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A Draught of the Streights of Magellan, manuscript map, [1765].[1765]

by R. Pickersgill fecit [under Philip Carteret's supervision]

Captain Samuel Wallis in command of the Dolphin with the Swallow commanded by Carteret were given the objective of sailing around Cape Horn and through the Strait of Magellan: the most southern points of South America and then to travel westward in search of land that was thought to lie between Cape Horn and New Zealand. The journey through the Straits was undertaken under very trying conditions. The strong westerly winds and stormy waters resulted in the two ships becoming separated. The Dolphin took a northerly route across the Pacific through the Society Islands, Wallis Island then north to the Gilbert and Marshall Islands whereas the Swallow travelled south of Easter Island to Pitcairn then north of the Fijian ilands and New Caledonia through to the Solomon Islands. The 2 crews both ended their travels at Batavia.