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Maps adapted from The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography by Samuel Butler
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels
By Robert Kerr 1811
General Plan Of Voyages and Travels.
PART I.
Voyages and Travels of Discovery in the middle ages; from the era of Alfred, King of England, in the ninth century to that of Don Henry of Portugal at the commencement of the fourteenth century.
PART II.
General Voyages and Travels chiefly of Discovery; from the era of Don Henry, in 1412, to that of George III. in 1760.
PART III.
Particular Voyages and Travels arranged in systematic order, Geographical and Chronological.
Note.--This part will be divided into five books, comprehending, I. Europe.--II. Asia.--III. Africa.--IV. America.--V. Australia and Polynesia; or the prodigious multitude of islands in the, great: Pacific Ocean. And all these will be further subdivided into particular chapters or sections correspondent to the geographical arrangements of these several portions of the globe.
PART IV.
General Voyages and Travels of Discovery during the era of George III. which were conducted upon scientific principles, and by which the Geography of the globe has been nearly perfected.
PART V.
Historical Deduction of the Progress of Navigation Discovery and Commerce by sea and land, from the earliest times to the present period.
Contents Of The Seventeen Volumes
I. | II. | III. | IV. | V. | VI. | VII. | VIII. IX. | X.XI. | XII. | XIII. | XIV. | XV. | XVI. | XVII. | XVIII
VOLUME I.
Discovery of Iceland by the Norwegians.
Voyages of Ohthere to the White Sea and the
Baltic.
Remarks on the situation of Sciringe-heal and Haethum, by J.R.
Forster.
Voyage of Wulfstein in the Baltic.
—— of Sighelm to India.
Travels of John Erigena to Athens.
Geography of the known world as described by King Alfred.
Travels of Andrew Leucander.
Voyage of Swanus to Jerusalem.
—— of three ambassadors from England to Constantinople.
Pilgrimage of Alured to Jerusalem.
—— of Ingulphus.
Original discovery of Greenland by the Icelanders in the ninth century.
Early discovery of America by ditto, in 1001.
Travels of two Mahometans into India and China, in the ninth century.
—— of Rabbi Benjamin from Spain to China, in the twelfth century.
—— of an Englishman in Tartary, in 1243.
Sketch of the Revolutions in Tartary.
Travels of Carpina to the Moguls, &c. in 1246.
—— of Rubruquis into Tartary about 1253.
—— of Haitho, in 1254.
—— of Marco Polo into China, &c. from 1260 to 1295.
—— of Oderic, in 1318.
—— of Sir John Mandeville, in 1322.
Itinerary of Pegoletti between Asofand China, in 1355.
Voyages, of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, in 1380.
Travels of Schiltberger into Tartary, in 1394.
—— of the Ambassadors of Shah Rokh, in China, in 1419.
Voyage and Shipwreck of Quirini, in 1431.
Travels of Josaphat Barbaro from Venice to Tanna (now Asof), in 1436.
VOLUME II
Various early pilgrimages from England to the Holy Land, between 1097 and 1107.
Discovery of Madeira.
Discovery and conquest of the Canary Islands.
Discoveries along the coast of Africa; and conquests in India, from 1412 to 1505.
Discoveries of the world, from their commencement to 1555, by Antonio Galvano.
Journey of Contarini into Persia, in 1473-6.
Voyages of discovery by the Portuguese along the western coast of Africa, during the life of Don Henry.
Original journals of the Voyages of Cada Mosto, and Pedro de Cintra, to the coast of Africa, from 1455.
Voyages of discovery by the Portuguese along the coast of Africa, from the death of Don Henry, in 1463, to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in 1486.
History of the discovery and conquest of India by the Portuguese, between 1497 and 1505, by Herman Lopes de Castanecla.
Letters from Lisbon in the beginning of the 16th century, respecting the discovery of the route by sea to India, &c.
VOLUME III
History of the discovery of America, and of some of the early conquests in the New World.
Discovery of America, by Columbus, written by his son Don Ferdinand Columbus.
—— written by Antonio de Herrera.
An account of the Voyages of Americus Vespucius to the New World, written by himself.
Discoveries and settlements of the Spaniards in the West Indies, from the death of Columbus, to the expedition of Hernando Cortes against Mexico.
History of the discovery and conquest of Mexico, written in 1568, by Captain Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of the conquerors.
VOLUME IV
History of the discovery and conquest of Peru, written by Augustus Zarate.
VOLUME V
Continuation of the history of Peru, extracted from the Commentaries of Garcilosso de la Vega.
History of the discovery and conquest of Chili, taken from various sources.
Discovery of Florida, and ineffectual attempts to conquer that country by the Spaniards,—from the General History of America, by Herrera.
VOLUME VI
Early English Voyages of discovery to America.
