A Voyage Round the World

work by Forster

Also known as: “Reise um die Welt”

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July 15, 2026

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A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World is a significant work by Georg Forster, an explorer and scientist. Published in 1777, it chronicles his experiences on Captain James Cook's second voyage around the world (1772-1775).1

The book is a blend of travelogue, scientific observation, and literature, contributing to the popularity of the travel book genre in German literature. Forster's detailed accounts, particularly of the South Seas, enhanced botanical knowledge and influenced prominent German writers like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The voyage itself was a major undertaking in 18th-century exploration, charting vast areas of the Pacific Ocean and disproving the existence of a southern continent. Forster's work established him as a skilled stylist and had a lasting impact on scientific and literary writing.123

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Georg Forster
…Forster’s account of the journey, A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World (1777), was based on his father’s journals; it later appeared in a German version, Reise um die Welt (1778–80). A work of travel, science, and literature, the book not only established Forster as one of…
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…Forster’s account of the journey, A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World (1777), was based on his father’s journals; it later appeared in a German version, Reise um die Welt (1778–80). A work of travel, science, and literature, the book not only established Forster as one of…
Read More