Description

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.