A general history of voyages and travels to the end of the 18th century

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Preface

The curiosity of that man must be very feeble and sluggish, and his appetite for information very weak or depraved, who, when he compares the map of the world, as it was known to the ancients, with the map of the world as it is at present known, does not feel himself powerfully excited to inquire into the causes which have progressivfely brought almost every speck of its surface completely within our knowledge and access. To develop ana explain these causes is one of the objects of the present work ; but this object cannot be attained, without pointing out in what manner Geo^aphy was at first fixed on the basis of science, and has subsequently, at various periods, been extended and improved, in proportion as those branches of physical knowledge which could lend it any assistance, have advanced towards perfection* We shall thus, we trust, be enabled to place before our readers a clear, but rapid view of the surface of the globe, gradually exhibiting a larger portion of known regions, and explored seas, till at last we in-^ troduce them to the full knowledge of the nineteenth century. In the cotirse of this part of our work, deci-

a2

IV PREFACE.

sive and instructive illustrations will frequently occur of the truth of these most important facts, — that one branch of science can scarcely advance, without advancing some other branches, which in their turn, repay the assistancethey have received; and that, generally speaking, the progress of intellect and morals is powerfully impelled by every impulse given to physical science, and can go pn steadily and with full and permanent effect, only by the intercourse of civilised nations with those that are ignorant and barbarous.

But our work embraces another topic ; the progress of commercial enterprise from the earliest period to the present time. That an extensive and interesting field is thus opened to us will be evident, when we contrast the state of the wants and habits of the people of Britain, as they ^re depicted by Csssar, with the wants and habits even of our lowest and poorest classes. In Caesar's time, a very few of the comforts of life, — scarcely one of its meanest luxuries, — derived from the neighbouring shore of Gaul, were occasionally enjoyed by British Princes : in our time, the daily nieal of the pauper who obtains his precarious and scanty pittance by begging, is supplied by a navigation of some thousand miles, from countries in opposite parts of the globe ; of whose existence Ccesar had not even the remotest idea. In the time of Csesar, there was perhaps no country, the commerce of which was so confined : — in our time, the commerce of Britain lays the whole world under contribution, and surpasses in extent and magnitude the commerce of any other nation.

The progress of discovery and of commercial intercourse are intimately and almost necessarily connected ; where commerce does not in the first instance prompt man to discover new countries, it is sure, if these countries are not totally worthless, to lead him thoroughly to explore them. The arrange-

ment of this work, in carrying on, at the same time, a view of the progress of discovery, and of coramercial enterprise, is, therefore, that very arrangement which the nature of tlie subject suggests. The most important and permanent effects of the progress of • discovery and commerce, on the wealth, the power, the political relations, the manners and habits, and the general interests and character of nations, will either appear on the very surface of our work, or, where the facts themselves do not expose them to view, they will be distinctly noticed.

A larger proportion of the volume is devoted to the progress of discovery and enterprise among the ancients, than among the modems ; or,— to express ourselves more accurately, — the period thatterminates with the discovery of America, and especially that which comprehends the commerce of the Phoeniceans, of the Egyptians under the Ptolemies, of the Greeks, and of the Romans, is illustrated with more ample and minute details, than the period which has elapsed since the new world was discovered. To most readers, the nations of antiquity are known by their wars alone ; we wished to exhibit them in their commercial character and relations. Besides, the mar terials for the history of discovery within the modem period are neither so scattered, nor so difficult of access, as those which relate to the first period. After the discovery of America, the grand outline of the terraqueous part of the globe may be said to have been traced ; subsequent discoveries only giving it more boldness or accuracy, or filling up the intervening parts. The same observation may in some degree be applied, to the corresponding periods of the history of commerce. Influenced by these considerations, we have therefore exhibited the infancy and youth of discovery and commerce, while they were struggling with their own ignorance and inexperience, in the strongest a^d fullest light.

Vi PREPACK.

At the conclusion of the woA is given a select Catalogue of Voyages and Travels^ which it is hoped will be found generally usefult not only in directing i^g and inquirjr, but also in the fonnation of a library.