Voyages of Jacques Cartier, from St. Maloes to Newfoundland and Canada, in 1534-5.
Continuation of the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese in the East; with some account of the early Voyages of other European nations to India.
Discoveries, &c. &c. from 1505 to 1539.
A particular relation of the expedition of Solyman Pacha, from Suez to India, against the Portuguese; written by a Venetian officer in the Turkish service on that occasion.
Account of the Voyage of Don Stefano de Gama, from Goa to Suez, in 1540; written by Don Juan de Castro.
Continuation of the account of the Portuguese transactions in India, from 1541 to the middle of the 17th century; from De Faria's Asia.
VOLUME VII
Voyages and Travels in Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, and India, by Ludovico Verthema, in 1503-8.
—— in India, &c. by Cesar Frederic, in 1563-81.
Second Voyage to Barbary, in 1552, by Captain Thomas Windham.
Voyages to Guinea and Benin, in 1553, by Captain Windham and Antonio Anes Pinteado.
—— in 1554, by Captain John Lok.
—— in 1555, by William Towerson, merchant, of London.
Second Voyage to Guinea, in 1556, by William Towerson, merchant, of London.
Third, in 1558.
Instructions for an intended Voyage to Guinea, in 1561.
Voyage to Guinea, in 1562; written by William Rutter.
Supplementary account of the foregoing Voyage.
Voyage to Guinea, in 1563, by Robert Baker.
—— in 1564, by Captain David Carlet.
—— and to the Cape de Verd Islands, in 1566, by George Fenner.
Account of the embassy of Mr. Edmund Hogan to Morocco, in 1577; by himself.
Account of the embassy of Mr. Henry Roberts from Queen Elizabeth to Morocco, in 1585; by himself.
Voyage to Benin, beyond Guinea, in 1588, by James Welsh.
Supplement to the foregoing.
Second Voyage of ditto in 1590.
Voyage of Richard Rainolds and Thomas Dassel to the Senegal and Gambia, in 1591.
Some miscellaneous early Voyages of the English.
Voyage to Goa, in 1579, in the Portuguese fleet, by Thomas Stevens.
Journey over-land to India, by Ralph Fitch.
Supplement to ditto.
VOLUME VIII
Voyage of Mr. John Eldred to Tripoli, and thence by land and river to Bagdat and Basorah, in 1583.
Account of the Monsoons in India, by William Barret.
First Voyage of the English to India in 1591, by Captain Geo. Raymond and James Lancaster.
Supplement to ditto, by John May.
Voyage of Captain Benj. Wood towards the East Indies, in 1596.
—— of Captain John Davis to the East Indies, in 1598.
—— of William Adams to Japan, in 1598.
—— of Sir Edward Michelburne to India, in 1604.
First Voyage of the English East India Company in 1601, under Captain James Lancaster.
Account of Java and of the English at Bantam, from 1603 to 1605.
Second Voyage of the Company, in 1604, under Captain Henry Middleton.
Third Voyage of the Company, in 1607, under Captain William Keeling.
Narrative by William Hawkins during his residence in the dominions of the Great Mogul.
Observations of William Finch, who accompanied Hawkins.
Voyage of Captain David Middleton, in 1607, to Bantam and the Moluccas.
Fourth Voyage of the Company, in 1608, under Captain Alexander Sharpey.
Voyage of Captain Richard Rowles.
Fifth Voyage of the Company, in 1609, under Captain David Middleton.
Sixth Voyage of the Company, in 1610, under Sir Henry Middleton.
Journal of the same, by Nicholas Downton.
Seventh Voyage of the Company, in 1611, under Captain Anthony Hippou.
Notices of the same, by Peter Floris.
Eighth Voyage of the Company, in 1611, under Captain John Saris.
VOLUME IX
Ninth Voyage of the Company, in 1612, under Captain Edward Marlow.
Tenth Voyage of the Company, in 1612, by Mr. Thomas Best.
Observations made on the foregoing by different persons.
Eleventh Voyage of the Company, in 1612, in the Salomon.
Twelfth Voyage of the Company, in 1613, under Captain Christopher Newport.
Voyage of Captain Downton to India, in 1614.
Supplement to ditto.
Journey of Richard Steel and John Crowther, from Agimere to Ispahan, in 1615-16.
Voyage of Captain Peyton to India, in 1615.
Proceedings of the factory at Cranganore, by Roger Hawes.
Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador from James I. to the Emperor of Hindoostan.
Voyage to India, in 1616, by Mr. Edward Terry.
Journey of Thomas Coryat from Jerusalem to the Court of the Great Mogul.
Wrongs done the English at Banda by the Dutch, in 1617-18.
Fifth Voyage of the Joint-Stock by the Company, in 1617, under Captain Pring.
