"whereas his Majefty's islands, called Pepys' Island, "and Falkland's Islands, lying within the faid tract, "notwithstanding their having been firft difcovered "and vifited by British navigators, have never yet "been fo fufficiently furveyed, as that an accurate judgment may be formed of their coafts and pro"duct; his Majesty taking the premises into confi"deration, and conceiving no conjuncture fo proper "for an enterprize of this nature, as a time of pro"found peace, which his kingdoms at prefent happily enjoy, has thought fit that it should now be "undertaken."

The Dolphin was a man of war of the sixth rate, mounting twenty-four guns: her complement was 150 men, with three Lieutenants, and thirty-feven petty officers.

The Tamar was a floop, mounting fixteen guns : her complement was ninety men, with three Lieutenants, and two and twenty petty officers, and the command of her was given to Captain Mouat.

Commodore Byron returned in the month of May in the year 1766, and in the month of Auguft following, the Dolphin was again fent out, under the com. mand of Captain Wallis, with the Swallow, commanded by Captain Carteret, in prosecution of the fame general defign of making difcoveries in the Southern Hemisphere. The equipment of the Dolphin was the fame as before. The Swallow was a floop mounting fourteen guns; her complement was ninety men with one Lieutenant, and twenty-two petty officers.

Thefe veffels proceeded together till they came within fight of the South Sea, at the western entrance of the Streight of Magellan, and from thence returned by different routes to England.

In the latter part of the year 1767, it was refolved, by the Royal Society, that it would be proper to fend perfons into fome part of the South Sea, to obferve a tranfit of the planet Venus over the Sun's disk, which, according to the aftronomical calculation, would happen in the year 1769; and that the islands called Marquefas de Mendoza, or thofe of Rotterdam or Amfterdam, were the propereft places then known for making fuch obfervation.

In

In confequence of these resolutions, it was recommended to his Majesty, in a memorial from the Society, dated February 1768, that he would be pleafed to order fuch an obfervation to be made; upon which his Majefty fignified to the Lords Commiffioners of the Admiralty his pleasure that a ship should be provided to carry fuch obfervers as the Society should think fit to the South Seas; and in the beginning of April following the Society received a letter from the Secretary of the Admiralty, informing them that a bark of three hundred and feventy tons had been taken up for that purpose. This veffel was called the Endeavour, and the command of her given to Lieutenant James Cook, a gentleman of undoubted abilities in aftronomy and navigation, who was foon after, by the Royal Society, appointed, with Mr. Charles Green, a gentleman who had long been affiftant to Dr. Bradley at the Royal Obfervatory at Greenwich, to obferve the tranfit.

While this veffel was getting ready for her expedition, Captain Wallis returned; and it having been recommended to him by Lord Morton, who went out, to fix on a proper place for this aftronomical obfervation, he, by letter, dated on board the Dolphin, the 18th of May 1768, the day before he landed at Haftings, mentioned Port Royal harbour, in an island which he had discovered, then called George's Ifland, and fince Otaheite: the Royal Society therefore, by letter, dated the beginning of June, in anfwer to an application from the Admiralty to be informed whither they would have their observers fent, made choice of that place.

The Endeavour had been built for the coal trade; and a veffel of that conftruction was preferred for many reafons, particularly because she was what the failors call a good fea-boat, was more roomy, would take and lie on the ground better, and might be navigated by fewer men than other veffels of the fame burden.

Her complement of officers and men was Lieutenant Cook the Commander, with two Lieutenants under him, a Master and Boatfwain, with each two Mates, a Surgeon and Carpenter, with each one Mate, a Gunner, a Cook, a Clerk and Steward, two Quarter-masters, an Armourer, a Sailmaker, three Midshipmen, forty

One

one able feamen, twelve marines, and nine fervants; in all eighty-four perfons, befides the Commander: She was victualied for eighteen months, and took on board ten carriage and twelve fwivel guns, with good ftore of ammunition and other neceffaries. The Endeavour alfo, after the aftronomical obfervation fhould be made, was ordered to profecute the defign of making discoveries in the South Seas. What was effected by thefe veffels in their feveral voyages, will appear in the course of this work; of which it is now neceffary to give fome account.

It is drawn up from the Journals that were kept by the Commanders of the feveral ships, which were put into my hands by the Lords Commiffioners of the Admiralty for that purpose: and, with refpe& to the voyage of the Endeavour, from other papers equally authentic; an affiftance which I have acknowledged in an introduction to the account of her voyage.

