Primary sources

On this page are primary sources on voyages of discovery that can be found on the web. Primary sources are the texts the travellers themselves wrote on their voyages. Of course these sources are of utmost importance when studying the history of exploration. There is also a part on secondary sources, that is, sources that were written by others than the voyagers themselves, either based on information directly from the voyagers themselves, or on primary sources, which in some cases might be lost afterwards.

Other primary sources

This part contains primary sources that are directly related to the history of exploration, otherwise than by being a discoverer's own narratives, for example their orders before leaving. Stories on the voyages themselves are included above (if written by someone who took part of them) or below (in other cases).

Archaeological finds

Eric the Red
Eiríksstadir
Leifur Eiríksson Heritage Project
various finds regarding the viking presence in America
L'Anse aux Meadows (viking settlement on the coast of Newfoundland)
L'Anse Aux Meadows (with links)
Norse expansion into North America
Vikings in America
Christopher Columbus
Bahamas 1492
La Isabela
the Gallega
Alvaro Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza De Vaca's probable route
Cabeza De Vaca's observations and their correspondence with the archaological record
Mitchell Ridge, Galveston Island (Points of agreement with De Vaca's narrative)
Inter-group relations among the Texas indians
Hernando de Soto
base camp
Don Tristan De Luna
alternative sites: 1, 2
archaeology
Jean Ribault
Finding the French at Port Royal
Pedro Menendez de Avila
Archaeology at Santa Elana
Martin Frobisher
Archaeological features of Kodlunarn (French language version)
Francis Drake
Evidence of Drake's Raid of St. Augustine
Willem Barentsz
wintering place on Navaya Zemlya (Nova Zembla)
the search for Barentsz
John Smith
Jamestown
René Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle
The Belle Shipwreck Project
Raising the Belle
Francisco Garcés
Rock inscription
Meriwether Lewis & William Clark
Fort Clatsop
John Franklin
Fort Franklin
Beechey Island
The Franklin Trail
artifacts received from the Inuit by John Rae
tin can
sea-boot
Henry Kellett
storehouse on Dealy Island
John Charles Frémont
1844 Sierra Nevada camp site

Secondary sources

 Here are some secondary sources, most of which are from the period of the travels themselves, many of which are based on not any more extant primary sources.
Thomas H. Benton: Emigration into Oregon (extracts)
Thomas H. Benton: The Acquisition of California (extracts)
John Charles Frémont
Pedro de Castaneda: The journey of Coronado
Coronado
John Day: letter to admiral Columbus (same letter on another site, French version, picture)
John Cabot
Richard Eden: Decades of the New World (extract)
Visit of Windham and other British traders to Benin
John Filson: Life and adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone
Boone
Richard Hakluyt: Discourse of Western Planting (extract)
Hakluyt is our main source for many 16th century voyages to North America, especially the English ones. In this extract he discusses the advantages of colonizing America.
Herodotus: History
Necho, Sataspes, Darius, Scylax, Colaeus, the Nasamonians and Herodotus himself
Washington Irving: Astoria, or, Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains (same book, different site)
the Astorians
Washington Irving: The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A., in the Rocky Mountains and the far West
Bonneville
Governor Macquarie: Government Order, 12th February, 1814
Evans
John Mandeville: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville
A completely made-up tale of travels to Asia, very popular in the Middle Ages.
Peter Martyr: New World Chronicles (extract)
(in this extract) Ojeda
C.F. McGlashan: History of the Donner Party
Donner Party
New York Daily Times: Reported Death of Dr. E.K. Kane
Kane
New York Times: Bolder Dash for Pole Next Time, Says Peary
Peary
Orosius: History of the World
Ohthere (Ottar)
Lorenzo Pasqualigo: Letter to his brothers - Italian original, English translation, French translation
John Cabot
John Pinkerton: Early Australian voyages
Pelsaert, Tasman, Dampier
Plutarch: Alexander
Alexander the Great
Samuel Purchas: Purchas His Pilgrims (extract)
James Lancaster
John Rae: Report to the Hudson's Bay Company (extract)
John Franklin, with a discussion between Rae and Dickens about the possibility of cannibalism among Franklin's crew
Giovanni Battista Ramusio: Navigazioni e Viaggi (in Italian)
Various
Bradley Robinson & Matthew Henson: Dark Companion. The Story of Matthew Henson: first chapter, introduction by various explorers
Matthew Henson
Raimondo dei Raimondi di Soncino: letter to the Duke of Milan (in Italian, in English)
John Cabot
August Gottlieb Spangenberg: An account of the manner in which the protestant church of the Unitas Fratrum, or United Brethren, preach the gospel, and carry on their missions among the heathen
The Moravian missions in Labrador
Lytton Strachey: Eminant Victorians
Gordon
N.N.: Eirik the Red's saga
Eric the Red, Leif Ericsson, Thorstein Ericsson, Thorfinn Karlsefni
N.N.: The Broken Spears (extract)
Cortez (from the Aztec point of view)
Polynesian voyaging traditions
Inuit testimonies about Franklin's last expedition