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A circumnavigation that ended in failure
THOMAS, Pascoe.A true and impartial journal of a voyage to the South-seas, and round the globe in his Majesty's ship the Centurion, under command of commodore George Anson. Wherein all the material incidents during the said voyage, from its commencement in the year 1740 to its conclusion in 1744, are fully and faithfully related...., Together with some historical accounts of Chili, Peru, Mexico, and the empire of China....   London, S. Birt, J. Newbery & J. Collyer, 1745. 8vo. Contemporary calf on sides, two gilt fillets along the edges of the sides, rebacked with red and blue morocco title labels, blind tooled binding edges. (16), 347, 39 pp. Pascoe Thomas, a mathematical teacher on board of the Centurion on George Anson's (1697 - 1762) circumnavigation, managed to publish his account three years before the official version appeared. Like many travellers before and after him, Thomas sought to capitalise on what he had seen by publishing his experiences by subscription, thereby increasing both his risk and profit in publishing. His lively descriptions heighten our sense of eighteenth-century sailors as tough old sailors. He describes for instance the capture of the Manilla Galleon, with its treasure of over £300,000 in silver, a fortune in those days. The final sentence concludes dispassionately that 'the Sight of so many dead Men and their Blood is a very great Discouragement to the Survivors'. Given the otherwise dismal failure of Anson's voyage (the loss of all but one of the six ships, and of more than half of his men), the account called for a restrained narrator. A series of interesting Appendices on the treasures taken during the journey, the dimensions of the ships, the motions of a comet seen on the coast of Mexico and tables of longitudes and latitudes, are added in the end. Good copy.- (Rebacked).
JCB, European Americana 1745/205; Sabin 95437; Hanson 5911; Hill, 291.
Related Subjects: Cartography Chile China Circumnavigation Discovery & Exploration Exploration Mexico Voyages Add to Shopping cart |
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All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett and in (€) EURO. VAT/BTW, postage, and insurance are not included.
Free shipping for orders over € 2,500. EU customers: if applicable, please quote your VAT number when placing orders.
Preferred mode of payment: by credit card through our secure online payment service, which is facilitated by Ogone. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact us. Terms of sale
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