This Historical Sketch has been drawn up with reference to, and in order to complete Kerr's Collection of Voyages and Travels, and was undertaken by the present Editor in consequence of the death of Mr. Kerr. But though dniwn up with this object, it is strictly and entirely an independent and separate work.

Kerr's Collection contains a great variety of very curious and interesting early Voyages and Travels, of rare occurrence, or only to be found in expensive and voluminous Collections ; and is, moreover, especially distinguished by a correct and full account of all Captain Cook's Voyages.

To the end of this volume is appended a Tabular View of the Contents of this Collection ; and it is believed that this Tabular View, when examined and compared with the Catalc^e, will enable those who wish to add to this Collection such Voyages and Travels as it does not embrace, espeqalfy those of veiy recent date, all that are deserving of purchase ana perusal.

W. Stevenson.

March SO, 1824.

Chapter I

Hutorical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery aood of Commercuri Eoterprisey from the earliest records to the time of Herodotoi,

CHAPTER U.

From the age of Herodotus to the death of Alexander the Great ...--- 35

CHAPTER in.

From the Death of Alexander the Great to the time of Ptolemy the Geographer ; with a digression on the Inland Trade between India and the Shores of the Mediterranean, through Arabia^ from the earliest ages - - ... si

CHAPTER IV.

From the time of Ptolemy to the close of the Fifteenth Gen* tury 265

CHAPTER V.

From the close of the Fifteenth to the beginning of the Nineteenth Century . . ^ . s^

▼Ill TABLE OF COKTCirrS.

CATALOGUE.

Preliminary Obsenrations on the Plan and Arrangement pursued in drawing up the Catalogue ... Page 529

Instructions for Travellers .... 533 Collections and Histories of Voyages and Travels - 534

Voyages and Travels round the World - - 537

Travels, comprizing different Quarters of the Globe 539

Voyages and Travels in the Arctic Seas and Countries 550

Africa 592

Australasia ..... efiB

Index to the Catalogue 629

^ Historical Sketch 633

, XVII. Volumes of Voymges and Travels 637

Contents of the XVH. Volumes 647

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HISTORICAL SKETCH

OF THE

PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY,

CHAPTER I.

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS Ot DISCOVERY, AND OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE, FROM THE EARLIEST RECORDS, TO THE TIME OF HERODOTUS. B. C. 4?50.

The earliest traces of navigation and commerce are necessarily involved in much obscunty, and are, besides, few and faint« It is impossible to assign to them any clear and definite chronolc^' ; and they are, with a few exceptions, utterly uncircumstantial. Neverdieless, in a work like this, they ought not to be passe<l over without some notice ; but the notice we shall bestow upon them will not be that eitlier of tlie clironologist or antiquarian, but of a more popular, appropriate, and useful descripdon.

The intercourse of one nation with another first took place in that part of the world to which a knowledge of the original habitation of mankind, and of the advantages for sea and land commerce which that habitation enjoyed, would naturally lead us to assign it. On the shores of the Mediterranean, or at no great distance from that sea, among the Israelites, the Phoenicians, and the Egyptians, we must look for the earliest traces of navigation and commerce ; and, in the only authentic history of the remotest period of the world, as well as amidst

B

2 Progress qf Discooery chap. i.

the scanty and fabulous materials supplied l)y profane writers, these nations are uniformly represented as the most ancient navigators and traders.

Tne slightest inspection of the map of this portion of the globe will teach us that Palestine, Phoenicia, and Egypt were admirably situated for commerce both by sea and land. It is, indeed, true that the Phcenicians, by the conquests of Joshua, were expelled from the greatest part of their territory, and obliged to confine themselves to a narrow slip of ground between Mount Lebanon and the Mediterranean ; but even this confined territory presented opportunities and advantages for commerce of no mean importance: they had a safe coast, — at least one good harbour ; and the vicinity of Lebanon, and other mountains, enabled them to obtain, with little dif&culty and expence, a large supply of excellent materials for ship-building. There are, moreover, circumstances which warrant the supposition, that, like Holland in modem times, they were rather the carriers of other nations, than extensively engaged in the commerce of their own productions or manu- &ctures. On the north and east lay Syria, an extensive country, covered with a deep rich soil, producing an abundant variety of valuable articles. With this country, and much beyond it, to the east, the means and opportunities of communication and commerce were easy, by the employment of the camel ; while, on the other hand, the caravans that carried on the commerce of Asia and Africa necSessaiily passed through Phoenicia, or the adjacent parts of Palestine.

