Voyages of scientific exploration, European and American
1684 CE to 1899 CE
The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration follows the Age of Discovery and is inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arises in the Age of Enlightenment.
Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery had been a means of expanding colonial empires, establishing new trade routes and extending diplomatic and trade relations to new territories, but with the Enlightenment scientific curiosity becomes a new motive for exploration to add to the commercial and political ambitions of the past.
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Maritime exploration becomes safer and more efficient with technical innovations that significantly advance navigation and cartography. By the eighteenth century, improvements to the theodolite, octant, precision clocks, compass, telescope, and general shipbuilding techniques enhance the accuracy and reach of seafaring expeditions.
From the mid-eighteenth century through the nineteenth century, scientific missions systematically map newly discovered regions, document unfamiliar flora and fauna, and conduct hydrological, astronomical, and meteorological observations. These expeditions also refine navigation techniques, further integrating science into exploration.
This period fosters remarkable advancements across numerous scientific disciplines, including natural history, botany, zoology, ichthyology, conchology, taxonomy, medicine, geography, geology, mineralogy, hydrology, oceanography, physics, and meteorology. Together, these fields embody the spirit of "improvement" and "progress" that defines the Enlightenment.
Artists play a crucial role in these endeavors, visually documenting landscapes and indigenous peoples, while natural history illustrators meticulously capture organisms before they degrade after collection. Some of the world's finest natural history illustrations emerge during this time, marking a shift from skilled amateurs to professionally trained illustrators, who become acutely aware of the necessity for scientific accuracy.
French explorers, such as Bougainville and Lapérouse, take part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions around the globe.
The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermines the power of and support for the monarchy and helps pave the way for the French Revolution.
The Shift from the Age of Discovery to the Era of Scientific Exploration
By the late 17th century, a new era of scientific exploration had begun, as scientists and natural historians moved beyond geographical discovery to systematic scientific research and classification. This shift was marked by the establishment of scientific societies, which published findings in specialist journals, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange across Europe.
The Age of Discovery (15th–17th Century): Opening the World to European Eyes
The Age of Discovery, spanning from the early 15th to early 17th century, was dominated by Portuguese and Spanish seafarers, who opened new trade routes and territories in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Key figures included:
- Bartolomeu Dias (1488) – First European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, proving a sea route to India was possible.
- Christopher Columbus (1492–1504) – Made four transatlantic voyages, leading to European colonization of the New World.
- Ferdinand Magellan (1519–1522) – Led the first expedition to circumnavigate the Earth, demonstrating the vastness of the Pacific Ocean and confirming global interconnectedness.
During this time, Spain and Portugal dominated colonial expansion, establishing vast overseas empires in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
The Shift in Colonial Power: From Iberian Dominance to Northern European Expansion
By the 17th century, colonial power had shifted away from the Portuguese and Spanish to Northern European nations, particularly the Dutch, British, and French.
- The Dutch became dominant in global trade, particularly in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, through the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
- The British and French emerged as rival colonial powers, expanding their influence in North America, the Caribbean, and India.
This transition marked a decline in Iberian colonial dominance and the rise of Northern European empires, which would continue to expand throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Rise of Scientific Exploration (Late 17th–18th Century)
As colonial expansion slowed, the focus of exploration shifted to scientific discovery. This period saw:
✔ The Foundation of Scientific Societies
- Royal Society of London (1660) – Promoted scientific inquiry and experimentation.
- French Academy of Sciences (1666) – Sponsored natural history, botany, and astronomy research.
✔ Publication of Scientific Findings
- Scientists documented their discoveries in specialist journals, making knowledge more accessible and standardized.
✔ Natural History and Exploration
- Expeditions focused on mapping new lands, classifying species, and studying climates.
- Figures like Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks pioneered biological classification and botanical research.
Conclusion: From Geographic Expansion to Scientific Inquiry
The transition from the Age of Discovery to the Age of Scientific Exploration reflected a shift in European priorities—from territorial conquest to intellectual expansion. While Iberian powers receded, the Dutch, British, and French took the lead in both colonization and scientific discovery, setting the stage for the Enlightenment’s emphasis on empirical research and natural science.
François Froger, a young French explorer, engineer and hydrographer, describes this expedition in his A Relation of a Voyage (1699).
Antonio de Ulloa, along with fellow Spaniard Jorge Juan, had been appointed in 1735 to the French Geodesic Mission, a scientific expedition which the French Academy of Sciences is sending to present-day Ecuador to measure a degree of meridian arc at the equator.
