Voyages through the South Pacific

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An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere

By: John Hawkesworth

The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of the oceanic voyages undertaken in the 18th and early 19th centuries. During this time period, sea travel and multi-year voyages were being led by explorers with the economic purpose of gaining goods, market, and land, but also gaining scientific knowledge. This project details one of these travel writings that was produced out of this time period, which comes from Santa Clara University's Library's Special Collections. This project presents an analysis of this particular book.

Introduction: John Hawkesworth was an English writer and who was commissioned by the British Admiralty to edit for publication the narratives of its officers’ circumnavigations. He was given full access to the journals of the commanders and the freedom to adapt and re-tell them in the first person in preparation for publication. 

This publication is a three volume set of books. The first volume contains accounts edited by Hawkesworth of the voyages led by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis and Captain Carteret. The reamaining two volumes (volumes two and three) are dedicated entirely to Captain Cook's first voyage. 

As a work of literature, Hawkesworth's publication was considered by many "A fascinating narrative intended to "embellish England's prestige as a maritime power" (Hill) and describing events that were to be major factors in the shaping of Pacific exploration." 

 "Hawkesworth, an eminent London author, was chosen by Lord Sandwich and commissioned by the Admiralty to prepare these narratives for publication He was expected to add polish to the rough narratives of sea men, and to present the accounts in a style befitting the status of the voyages as official government expeditions, intended to embellish England's prestige as a maritime power." Although the book was a huge success, fast becoming a best-seller, it was disastrous for its editor: "He was publicly attacked on three different counts: by the captains for tampering with the texts of their journals, by prudish readers for reprinting descriptions of the sexual freedoms of the South Sea islanders, and by devout churchmen for impiety in the general introduction to the work, in which Hawkesworth had rashly challenged the doctrine of providential intervention. He was devastated by this critical barrage, and it was thought to be the main cause of his death. The rumour recorded by Malone that he killed himself with an overdose of opium is uncorroborated, but Fanny Burney's conviction that his health was destroyed by the vilification he suffered seems well founded."

Start Here: How to Navigate: 

- Begin by clicking on and reading through the record that is titled "Overview of the book's features"

- Then, proceed to the record that is titled "Overview of the book's content" 

- Then, move onto the record titled "Textual Features Definition: Contact Zones." This will give you a better understanding of what contact zones are before you move onto reading and learning more about the text. 

- Next, open the record titled "Textual Features - Native Vessel Oar Illustration." This is an image taken from the text of an illustration drawn up by Cook

- Then, you can move on by clickling through and reading through the records of "Contact Zone #1, #2, and #3." 

- To see what an illustrated map from Hawkesworth publication, you can click on the record titled "Rectified Map"

- The Red and the Green route map out the journey's of the explorers, and if you click on the records from the different volumes you can see more information

- The final record is another excerpt (image) taken from the text that shows the description given to New Holland (Australia) when it was first discovered by Cook

VOL 1. 

Commodore Byron - HMS Dolphin (1764-1766) Completed the first circumnavigation of the globe in under two years. 

Captain Wallis - HMS Dolphin (1766-1768) Completed another circumnavigation & was the first European to visit Tahiti & the Society Islands.

Captain Carteret - HMS Swallow (1766-1768) He accompanied the HMS Dolphin under the command of Samuel Wallis to circumnavigate the world.

VOL 2.

Captain Cook - HMS Endeavour (1768-

This first voyage was primarily of a scientific nature. The HMS Endeavour initially sailed to Tahiti to observe the transit of the planet Venus in order to calculate the earth's distance from the sun. 

VOL 3.

Captain Cook - HMS Endeavour  -1771)

He explored the South Seas to determine if an inhabitable continent existed in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere.

Sources: 

COOK, James, and John HAWKESWORTH. “An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, and Successively Performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook, In.” Donald A. Heald Rare Books, Printed for W. Strahan, and T. Cadell, www.donaldheald.com/pages/books/25577/capt-james-cook-john-hawkesworth-1715-1779/an-account-of-the-voyages-undertaken-by-the-order-of-his-present-majesty-for-making-discoveries-in.

Hawkesworth, John, et al. An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere: and Successively Performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook in the Dolphin, the Swallow and the Endeavour: Drawn up from the Journals Which Were Kept by the Several Commanders, and from the Papers of Joseph Banks, Esq. Printed for T. Strahan and T. Cadell ..., 1773.

“An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere.” Peter Harrington, www.peterharrington.co.uk/an-account-of-the-voyages-undertaken-by-the-order-of-his-present-majesty-for-making-discoveries-in-the-southern-hemisphere-6183.html.