Egypt, in some respects, was still more advantageously situflSed for commerce than Phoenicia: the trade of the west of Asia, and of the shores of the Mediterranean lay open to it by means of that sea, and by the Nile and the Red Sea a commercial intercourse with Arabia, Persia, and India seemed almost to be forced upon their notice and adoption. It is certain, however, that in the earliest periods of their history, the E^^tians were decidedly averse to the sea, and to maritime fmuurs, both warlike and commerdaL It would be vain and unprofitable to explain the fabulous cause assigned for this aversion : we may^ however, briefly and incidentally remark that as Osiris particidarly instructed his subjects in cultivating the ground; and as Typhon coincides exactly in orthography and meaning with a word still used in the East, to signify a sudden and violent storm, it is probable that by

CHAP«.f. to the Time ofHerodoius. 3

Typhon murdering bis brother Osiris, tbe Egyptians meant tbe damage done to their cultivated lands by storms of wind causing inundations.

As the situation of Palestine for commerce was equally fiivourable with that of Phcenicia, it Is unnecessary to dilate upon it. Tliat the Jews did not engage more extensively in trade either by sea or land must be attributed to the peculiar nature of their government, laws, and religion.

Having thus briefly pointed out the advantages enj<nred by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Jews for commercial intercourse, we shall now proceed to notice the few particulars with which history supplies us regarding the navigation and cx>mmerce of each, during the earliest periods.

I* There is good reason to believe that most of the maritime adventures and enterprises which have rendered the Phoenicians so &mous in antiquity, ought to be fixed between the death of Jacob, and the establishment of monarchy among the Israelites; that is, between the years 1700 and 1095 before Christ; but even before this, there are authentic notices of Phoenician commerce and navigation* In the days of Abraham they were considered as a very powerful people : and express mention is made of their maritime trade in the last words of Jacob to his chiMren. Moses informs lis that Tarshish ^i^herever it was situated) was visited by the Phoenicians. When this people were deprived of a great portion of their territory by die Israelites under Joshua, they still retained the city of Sidon ; and irom it their maritime expeditions proceeded* Hie order of time in wliich they took place, as well as their object and result, are very imperfectly known; it seems certain, however, that they either regularly traded with, or formed colonies or establishments for the purpose of trade at first in Cyprus and Rhodes, and subsequently in Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, Gaul, and the southern part of Spain. About 1250 years before Christ, the Phoenician ships ventured beyond the Straits, entered the Atlantic, and founded Cadiz. It is probable, also, that nearly about the same period they formed establishments on the western coast of Africa* We have the express authority of Homer, that at die Trojan war the Phoenicians fornished other nations with many articles that could contribute to luxury and magnificence; and Scripture informs us, that the ships of Hyram, kincr of Tyre, brought gold to Solomon fix>m Ophir. That they traded to Britain for tin at so early a period as that which W0

B 2 i . Progress ofDiscovay chap, ir

are now considering, will appear very doubtful, if the metal mentioned by Moses, (Numbers, chap. xxxL verse 22.) was really tin, and if Homer is accurate in his statement that this met£d was used at the siege of Troy ; for, certainly, at neither of these periods had the Phoenicians ventured so far from their own country.

