In 1819, William Smith, with a general cargo from Montevideo to
Valparaiso, sailed further south round Cape Horn than his
predecessors, in the hope of finding favourable winds. He sighted
land in 62 S. His report to the Senior Naval Officer in Valparaiso
was ridiculed, but on a subsequent voyage he confirmed his
discovery, taking surroundings and sailing along the coast. As a
result Captain Shirreff, the Senior Naval Officer, chartered his
vessel, the brig Williams, and having put Edward Bransfield, the
master of his ship, HMS Andromache, in charge, sent her to survey
the new discovery. Charles Poynter was one of the midshipmen who
sailed with Bransfield. His account of this expedition, which forms
the principal part of this volume, recently came to light in New
Zealand, and is the only first-hand account of the voyage, during
which the Antarctic mainland was sighted for the first time, that
appears to have survived. The introduction contains some remarks on
the South Shetland Islands, followed by chapters giving a brief
look at the history of the Spanish in South America and the British
presence in the area, together with the speculation leading to the
search for Antarctica and chapters on early nineteenth-century
navigation and hydrographic surveying. There were a number of
second-hand accounts of William Smith's earlier voyages, and
Bransfield's expedition which appeared in reports, journals and
books at the time. These are included with brief accounts of other
voyages to the South Shetland Islands which took place while
Bransfield was in the area, to complete the picture. Poynter's
journal explains the reasons behind most of the names given to land
features, some of which were not included in the published accounts
at the time. There are also three charts and a number of views
which are reproduced together with modern photographs of the area.
It also contains a large number of geographical positions which
enable a track chart of the voyage to be produced
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
