Tennessee
River, 348
Sevier River, W. United States, 358
Shabbe (Esh' Shebb), Egypt, 151
Shalaurof, expedition to New Siberia
Islands, ■271
Shantar Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, 258
Shark's Bay, W. Australia, Dampier
at, 192 ; discovered by De Vla-
mingh, 208
Sharp, Bartholomew, buccaneer,
crosses isthmus of Panama, 183 ;
voyage to Patagonia, idid.
Sharpeigh, Captain, voyage to India,
56; his visit to Arabia, 382
Shekelof, founds station on Kadiak
Island, 270
Sheltinga, voyage with Spangberg, 265
Shelvocke, George, voyage round
world, 198
Shestakof, Afanasei, his expedition
east of Kamchatka, 260
Shestakof, Ivan, surveys in Sea of
Okhotsk, 260
Shethani, Lake, N. Canada, 333
Shetlands, South, see South Shetlands
Shigatze, Tibet, reached by Cacella,
412
Shilka River, Upper Amur, 123, 126;
reached by Gerbillon, 137
Shiraz, Persia, 63
Shire, Abyssinia, 152
Shirley, Sir Anthony, his journey to
Persia, 64
Shirley, Sir Robert, his residence in
Persia, and travels, 65
Shortland, John, sails to N. S. Wales
with Phillip, 302 ; voyage through
W. Pacific, 305
Shortland Island, Solomons, 306
Shortland Strait, Solomons, 305
Shumagin Islands, Alaska, Bering at,
266
Siam, English factories in, 57 ; Le
Blanc in, 62 ; Dutch in, 67 ; Jesuits
in, 67 ; French embassies to, 68
Siberia, knowledge of, A.D. 1600, 6
17th century advance in, 118 sec/.
break-up of ice on rivers of, 128
Swedish prisoners in, 129; i8th
cent, exploration in, 256^1?^.; search
for islands off coast, 257 ; sketch
maps of Northern, 257, 263; great
scheme for exploration of, 261 ; ex-
ploration of sea-route to, 262 ;
Pallas's travels in, 376 ; Talk's,
378; work of Russians in, 407
Siberia, City of, 18
Sibir, fort in Siberia, 119
Sibur, shown as tributary of Ob,
119;/.
Sierra Leone, 160; stone set up at,
by Keeling and Hawkins, 55
Si-ho River, China, 133
Silver, discovered in Brazil, 170
Simbirsk, Pallas winters at, 375
Simbu, Solomons, 305
Simoviof, Dmitri, sent to Amur, 126
Sinai Peninsula, Bruce on coast of,
.387
Singan-fu, China, 134
Sining, China, 134
Sioux, met by Allouez, 108; Henne-
pin among, 113; Du Lhut visits,
114; proposed mission aniung,
324 ; massacre of La Verendrye's
party by, 325 ; Carver visits, 335
Siratik, ruler of Fulas, 157
Sir Charles Hardy Island, Solomons,
219
Sir Charles Middleton's Island, S.
Pacific, 305
Sir George Rook Island, New Britain,
194
Strius, voyage to Botany Bay, 302 ;
later voyages and loss, 306
Sirius Island, Solomons, 308
Sir Thomas Smith's Inlet and Island,
Spitsbergen, 44
Sissama, Angola, 164;/.
Siut, 151; Krump starts for Abyssinia
from, 152; importance of, 153
Skuratof, Lieut., voyage to the Ob,
262
Slave Coast, D'Elbee's voyage to,
157
Slave Lakes, see Great and Lesser
Slave Lakes
Slave River, Canada, descent by
Mackenzie, 338
Slaves, trade in, in W. Africa, 155,
1 56, 157; raiding for, in S. America,
i6Sse^., 174, 359
INDEX
467
Slinger's Bay, New Ireland, 194
Small-pox, Bruce treats patients ill
with, 388
Smeerenl)erg, Spitsbergen, 44
Smith, Francis, his voyage to Hudson
Bay, 413
Smith, James, adventurer in Ken-
tucky, 347
Smith, John, Virginian settler, sends
reports to Hudson, 30; explorations
and writings of, 103, 104
Smith. Sir Thomas, a supporter of
north-west voyages, 36, 38
Smith Sound, discovered, 40
Smoky River, W. Canada, 340
Snake Indians, N. America, 326
Snares, The, New Zealand, 288
Sneeuwberg, Cape Colony, Gordon
crosses, 395 ; Le Vaillant in, 397 ;
Barrow passes, 399
Snoek, J., on ivory and grain coasts,
155
Snowy Mountains, N.W. America,
290
Soares, Gabriel, search for El Dorado
by, 171
Societe de I'Orient, 167
Society Islands, natives of, with Cook,
228, 241, 246; named by Cook,
229; Edwards at, 3 r2; mission in,
320; (.f<?^ Tahiti, Huahine, Ulielea)
Socinios, Emperor of Abyssinia, em-
bassy to King of Portugal from, 145
Sokolof, voyage to Kamchatka, 129 ;
examines west coast, 258
Sokotra, Keeling at, 55 ; Saris at, 57
Solander, Dr, accompanies Cook,
227 ; botanical work in New Zea-
land, 229; in Australia, 232
Solano, expedition to Upper Orinoco,
368
Soleil cTAfriqiie, 203
Solomon, Job ben, adventures of, [6r
Solomon Islands, discovery ])y Men-
dana, 10; Carteret at, 219; Bou-
gainville at, 223 ; Shortland's voy-
age to, 305 ; Ball's, 308 ; D'Entre-
casteaux at, 316, 318
Somers Islands (Bermudas), Smith's
work on, 104
Sonnerat, Pierre, natural history re-
searches in Mauritius and the East,
224
Sonora, Mexico, 249 ; Je^uit mission
in, 351; Ktxhn's journeys, ihiii.\
extent of province, 355 ;/.
