Voyages and Travels Round the World. By the Reverend Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet (1840)
This work represents one of the most comprehensive and epic global surveys of the early 19th-century colonial frontier, capturing a transitional world on the cusp of globalization.
Second corrected edition of Voyages and Travels Round the World, published in London in 1840 by John Snow.
An arduous eight-year journey (1821–1829) undertaken by the Reverend Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet on behalf of the London Missionary Society (LMS).
An Epic—and Fatal—8-Year Odyssey
The geographic scope of Tyerman and Bennet’s journey is staggering: the South Sea Islands (including Tahiti and Hawaii), Australia, China, India, Madagascar, and South Africa. However, as the introduction notes, the voyage was so grueling that "Mr. Tyerman was suddenly removed by death" while in Madagascar in 1828. Bennet was left to navigate a sudden political revolution in Madagascar alone, before completing the final leg of the journey through South Africa and returning to England in 1829.
Crucial Early Observations of the Cape Colony
The South African segment of this work provides an invaluable, highly detailed snapshot of the Cape Colony during the late 1820s. Tyerman and Bennet arrived during a period of intense socio-political friction, visiting key LMS frontier stations like Bethelsdorp and Theopolis, and interacting closely with Dr. John Philip. Their observations directly fed into the roaring metropolitan debates in London regarding the treatment and legal rights of the indigenous Khoikhoi and Xhosa populations, culminating in the landmark Ordinance 50 of 1828.
Compiled by a Renowned Abolitionist Poet
The title page highlights that the book was "compiled from original documents by James Montgomery." Montgomery was a celebrated Scottish-born poet, hymn writer, and fierce abolitionist. Because the original journals kept by the deputation states, "so extensive and miscellaneous... and of great bulk," Montgomery was hired to entirely "recompose the whole." He transformed dry, bureaucratic missionary logs into a fluid, vivid, and highly scannable adventure narrative that captivated the British public's imagination.
A Witness to the Transformation of the Pacific
Beyond its African significance, the early chapters serve as a vital ethnographical record of the Pacific. Tyerman and Bennet arrived in the South Seas just as traditional societies were being rapidly transformed by European contact, trade, and Christianity. Their records of local customs, languages, and the political maneuvers of indigenous rulers (like King Pomare II of Tahiti) remain primary sources for Pacific historians today.
Rebound by Alex Faria; new endpapers; second edition; some spotting to prelims; lacking half title page; xvii; 13 engraved plates; woodcut vignettes in text.
163mm x 240mm x 30mm
R4,000
