Hakluyt Society

11/09/2026

Hakluyt Society Essay Prize Competition 2027 now open - first prize £1500, second prize £500. See www.hakluyt.com/hakluyt-soci... for more details. Closing date 1 March 2027.

23/08/2026

As long ago as 1875, the Hakluyt Society published 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝘼𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙤 𝘿𝙖𝙡𝙗𝙤𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙧𝙦𝙪𝙚, 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖. Translated from the Portuguese Edition of 1774, with Notes and an Introduction, by Walter de Gray Birch, F.R.S.L., Senior Assistant of the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum; Honorary Secretary of the British Archaeological Association, etc. Volume I. 1875. Pages lx, 256 + 2 maps, 1 illustration.

𝐀𝐟𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐪𝐮𝐞 left Lisbon for the Indian Ocean in 1506 as an officer in an Armada of 16 ships commanded by Tristão da Cunha. After the fleet’s initial operations against several ports on the East African coast in 1507, Albuquerque, with seven naos (carracks), was tasked with conquering Hormuz in order to gain control of the strait of the same name. In 1508, he was appointed the King’s highest representative in the Indian Ocean (Governor and Captain-General of the Indian Ocean and Viceroy of the Estado da Índia).

Afonso de Albuquerque was the greatest Portuguese conqueror in the Indian Ocean, but, unfortunately, his appointment as second Viceroy of Portuguese India reached him only after he was already dead, but there is no doubt that there was never a Portuguese Governor who better deserved such a title than he did.

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16/08/2026

The Hakluyt Society published the definitive edition of the Journals of Captain James Cook in 1982.

In 1768, Captain Cook set sail on the HMS Endeavour equipped with over three tons of sauerkraut to combat scurvy, a disease that historically killed more sailors than storms and combat combined.

When his British crew refused the unfamiliar foreign food, Cook used clever psychology: he served the sauerkraut exclusively to his officers, ensuring they ate it in plain sight of the crew. Within weeks, envy took over, and the sailors demanded their share.

Cook’s meticulous diet, combining sauerkraut with portable broth, citrus juice, malt, and a daily 5,000-calorie menu of salt beef and hardtack, amounted to naval history's first major nutritional experiment.

Across a three-year, 40,000-mile voyage, Cook circumnavigated the globe without losing a single man to scurvy, earning the prestigious Copley Medal for his achievement.

The sailors’ 5,000 calories a day diet was also enough to sustain the physical demands of running an 18th century sailing ship 🇬🇧

17/06/2026

On this day 𝟭𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟱𝟳𝟵 – 𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗮) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱.

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The 𝗛𝗮𝗸𝗹𝘂𝘆𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 has published no less than seven volumes of original descriptions of the voyages of Sir Francis Drake, all of them real page turners!
𝙎𝙞𝙧 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙨 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙑𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚, 1595, by Thomas Maynarde, together with the Spanish account of Drake’s attack on Puerto Rico. Edited, from the original manuscripts, by W. D. Cooley. 1849
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙀𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙞𝙧 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙨 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙚; 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙫𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙚 𝘿𝙞𝙤𝙨. Collated with an unpublished manuscript of Francis Fletcher, chaplain to the expedition. Edited with Appendices illustrative of the same voyage, and introduction, by William Sandys Wright Vaux. 1854
𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙚. 𝘼 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙑𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙣𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 1577-1580. Translated and Edited by Zelia Nuttall. 1914.
𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙫𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣, 1569-1580. I. Spanish Documents selected from the Archives of the Indies at Seville. II. English accounts, Sir Francis Drake revived, and others reprinted, by Irene A. Wright,1932.
𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙫𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨, 1588-1595. Documents relating to English voyages to the West Indies, from the defeat of the Armada to the last voyage of Sir Francis Drake, including Spanish documents contributed by Irene A. Wright. Edited by Kenneth R. Andrews, 1959.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙑𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙚 & 𝙃𝙖𝙬𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙨. Edited by Kenneth R. Andrews, 1972. Transcripts or translations of documents, mainly from manuscripts and including many from the archives at Seville. With an appendix on the art of navigation in the age of Drake, by D. W. Waters.
𝙎𝙞𝙧 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙨 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙚’𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙑𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙜𝙚, 1585-86. Edited by Mary Frear Keeler, 1981. Documents published and unpublished, particularly journals kept aboard the ships, including the newly-discovered Leicester journal, with drawings of episodes made by the voyage’s artist.