Soto, Hernando de, 9
Sousa, Gonzales de, his journey to
Tibet, 131
Sousa, Father Manoel de, journey to
Xingu and Tapajos, 174
Sousa, Pedro Coelho de, journeys in
Northern Brazil, 171
Sousa e Azevedo, see Azevedo
Southampton Island, Hudson Strait,
39 ; Middleton near, 329
Southern Continent, supposed, a field
for investigation, 3 ; ideas respect-
ing, 10 ; representation of, in maps,
13; belief in, 69; Quiros's search
for, 71 ; Schouten's and Le Maire's,
76; Remetszoon's, 79; "Terra de
Vista " on, 207 ; Roggeveen's search
for, 210; Dalrymple's belief in,
226; Bouvet's search for, 207;
Cook instructed to search for, 235 ;
Kerguelen's search, 236 ; Marion's
and Crozet's, 237 ; Cook finds sea
in position assigned to, 238 ; re-
newed search by him, 239, 241, 244
Southern Ocean, Bouvet's search for
land in, 207 ; Cook's exploration
of, 229, 238, 240, 243, 244; Ker-
guelen's and Marion-Dufresne's
voyages to, 236 ; Furneaux's search
for land in, 244 ; Vancouver in,
288; Bligh in, 311; Duff '\x\, 320;
{see Atlantic, Pacific and Indian
Oceans)
South Georgia, seen by La Roche ?,
r8r ; Cook at, 244
South Sea Company, monopoly of,
201 ; gives licence for trading in
Northern Pacific, 279
South Seas, voyages to, 179^^^. ;
Narborough's, 180 ; buccaneers in,
\%},seq.\ results of their voyages,
407 ; [see Southern Ocean)
South Shetlands, supposed discovery
by Dirck Gerritsz, 51; by La
Roche, 181
Spafarik, Nicolas, ambassador to
Peking via Manchuria, 127
Spain, war with England, 196; effects
of union with Portugal, 172; rela-
tions with Portugal in S. America,
^78, 363; decline of exploring
activity, 407 ; {see Spanish)
Spangberg, Martin, colleague of
Bering, 259, 261; expeditions to
Kuriles and Japan, 264, 265
Spanish settlements in America, buc-
caneers attack, 183; claims on
Falklands, 222 ; activity and claims
468
INDEX
in N.W. America, 281 ; Malaspina's
schemes for development of colonies,
282 ; missions in S. America, 359,
361, 367 ; {see Spain)
Sparrmann, Andrew, naturalist with
Cook, travels in S. Africa, 396 n.
Speedwell^ Shelvocke's ship, 198
Speedwell, Wood's Arctic voyage in,
401
Speier, Georg von, adventurer in
South xVmerica, 9
Speult, Herman van, 81
Speult's Land, 82
Sphinx, voyage to Falklands, 222
Spices, proposed trade with New
Guinea in, 225, 319
Spilbergen, Joris van, voyage round
world, 77 «. ; gives passage to Le
Maire, 78; Roca Partida seen by,
200; May sails with, 410
Spithead, Cook anchors at, 244
Spitsbergen, discovered by Dutch,
24; Hudson's voyage to, 27; Eng-
lish and Dutch whaling voyages to,
42-46 ; first winterings in, 46 ;
French attack on Dutch whaling
fleet at, 204 ; Martens's account of,
401 ; Gillis's voyage to, ibid. ;
Phipps's, 403
Srinagar, Garhwal, 411
Stadukhin, Mikhailo, in N.E. Siberia,
120, 122
Stadukhin, Vasilei, exploration on N.
Siberian coast, 257
Stanley Pool, Congo, early journeys
to north of, 163
Starodubzof, Cossack with Bering,
builds ship, 267
Staten Island, Japan, 87
Slaten Land, iirst name for New
Zealand, 91
Staten Land, Tierra del Fuego, dis-
covered and named, 76; found to
be an island, 77
Statues on Easter Island, 241
Steel River, Canada, 330
Steeples, The, rocks off New Zealand
coast, 91
Steinbriick, trader in Canada, with
Mackenzie, 338
Stell, Simon van der, expedition to
Namaqualand, 391
Steller, George William, naturalist
with Bering, 262, 266 ; energy of,
and natural history researches, 267 ;
death at Tiumen, 268
Steller's sea-cow, 267
Stepanof, Onufrei, operations on
Amur, 126; death, ibid.
