First edition: a fine set of Burney's comprehensive work, the cornerstone history of the discovery of the Pacific. "The most important general history of early South Sea discoveries containing practically everything of importance on the subject" (Hill); Burney's great compilation "must always form the basis of historical research for early voyages and discoveries throughout the Pacific" (Hocken). The collection covers more than 250 years of Pacific exploration prior to 1765, including Spanish, Dutch, French and English voyages, with a general "History of the Buccaneers of America", and concludes with Bougainville's voyage to Tahiti.

First edition: a fine set of Burney's comprehensive work, the cornerstone history of the discovery of the Pacific. "The most important general history of early South Sea discoveries containing practically everything of importance on the subject" (Hill); Burney's great compilation "must always form the basis of historical research for early voyages and discoveries throughout the Pacific" (Hocken). The collection covers more than 250 years of Pacific exploration prior to 1765, including Spanish, Dutch, French and English voyages, with a general "History of the Buccaneers of America", and concludes with Bougainville's voyage to Tahiti.

The collection aimed to tell the fullest story of Pacific discovery over the 250 years prior to Cook's voyages and was a deliberate prequel to Hawkesworth's collection which published the voyages of Byron, Wallis, and Carteret, as well as Cook's first voyage; the five handsome quarto volumes are in similar proportion to the three volumes of Hawkesworth. Burney explains (in volume 5) that "the termination of this present work is adapted to the commencement of voyages in another collection, which with the addition of M. de Bougainville's voyage round the world, follow as an immediate sequel, without any chasm being left, to the Discoveries here related…". This is therefore the essential precursor to the series of voyage publications that began the new age of discovery.

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Burney, who had sailed with Cook as lieutenant during the last two voyages, received encouragement from Sir Joseph Banks (to whom the work is dedicated) and enjoyed free access both to Banks's magnificent library of books and manuscripts, and to Dalrymple's collection of scarcer Spanish books. Whenever possible, he relied on manuscript accounts, generally comparing them with printed narratives for purposes of style. The collection contains much that is nowhere else accessible, and will always remain one of the chief authorities for the history of the geographical exploration and discovery of the Pacific.