Excerpt from General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Arranged in Systematic Order, Vol. 4: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress, of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, From the Earliest Ages to the Present Time Twelve months have now elapsed since the first half volume of this work was offered to the public. The favourable reception it has experienced gives the Editor reason to hope that he has fulfilled the engagements which he came under at its first appearance, and is a powerful inducement to continue his utmost exertions to preserve and improve the character of the work. In the four volumes which are now published, several extensive and important original articles are introduced, which have not hitherto appeared in any similar collection and had not even been previously translated into English. These materially contribute towards the ample information which was formerly announced, in the Preface to the first Volume, as a leading object in this Collection. In the subsequent parts of the work, every effort shall be made to fill up its several divisions with original articles of similar interest and equal importance. Encouraged by a satisfactory and increasing sale, the progress of publication has been somewhat hastened, beyond what was originally promised in the Prospectus and Conditions; as the whole of the fourth Volume is now published, at the period when only its first half was to have appeared. It is intended to repeat this anticipation occasionally, by the publication of two numbers or half-volumes at once, when opportunity offers. While this may gratify one portion of our readers, it is not meant to preclude others from continuing to be supplied, as before, with the numbers or half volumes at regular intervals, in their own option. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.