Sterlegof, vovage on Siberian coast,
262
Stewart Island, New Zealand, 230
Stewart's Islands, W. Pacific, named
by Hunter, 308
Stibbs, Bartholomew, voyage up the
Gairibia, 160 ; doubts connection
of Senegal and Gambia with Niger,
161
Stoke Gabriel, Devon, Davis's birth-
place, 33
Storm van 's Gravesande, Dutch Gov-
ernor in Guiana, 414
Storm Bay, Tasmania, wrongly identi-
fied by D'Entrecasteaux, 315
Stradling, Capt., sails with Dampier,
196
Strahlenberg, Philipp Johann, travels
in Siberia, description and map,
B74
Strange, James, voyage to N.W.
America, 279
Strong, John, voyage to Falklands
and Peru, 182
Strogonoffs, commercial enterprise of,
20, 118
Suakin, 145, 151
Success, Clipperton's ship, 198; sold
at Macao, 199
Suchou, Central Asia, Goes's death
at, 131
Suckling, Cape, N.W. America, 250
Sudan, route from Egypt to, 151
Sudest Island, Louisiades, 74
Sulpicians in Canada, 109 seq.
Sumeta, Father, in E. Peru, 177
Sunda Straits, Anson passes, 203
Sundi, Congo River, 162
Sunshine, Davis's ship, 33, 34
Superior, Lake, reached by Brule,
loi ; by Nicollet, 102 ; explored
by Groseilliers and Radisson, 107 ;
advance westwards from, 323, 324
Supply, voyage to Botany Bay, 302 ;
to Batavia through W. Pacific, 308
Surabaya, D'Entrecasteaux's ships at,
3'9
Surat, Hawkins at, 56; Best's victory
near, 58 ; Mandelslo lands at, 65 ;
Poncet at, 152 //.
Surville, Jean Francois de, his voyage
across Pacific, 412
Susa, Tunis, visited by Krump, [52
Susan, 53 ; lost, 55
Susquehanna River, loi
INDEX
469
Sviatoi Nos, N. Siberia, 257, 264;
rounded by Shalaurof, 271
Swallozu, Carteret's ship, 215
Swally, W. India, Best's victory at,
58 ; Roe at, 63
Swan, black, seen in Tasmania, 315
Swan, Capt., joins buccaneers, 185 ;
joined by Dampier and crosses
Pacific, 187 ; left by mutineers at
Mindanao, 188
Swan River, W. Australia, visited
and named by De Vlamingh, 208
Swan, Nai's ship, 21
Swarte Klip, Novaya Zemlya, 28
Swedish embassy to Persia, 66\ colony
on the Delaware, 105 ; prisoners in
Siberia, 129
Sweepstakes, H.M.S., Narborough's
ship, 180
Sydney Cove, settlement on, 303
Syene, Bruce at, 387, 390
Synd, Lieut., expedition to N.W.
America, 245, 269
Syria, visited by Le Blanc, 62 ; Bruce's
travels in, 385
Tabbert, Philipp Johann, journeys of,
in Siberia, 374
Tabin, Cape, on i6th century maps,
18 n.
Table Bay, so named by Beaulieu,
61
Tachard, Pere, mission to Siam, 68
Taensas, tribe, Mississippi, 114
Tafahi Island, Pacific, 78
Tagula, Louisiades, 74
Tahiti Island, discovery by Wallis,
217; Bougainville at, 222; Cook
reaches, 228; observation of transit
of Venus at, ibid. ; other visits to,
240, 241, 246; Spanish ships at,
247 ; speech akin to that of Hawaii,
248 ; Vancouver at, 288 ; Broughton
at, 299 ; voyage of Lady Penrhyji
to, 304; Bligh at, 311; Edwards
at, 312; Spanish voyages to, 413
Taimur Peninsula, coast explored by
Sterlegof, 263 ; by Prontchishchef
and others, 263, 264
Taipinsan, Liu-kiu group, Broughton
at, 300
Tais, Vemen, Niebuhr's party at, 383
Takaroa Island, Pacific, 241
Takazze River, Abyssinia, 152
Takutu River, Guiana, 414
Tala Mungongo Mountains, Angola,
165
Talikhan, Central Asia, 130
Talon, Intendant in Canada, extends
French influence, 108
Tamar, sails under Byron, 213
Tambaura, Senegal, 159
Tana, Lake, see Tsana
Tangitar, E. Turkestan, 130
Tangut, kingdom of, Tibet, 134
Tanna, Volcanic Island, New He-
brides, eruption witnessed by Cook,
242
Tannu Mountains, Mongolia, Ger-
billon hears of, 139
Tapajos River, Brazil, 173, 174 n.y
175; reached from south, 363
Tape, Sierra de. Paraguay, 169
Tapujas of N. Brazil, 171
Tarai, N. India, 135
Taranta, pass of, Abyssinia, Bruce's
passage of, 388
Tarija, Bolivia, 361
Tavim River, Renat's map of, 374-5