Hitherto we have spoken of Sidon as the great mart of Phoenician commerce; at what period Tyre was built and superseded Sidon is not known. In the time of Homer, Tyre is not even mentioned : but very soon afterwards it is represented by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the other prophets, as a city of unrivalled trade and wealth* Ezekiel, who prophesied about the year 595 B. C. has given a most picturesque description of the wealth of. Tyre, all of which must have proceeded from her commerce, and consequently points out and proves its great extent and importance* The fir-trees of Senir, the cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, the ivory of the Indies, the fine linen of Egypt, and the hyacinth and purple of the isles of Elishah, are enumerated among the articles used for their ships. Silver, tin, lead, and vessels of brass ; slaves, horses, and mules ; carpets, ivory, and ebony ; pearls and silk ; wheat, balm, honey, oil and gums ; wine» and wool, and iron, are enumerated as brought into the port of Tyre by sea, or to its £Eurs by land, from S}rria, Damascus, Greece, Arabia, and other places, the exact site of which is not known.* Within the short period of fifteen or twen^ years after this description was written, Tyre was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar ; and after an obstinate and very protracted resistance, it was taken and destroyed. The inhabitants, however, were enabled to retire during the sie^e, with the greatest part of their property, to an island near the shore, where they built New Tyre, which soon surpassed the old city both in commerce and shipping.

A short time previous to the era generally assigned to the destruction of old Tyre, the Phoenicians are said to have performed a voyage, which, if authentic, may justly be regarded as the most important that the annals of this people record : we allude to the circumnavigation of Africa. As this voyage has given rise to much discussion, we may be excused for de-

* Dr. Vincent, in the 2d vol. of his Periplus of the Ervthrean Sea, has a vcty elaborate commentary on this chapter of Ezekiel, in whldi he satisfactorily makes out the nature of roost of the articles mentioned in it, a» well as the locality of the places (iron) which they are said to have come.

CHAP* f. to the Time of Herodotus, 5

Tiadng from the cursory and condensed character of this part of our work, in order to investigate its probable authenticity. Ali that we know remrding it is delivered to us by Herodotus ; according to this nistorian, soon after Nechos, king of E^pt, had finisned the canal that united die Nile and the Aiwian Crul^ he sent some Phcenicians from the borders of the Red Sea, with orders to keep always along the coast of Africa, and to return by the pillars of Hercules into the northern ocean. Accordingly the Phcenicians embarked on the Erythrean Sea, aiid navigated in the southern ocean. When autumn arrived, they landed on the part of Libya which they had reached, and sowed com; here they remained till harvest, reaped the com, and then re-embarked. In this manner they sailed for two years ; in the third they passed the pillars of Hercules, and returned to Egypt. They related that in sailing round Libya, the sun was on their risht hand* Thb relation, continues Herodotus, seems incredible to me, but perhaps it will not i^pear so to others. Before proceeding to an enquiry into the authenticity of this maritime enterpnze, it may be proper to expldn what is meant by the sun appeariuig on the r^ht hand of the Phcenician navigators* The apparent motion oithe heavens being from east to west, the west was regarded by the ancients as the foremost part of the world ; the north, of course, was deemed the right, and the south the left of the world.

The principal circumstance attending this narrative, which is supposed to destroy or greatly weaken its credibility, is the short period of. time in wl|ich this navigation was accomplished: it is maintfuned, that even at present, it would certainly require eighteen months to coast Africa from the Red Sea to the straits of Gibraltar; and *^ allowing nine months for each interval on shore, between the sowing and reding, the Phcenicians could not have b^n more than eighteen months at sea.''

To this objection it may be replied, in the first place, that between the tropics (within which space nearly the whole of the navigation was performed) nine months is much too long a time to allow for each interval on shore, between the sowing and the reaping : and, secondly, that thoimh the period occupied by the whole voyage, and some ot the circumstances attending it, may be inaccurately stated, the voyage itself ought not to be wholly discredited on these accounts.