Voyage of the Ann-Royal from Surat to Mokha, in 1618.
Voyage to Surat and Jasques, in 1620.
War of Ormus, and capture of that place by the English and Persians, in 1622.
Massacre of the English at Amboyna, in 1623.
Observations during a residence in the island of Chusan, in 1701, by Dr. James Cunningham.
VOLUME X
Historical account of early circumnavigations; of Magellan, in
1519-22.
of Sir Francis Drake, in 1577-80.
of Sir Thomas Cnmlish, in 1586-8.
of Van Noort, in 1598-1601.
of George Spilbergen, in 1614-17.
of Schouten and Le Maire, by Cape Horn, in 1615-17.
of the Nassau fleet under Jacques Le Hermit, in 1623-6.
of Captain John Cooke, accompanied by Captains Cowley and
Dampier, in 1683-91.
in 1703-6, by William Funnell.
in 1708-11, by Captain Woods Rogers and Stephen Courtney.
in 1719-22, by Captain John Clipperton.
in 1719-22, by Captain George Shelvocke.
VOLUME XI
Voyage round the world, in 1721-3, by Commodore Roggewein.
—— in 1740-4, by Lord Anson.
VOLUME XII
Commodore Byron's Voyage, in 1764-6.
Captain Wallis's Voyage, in 1766-8.
Captain Carteret's Voyage, in 1766-9.
Captain Cook's first Voyage, in 1768-70.
VOLUME XIII
Captain Cook's first Voyage continued and concluded..
Abstract of Bougainville's Voyage, in 1766-9.
VOLUME XIV
Captain Cook's second Voyage towards the S. Pole, in 1772-5.
VOLUME XV
Captain Cook's second Voyage concluded.
Captain Cook's third Voyage, in 1776-80.
VOLUME XVI
Captain Cook's third Voyage continued.
VOLUME XVII
Captain Cook's third Voyage concluded.
Commodore Byron's narrative of his shipwreck, &c.; written by himself.
Bulkeley's narrative of the same.
VOLUME XVIII
Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery and of Commercial Enterprise, from the earliest records to the time of Herodotus.
From the age of Herodotus to the death of Alexander the Great.
From the Death of Alexander the Great to the time of Ptolemy the Geographer.
From the time of Ptolemy to the close of the Fifteenth Century.
From the close of the Fifteenth to the beginning of the Nineteenth Century
Preliminary Observations on the Plan and Arrangement pursued in drawing up this Catalogue.
Instructions For Travelers.
In the deliberate construction of this systematic plan, it has been a leading object of anxious consideration, to reduce the extensive and interesting materials of which the work is composed under a clear, intelligible, and comprehensive arrangement, so combined in a geographical and chronological series, that each successive division and subdivision, throughout the whole work, may prepare the mind of the reader for that which is to follow, and may assist the memory in the recollection of what has gone before. By these means, an attentive perusal of this work must necessarily be of material usefulness, in fixing distinct and just ideas of geography, history, and chronology in the minds of its readers; besides the important information and rational amusement which it will afford, by the frequent description of manners, customs, laws, governments, and many other circumstances, of all the countries and nations of the world.
In determining upon an era for the commencement of this work, the Editor was naturally led, from a consideration of the accidental discovery of Iceland by the Norwegians in the ninth century, as coincident with the reign of the great ALFRED, who ascended the throne of England in 872, to adopt that period as the beginning of the series, both because the commencement of modern maritime discovery took place during the reign of a British sovereign, and because we derive the earliest written accounts of any of these discoveries from the pen of that excellent prince. It is true that the first accidental discovery of Iceland appears to have been made in 861, eleven years before the accession of Alfred to the throne; yet, as the actual colonization of that island did not take place till the year 878, the seventh of his glorious reign, we have been induced to distinguish the actual commencement of maritime discovery by the modern European nations as coinciding with his era.
From that time, till the year 1412, when Don Henry, Prince of Portugal, first began to prosecute a consecutive series of maritime discoveries along the western coast of Africa, during which a long inactive period of 551 years had elapsed, the only maritime incident connected with our subject, was the accidental re-discovery of the Canary or Fortunate Islands, by a nameless Frenchman, about the year 1330, though they were not attempted to be taken possession of till 1400. This long interval, between the eras of King Alfred and Don Henry, constitutes the first Part, or grand division of our work, in the course of which, a considerable number of adventurous travellers penetrated into the almost unknown regions of Tartary and the East, and considerable notices of the empire of China, and even of Japan, and of the coast and islands of India and north-eastern Africa, were communicated to the Europeans by the Polos and others.