Tartar gaWty, voyage to New Guinea,
225
Tartary, Quast and Tasman to survey
coast of, 85 ; Vries's voyage to, 86
{see Manchuria)
Tashi Lama of Tibet, 379-80
Tashi Lhunpo, or Teshi Lumbo, Tibet,
134 n. ; Bogle visits, 379; Turner
at, 380
Tasman, Abel Janszoon, instructions
to, 70 «., 71 ; voyage to Ceram, 83;
to N.W. Pacific, 84 ; various trading
voyages, 86 ; first southern voyage,
88 ; second ditto, 95 ; chart of his
discoveries, 94, 95 ; importance of
his voyages, 407
Tasman's Bay, New Zealand, 91
Tasmania, discovery of, 90 ; Cook
on coast of, 246; sighted by Van-
couver, 288; Broughton touches at,
299; Bligh on coast of, 310, 314;
D'Entrecasteaux's surveys in, 315,
317; productions of, 315; its separa-
tion from Australia conjectured,
317; Hayes's survey, 319
Tassisudon, Bhutan, Bogle at, 379;
Turner at, 380
Taumaku, Pacific, 73
Tauris, 67
Tavernier, Jean Baptiste, Eastern
travels of, and death, 66
Tayeto, Tahitian native, death of,
234
Taz, Gulf of, Siberia, explored by
Owzin, 262
470
INDEX
Taz River, Siberia, discovered, 119
Tecla Haimanout, king of Abyssinia,
388
Tehama, The, Arabia, Niebuhr's
party in, 382
Teixeira, Pedro, travels of, 62
Teixeira, Pedro de, voyages on
Amazon, 173
Tekessel River, see Takazze
Tellez, Balthasar, work on Abyssinia,
145 ; his map, 149
Tembus of S. Africa, 392, 393
Tenasserim, great trade centre, 50;
route across Malay Peninsula vz'd,
68
Tench's Island, W. Pacific, 309
Tenerife, Peak of, longitude reckoned
from, 89 n. ; ascended by naturalists
with D'Entrecasteaux, 314
Tennessee River, settlement of basin
of, 348
Ten Rhyne, William, account of
Hottentots, 166
Terek River, Caucasus, 377
Termination Island, South Australia,
288
Ternate, Dutch in, 56, 57
Ternay Bay, Manchuria, 277
Terra Australis, see Southern Con-
tinent
Terra de Vista or Terre de Vue,
207
"Terrier Rouge," Senegal, 156
Terry, Edward, travels in India, 63
Terville, Lieut, de, 204
Teshi Lumbo, see Tashi Lhunpo
Teshu Lama, see Tashi
Teshu Lombo, see Tashi Lhunpo
Tetgales, Brant, Arctic voyages of,
21 seg.
Teva, see Deva
Texas, La Salle traverses, 116
Texel, The, 210
Thaddeus, Cape, Siberia, 264
Thebes, ruins of, 153
Thevenot, Jean de, travels in the
East, 67
Thevenot, Melchisedek, collector of
travels, 60, 67 ; publishes Grueber's
letters, 136
T/ii'en/wven, 210
Thijszoon, Fran9ois, voyage on S.
coast of Australia, 81
T/iomasine, whaling voyage of, 44
Thompson, David, explorations in W.
Canada, 344 ; character of his work,
408
Thompson, George, ascent of Gambia
by, 154
Thome, Robert, advocates voyage
across North Pole, 27
T/iree Holy Fathers^ voyage to Alaska,
270
Three Kings Island, N.Z., 91
Three Rivers, Canada, La Verendrye
born at, 324
Three Sisters Islands, Solomons, 318
Thule, Southern, Cook at, 244
Tiafu or Amatafu Island, Pacific,
Cook sights, 242
Tian Shan range, 130
Tibet, missionary journeys to, 131,
133-6; Andrade's, 131, 411; Grue-
ber and Dorville's, 134 ; Lama sur-
vey of, 140; Capuchins in, 141-2;
Desideri, Delia Penna, and others
in, 142; Englishjourneys to, 378i-^^.
Tidor, Dutch in, 56, 57
Tienhoven, 210
Tierra del Fuego, voyages to, 76 ;
Clipperton explores, 199 ; Anson
in, 2or ; Beauchene Gouin in, 204;
Cook at, 228, 243 ; {see Magellan,
Strait of)
Tiflis, Guldenstaedt at, 378
Tigil River, Kamchatka, 129, 258
Tigre, Abyssinia, Jesuit mission in,
144 ; Bruce in, 388
Timbuktu, efforts to reach, 154; in-
telligence of, 158
Timor, Dampier at, 188, 193-4;
Bligh reaches, 311; Edwards in,
313
Timpanogos (Utah) Lake, 357
Tinda, Gambia, 154
Tinian Island, Anson at, 202 ; Byron
at, 215 ; Wallis at, 217 ; longitude
observed, 218; (j-^^ Ladrones)
Tiokea Island, Pacific, Cook at, 241
Tioman Island, Malay Peninsula,
Tipping, Lieut., voyage to N.W.