B S

6 Progiess qfDiscoveiy chap. I.

The very circumstance which the historian rejects as incredible, b one of the strongest arguments possible in &vour of the tradition ; though this alone is not decisive, tor the Fhcenicians might have sailed far enough to the south to have observed the sim to the north, even if they had not accomplished the navigation of Africa. The strongest argument, however, in our opinion, in support of the actual accomplishment of this circumnavigation, has been unaccountably overlooked, in all the various discussion to which the subject has given rise. ' It is evident that in most voyages, fSedse and exaggerated accounts may be given of the countries visited or seen, and of the circumstances attendant upon the voyage; whereas, with respect to this voyage, one most important and decisive particular lay within reach of the observation of 1 hose who witnessed the departure and arrival of the ships. If they sailed from the Red Sea, and returned by the Mediterranean, they must have circumnavigated Africa. It is obvious diat if such a voyage was not performed, the story must have originated with Ilerodotus, with those from whom he received iiis information, or with those who were engaged in the expedition, supposing it actually to have been engaged in, bat not to have accomplished the circumnavigation of Africa. The character *of Herodotus secures him from the imputation ; and by none is he charged with it : — Necho Hved about six hundred and sixteen years before Christ ; consequently little more than two hundred years before Herodotus ; moreover, the communication and commerce of the Greeks with Egypt, was begun in the time of Psammeticus, the immediate predecessor of Necho, and was encouraged in a very particular 'manner by Amasis (who died in 525\ who married a Crreek, and was visited by Solon. From these circumstances, it is improbable that Herodotus, who was evidently not disposed to believe the account of the appearance of the sun, should not have had it in his power to obtain good evidence, whether a ship that had sailed from the Red Sea, had returned by the Mediteq^anean : if such evidence were acquired, it is obvious, as has been already remarked, that the third source of fabrication is utterly destroyed. Dr. Vincent is strongly opposed to the authenticity of this voyage, chiefly on the grounds that such ships as the ancients had, were by no means sufiiciently strong, nor their seamen sufiiciently skilful and experienced, to have successfully encountered a navigation, which the Portuguese did not

CHAP. 1. to the Time qf Herodotus. 7

accomplish without great danger and difficulty, and that the alleged circumnavigation produced no consequences.

It may be incidentally remarked that the incredulity of Herodotus with regard to the appearance of the sun to the northof the xenith, is not easily reconcileable with what we shall afterwards shew was the extent of his knowledge of the interior of Egypt He certainly had visited, or had received communicationsfrom those who had visited Ethiopia as far south as eleven degrees north latitude. Under this parallel the sun appears for a ocmsiderable part of the year to the north. How, then, it may be asked, could Herodotus be incredulous of this phaenomenon having been observed by the Phoenician ciiw cumnavigators. This difficulty can be solved by supposing either that if he himself had visited this part of Afiica, it was at a season of the year when the sun was in that quarter of the heavens in which he was accustomed to see it; or, if he received his information from the inhabitants of this district, that they, not regarding the periodical appearance of the sun to the north of ue zenith as extraordinary, did not think it necessanr to mention it. It certainly cannot be supposed that if Herodotus had either seen himself or heard fix>m others, that the sun in Ethiopia sometimes appeared to the north of the zenith, he would have stated in such decided terms, when narrating the circumnavigation of the Phcenicians, that such a phsenomenon appeared to him altogether incredible*

Before we return to the immediate subject of this part of our work, we may be allowed to deviate from strict chronological order, fop the purpose of mentioning two striking and nnportant focts, which naturally led to the belief of the practicability of circumnavigating Africa, fong before that enterprise was actually accomplished by the Portuguese*

We are informed by StrdiK), on the authority of Posidonius, that Eudoxus of Cvzicus, who lived about one hundred and fifty years before Cnrist, was induced to conceive the practicabihty fH circumnavigating Africa, from the following circumstance* As Eudoxus was returning from India to the Red Sea, he was driven by adverse winds on the coast of Ethiopia : there he saw the figure of a horse sculptured on a piece of wood, which he knew to be a part of the prow of a ship. TTie natives informed him that it had belonged to a ve^el, which had arrived amcxig them from the west* Eaidoxus brought it with him to Eg^t, and subjected it to the inspection of several pilots : they pronounced it lo be the.

