During Charles Darwin's 1831-6 voyage on the Beagle, his on-board library included 'Cook's voyages'. This illustrated 1821 edition, in seven volumes, is representative of the versions available in the early nineteenth century. Volumes 1-2 cover the first Pacific voyage of James Cook (1728-79), to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from Tahiti. The text follows Hawkesworth's 1773 edition, which combined Cook's journal with ethnographical notes by the ship's scientist, Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820). Volumes 3-4 describe Cook's second voyage, and focus on New Zealand, the Pacific islands, and the Southern Ocean. On this voyage, the ship's naturalists were John Reinhold Forster and his son George (1754-94), who is credited as co-author. Volumes 5-6 are Cook's account of his third and final voyage, while Volume 7, by James King (1750-84), describes the death of Cook, the explorers' stay in Hawaii, and their return.
- ISBN13 9781108084826
- Publish Date 27 August 2015
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Cambridge University Press
- Pages 3030
- Language English