William Robert Broughton's Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific 1795-1798

Edited and richly annotated by Lt Cdr Andrew David, this volume Wets for the first time a complete transcript of the handwritten journal kept by William Broughton on his voyage to the North Pacific (1795-1798), together with supplementary letters and the Journal of Broughton's journey across Mexico (1793). An extensive introduction by Professor Barry Gough places the voyage in its historical context. Broughton had first visited the North Pacific in 1792 in command of the brig Chatham during Vancouver's voyage. When negotiations between Vancouver and Juan Francisco Rodega y Quadra reached an impasse, Broughton was sent back to London to seek fresh instructions, traveling across Mexico and returning to Europe in Spanish ships. Back in London in July 1793 he was appointed in command of the sloop Providence with orders to rejoin Vancouver in the Pacific, taking with him the astronomer John Crosley.

The outbreak of war with France delayed Broughton's departure until February 1795, with the result that, on reaching Hawaii, he learned that Vancouver had already sailed for England. After consulting with his officers, Broughton decided to cross the North Pacific and complete the surveys left unfinished by Cook's third voyage and to enable Croaky to undertake astronomical observations. Accordingly, Broughton made for the north coast of Honshu and proceeded to examine the southernmost of the Kurile Islands before making for Macau, examining the coasts of the Japanese Islands on the way. In Macau Broughton purchased a schooner before continuing his survey. Sadly the Providence was wrecked on an uncharted reef off the Ryukyu Islands, the crew being rescued by the schooner. Broughton returned to Macau, resumed his survey in the schooner, and in her reached the head of the Gulf of Tartary, and examined part of the south coast of Korea. He ended his voyage in Macau in November 1797.

Andrew David served for more than forty years in the Royal Navy as a Hydrographic Surveyor, including a period (1961-85) in the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office.

Andrew David served for more than forty years in the Royal Navy as a Hydrographic Surveyor, including a period (1961a€“85) in the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. Among his many publications is The Voyage of HMS Herald to Australia and the Pacific 1852a€“1861 (1950). He was also the chief editor of the Society's The Charts and Coastal Views of Captain Cook's Voyages (1988a€“97) and one of the editors of the Society's The Malaspina Expedition 1789a€“1794: Journal of the Voyage by Alejandro Malaspina (2001a€“4). He served as a Vice-President of the Society between 1997 and 2002, and in 2006 he was the first recipient of the Society's The President's Medal. Barry Gough is an authority on the histories of Maritime enterprise, exploration and related imperial affairs. He is the author of several works on the subject, most recently Fortune's a River: The Collision of Empires in Northwest America (2008). A collection of his articles and book chapters was published by Ashgate Variorum in Britain, Canada and the North Pacific: Maritime Enterprise and Dominion, 1778a€“1914 (2004). He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Archives Fellow of Churchill College, and a Fellow of King's College, London. He is Professor Emeritus, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario. He was editor of the Society's To the Pacific and Arctic with Beechey (1973), and author of The Northwest Coast: British Navigation, Trade and Discoveries to 1812 (1992).