ISBN : 9782296022805
BAUDIN, FLINDERS AND THE SCIENTIFIC VOYAGE
John West-Sooby
In the course of the eighteenth century, a new paradigm for maritime travel
gradually established itself. To the commercial and political interests that
had been the driving force behind many of the earlier voyages, such as those
of the Dutch, the Spanish or the Portuguese, was added a new set of
preoccupations that reflected a growing curiosity about the world and a
desire to unlock all of its secrets. In the Age of the Enlightenment, science,
which had not been entirely absent from the concerns of the earlier
voyagers, shifted resolutely from the wings to occupy centre stage in its own
right. Ships leaving Europe's ports bound for distant shores now bore names
that attested to the centrality of science and of geographical discovery, in
particular, to their aims and aspirations