Sir John Barrow (1764 1848), a founder and early president of the Royal Geographical Society, served as Second Secretary to the Admiralty for forty years. He was responsible for promoting polar exploration, and published two books on the subject for general readers, both now reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. This, the earlier of the two, appeared in 1818 and is a chronological account of Arctic voyages from the Viking period to the early nineteenth century, and of the intensifying search for a northern route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Barrow covers the expeditions of...

Published in 1891, Henry Roth's translation of Crozet's narrative provided the first English account of the infamous French expedition to the South Pacific. The ship left France in 1771 under the command of Marion De Fresne (1724 1772). After exploring Tasmania (the first Europeans to do so), De Fresne's party set out for New Zealand, arriving shortly after Captain Cook. Crozet (1728 1782), took over command of the expedition when De Fresne and twenty-six crew members were killed and allegedly eaten by local Maori in the Bay of Islands. While much of the book is concerned with the exploration...

Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792 1855) was an acclaimed surveyor and explorer of Australia. After attending the University of Edinburgh Mitchell joined the British Army in 1811. He took part in major battles of the Peninsular War and difficult military surveys in the Pyrenees. In 1827 he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of New South Wales, and he became Surveyor General in 1828. This fascinating two-volume work, first published in 1838, contains Mitchell's illustrated account of his three expeditions into the then unexplored interior of modern eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales...

Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792 1855) was an acclaimed surveyor and explorer of Australia. After attending the University of Edinburgh Mitchell joined the British Army in 1811. He took part in major battles of the Peninsular War and difficult military surveys in the Pyrenees. In 1827 he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of New South Wales, and he became Surveyor General in 1828. This fascinating two-volume work, first published in 1838, contains Mitchell's illustrated account of his three expeditions into the then unexplored interior of modern eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales...

Sir John Barrow (1764 1848) was Second Secretary to the Admiralty for forty years. He was responsible for promoting polar exploration, and published two books on the subject for general readers. A Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions appeared in 1818, and this 1846 publication continues the story. Drawing on the explorers' own accounts, Barrow describes twelve voyages connected with the search for the North-West Passage. These include two voyages by Sir John Ross, four by Sir William Parry, and two by Sir John Franklin (whose last, fatal expedition was under way when the...

Originally published in 1897, this two-volume work chronicles the polar expedition of Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861 1930), who came closer than any previous explorer to the North Pole. Beginning on board his boat, the Fram, which was deliberately driven into pack-ice off Siberia in order to drift north, Nansen and his companions later resorted to sleds and kayaks. Running to over six hundred pages, Volume 1 includes descriptions of the expedition's preparation and equipment, the farewell to Norway and voyage through the Kara Sea, ending with the party's second autumn on the ice....

Originally published in 1897, this two-volume work chronicles the polar expedition of Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861 1930), who came closer than any previous explorer to the North Pole. Beginning on board his boat, the Fram, which was deliberately driven into pack-ice off Siberia in order to drift north, Nansen and his companions later resorted to sleds and kayaks. Volume 2 describes the journey over the ice setting out with 28 dogs, 3 sledges and 2 kayaks and ends with an account of the return journey. (It also includes Captain Otto Sverdrup's report of the expedition.) The Fram...

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 1890) was a British explorer, writer and ethnologist best known for his travels in Asia and Africa in the nineteenth century. This is his account, originally published in 1863, of his mission to investigate mortality in West Africa. In Volume 1 he describes his departure from England, with accounts of the landscapes, buildings, cultures and cuisines that characterized his journey from Liverpool through Madeira and Tenerife, before recalling his first impressions of Africa on arriving in Bathurst on the Eastern Cape. In the final two chapters he recounts his...

Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 1890) was a British explorer, writer and ethnologist best known for his travels in Asia and Africa in the nineteenth century. This is his account, originally published in 1863, of his mission to investigate mortality in West Africa. In Volume 2 he continues to recount his explorations, from Cape Palmas through to Cape Coast, the Gold Coast, Accra, Lagos and finally Fernando Po. Through his vivid and sometimes grim recollections, Burton reveals West Africa's culture, traditions, and living and working environments, showing how slaves were exploited in the gold...

John Elphinstone Erskine (1805 1887) was a naval officer who served as a naval commander during the Crimean War, as well as patrolling the West Indies and the Mediterranean. He also wrote several well-received accounts of voyages around the Pacific. As a Liberal MP later in life, he was an outspoken campaigner for the rights of Pacific islanders. This book is a genial narration of his visits to islands such as Fiji and Samoa. Written in a lyrical and affectionate style, the account covers the culture, religion and health of the native populations. Subjects discussed include local religion,...