America, 279
Tiumen, Siberia, 268
Toba Indians, Pilcomayo, 361
Tobolsk, founded, 119; Messerschmidt
at, 374; Pallas at, 376
Tocantins River, Brazil, 171 ; Jesuits
ascend, 174
Tofoa or Tofua Island, S. Pacific, 92 ;
Bligh attacked by natives of, 311
Tokelau Islands, Pacific, Byron at,
215 ; Edwards at, 312
Toktokai, Upper Yangtse, 134
INDEX
471
Tokyo, Saris at, 57
Toledo, Andres de, descent of Amazon,
172
Tomkins, — , gallantry of, at Atjeh,
50
Tomsk, founded, 119
Tonga Islands, Pacific, Tasman at,
92 ; Wallis near, 217 ; Malaspina's
survey, 284 ; {see Friendly Islands)
Tongatabu Island, Pacific, Tasman
anchors off, 92 ; Cook at, 240 ;
eclipse observed at, 247 ; D'Entre-
casteaux at, 317; Wilson's chart
of, 321
Tongking, Pere de Rhodes's labours
in, 66 ; Dampier at, 19 r
Tonty, Henri de, joins La Salle, 11 1 ;
sent back with furs, 112 ; in charge
of fort on Illinois, ibid. ; descends
Mississippi with La Salle, 114;
second descent of Mississippi, 116;
his memoirs, ibid.
Topinambazes of Brazil, 174
Tor, Sinai Peninsula, Bruce at, 387
Torquemada, account of Quiros's
voyage by, 72 ;z.
Torres, Luiz Vaez de, sails with
Quiros, 71 ; voyage from New
Hebrides, 73 seq. ; observation of
magnetic declination by, 77 n.
Torres Strait, visited by Dutfkeii, 70;
traversed by Torres, 75 ; search for,
by Tasman, 95 ; Bligh's passage
through, 311; Edwards's and
Oliver's, 313; {see Endeavour Strait)
Tortoises, gigantic, of Reunion, 167
Townley, — , buccaneer, 185
Trade, in W. Africa, 157 {see Furs,
Gold, Slaves, etc.)
Trade's Increase, largest English
merchantman, ^d
Trade-winds, avoided by Pacific
voyagers going East, 84 n.
Traitors' Island, 78
Transbaikalia, Academicians in, 261
Trappers, see Fur traders
Treasury Islands, Solomons, 306
Treaty of Limits, S. America, 364
Tree, "Sacred," Congo, 163
Tres Marias Islands, Mexico, 187
Trial, sails with Anson, 201 ; con-
demned, 202
Tribulation, Cape, 232 7i.
Trigault, Nicolas, edits Ricci's papers,
132
Trinidad Island, Atlantic, Frezier at,
206
Trinity Bay, Australia, 232
Trinity River, Texas, La Salle on,
116
Tripoli, Bruce wrecked on coast of,
385
Tristan da Cunha Island, 208
Trobriand Island, Louisiades, 318
Tropic Bird Island, 92
Tsaidam, Tibet, Grueber in, 134
Tsana, Lake, Abyssinia, Bruce at,
388, 389; {see Dembea)
Tsang-po River, see Sanpo
Tsaparang, see Chaprang
Tsien-tang River, China, 133
Tsitsikar, Manchuria, 127
Tsugaru Strait, see Sangaar
Tsusima Island, Broughton at, 300
Tuamotu Islands, Bougainville at,
222 ; {see Low Archipelago)
Tubuai Islands, Pacific, Cook at,
247
Tucopia Island, Pacific, Dillon dis-
covers La Perouse relics at, 278
Tucuman, journey to Pilcomayo from,
360
Tula River, Mongolia, 138
Tulare Valley, California, 356
Tulbagh, Governor of Cape Colony,
Tungir River, Siberia, 125, 126
Tunguses, N. E. Siberia, 123, 128
Tunguska, Lower, used as route to
the East, 119
Tupia, native of Tahiti, with Cook,
228; suffers from scurvy, 230;
death, 233
Tureia Island, Pacific, 312
Turfan, E. Turkestan, 130
Turkestan, Eastern, route to China
through, 130
Turkey in Asia, Niebuhr's journey
through, 383
Turnagain, Cape, New Zealand, 229,
230
Turnagain, Cape, see Keerweer
Turnagain, Inlet, N.W. America,
250
Turner, Philip, his surveys in Central
Canada, and map, 344
Turner, Capt. Samuel, mission to
Bhutan and Tibet, 381
Turtles of Galapagos, 184
Turukhansk, founded, 119
Tutuila Island, Pacific, 312
Typinsan, see Taipinsan
Tyuri, New Guinea, 71
Tzeba, Tembu chief, 393
472
INDEX
Ubay River, Brazil, 362
Ucayali River, Peru, journeys on, 176
Uchichig River, Canada, 323