In separating Part IV. from Part II. the General Voyages and Travels of Discovery which have been undertaken during the long and busy reign of our present venerable Sovereign, from those of a similar nature which succeeded the discovery of the new world, and of the route by sea to India, the Editor only pays a just tribute to the enlightened spirit of the age, under the munificent and enlightened patronage of the beloved Monarch of a free and happy people. Those former voyages of Part II. were mostly undertaken from mere interested views of direct or expected commercial benefit; while these of the era of George III. originated in the grand principles of endeavouring to extend the bounds of science and human happiness.
Perhaps it may occur to some readers, that PART V. the last in order of the general heads of our plan, ought to have formed PART I. as partaking of the nature of an introduction to the subject, and forming a summary of the whole work. Upon even a very slight consideration, however, it must be obvious, that it is impossible to compose that proposed deduction in any adequate manner, until the whole mass of selected materials is possessed by the Editor, and definitively arranged. It may likewise be known to many, that introductions and prefaces, though usually placed at the beginning of books, are uniformly and necessarily last composed, and usually last printed, except in new editions.
A great variety of Collections of Voyages and Travels have been published at different periods, many of which are inaccessible from their scarcity, or from being in foreign languages: And such great numbers of Voyages and Travels to particular regions and countries have been printed, as to be Altogether unattainable by the generality of readers. Every thing, however, which could contribute to the perfection of this work has been collected, or will be carefully procured during its progress; and no pains or expense shall be withheld which, can contribute to render it as complete and comprehensive as possible. In the employment of the vast variety and extent of excellent materials, great care shall be taken to insert every useful and curious information, reduced, where necessary, to modern language; and nothing shall be omitted which is conducive to valuable information and rational amusement.
In our approach towards the present times, the multitude of particular Voyages and Travels increases prodigiously; and, in employing these, it becomes peculiarly necessary to make a selection of the best in every period, and especially of those best adapted for conveying just ideas of each geographical division and subdivision of the world; while those of less merit, but which contain useful notices of the regions and countries of which they treat, shall be carefully epitomized in illustration of the different subjects. Without the employment of discriminate selection and occasional abridgement, this work must have extended to an inconvenient and consequently expensive size, or must have been left unfinished and abrupt in some of its parts: But abridgement shall be very seldom employed and never without acknowledgment. Indeed, the grand object of the present work is to bring together a more complete and entire collection of Voyages and Travels, than has hitherto appeared in any language.
From the nature of the plan, it is utterly impossible to ascertain, with any precision, the exact length to which it may extend; but, so far as can be judged of at present, it is not expected to exceed eighteen or twenty volumes. Throughout the whole work, a series of Maps and Charts will be inserted in their proper places, carefully selected and constructed for the purpose of illustrating the various Voyages and Travels. At the close of the whole, a complete Index will be given to the entire series of volumes, so arranged as to form a regular Gazetteer of the whole world. In every article which has been adopted into this work, the original and accessory sources of all the materials shall be distinctly indicated. Notes of explanation will be given, wherever necessary; and, as many of these are drawn from various sources, the names of the authors from whom they are adopted shall always be acknowledged: Such notes as are marked by the letter E. are by the Editor of the work.
Owing to the indispensable nature of this work, it makes no positive claim to the character of an original composition, in the strict acceptation of that term; and he, therefore, who has undertaken the care of its collection and arrangement, assumes no higher title than that of Editor. In the discharge of that duty, however, the labour which he has necessarily bestowed, though always pleasing, has often been considerable, and sometimes arduous; and he trusts that the plan of the work, which is altogether original, will be found appropriately adapted to the end in view, and that the execution may appear not inadequate to the high importance of the subject. Without imputation of arrogance, he may be permitted to assert, that he has exerted the most unremitting attention and industry, in the collection, selection, and preparation of the several portions of the whole work, and in the arrangement and distribution of its parts. He has the satisfaction to add, that all his efforts have been seconded with the utmost readiness and liberality by the Proprietor of the work, who has spared no trouble, and withheld no expense, in procuring and supplying the necessary materials.
It is with much grateful satisfaction, that the Editor has to acknowledge his high obligations to the Curators and Librarians of the Edinburgh public libraries, belonging to the Faculty of Advocates, the University, and the Writers to his Majesty's Signet, for the communication of many valuable and scarce materials. Nor ought he to withhold his tribute of gratitude, on this occasion, from the liberal spirit of a private individual, the Reverend Henry White of Lichfield, who has most obligingly offered the use of his valuable Collection of Voyages and Travels, and other curious and scarce works connected with the subject, for assisting towards the perfection of this publication.
Having thus briefly announced the nature, plan, and object of the present work, of which this first Volume is now before the public, it only remains to say, that the Editor and Proprietor, each in his particular department, are resolved to exert their utmost endeavours, that nothing may be omitted which can contribute to render the work deserving of public approbation and extensive patronage.