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Voyages to Hudson Bay in Search of a Northwest Passage, 1741-1747 (2 volumes)

Door William Barr e.a.

Categorie	Ontdekkingsreizen & Expedities
Boeknummer	#239400
Titel	Voyages to Hudson Bay in Search of a Northwest Passage, 1741-1747 (2 volumes)
Auteur	Barr, William & Glyndwr Williams (edited by)
Boektype	Gebonden hardcover met stofomslag
Uitgeverij	London, The Hakluyt Society
Jaar van uitgave	1994
ISBN10	0904180360
ISBN13	9780904180367
Taal	Engels
Beschrijving	1994-1995; Hakluyt Society, Second Series No. 177 & 181. Cloths with dust jackets. Volume I: The Voyage of Christopher Middleton, 1741-1742; Volume II: The Voyage of William Moor and Francis Smith 1746-1747. 333+393pp. ISBN 0904180360 & ISBN 0904180417
Samenvatting	The 18th century saw a resurgence of hope that a Northwest Passage - that elusive target of European seamen over the centuries - might yet be found. Prompted by the Irish MP Arthur Dobbs, the Admiralty sent the Furnace and Discovery to Hudson Bay in 1741 in search of a navigable passage to the Pacific. The expedition was commanded by Christopher Middleton, until his resignation in 1741 a sea captain in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. With his actions closely scrutinized by his former employers and colleagues, concerned about possible interference with the fur trade, Middleton wintered at the Company fort at Churchill. From there in the summer of 1742 he sailed farther north along the west coast of Hudson Bay than any previous European explorer, charting Wager bay, Repulse Bay an... (Lees verder)d Frozen Strait; but he failed to find a passage. After his return to England he found himself accused of negligence and corruption. Dobbs attacked both him and the Hudson's Bay Company in a campaign which ruined Middleton's professional reputation and opened the way for a further expedition to the Bay. The controversy over the Middleton expedition helps to explain the wealth of documentation which has survived. In angry pamphlet exchanges Dobbs and Middleton published their letters to each other; and to these the editors have added Dobb's manuscript Memorial on the Northwest Passage, his correspondence with Judge Ward, and documents from the Admiralty and other government departments. The voyage itself is seen through the pages of Middleton's journal, supplemented with extracts from the journals, logs and affidavits of other crew members. From the Hudson's Bay Company's archives the journal of James Isham, factor at Churchill, adds to the story of the expedition's wintering. The final section deals with the controversy which developed after Middleton's return, and prints the more important charges and counter-charges which were made in the years 1743 to 1745. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume I of Voyages to Hudson Bay in Search of a Northwest Passage described the naval discovery expedition of Christopher Middleton in 1741-2, and the controversy which followed his failure to find a Northwest Passage. This second volume deals with the privately-financed expedition sent four years later on the same quest, commanded by William Moore and Francis Smith. Once more, Arthur Dobbs was the prime mover, and once more he was to be disappointed by the outcome. Quarrelsome captains, tensions during the wintering at York factory, confused explorations, and rival accounts, made a mockery of the hopes of Dobbs and his associates. After the return of the expeditions, the attention of its sponsors turned to a direct attack on the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company. Although the Northwest Passage continued to be used as a weapon against the Company, the question of its existence slipped from centre-stage to the wings. Once again, there is a wealth of material concerning the voyage: printed accounts by Henry Ellis and the mysterious 'Clerk of the California'; a manuscript journal by Francis Smith; and the journal, letters and 'Observations' of James Isham, The Hudson's Bay Company factor at York. The volume also includes extracts from private and official correspondence, parliamentary papers, and contemporary pamphlets. Appendix I investigates the apocryphal voyage of Admiral De Fonte: and Appendix II contains a critical analysis of the different accounts of the expedition. Whatever else the expeditions of 1741-2 and 1746-7 accomplished, the publicity given to their explorations brought a greatly increased interest in Hudson Bay and its hinterland. This interest was not always accompanied by accurate and dispassionate information. Even so, a comparison of the knowledge available about the geography, trade and native inhabitants of the Bay area at the time of the Parliamentary enquiry of 1749 with the situation before Middleton's voyage represents a breakthrough in British perceptions of the Canadian sub-Arctic.
Pagina's	-
Conditie	Goed
Prijs	€ 30,00