Born in Seville, Spain; his father an economist, Ulloa had entered the navy in 1733.
He remains here from 1736 to 1744, during which the two Spaniards first identify platinum metal in the gold mines of what is now Colombia.
Antonio and Juan de Ulloa visit the architectural Inca complex in San Agustin de Callo and subsequently write a descriptive document of what they had observed at the ruins.
Ulloa makes a drawing of the ruins.
The scientists witness two eruptions of the Cotopaxi volcano in 1743 and 1744.
Expedition members first come across rubber tapping (and thus rubber), identify the correct types of cinchona tree that produce the active form of quinine (anti-malarial agent), and develop what will become the metric system for units of measure.
He will become the fourteenth navigator, and the first Frenchman, to sail around the world.
Completion of his mission will bolster the prestige of France following its defeats during the Seven Years' War.
This is the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe with professional naturalists and geographers aboard.
The expedition receives the support of such prominent figures of the time as Charles de Brosses (1709–1777), Comte de Buffon (1707–1788), and Jérôme Lalande (1732–1807).
The purpose of the expedition is to discover new territories available for settlement, to open a new route to reach China, to found new outlets for the French East India Company and, finally, discover acclimatable spices for the Isle de France (now Mauritius).
Bougainville leaves Nantes on November 15, 1766, with two ships: Boudeuse (captain: Nicolas Pierre Duclos-Guyot) and the Étoile (commanded by François Chenard de la Giraudais).
This is a large expedition, with a crew of two hundred and fourteen aboard Boudeuse and one hundred and sixteen aboard Étoile.
Included in the party is the botanist Philibert Commerçon, who will name the flower Bougainvillea, and his valet.
The ship's surgeon will later reveal this person as Jeanne Baré, possibly Commerçon's mistress; she will become the first woman known to circumnavigate the globe.
Other notable people on this expedition are Count Jean-François de Galaup de la Pérouse (member of the crew); the astronomer Pierre-Antoine Veron; the surgeon of Boudeuse Dr. Louis-Claude Laporte; the surgeon of the Étoile Dr. François Vives; the engineer and cartographer aboard the Étoile Charles Routier de Romainville; and the writer and historian Louis-Antoine Starot de Saint-Germain.
The discovery and description of Tahiti by Bougainville in his trip will have a very significant impact on the philosophers of the Enlightenment, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778).
Captain John Byron, who is unaware of the French presence in the east, had explored Saunders Island, in the west, in 1765, named the harbor Port Egmont, and claimed this and other islands for Britain on the grounds of prior discovery.
Captain John MacBride establishes a British settlement at Port Egmont the following year.
These events nearly cause a war between Britain and Spain, both countries having sent armed fleets to contest sovereignty of the strategically important islands.
The vessels had been part of the first fleet carrying convicts to Australia.
They had sailed in a convoy under the command of post-captain Arthur Phillip, New South Wales' first Governor.
The two vessels encounter their first island in the Gilberts on June 17, 1788.
In a 1941 article in Life magazine, Samuel Eliot Morison will write that this island was probably Abemama, but might have been Aranuka.
Gilbert visits Tarawa on June 20, 1788.
He names it Matthew Island, after the owner of his ship, the Charlotte.
He names the lagoon Charlotte Bay.
Sketches he makes survive today.
Samuel Wallis was born near Camelford, Cornwall.
He had served under John Byron, and in 1766 was promoted to captain and was given the command of HMS Dolphin (1751) as part of an expedition led by Philip Carteret in the Swallow with an assignment to circumnavigate the globe.
The two ships are parted by a storm shortly after sailing through the Strait of Magellan, Wallis continuing to Tahiti, which he names "King George the Third's Island" in honor of the King (June 1767).
Wallis himself is ill and remains in his cabin: lieutenant Tobias Furneaux is the first to set foot, hoisting a pennant and turning a turf, taking possession in the name of His Majesty.
Dolphin stays in Matavai Bay in Tahiti for over a month.
Wallis goes on to name or rename five more islands in the Society Islands and six atolls in the Tuamotu Islands, as well as confirming the locations of Rongerik and Rongelap in the Marshall Islands.
He renames the Polynesian island of Uvea as Wallis after himself, before reaching Tinian in the Mariana Islands.
He also sights Mehetia, a volcanic island in the Windward Islands, in the east of the Society Islands in French Polynesia.
This island is a very young active stratovolcano one hundred and ten kilometers (sixty-eight miles) east of the Taiarapu Peninsula of Tahiti.
It belongs to the Teahiti'a-Mehetia hotspot.