A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 10 | Page 2

III. Sequel of the Voyage, as far as Dampier is concerned, after the
Separation of the Nicholas from the Revenge,
CHAP. IX--Voyage round the World, by William Funnell, in
1703-1706,
Introduction,
SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, till the Separation of Funnell from
Dampier,
II. Sequel of the Voyage of William Funnell, after his Separation from
Captain Dampier,
III. Brief Account of Stradling, Clipperton, and Dampier, after their
respective Separations, till their Returns to England,

CHAP. X--Voyage round the World, by Captain Woods Rogers, and
Stephen Courtney, in 1708-1711,
Introduction,
SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, from England to the Island of Juan
Fernandez,
II. Proceedings of the Expedition on the Western Coast of America,
III. Sequel of the Voyage, from California, by Way of the East Indies,
to England,
CHAP. XI--Voyage round the World, by Captain John Clipperton, in
1719-1722,
Introduction,
SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, from England to Juan Fernandez,
II. Proceedings of the Success in the South Seas,
III. Voyage of the Success from the Coast of Mexico to China,
IV. Residence of Captain Clipperton at Macao, and Returns from
thence to England,
CHAP. XII--Voyage round the World, by Captain George Shelvocke,
in 1719-1722,
Introduction,
SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage from England to the South Sea,
II. Proceedings in the South Sea, till Shipwrecked on the Island of Juan
Fernandez,
III. Residence on the Island of Juan Fernandez,

IV. Farther Proceedings in the South Sea, after leaving Juan Fernandez,
A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND
TRAVELS.
* * * * *

PART II. (CONTINUED.)
BOOK IV.
* * * * *

CHAPTER I.
EARLY CIRCUMNAVIGATIONS, OR VOYAGES ROUND THE
WORLD.
INTRODUCTION.
In this fourth book of the second part of our arrangement, it is proposed
to give a history of the principal Circumnavigations, or Voyages Round
the World, previous to the reign of our present venerable sovereign.
This book, therefore, comprises a period of 226 years, from the year
1519, when Magellan sailed from Spain on the first circumnavigation
of the globe, till the year 1744, when Commodore Anson returned to
England from a similar expedition. The more recent circumnavigations,
which have taken place since the year 1760, chiefly under the
munificent and enlightened patronage of GEORGE III. or in imitation
of these, and which have largely contributed to extend, and almost to
render perfect, the geography and hydrography of the terraqueous globe,
are intended to form a separate division, in a subsequent part of our
arrangement.

The accurate knowledge which we now possess of the form and
dimensions of this globe of earth and water which we inhabit, has been
entirely owing to the superior skill of the moderns in the mathematical
sciences, as applicable to the practice of navigation, and to the
observation and calculation of the motions of the heavenly bodies, for
the ascertainment of latitudes and longitudes. It would require more
space than can be conveniently devoted on the present occasion, to give
any clear view of the geographical knowledge possessed by the
ancients, together with a history of the progress of that science, from
the earliest times, neither do the nature and objects of the present
Collection of Voyages and Travels call for any such deduction, of
which an excellent epitome will be found in the History of Geography,
prefixed to Playfair's System of Geography.
The ancients laboured under almost absolute incapacities for making
extensive voyages or discoveries by sea, proceeding from ignorance of
the form and dimensions of the earth, and other causes. They were but
indifferently versed in the practical part of astronomy, without which,
and those instruments which have been invented almost exclusively by
the moderns, for measuring the paths, distances, and relative positions
of the heavenly bodies, it is impossible to launch out with any tolerable
success or safety on the trackless ocean. They were ignorant also of that
wonderful property of the magnet or loadstone, which, pointing
invariably towards the north, enables the modern mariner to know his
precise course, at all times of the day of night, though clouds and thick
mists may hide the luminaries of heaven from his observation, which
were the only means of direction known to the ancients.
Various systems and theories appear to have prevailed among the
ancients respecting the figure and motion of the earth; some justly
enough supposing it to be a ball or sphere, suspended in infinite space,
while others conceived it to be a flat surface, floating upon and
surrounded by an interminable ocean. The just conceptions of some
ancient philosophers, respecting the spherical figure of the earth, and its
diurnal motion around its own axis, were superseded by others of a
more popular nature, and forgotten for many ages. Lactantius and
Augustine, two fathers of the catholic church, unfortunately adopted the

idea of the