The Voyage Account, the Royal Society and Textual Production, 1687–1707

Abstract

The decade following the Glorious Revolution in England saw the publication of many accounts of voyages both to the New World and the Levant. Key figures behind these publications were botanists Hans Sloane, John Ray and Tancred Robinson, who collaborated on the publication of two texts – A Collection of Curious Voyages and Travels, which collated journeys to the Levant, and An Account of Several Late Voyages, which featured accounts of voyages to the Arctic Circle as well as the Pacific. This article argues that the publication of voyage accounts in the late-seventeenth century was part of a broader scientific endeavour. They provided both entertainment, and raw material for scientific and religious debate. By examining the publication and reception history of key accounts of voyages and travel, this article shows how the ‘republic of letters’ became a textual empire at the end of the seventeenth century.