When I first undertook the work, it was debated, whether it fhould be written in the first or third perfon; it was readily acknowledged on all hands, that a narrative in the first person would, by bringing the Adventurer and the Reader nearer together, without the intervention of a stranger, more strongly excite an intereft, and confequently afford more entertainment; but it was objected, that if it was written in the name of the several Commanders, I could exhibit only a naked narrative, without any opinion or fentiment of my own, however fair on the occafion, and without noting the fimilitude or diffimilitude between the opinions, customs, or manners of the people now first difcovered, and thofe of nations that have been long known, or remarking on any other incident or particular that might occur, In anfwer to this objection, however, it was faid, that as the manufcript would be fubmitted to the Gentlemen in whofe names it would be written, fuppofing the narratives to be in the first person, and nothing published without their approbation, it would fignify little who conceived the fentiments that should be expreffed, and therefore I might fill be at liberty to exprefs my own. In this opinion all parties acquiefced; and it was determined

determined that the narrative fhould be written in the first perfon, and that I might, notwithstanding, interfperfe fuch fentiments and obfervations as my fubject fhould fuggeft: they are not indeed numerous, and when they occur, are always curfory and short; for nothing would have been more abfurd than to interrupt an interesting narrative, or new defcriptions, by hypothefis and differtation. They will however be found moft frequent in the account of the voyage of the Endeavour, and the principal reason is, that although it ftands last in the feries, great part of it was printed before the others were written, so that several remarks, which would naturally have been fuggefted by the incidents and descriptions that would have occurred in the preceding voyages, were anticipated by fimilar incidents and defcriptions which occurred in this.

Some particulars that are related in one voyage will perhaps appear to be repeated in another, as they would neceffarily have been if the feveral Commanders had written the account of their voyages themselves; for a digest could not have been made of the whole, without invading the right of each navigator to appropriate the relation of what he had feen: these repetitions however, taken together, will be found to fill but a few pages of the book.

That no doubt might remain of the fidelity with which I have related the events recorded in my materials, the manuscript account of each voyage was read to the respective Commanders at the Admiralty, by the appointment of Lord Sandwich, who was himself prefent during much the greatest part of the time. The account of the voyage of the Endeavour was alfo read to Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, in whofe hands, as well as in thofe of Captain Cook, the manufcript was left for a confiderable time after the reading. Commodore Byron, alfo Captain Wallis and Captain Carteret, had the manuscripts of their respective voyages to perufe, after they had been read at the Admiralty in their prefence, and fuch emendations as they fuggefted were made. In order thus to authenticate the voyage of Captain Cook, the account of it was firft written, because it was expected, when his journal was put into my VOL. I. b hands,

hands, that he would have failed on the voyage he is now making in less five months.

It will probably be thought, by many Readers, that I have related the nautical events too minutely; but it must be remembered, that minutely to relate these events was the great object of the work. It was in particular thought neceffary to infert the fituation of the thip at different hours of the day, with the bearings of different parts of the land while fhe was navigating feas, and examining fhores, that hitherto have been altogether unknown, in order to ascertain her track more minutely than could be done in any chart, however large the scale, to defcribe with critical exactness the bays, headlands, and other irregularities of the coaft; the appearance of the country, its hills, vallies, mountains, and woods, with the depth of water, and every other particular that might enable future navigators eafily to find, and safely to vifit, every part of it. I was not indeed myself fufficiently apprifed of the minutenefs that was neceffary in this part of the work; fo that I was obliged to make many additions to it, after I had prepared my manufcript. It is however hoped, that those who read merely for entertainment, will be compenfated by the defcription of countries, which no European had before vifited, and manners, which in many inftances exhibit a new picture of human life. In this part the relation of little circumstances requires no apology; for it is from little circumstances that the relation of great events derives its power over the mind. An account that ten thousand men perished in a battle, that twice the number were swallowed up by an earthquake, or that a whole nation was fwept away by a peftilence, is read in the naked brevity of an index, without the leaft emotion, by those who feel themselves strongly interested even for Pamela, the imaginary heroine of a novel that is remarkable for the enumeration of particulars in themselves fo trifling, that we almost wonder how they could occur to the author's mind.

The most effectual way to prevent obfcurity and confufion in relating events, is to range them in order of time, which however cannot be done in an unbroken feries, when the complicated and multifarious objects

of