Uchur River, Siberia, 123
Uea Island, Pacific, seen by Wallis,
217
Ufa, Russia, Pallas winters at, 376
Ugarte, Father, explorations in Cali-
fornia and the Gulf, 353
Ugria, W. Siberia, 119
Ulietea Island, Pacific, Cook at, 240,
24t, 247
UUoa, Antonio de, aids French
geodesists, 369
Ulya River, Sea of Okhotsk, station
near, 123
Uniboi Island, New Britain, 194
Umlekan River, Amur system, 124
Unalaska Island, Cook at, 250, 252;
latitude determined, 252
Ungava Bay, 41
Union Islands, Pacific, Byron at,
215; {see Tokelau)
United States, exploration in, i8th
cent. , 345 see/. ; wars in and their
results, 346, 348, 349; Spanish
journeys in Southern, 355-8; {see
Mississippi)
Upsala, Falk graduates at, 378
Ural Mountains, crossed in nth
century, 118; Pallas's researches
in, 376
Urka River, Amur, 125
Urquizo, Pedro de Allegui, 176
Uruguay, Jesuits on the, 169
Ussuri River, Manchuria, Jesuits on,
139
Ust Urt Desert, Central Asia, 373
Utah, Escalante's journey to, 357
Utah Indians, 357
Utah Lake, 357
Vaal River, junction with Orange
reached by Gordon, 395
Vaca y Vega, Diego de, 175
Vagin, Merkurei, his search for islands
off Siberian coast, 256
Vaigatz Island, reached by Burrough,
16; mainland taken for, by Pet, 18
Vaigatz Strait, Spitsbergen, 404
Valdai Hills, Gmelin visits, 376
Valdes, Don Gaetano, exploration in
N.W. America, 291
Valdivia, Narborough at, 180; Beau-
chene Gouin at, 205
Valdivia, re-discovers Bouvet Island,
208
Valignan, Father, visits Macao, 132
Valle, Pietro della, travels of, and
narrative, 63
Vancouver, George, sails with Cook,
246 ; expedition to N.W. America,
its objects, 282, 285 ; sets sail and
crosses Indian Ocean, 287 ; surveys
Australian coast, 288 ; voyages
by Tahiti to Sandwich Islands, ibid. ;
surveys N.W. coast of America, 289
seq. ; goes to California and Sand-
wich Islands, 293 ; second season's
work on American coast, 294 ; third
ditto, 294-7; task completed, 297;
his chart, 296 ; return voyage and
death, 298 ; his surveys joined with
Mackenzie's, 343 ; character of his
work, 408
Vancouver Island, insular character
missed by Cook, 250; exploration
of coast, 284; {see Nootka Sound)
Van de Putte, Samuel, Dutch traveller
in Tibet, 142
Van Diemen, Anthony, 89 ;/.
Van Diemen, Cape, N. Australia,
209
Van Diemen's Land, N. Australia,
83
Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), dis-
covered and named, 90; {see Tas-
mania)
Vanikoro Island, Pacific, La Perouse's
ships lost at, 278 ; Edwards at, 313
Van Neck, J., see Neck
Van Noort, Olivier, see Noort
Van Plettenberg, Governor, expedi-
tion in Cape Colony, 394
Van Reenen, — , journeys with Pater-
son in S. Africa, 395, 396
Van Reenen, Dirk Gijsbert, voyage
to Walvisch Bay, 398
Van Reenen, Jacobus, journey with
Paterson, 396
Van Reenen, Sebastiaan, journey with
Paterson, 396 ; voyage to Walvisch
Bay, 398
Van Reenen, Willem, journey north
of Orange River, 397
Vanua Levu, sighted by Tasman, 92
Vardoe, 18
Varela, Spanish boundary Com-
missioner, S. America, 366 n.
Varennes, Pierre Gaultier de, see La
Verendrye
Varthema, his possible knowledge of
Australia, 3 ; visits Arabia, 382
Varzina River, Lapland, 16
INDEX
473
Vaudreuil, De, Governor of Canada,
Velloso, Francisco, in Brazil, 175
Venegas's History of California, map
from, 354
Venezuela, journeys in, i8th cent.,
367-8
Venus, transit of, 1769, 226 ; Russian
expedition to observe, 375 ; Bruce
proposes to observe, 385; influence
on exploration, 408
Verbiest, Ferdinand, labours in China,
132; astronomical work, 136 n.\
journeys in Manchuria and Mon-
golia, 137 «.