B 4

8 Ptvgress of Dtsco^uery chap. i.

prow of a small kind of vessel used by the inhabitants^ rf Gadez, to fish on the coast of Mauritania, as far as the river Lixius : some of the pilots recognised it as belonging to a particular vessel, which, with several others, had attempted to advance beyond the Lixius, but had never afterwards been heard of. We are further informed on the same authority, that Eudoxus, hence conceiving it practicable to sail round Africa, made the attempt, and actually sailed from Gadez to a part of Ethiopia, the inhabitants of which spoke the same language as those among whom he had formerly been. From some cause not assigned, he proceeded no farther: subse* quently, however, he made a second attempt, but how far he advanced, and what was the result, we are not informed.

The second fact to which we allude is related in the Commentary of Abu Sird, on the Travels of a Mahommedan in India and China, in the ninth century of the Christian era. The travels and commentary are already given in the first volume of this work ; but the importance of the fact will, we trust, plead our excuse for repeating the passage which contains it.

" In our times, discovery has been made of a thing quite new : nobody imagined that the sea which extends from the Indies to China, had any communication with the sea of Syria, nor could any one take it into his head. Now behold what has come to pass in our days, according to what we. have heard. In the Sea of Rum, or the Mediterranean, they found the wreck of an Arabian ship which had been shattered by tempest ; for all her men perishinc, and she being dashed to pieces by the waves, the remains of her were driven by wind and weather into the Sea of Chozars, and from thence to the canal of the Mediterranean Sea, and at last were thrown on the Sea of Syria. This evinces that the sea surrounds all the country of China, and of Sila, — the uttermost parts of Turkestan, and the country of the Chozars, and then it enters at the strait, till it washes the shore of Syria. Tlie proof of this isbdeduc^ from the built of the ship we are speaking of; for none but the ships of Sarif are so put together, that the planks are not nailed, or bolted, but joined toe^ther in an extraordinary manner, as if thev were sewn ; whereas the planking of all the ships of the Mediterranean Sea, and of the coast of Syria, is nailed and not joined together in the same way."

When we entered on this digression, we had brought the historical sketch of the discoveries and commerce of the

CHAP. I.'. to the Time of Herodottts. 9

Phoenicians down to the period of the destruction of Old Tyre, or about six hundred years before Christ. We shall now resume it, and add such particulars on these subjects as relate to die period that intervened between that event and the capture of New Tyre by Alexander the Great These aie few in number ; for though New Tyre exceeded, according to all accounts, the old city in splendour, riches, and commercial prosperity, yet antient authors have not left us any precise accounts of their discoveries, such as can jusdy be fixed within the period to which we have alluded. Th^ seem to have advanced farther than they had previously done along the west coast of Africa, and further along the north coast of %iain: the discovery of the Cassiterides fuso, and their \rade to these islands for tin, (which we have shewn could hardly have taken place so early as is generally supposed,) must also have occurred, either immediately before, or soon after, the building of New Tyre. It is generallv believed, that the Cassiterides were the Scilly Islands, off* the coast of Cornwall. Strabo and Ptolem v indeed place them off* the coast of Spain ; but Diodorus Siculus and Pliny give them a situadon, whichj C(Hisidering the vague and erroneous ideas the andents possessed of the geography of this part of the world, corresponds pret^ nearly with the southern part of Britain. Accordimr to Strabo, the Phoenicians first brought tin from the Cassiterides, which they sold to the Greeks, but kept (as was usual with them) the trade entirely to themselves, and were utterly silent respecting the place fi'om which they brought it The Greeks gave these blands the name cf Cassiterides, or the Tin Country ; a plain pro^f of what we before advanced, that tin was known, and generally usec^ previous to the discovery of these islands by the Phcenicians.

There is scarcely any circumstance connected with the maritime history of the Phoenicians, more remarkable than their jealousy of foreigners interfering with their trade, to which we have just alluded. It seems to have been a regular plan, if not a fixed law with them, if at any dme their ships observed that a strange ship kept them company, or endeavoured ta trace their track, to outsail her if pracdcable ; or, where this could not be done, to depart during the Bigh;t from their proper course. The Carthaginians, a colony of the Phoenicians, adopted this, among other maritime regulations of the parent state, and even carried it to a greater