Pacific Exploration

From Captain Cook on the Endeavour to Darwin on the Beagle, Rigby details the European voyagers who charted and began to exploit and control the islands and peoples of the Pacific, including William Bligh, George Vancouver, and Matthew Flinders. He covers scientific discoveries, engagement with Indigenous peoples, the use of shipboard artists and scientists, the growing professionalism of the hydrographic service, the vessels themselves, and the colonial, commercial, and imperial contexts of the voyages.