Verendrye, see La Verendrye
VerguUe Draak, lost off coast of
Australia, 189
Verquikking Island, Society Islands,
211
Verra, astronomer with Bougainville,
224
Verraders Eiland, Pacific, 78
Verrazzano, 97, 104
Verstegen, Dutch agent in Japan, 85
Vichada River, Colombia, 368
Vidal, Governor of Maranhao, 174
Vieyra, Jesuit in Brazil, 1 74
Vignan, Canadian adventurer, 100
Villalobos, Pacific voyager, ro ; Roca
Partida seen by, 200
Villault, see Bellefond
Villegagnon, 97
Villiers, J. A. J. de, edits work on
Guiana, 414
Vincennes, U.S.A., taken by Clark,
349
Jink, her voyage in search of survivors
of Vergulde Draak, 190
Virginia, colonisation of, 103, 104;
Smith's History of, 104 ; explora-
tion from, 1 8th cent., 346
Visdelou, Jesuit in China, 136
Visscher, Frans Jacobszoon, chief
pilot with Tasman, 88; reckons
longitude from Tenerife, 90 n. ;
charts of, 91 ;/., 93, 95 ;/. ; second
voyage wiih Tasman, 95
Vitim River, Siberia, 123
Vitre, enterprise of merchants of, 58
Vizcaino, Sebastian, voyage to Cali-
fornia and across Pacific, 84, 121,
^48, 350
Vlamingh, Cornelis de, 208
Vlamingh, Willem de, his voyage to
Australia, etc., 208; to Novaya
Zemlya, 400
Vliegen Island, Pacific, 211
Vlieland, Holland, Arctic voyage
from, 24
Vogel Hoek, Spitsbergen, named, 24
VosreLsang, Spitsbergen, 403
Volcanic eruption, witnessed by Spil-
bergen, 77 n.\ by Dampier, 194;
by Cook, 242 ; by D'Entrecasteaux,
317
Volcano Bay, Vezo, 299
Volcano Island, Pacific, sighted by
D'Entrecasteaux, 318
Volcano Island, New Guinea, see
Vulcan
Volga, Tavernier on the, 66 ; Pallas
on lower, 376
Volkersen, Samuel, voyage to Aus-
tralia, 190
Voronetz, Russia, 376
Vos, 410
Vossenhosch, voyage to Australia, 209
Vries, Marten Gerritszoon, voyage
north of Japan, 86 ; cartographical
results of voyage, 121; his know-
ledge of Vezo, 258
Vries' Strait, 87
Vulcan Island, New Guinea, 78
IVaaksai/i/ieyd, Hunter's voyage in, 306
Wafer, Lionel, buccaneer, adventures
in Darien, 183; voyage to Pacific,
184 ; on Davis's supposed discovery,
186
Wager, wreck of, 202
Wager Bay, Hudson Bay, 329, 414
Wagin, Merkurei, see Vagin
Waigiu Island, New Guinea, 193;
Tasman off, 92
IVakeiide Boei, voyage of, to Australia,
190
Waldseemiiller, Martin, his repre-
sentation of Java, 4; of the Nile
sources, 7, 150; map of 1516 shows
Samoyedes, 119 ;/. ; mapping of
Central Africa, 150
Walfish Bay, see Walvisch
Walker, Thomas, explores Kentucky,
^346
Wall, Ernest van de, Arctic voyage
of, 410-IJ
Wall, Jan van der, voyage to Australia,
190
Wallace, Alfred Russel, 225 n.
Wallen, adventurer in Kentucky, 347
Wallis, Samuel, voyage round world,
215; falls ill, 216; discovers Tahiti,
217
474
INDEX
Wallis Island, Pacific, 217; Edwards
Walrus in Arctic seas, 28 ; boat s
adventure with, 404
Walsingham, Sir F., patron of ex-
ploring voyages, 33, 34
Walton, Lieut., voyage from Okhotsk
to Japan, 265
Walvisch Bay, Van Reenens' expedi-
tion to, 398
Wandipore, Bhutan, 380
Wardhouse, The (Vaidoe), 18
Warwijck, W. van, voyage to Mo-
luccas, 49
Washington, American sloop on N. W .
coast of America, 281 ; enters Juan
de Fuca Strait, 285
Watiu Island, Pacific, Cook at, 247
Watts, Lieut., voyage from Sydney to
Macao, 304
Waxel, Lieut., in charge of Bering's
ship, 267
Waymouth, Captain, explores Penobs-
cot, 103
Webber, John, draughtsman with
Cook, 246 ; drawing of sea-otter by,
Weert, Sebald de, voyage to Magellan
Strait, 51
Welfare, 182
Wessels, C, on Andrade's journey to
Tibet, 411
West Indies, buccaneers of, 183; in-
troduction of breadfruit into, 309,
314
Weymouth, George, voyage to Hud-
son Strait, 36
Whale Island, Mackenzie River, 339
Whale Sound, discovered, 40
Whales in Arctic Seas, 28; seen by
Mackenzie, 339
Whales Bay, Spitsbergen, 27
Wharton, Admiral Sir W. J., on
islands discovered by Quiros, 72«.,
217
Whidbey, Joseph, sails with Van-
couver, 287; master of Daedalus,
examines harbour near Columbia,
293; his survey work, 293, 295, 297
Whitby, Cook's ships built at, 227,
White Island, Arctic, discovered by
Gillis, 402
Whitsun Island, Pacific, 216
Whitsuntide Island, Pacific, 242
Wieser, Conrad, envoy to Indians of
Ohio, 346
Wijbe Jans Water, Spitsbergen,
44
Wijde Bay, Spitsbergen, 44
Willems Revier, Australia, 80
Willes, Richard, advocates search for
north-west passage, 31
William, 17
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, northern
voyage of, 15
Willoughby 's Land, Arctic Sea, 18;
proposed search for, by Hudson,
29; existence disproved, 411
Wilson, Capt. , voyages in Pacific,
320
Winchelsea Island (Buka), Pacific,
219
Winnebago, Lake, Canada, 1 10
Winnebagoes, 102
Winnipeg, Lake, possibly reached by
DeNoyon, 323; Ochagach's report
of, 324; reached by J. B. de la
Verendiye, 325; Henry on, 336
Winnipeg River, 325
Wintervogel, Jan, exploration in Cape
Colony, 391
Wisconsin River, 102; reached by
Allouez, 108; by Marquette and
Joliet, no; expedition to Missouri
by, 3^4
Witche's Island, Spitsbergen, 46
Witsen, account of Arctic voyages,
400
Witt, Gerrit de, voyage to W. Aus-
tralia, 80
Wltle Valk, 190
Wogera, Abyssinia, 152
Wolfe, General, effects of his campaign
in Canada, 328
Wolstenholme, Sir John, a patron of
north-west voyages, 36
Wolstenholme, Cape, Hudson Strait,
37
Wood, Captain John, his voyage to
Novaya Zeinlya, 401
Wood, Col., reaches Ohio, 346 ;/.
