A Narrative of Voyages and Travels in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres Comprising Three Voyages Around the World
Author
Amasa Delano
(1763 - 1823)
Date1817
Object number00001361
NameBook
MediumPrinted
DimensionsOverall: 228 × 145 × 38 mm, 0.9 kg
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionA book by Capatin Amasa Delano titled 'A Narrative of Voyages and Travels, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres: Comprising Three Voyages Round the World; Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery, in the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands'.
HistoryCaptain Amasa Delano was a New Englander. He served in the American Revolution as a soldier at 15 and later as a privateersman. His experiences on the sea in the days of New England's supremacy are recorded in his book while he travelled on various ships including the MASSACHUSETTS and the PERSERVERANCE.
Of particular note is Chapter 18 where he recounts the events and subsequent outcomes onboard the Spanish slave ship the TRYAL. Herman Melville recounted the same story in his story 'Benito Cereno', based on Delano's recollections and included both Delano and the TRYAL's captain, Cereno, as his main characters.
SignificanceDelano's book records very detailed observations of life aboard a ship at that time also of the settlements and colonies he stopped at throughout. His account of the mutiny on the TRYAL and the role he played was the basis for Herman Melville’s fictional account of the same event, 'Benito Cereno'.
