The Russians and Australia
Volume 1 of Russia and the South Pacific, 1696-1840
Known for his pioneering work on Russia's early exploits inAustralia and the Pacific, historian Glynn Barratt again breaks newground in presenting the first comprehensive study of Russian naval,social, mercantile, and scientific enterprise in New South Walesbetween 1807 and 1835.
Through Tsar Peter the Great's Dutch contacts, Russia was awarequite early of the existence of 'New Holland,' and a number ofunsuccessful attempts were made to reach what is now Australia.
Following a description of these efforts, Barratt focuses on theseventeen visits that Russian ships made to Australian ports on voyagesfrom the Baltic carrying supplies for the settlements in Kamchatka andAlaska. As a result of the good will generated by the Anglo-Russianalliance against Napoleonic France, relations between the Britishcolonists and the Russian seamen were extremely cordial. While visitingAustralia, Russian naval officers pursued a range of scientificactivities, including botany, zoology, ethnography, and mineralogy, andcollected specimens and artefacts. They also studied the British penalsystem and filled journals with detailed observations.
Available in Russian archives and museums and examined there byBarratt, the journals and collections, which until now have largelyremained unexplored by historians, reveal the high level of skill andeducation of these early visitors to Australia. This is the first offour books in a series entitled Russia and the South Pacific,1696-1840.
Based on extensive research in the journals and collections left by the Russian seamen, this excellent study brings out the detailed and valuable account of not only the flora and fauna of Australia, but also of the British penal system and other aspects of life in Australia.
The interest and extent of the materials that Barratt brings together and renders accessible to a non-Russian readership is impressive. The Russians, it is clear, were significant players on the Pacific stage. Until now, they have for the most part been overlooked by Western scholars studying the European penetration of the region. Never again shall we be able to find an excuse for doing so. Barratt has made sure of that!
A detailed survey, meticulously and indeed almost overwhelmingly documented; the appendix on archival sources and the thirty-page bibliography would undoubtedly be a valuable guide to those scholars who are interested in what is after all a relatively minor phase of Russian and Pacific history ... A storehouse of information, which one may hope will contribute to redressing a marked imbalance in Australia's view of the Pacific.
Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Preliminary Notes
Russian Vessels in Australia, 1807-35
1. Beginnings, 1696-1796
2. Translating Projects into Action, 1783-1803
3. The First Russian Visits to Port Jackson
4. The 1820 Visits: Bellingshausen and Vasil'ev
5. New Scientific Emphases: The Visitors of 1822
6. Aboriginals, Tasmanians, and Runaways
7. The Russian Visitors of 1825-35
Appendix A: Earlier Russian Science in Australia: SomeContributions
Appendix B: Notes on Soviet and Other Archival Sources
Appendix C: Bellingshausen's List of Plant Specimens NotesBibliography Name Index Ship Index
