MAVOR, William.

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Historical Account of the Most Celebrated Voyages, Travels and Discoveries, from the Time of Columbus to the Present Period. First edition, containing the accounts of the most famous European travellers. These include reports of Columbus's four voyages, Vespucci in the New World, Cortez's conquest of Mexico, Vasco de Gama's discovery of a direct maritime route to India, Magellan's circumnavigation, Bruce's attempt to trace the source of the Nile, and Cook's journeys in the Pacific. This edition was published during a period where travel narratives were being used to promote the power and importance of the nation state. In his dedication (lacking in this copy), Mavor writes, "Under Your Majesty's auspices, we have seen seas explored and lands laid open, where Europeans have never ventured before... To whom then can a new collection of voyages and travels with more propriety be dedicated than to Your Majesty?" (pp. i-iii).William Mavor (1758-1837) began his writing career with a poetry collection titled Parnassian Springs (1777), released when he was only 19 years old. He went on to publish multiple guides and histories, a women's magazine, "a sequence of admirably abridges tours and travels" (ONDB), and many essays on education.A further five volumes were published in 1801.

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