Credit to the Author #
Title: An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of his Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, and successively performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook, in the Dolphin, the Swallow, and the Endeavour
Author: John Hawkesworth, Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook
Year: 1773
My Reference Notes #
A cool AI translation of the first page of the book:
Original:
TO THE KING
SIR, AFTER the great improvements that have been made in Navigation fince the difcovery of America, it may well be thought frange that a very confiderable part of the globe on which we live fhould ftill have remain- ed unknown; that it hould ftill have been the fubject of peculation, whether a great portion of the Southern Hemifphere is land or water; and, even where land had been difcovered, that neither its extent nor figure hould have been afcertained. But the caufe has probably been, that fovereign Princes have feldom any other motive for attempting the difcovery of new countries than to conquer them, that the ad- vantages of conquering countries which muft firft be difcovered are remote and uncertain, and that ambition has always found objects nearer home.
It is the diftinguifhing characteriftic of Your Majelty to act from more liberal motives; and having the beft fleet, and the bravelt as well as moft able navigators in Europe, Your Majelty has, not with a view to the acquifition of treafure, or the extent of dominion, but the improvement of commerce and the increafe and diffufion of knowlege, undertaken what has fo long been neglected; and under Your Majefty’s aufpices, in little more than feven years, difcoveries have been made far greater than thofe of all the navigators in the world collectively, from the expedition of Columbus to the prefent time.
To have been appointed to record them, and permitted to infribe the narrative to Your Majefty, is an honour, the fenfe of which will always be retained with the warmeft gratitude,
by YOUR MAJESTY’s Moft faithful, and moft obliged Subject and Servant, JOHN HAWKESWORTH BROMLEY, KENT, If May 1773
Modern translation:
TO THE KING
SIR, After the great advancements in navigation since the discovery of America, it may seem strange that a large part of the world we live in has remained unknown. It has been debated whether a significant portion of the Southern Hemisphere is land or water, and even in places where land has been discovered, neither its size nor its shape has been properly determined. The reason for this is likely because monarchs have rarely had any motivation to explore new lands unless it was to conquer them. The benefits of conquering lands that must first be discovered are distant and uncertain, and ambition usually finds closer targets.
It is a distinctive trait of Your Majesty to act from more generous motives. With the best fleet and the bravest, most skilled navigators in Europe, Your Majesty has undertaken these efforts, not for treasure or expanding dominion, but for the improvement of commerce and the spread of knowledge. Under Your Majesty’s guidance, in just over seven years, more discoveries have been made than all the navigators in the world combined, from Columbus’s voyage until now.
To have been chosen to document these discoveries, and to dedicate the account to Your Majesty, is an honor that will always be remembered with the deepest gratitude by
YOUR MAJESTY’s Most faithful and most obliged Subject and Servant,
JOHN HAWKESWORTH BROMLEY, KENT, May 1, 1773
