Histoire d'un Voyage aux iles Malouines, fait en 1763 et 1764. 2 vols. 1770. (Reprint 2014, Cambridge Library Collection - Marine Exploration). 12 figs. 758 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

A Benedictine scholar and naturalist, Antoine-Joseph Pernety (171696) produced this early and invaluable description of thenatural history of the Falkland Islands (or isles Malouines). Hehad arrived there as part of the 17634 expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, claiming the islands for France. A small colony was established, allowing Pernety to provide an account of an ecosystem as yet unaffected by a human population. He spent some months studying the landscape, flora, fauna and climate, and his observations and drawings were published in these two volumes in 1770 (a one-volume English translation of 1771 is also reissued in this series). Additional material from other voyages, to Patagonia and the Straits of Magellan, provides information on contact with indigenous peoples in South America. Volume 1 focuses on the 17634 expedition, its inspiration and findings. Volume 2 includes the coverage of South America and several maps and drawings.