A Journal of Captain Cook's Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, and in Quest of a North-West Passage, Between Asia & America; Performed in the Years ... of the Ships Employed in This Expedition.

by John Ledyard

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Rich in titles on English life and social history, this collection spans the world as it was known to eighteenth-century historians and explorers. Titles include a wealth of travel accounts and diaries, histories of nations from throughout the world, and maps and charts of a world that was still being discovered. Students of the War of American Independence will find fascinating accounts from the British side of conflict.
++++
The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition
++++
British Library

W027492

Parts of this narrative, including the chart, were copied literally from John Rickman's 'Journal of Captain Cook's last voyage', London, 1781. Dedicated to Jonathan Trumbull. "First issued in parts to subscribers. No. I, in June, 1783, No. II. in July"

printed and sold by Nathaniel Patten, a few rods North of the Court-House, 1783. 208 p., map; 8

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Travel

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

John Ledyard (1751 - 1789) was an American explorer and adventurer.

He was born in Groton, Connecticut, in November 1751. He was the first child of Abigail Youngs Ledyard and Capt. John Ledyard Jr, son of Squire John Ledyard Sr. A day or so after the child was born, Capt. John boarded his father's ship and sailed for the West Indies. Three years later Ledyard joined his grandfather in Hartford, Connecticut, where he attended school. His grandfather died just before Ledyard turned 20 (Squire Ledyard died in September 1771; grandson John III was about three months shy of 21 years of age at the Squire's death).

Ledyard briefly attended Dartmouth College (which was then only 3 years old), arriving on 22 April 1772. He left for two months without permission in August and September of that year, led a mid-winter camping expedition, and finally abandoned the college for good in May 1773. Memorably, he fashioned his own dugout canoe, and paddled it for a week down the Connecticut River to his grandfather's farm. Today, the Ledyard Canoe Club, a division of the Dartmouth Outing Club, sponsors an annual canoe trip down the Connecticut River in his honor. At loose ends, he decided to travel; "I allot myself a seven-year's ramble more," he wrote to a cousin. He shipped as a common seaman on a year-long trading voyage to Gibraltar, the Barbary Coast, and the Caribbean. On his next voyage, he jumped ship in Portsmouth, England, but was soon impressed and forced to join the British Navy as a marine.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely fascinating. read it after visiting new Zealand and some of the places capt. Cooke visited. very well researched and written

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I'm not sure what I was really expecting from this. It was interesting, up to a point. But it took me close to a year to make myself finish it. Not a pleasure.

[Sandra Rovers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but not always that fascinating.