Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
New Voyage
was one of those rare books that catch the ima-
gination of a whole generation and win immortality for their au-
thors. People clamoured to buy it - captains, merchants and would-
be adventurers, as well as armchair travellers. In his mid-forties
Dampier achieved the fame and fortune he had so long craved.
It was impossible for a man like Dampier to lead an uneventful
life. The eighteen years remaining to him were crowded with incid-
ent and controversy and included two more circumnavigations.
His fame and achievements had won him patrons and friends in
high places. Thus, when he put forward proposals for a government-
sponsored voyage of discovery he was taken seriously. His plans, as
described in a letter to the Admiralty, were clear and detailed. He
proposed to travel via the Cape to New Holland (Australia) to see if
it was part of the unknown southern continent,
Terra Australis.
He
would, he declared, run across the Indian Ocean from Madagascar:
to the northernmost part of New Holland, where I would water if
I had occasion, and from thence I would range towards New Guinea.
There are many islands in that sea between New Holland and New
Guinea . . . and it is probable that we may light on some or other
that are not without spice. Should I meet with nothing on any of these
islands, I would range along the main of New Guinea, to see what
that afforded; and from thence I would cross over to the island Gilolo,
where I may be informed of the state of those parts by the natives who
speak the Malayan language. From Gilolo I would range away to the
eastward of New Guinea, and so direct my course southerly, coasting
by the land; and where I found a harbour or river I would land and
seek about for men and other animals, vegetables, minerals, etc., and
having made what discovery I could, I would return home by the way
of Tierra del Fuego.
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