Voyage to Australia and the Pacific, 1791-1793: Bruni D'Entrecasteaux - Brossura

Duyker, Edward

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0522852327 ISBN 13: 9780522852325

Casa editrice: Melbourne University Press, 2006

Riassunto

In 1791 Admiral Bruny d'Entrecasteaux sailed with two ships from Revolutionary France to search for his compatriot, the explorer La Perouse, who was missing in the Pacific.Over a period of nearly two years he had held his ideologically divided expedition together. Without his exceptional maritime skills his men (and one cross-dressing woman!) might all have dieda  or played out the destructive fury of the Revolution on the quarterdeck before reaching Java. More than two centuries later, d'Entrecasteaux's account of his voyage remains a profound affirmation of his achievements. His humane, sensitive and even joyful encounters with the peoples of Australia and the Pacific make this a remarkably appealing book. Although d'Entrecasteaux failed to discover the fate of La Perouse, and perished in the attempt, his voyage was more than a mere rescue mission. Between 1791 and 1793 the expedition discovered the Derwent estuary and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel between Bruny Island and mainland Tasmania, and Esperance Bay and the Archipelago of the Recherche in Western Australia.D'Entrecasteaux's voyage also recorded some of the earliest observations of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania and south-western Australia, and detailed accounts of the islands and peoples of the Pacific, including New Zealand, Tonga, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.D'Entrecasteaux died suddenly off the coast of New Guinea, reportedly afflicted by symptoms of scurvy in July 1793.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Melbourne University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0522852327
• ISBN 13: 9780522852325
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 456