Travels to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean

Arthur R. Borden's translation of J.A. Moerenhout's Travels to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean has been made from the 1942 reprint of the original 1837 French edition. It is an important anthropological document; Moerenhout was both an excellent reporter and a good artist. Borden's translation ensures textual accuracy while he also applies idiomatic English prose in order to render it a more accessible work. This book includes both volumes and original illustrations of Moerenhout's observations of the Polynesian Islands. Contents: VOLUME I: Preface to the Translation; Moerenhout's Preface; FIRST PART: Geography; Preamble; Pelagian Islands; The Archipelagian Islands; General Observations on the Formation and on the Productions of the Oceanic Islands; SECOND PART: Ethnography; Language; Religion; VOLUME II: Customs; SECOND PART: Private Customs; Research into the Antiquity of the People and of Polynesia; Investigations into the Origin of the Polynesian People; THIRD PART: History; The Pelagian Islands; The Archipelagian Islands; General Conclusion. Notes to all chapters.