he Meta Incognita
Project was initiated to cast new light on the
Arctic voyages of Martin Frobisher and their significance for the
histories of North America and Britain. The papers published here
are the result of several years of research in British and
European archives, undertaken by an Archival Research Task Force
set up in England under the chairmanship of Sir Ian Gourlay and
with the guidance of the Meta Incognita Project Steering
Committee. Leading scholars have broken new ground in examining
the sociopolitical, technological, and historical contexts, the
conduct of the expeditions, the roles and complex motivations of
some of the key players, the significance of the voyages for the
future both of English oceanic exploration and of imperial and
entrepreneurial ambitions, and questions about intercultural
contact between Inuit and Europeans. Although the Elizabethan
venture failed in its goals to discover a northwest passage, to
mine precious metals, and to establish a colony in the future
Canadian Arctic, it left valuable legacies which have not been
fully demonstrated until now.
The collection Meta Incognita: A Discourse of Discovery. Martin
Frobisher's Arctic Expeditions, 1576-1578 is edited by one of Canada's
most renowned scholars, Professor Thomas Symons, chairman of the Steering
Committee.
Mercury Series, Directorate, Paper 10 (1999)
ISBN 0-660-17507-X
21.5 x 27.6 cm, 636 pp.
18 colour photos, 95 black and white images
Sold only as a 2 volume set
$45.00 (paper)