15/06/2026

𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗥. 𝗚𝗶𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟱 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Members of the Society will be saddened to learn that James Gibson, one of the Society’s most prolific authors, died on 29 May at the age of 91. He completed his Ph.D. (1967) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught at York University, Toronto, from 1966 until his retirement in 1996. But like many academics, he never really retired and continued to research and write books and articles. For the Hakluyt Society he edited the two volumes of 𝙍𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙖, 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟲-𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟬. 𝘼 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 (2014), with Alexei A. Istomin and Valery A. Tishkov. These provided a documentary history of Russia’s 19th-century settlement in California containing 492 documents, mostly translated by Gibson from the Russian for the first time. He also contributed four articles to the Society’s online journal.

The Society sends its deepest sympathy to James’s wife Gail, his children Lara and Brian, and to all his family.

11/06/2026

A great representation of La nao 𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖, one of Magellan's ships, in stormy seas. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗸𝗹𝘂𝘆𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆.

The Victoria was a high-sided (ocean-going) ship of the first fleet that the Spanish Monarchy provided to sail to the 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀. It was known at the time as the Spice Fleet or 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻'𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝗲𝘁. The voyages culminated in the first circumnavigation of the globe (1519-1522), and it was the only ship to complete this journey. Its name comes from the Church of Santa María de la Victoria in Triana (Seville), where Ferdinand Magellan swore to serve King Charles I of Spain.

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31/05/2026

𝗲𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗸𝗹𝘂𝘆𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

For 2026 the Society is pleased to offer eBooks to student or individual members. Members can opt to subscribe for both hardback and eBook copies of new volumes at the following subscription rate:

Ordinary renewal (or new) : £115.50
Student renewal (or new): £57.75

Alternatively members can choose either a hardback or eBook subscription at the following price:

Ordinary renewal (hardback OR eBook) £77
Student renewal (hardback OR eBook) £38.50

eBook membership is not currently available for institutional members.

25/05/2026

𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗛𝗮𝗸𝗹𝘂𝘆𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲

𝘼 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙗𝙮, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚, 1547-1564, in modern form as 𝘼 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚, 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙃𝙤𝙗𝙮.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. It is edited by Kenneth Bartlett of the University of Toronto.

𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗯𝘆 (born 1530, in Leominster, Herefordshire and died 13 July, 1566, in Paris) was educated at Cambridge, Strasbourg and Padua, and traveled extensively on the European continent. Given court employments in England under King Edward VI, he went into exile during the reign of Mary I. While in exile he translated 𝙄𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙤 by 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲, which he published as 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙤 in 1561. The influence of Hoby’s translation in England was enormous, not only on the social pattern of life at court but on such writers as Shakespeare and Sir Philip Sidney. Hoby also translated a Latin work on the Church of England.

Hoby's tour of Italy, which included visits to Calabria and Sicily and which he documented in the volume we are publishing, is the most extensive known to have been undertaken by an Englishman in the 16th century. In this and other respects, it may be regarded as a pioneering Grand Tour.

Hoby was knighted by Elizabeth I in 1566 and sent to Paris as English ambassador. He died that same year.

23/05/2026

𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

The Hakluyt Society AGM and Annual Lecture will be held at the 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 14 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HD, and also by remote access to the Society’s 𝗭𝗼𝗼𝗺 account, at 5.15 pm on Wednesday 24 June 2026.

The 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 will be given by 𝗗𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 of the London School of Economics on the theme ‘𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗰. 𝟭𝟲𝟱𝟬-𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟬’.

The AGM is open to members only but non-members are welcome to attend the lecture. The AGM agenda and other documents will be sent to paid up members in the next few days, if they have not done so already. Fully paid up members for 2026 will also receive an email with a link to the documents.

15/05/2026

𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗛𝗮𝗸𝗹𝘂𝘆𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲

We are pleased to announce the 2026 Essay Prize winners and offer our congratulations on their excellent work.

𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲
𝗗𝗿 𝗔𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘇𝗸𝗮 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗸 for the essay, ‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮: 𝘼𝙢𝙚́𝙙𝙚́𝙚-𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘̧𝙤𝙞𝙨 𝙁𝙧𝙚́𝙯𝙞𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙪’.

𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲
𝗗𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘆 for the essay, ‘𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘽𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘 𝙍𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙮 (1580𝙨-1620𝙨)’.