1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910151748203321

Autore

Stallard Avan Judd

Titolo

Antipodes : in search of the southern continent / / Avan Judd Stallard

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Clayton, Victoria, Australia, : Monash University Publishing, 2016

Victoria, Australia : , : Monash University Publishing, , 2016

©2016

ISBN

1-925377-33-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (338 pages) : illustrations (some color), maps

Collana

Australian History

Disciplina

910.93

Soggetti

Geography, Ancient - History

Discoveries in geography - European - History

Explorers - History - 19th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Sommario/riassunto

This book is a new history of an ancient geography. It reassesses the evidence for why Europeans believed a massive southern continent existed, and why they advocated for its discovery. When ships were equal to ambitions, explorers set out to find and claim Terra Australis. Antipodes charts these voyages-voyages both through the imagination and across the High Seas-in pursuit of the mythical Terra Australis. In doing so, the question is asked: how could so many fail to see the realities they encountered? And how is it a mythical land held the gaze of an era famed for breaking free the shackles of superstition? That Terra Australis did not exist didn't stop explorers pursuing the continent, unwilling to abandon the promise of such a rich and magnificent land till it was stripped of every ounce of value it had ever promised. In the process, the southern continent-an imaginary land-became one of the shaping forces of early modern history. Includes 48 pages of b&w and colour images.