A Voyage Round the World, by the Way of the Great South Sea: Performed in a Private Expedition during the War, which broke out with Spain, in the Year 1718

$2,600 · Offered by Book Collector Inc

Author: George Shelvocke (1675-1742) Year: 1757 Publisher: W. Innys and J. Richardson, M. T. Longman Place: London Description: [6]+iii+[3]+476 pages with frontispiece folding map and four engraved plates (two folding). Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 1/4") bound in half green morocco with five raised spine bands and red spine label lettered in gilt over marbled boards. (Howes S383; Sabin 80159; Wagner 88) Second edition expanded by the author's son. Shelvocke joined the Royal Navy when he was fifteen years old. During two long wars with France he rose through the ranks to become a sailing master and finally second lieutenant of a flagship serving under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Dilkes in the Mediterranean. However, when war ended in 1713 he was beached without even half-pay for support. By the time he was offered a commission as captain of the privateering ship Speedwell, he was living in poverty. Alongside the Success, captained by John Clipperton, the Speedwell was involved in a 1719 expedition to loot Spanish ships and settlements along the Pacific coast of the Americas. The English had just renewed hostilities with Spain in the War of the Quadruple Alliance, and the ships carried letters of marque which gave them official permission to wage war on the Spanish and keep the profits. Shelvocke broke away from Clipperton shortly after leaving British waters and appears to have avoided contact as much as possible for the rest of the voyage. In 1720 the Speedwell was wrecked on the island of

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.