A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocea

COLNETT (Capt. J.)

A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean,

NOOTKA SOUND CONTROVERSY

for the purpose of extending the Spermaceti whale fisheries, and other objects of commerce, by ascertaining the ports, bays, harbours and anchoring berths… First edition. Portrait frontispiece, 6 folding maps, 2 engraved plates of coastal profiles, & a diagramatic plate illustrating a sperm whale, this slightly cropped at the upper margin. 4to. Smart early nineteenth century half calf, black morocco label to spine, gilt, small piece replaced at the foot of the spine. iv, [iii]-vi, xviii, 179pp. London, 1798.

£11,000.00

Having served as a midshipman on Cook’s last voyage, in a crew which also included Vancouver and Bligh, Colnett went on to become a ship’s captain and maritime fur trader. His introduction to A Voyage to the south Atlantic… gives some idea as to the underlying mercantile spirit of the man: “…I never ceased to blend the zeal of my naval character with the spirit of commercial enterprize…” This same spirit no doubt made him the obvious choice to survey ports and harbours for British whalers along the South American coast from Chile to Baja California.

This narrative was published in the same year as Vancouver’s voyage and gives an account of Colnett’s seizure by the Spanish at Nootka. Having arrived from Macao in 1789 Colnett informed the Spanish commander that he had orders “under the authority of the King of England… to take possession of Nootka, construct a fort, establish a factory, and plant a colony.” Not surprisingly the Spanish acted quickly and Colnett found himself, his officers and men in irons. This indignity precipitated the “Nootka Controversy” which itself was one of the principal reasons for Vancouver’s expedition.

Borba, p193; Hill, p58; Sabin, 14546; Streeter VI, 3494.

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206355

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A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean,

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