Journal of Captain Cook's Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, on Discovery: Performed in the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. (Cambridge Library Collection - Maritime Exploration) - Softcover

Rickman, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108071813 ISBN 13: 9781108071819

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2014

Synopsis

John Rickman, second lieutenant on one of the two ships commanded by James Cook on his last expedition, wrote this journal during the voyage. It was first published anonymously in 1781, because the Admiralty embargoed all personal accounts until an official report of the voyage was released. Rickman apparently wanted to anticipate any attempt to blame him (a party under his command had killed a Hawaiian chief) for precipitating Cook's death. This revised edition, 'compared with, and corrected from, the voyage published by authority' was published - again anonymously - in 1785. After an editorial preface and an introductory account of earlier voyages to the South Seas, the journal itself offers a detailed first-hand narrative of the four-year voyage, including the deaths of Cook and of Captain Clerke, who took over command of the expedition but died of tuberculosis while searching for the western entrance to the North-West Passage.

About this title

Book Description:

John Rickman, second lieutenant on one of the two ships commanded by James Cook on his last expedition, wrote this journal during the voyage. It was first published anonymously in 1781, with this revised edition appearing in 1785, offering a detailed first-hand narrative of the four-year voyage, including Cook's death.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1108071813
• ISBN 13: 9781108071819
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 468