Slave narratives by African slaves from North America were first published in England in the 18th century. They soon became the main form of African-American literature in the 19th century. Slave narratives were publicized by abolitionists, who sometimes participated as editors, or writers if slaves were not literate. During the first half of the 19th century, the controversy over slavery in the United States led to impassioned literature on both sides of the issue. To present the reality of slavery, a number of former slaves published accounts of their enslavement and their escapes to...

Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 - January 9, 1324) was a Venetian merchant traveler whose travels are recorded in Il Milione ("The Millions," now known as "The Travels of Marco Polo"), a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolo and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and...

Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB MP FRS (29 September 1725 - 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown. Together with Warren Hastings he was one of the key early figures in the creation of British India. He also sat as a Tory Member of Parliament in England. George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 - 16 November 1902), was a prolific English novelist and a special correspondent....

The Malay Archipelago is a book by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace that chronicles his scientific exploration, during the eight year period 1854 to 1862, of the southern portion of the Malay Archipelago including Malaysia, Singapore, the islands of Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies, and the island of New Guinea. Its full title was The Malay Archipelago: The land of the orang-utan, and the bird of paradise. A narrative of travel, with sketches of man and nature. Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 - 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer,...

Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 - November 14, 1909) was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wrote a book about his journey -Sailing Alone Around the World-, which became an international best-seller. He disappeared in November 1909 while aboard his boat, the Spray. -Sailing Alone Around the World- is a sailing memoir by Joshua Slocum about his single-handed global circumnavigation aboard the sloop Spray. Slocum was the first person to sail around the world alone. The...