Observations Made During a Voyage Round the World
On Physical Geography, Natural History, and Ethnic Philosophy

First published in 1778, this work records Forster's scientific observations compiled during Cook's second voyage, from 1772 to 1775.

John Reinhold Forster (Author)

9781108031882, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 June 2011

680 pages, 1 map 1 table
29.7 x 21 x 3.5 cm, 1.6 kg

John Reinhold Forster (1729–98), a scientific writer and translator of German origin, took part in Cook's second Pacific voyage, from 1772 to 1775, and published this study, which records his examinations of 'nature in its greatest extent; the earth, the sea, the air, the organic and animated creation', in 1778. He drew upon the ideas of 'the most ingenious men of the age' in constructing his observations on natural history and navigation. The first half of the book addresses the physical aspects of the world: earth and land, oceans, global changes and flora and fauna. The second half focuses on the anthropological origins of the people of the southern seas. The book was originally written as a popular travel narrative, and it remains an important publication which will appeal to readers interested in historical geography, zoology, ethnology, astronomy and travel writing.

Preface
1. Remarks on the Earth and lands, their inequalities, strata, and constituent parts
2. Remarks on water and ocean
3. Remarks on the atmosphere and its changes, meteors, and phoenomena
4. Remarks on the changes of the globe
5. Remarks on the organic bodies
6. Remarks on the human species.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP]