A Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions
Undertaken Chiefly for the Purpose of Discovering a North-East, North-West, or Polar Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific

A vivid account of exploration in the North Atlantic from the Vikings to the early nineteenth century, published in 1818.

John Barrow (Author)

9781108030830, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 May 2011

450 pages, 3 b/w illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 2.5 cm, 0.57 kg

Sir John Barrow (1764–1848), a founder and early president of the Royal Geographical Society, served as Second Secretary to the Admiralty for forty years. He was responsible for promoting polar exploration, and published two books on the subject for general readers, both now reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. This, the earlier of the two, appeared in 1818 and is a chronological account of Arctic voyages from the Viking period to the early nineteenth century, and of the intensifying search for a northern route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Barrow covers the expeditions of European explorers including Cabot, Frobisher, Barentz, Hudson and Baffin. He quotes extracts from their journals to create a vivid picture of the extreme conditions experienced by the explorers, their battles against cold, disease and starvation, their impressions of the plentiful Arctic wildlife, and both friendly and hostile encounters with the Inuit.

1. Discoveries in the north, from the early periods of Scandinavian navigation to the end of the fifteenth century
2. Discoveries made in the north during the sixteenth-century
3. Voyages of discovery in the northern regions during the seventeenth century
4. Discoveries in the northern regions during the eighteenth century
5. Voyages of northern discovery undertaken in the early part of the nineteenth century
Appendix.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]