Woodcocke, agent of Muscovy Co.,
Woods, Lake of the, Canada, first
reached, 323 ; La Verendrye at,
325 ; Henry on, 336
W^angel Land, heard of by Stadukhin,
120
Wright, Edward, his map of the
world, II ; discredits strait between
Asia and America, 1 2 1
Wyche, Sir Peter, member of Mus-
covy Co., his island, 46
INDEX
475
Xebe River, see Gibie
Xiquala, Mount, see Zukwala
Ximenes, Jeronimo, Missionary in
Peru, 176
Xingu River, Brazil, 171, 174
Xosas of S. Africa, 392
Vakutat Bay, Alaska, Russian ex-
ploration of, 270; Dixon at, 280;
Malaspina at, 283; Vancouver and
Puget at, 295 ; possibly visited by
Bering, ibid.
Yakuts, retire before Russians, 120
Yakutsk, founded, 120; fire at, 262
Yalo River, Amur, 128
Yanial or Yalmal Peninsula, Siberia,
262
Yana River, Siberia, ascended by Busa,
120; explorations near, 256, 257
Yangtse-kiang, Upper, Grueber on,
134; Van de Putte on, 142
Yarkand, Goes at, 130
Ybicui River, Uruguay, 169; colonisa-
tion of region, 367
Yedo, Japan, Saris at, 57
Yegros, Miguel de, journeys in Para-
guay, 359
Yemen, Poncet visits, 152; early
intercourse with, 381 ; Niebuhr's
journeys in, 382-4
Yenesei River, reached by fur traders,
119; by Owzin, 262; explorations
in basin of, 374
Yeneseisk, founded, 119
Yermak Timofief, campaign of, in
Siberia, 119
Yezo, uncertainties about, 86 ; reached
by Vries, ibid. ; supposed to join
Kamchatka, 129; Bering disproves
connection, 260; Spangberg's voy-
age to, 265 ; La Perouse proves
separation of, from Sakhalin, 277 ;
Broughton's survey of coast, 299,
300
Ynciarte, Azara's assistant, 367
Ynemand, Hottentot chief, 398
York, Duke of, supports Wood's
Arctic voyage, 1676, 401
York, Cape, Australia, 75; peninsula
of, 82 ; Cook at, 234
York Factory, Hudson Bay, Hendry
starts from, 330
York River, Gambia, 161
Young, Thomas, ascent of Delaware
River, 106
Young, Lieut. Walter, Arctic voyage
of, 406
Yugor Shar, possibly traversed by
Pet, 19; by Nai and Tetgales, 21 ;
blocked by ice, 22 ; passage of, by
Pavlof and Muravief, 262
Yukon River, heard of by Mackenzie,
Yuma Indians, Colorado River, visited
by Kuhn, 352 ; by Sedelmayer,
355? ^y Garces, 355-6; massacre
by, 357
Yuta Indians, see Utah
Zaltieri, map of, shows Strait of
Anian, 121
Zebee River, see Gibie
Zeehaeiiy sails under Tasman, 88
Zeehaen's Bocht, New Zealand, 91
Zeelandia, Formosa, 86
Zce/nceinv, 93
Zeeuw, Jan Jans/,., voyage to Australia,
189
Zeeiuolf, 79
Zeno, Niccolo and Antonio, fictitious
voyages of, 15
Zeya River, Amur system, 123, 127
Zimbabwe, known to the Portuguese,
8
Zombo, district and plateau, Congo,
165
Zuai Lake, Abyssinia, shown by
Fra Mauro, 144 //.
Zuchelli, narrative of travels in An-
gola, 166
Zukwala Mount. Abyssinia, shown
by Fra Mauro, 144 ;/.
Zungari River, Amur, 124; ascended
by Stepanof, 126; Verbiest on,
137
Zuni Indians, towns of, 357, 358
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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