First Edition
London, S. Birt, J. Newbery & J. Collyer, 1745. 8vo. Contemporary calf gilt, (16), 347, 39 pp.
Pascoe Thomas, a mathematical teacher on board the Centurion on George Anson’s circumnavigation, like many travellers before and after him, Thomas sought to capitalise on what he had seen by publishing his experiences by subscription, thereby increasing both his risk and profit in publishing.
A scarce account of Anson’s voyage to harass Spanish shipping along the west coast of South America in 1740-43, concluding with the capture of a Manila galleon carrying £400,000 in treasure. Includes general historical accounts of Chile, Peru, Mexico, and China. “Pascoe Thomas kept a full and faithful daily journal of the incidents of this important four-year voyage. Included are a very interesting list of subscribers names and an appendix giving an account of the treasure taken from the ‘Nuestra Signora del Buono Carmella’. This account of the voyage preceded the publication of the official account of Lord Anson’s voyage by three years” – Hill.
The final sentence concludes dispassionately that ‘the Sight of so many dead Men and their Blood is a very great Discouragement to the Survivors’. Given that Anson’s voyage was tragic in many ways (the loss of all but one of the six ships, and of more than half of his men), the account called for a restrained narrator.
As well as the account of the treasure, the appendix discusses the dimensions of the ships, the motions of a comet seen on the coast of Mexico and tables of longitudes and latitudes.
Sabin 95437. Hill 1693. Cox I, pp.48-49. Palau 331781.
