Overview

The aims of the expedition of the French corvette Uranie, which left Toulon for a planned global circumnavigation in September 1817, were scientific. Gravity and magnetic fields were to be measured, natural history specimens were to be collected and primitive societies were to be studied. There were, however, no professional scientists on board. Instead, the ship's officers were made responsible for physical science and the medical staff for natural history. The junior surgeon, Joseph-Paul Gaimard, kept a diary in a large official notebook that had been issued to him. The first entries were of instructions and stores related to his medical duties and for his auxiliary role as a zoologist and anthropologist. The narrative section that follows, which ends with the vessel leaving Guam and headed for Hawaii, is a disordered but fascinating mix of straightforward accounts of events and medical interventions, lists of samples collected, results of measurements on peoples encountered and extracts from material located in colonial libraries.

Full Product Details

Author:   Joseph-Paul Gaimard ,  Sylvie Brassard ,  John Milsom
Publisher:   Hakluyt Society
Imprint:   Hakluyt Society
Weight:   1.220kg
ISBN:  

9781916931039

ISBN 10:   1916931030
Pages:   542
Publication Date:   08 April 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

List of Maps List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Preface INTRODUCTION: Background to a Journey A Voyage Is Proposed The Response The Baudin Expedition The Casuarina The People The Character of a Captain Rose Gaimard Quoy Keraudren Arago The Voyage The King's Corvette Uranie Boats The Voyage to Guam The Later Voyage The Return to France The Contribution to Science Historical Significance NARRATIVE JOURNAL OF JOSEPH-PAUL GAIMARD, COMMISSIONED SURGEON OF THE MARINE ROYALE The Preamble 1. Instructions to the Medical Officers of the Corvette Uranie 2. Stores and Supplies 3. Instructions for Naturalists Académie des Sciences Zoology Instructions for Botany Geology 4. Miscellaneous Letters and Advice Advice regarding the Southern Lands Copy of the Note Given by M. Bailly to M. Faujas de St Fond A Letter from the Chevalier de Gassicourt A Letter from M. Noel de la Morinière A Note Concerning Seals 5. Instructions to the Officers and Midshipmen of the Corvette Uranie Instructions for Observations while at Sea Instructions for Observations while Ashore The Diary 6. Toulon to Gibraltar 7. Tenerife 8. Rio de Janeiro 9. Cape Town 10. Mauritius and Réunion 11. Shark Bay 12. Timor: Kupang, Alor and Dili 13. Lawak and the Carolines 14. Guam 15. Information from the Spanish Archives 16. Information from Don Luis de Torres 17. Final Notes on the Marianas 18. Additional Vocabularies 19. The Instruments and Complement of the Uranie 20. Contents Listing (Gaimard) BIBLIOGRAPHY GLOSSARIES A. Gaimard's Marine Zoology B. Gaimard's Medical Cabinet GENERAL INDEX

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Author Information

SYLVIE BRASSARD is a researcher in French exploration history. She recently completed a doctoral thesis on the women of the Musée de l'Homme in Pacific archaeology during the 20th century. A French Canadian, she lives in Perth in Western Australia JOHN MILSOM is a geophysicist and author of 'The Hunt for Earth Gravity', a history of gravity measurements in the study of the Earth. It was while researching for that book that he first learned of the voyage of the Uranie. He lives in Wales,

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