1992 paperback with 216 pages in very good condition. Name in ink in front. South West Africa. Suidwes-Afrika. SWA.

Kinahan, makes available for the first time verbatim extracts from original remark books kept by officers of the Royal Navy during investigation and survey of the Namib coast between the years 1795 and 1895. The remarks, kept while under sail, record wind, weather, currents and hidden dangers; they describe the coastline, anchorages, and any natural or human resources that might benefit a ship. Each ship's captain tested both knowledge and rumours about the coast during the voyage, and offered reasoned conclusions on the reliability of former reports. The older remarks, recorded in elegant and measured prose, are the most fascinating. As early written descriptions of the dramatic wonders of the Namib coast, they breathe the awe and desolation felt by the captains whose responsibility it was successfully to complete the voyage. Quite apart from their eloquence, observations made by these trained and practised officers have considerable academic interest. They chronicle the hydro-graphic survey of the Namib coast, and form a valuable source for toponymy. They yield information on Namibia before the penetration of merchant capital; during the exploitation of coastal resources; the upsurge of trade and gun-running; the upheavals of the interior, and the reluctant attempts at British colonisation, focusing on Walvis Bay. They offer also an intimate and immediate view of nineteenth century life on board a ship of the Royal Navy, which aids understanding of colonial policies and attitudes. Taken together, they offer a diachronic perspective, albeit patchy, on fluctuations in the populations and distribution of marine animals. The idea of keeping remark books was advocated as early as 1760, when the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, concerned about the lack of maritime information to assist the navy during the Seven Years War with France, issued a letter regarding the provision of hydrographic information (Day 1967: 338). In 1804 the practice of all HM ships keeping remark books was instituted (Ritchie 1967: 93). Prior to the appointment of Alexander Dalrymple as First Hydrographer in 1795, and the establishment of the Hydrographical Office, it had been customary for captains of both naval and merchant ships to make what surveys they could of the coasts they visited. These surveys were often published by commercial chartmakers.