Kerr’s Voyages Series 4: Captain Cook and the Southern Hemisphere

Kerr's Voyages is a comprehensive account of sea and land voyages covering 1,000 years of exploration from the 9th to the 18th centuries. Kerr's Voyages4 covers the Southern Hemisphere. It provides a rich collection of voyages by Captain James Cook, together with journeys of discovery in the Southern Oceans by other key figures such as Commodore Byron and Captains Wallis, Carteret, Clerke and Gore. The accounts of Cook's voyages are particularly detailed, accurate and informative, and contain descriptions of the many islands and countries discovered and detail of the inhabitants, their customs, beliefs and languages.

Voyages around the Cape of Good Hope, encounters with the natives of Tierra del Fuego, the search for a Southern Continent, the discovery of New Caledonia, human sacrifice in the Sandwich Islands, as well as tales of the many incidents and skirmishes that befell the ships and their crews, make this set an engaging and informative collection.

The six-volume set contains, in addition, an extensive new Introduction by Glyn Williams, one of the leading experts on Captain Cook and his contemporaries.

Robert Kerr (1755-1813), was the grandson of the 1st Marquis of Lothian and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and practised as a surgeon before embarking upon a career as an independent scholar. His works include translations of Lavoisier, Berthollet, Linnaeus and Cuvier as well as his magnum opus, the eighteen volumes that make up A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels.
Glyn Williams is Emeritus Professor of History, Queen Mary, University of London, UK.