History of a Voyage to the Falkland Islands

George Anson original: "George Anfon"; Lord Anson (1697–1762) was a British Admiral famous for his circumnavigation of the globe, who died covered in glory in 1762, and whose ashes ought to have been placed in Westminster, alongside those of great men and Kings, sailed very close to the Malouines Islands The Falkland Islands; the elegant editor of his Voyages even proposed a commercial plan to the English Government on this subject, which proves the extent of his political views

» about the length of two degrees? We only
» ran along a portion of the coasts of the
» large Island, and we found that it
» extended more than three degrees, from the East
» to the North-West. We remarked
» that it is indeed composed of heights which
» slope down gently one before the
» other; but the terrain never appeared
» to us to be covered with woods, although we
» coasted very close to it: we even al-
» ways doubted that there were any, because we
» were unable to discover any during the stay
» that we made there, as much during the first
» voyage as during the two following ones. »

political (g), and Commodore Byron John Byron (1723–1786), a British naval officer and grandfather of the poet Lord Byron in his voyage to—

(g) « I have proved, he says, that all our un-
» dertakings in the South Sea run a great
» risk of failing, as long as one is obliged to
» put in at Brazil; thus any expedient which
» could free us from this necessity,
» is surely worthy of the Public's attention;
» & the best expedient to propose, would
» therefore be to find some other place further
» to the South, where our vessels could put in,
» & provide themselves with the things necessary for
» their voyage around Cape Horn. We
» already have some imperfect knowledge
» of two places, which one might find,
» by having them surveyed, very suit-
» able for this purpose. One is Pepys Island; the se-
» cond is at the Falkland Islands, situated to the
» South of Pepys Island. Both of these
» places are at a convenient distance from the
» Continent; & judging by their latitudes,
» the climate there must be temperate. It is true that
» they are not known well enough to be able
» to recommend them as places of re-
» freshment for vessels destined for
» the South Sea: but the Admiralty could
» have them surveyed at little expense; it would
» only cost the voyage of a single vessel: & if

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