of humanity, or to the increase of
useful knowledge, from all our boasted attempts to explore the distant
recesses of the globe?

The general object of the several voyages round the world, undertaken by
the command of his majesty, prior to that related in this work, was to
search for unknown tracts of land that might exist within the bosom of
the immense expanse of ocean that occupies the whole southern
hemisphere.

Within that space, so few researches had been made, before our time, and
those few researches had been made so imperfectly, that the result of
them, as communicated to the world in any narration, had rather served
to create uncertainty, than to convey information; to deceive the
credulous, rather than to satisfy the judicious enquirer; by blending
the true geography of above half the superficies of the earth with an
endless variety of plausible conjectures, suggested by ingenious
speculation; of idle tales, handed down by obscure tradition; or of bold
fictions, invented by deliberate falsehood.

It would have been very unfortunate, indeed, if five different
circumnavigations of the globe, some of them, at least, if not all, in
tracks little known, and less frequented, had produced no discoveries,
to reward the difficulties and perils unavoidably encountered. But the
following review will furnish the most satisfactory proofs, that his
majesty's instructions have been executed with ability; and that the
repeated visits of his ships to the southern hemisphere, have very
considerably added to our stock of geographical knowledge.

1. The south Atlantic ocean was the first scene of our operations.
Falkland's Islands had been hitherto barely known to exist; but their
true position and extent, and every circumstance which could render
their existence of any consequence, remained absolutely undecided, till
Byron visited them in 1764. And Captain Macbride, who followed him
thither two years after, having circumnavigated their coasts, and taken
a complete survey, a chart of Falkland's Islands has been constructed,
with so much accuracy, that the coasts of Great Britain itself, are not
more authentically laid down upon our maps.

How little was really known of the islands in the south Atlantic, even
so late as the time of Lord Anson, we have the most remarkable proofs,
in the history of his voyage. Unavoidably led into mistake, by the
imperfect materials then in the possession of the world, he had
considered Pepy