The following appendix comprises a random sampling of surviving documents related to Halley’s three voyages. They include journal entries from his voyages, correspondence between Halley and the Secretary of the Navy Burchett, lords letters to the Navy Board, treasury papers, and Navy Board minutes, as well as the text of his description that accompanied some publications of his first sea chart.

Royal Society Council Minutes

Vol. 2, p. 146

15 February 1698/9

It was proposed and balloted that Mr. Halley being absent upon a particular Service and no provision being yet made by the Council for Supplying his place; It was Ordered that Dr Sloan Should propose the Names of two or three persons to be Assistant to the Secretaries as Clerk; And lit was carried in the Affirmative Nemine Contradicente.

It was Ordered in the mean time that Dr. Sloan Should employ whom he pleases any where else but none at the Table—Where the Society meets but whom the Council Agree to.

This Morning between two and three looking out I found that my Boatswain who had the Watch, Steard a way Nw instead of W (we no baring down W for the Iseland of Fernando Loronho) I conclude with a deigned to miss the Iseland, and frustrate my Voyage, though they pretended the Candle was out in the Bittacle, and they could not light it. About 3. In the afternoone we made the Iseland about 6 Leagues off us; bearing SWBW: The next day we came to an Anchor under the Lee of the Island, having narrowly escaped a Sunk Rock; that lies off the Sw point of the Island. I went on Shore to see what the Iseland might afford us, but found nothing but Small Turtle Doves and Land Crabbs in abundance, neither Goats nor hogs nor any people; we saw many green Turtle in the Sea and in Someplaces their Tracks on the Sand, but could Catch none, by reason of the great Surf of the Sea; we searcht the whole Lee Side of the Iseland but found no fresh water; we lookt not on the windward side because we found such a Suff on the Lee side; here we againe scrubb’d our Shipp and

gott some Wood and Sett up all our Shrouds and brought our masts more aft. We found a four Clock Moon to make high Water, and it flows about 6 Foot on a Spring. The Variation observed on Shore was not full 3 degrees East. The Island is but Small, about 7 Miles Long and very Narrow. The Middle thereof is in the Latt 3 degrees 57′ South, and Longit by reckoning from London 23 degrees 40′ West. The Appearnace thereof when the high pico like a Steeple bears SWbW at 5 Leagues distances is thus———————

Captain’s Letter Book

These – humbly present London

I have had no opportunity to give their Lordships any account of my proceedings since my last of December 20 from Madera. That same day I sayled for the Cape de Virde Islands and arriving at St. Jago on January 2, I found there two English Marchat shipps, one of which called the New Exchange, whereof one John Way is Master belonging to London, was pleased, insteed of saluting us, to fire at us severall both great and small shott. We were surprised at it, and beliving them to be pirates, I went in to windward of them and bracing our head sailes to the Mast, sent my boat to learn the reason of their firing. They answered that they apprehended we were a pirate, and that they had on board them two Masters of vessels, that had been lately taken by pirates, one of which swore that ours was the very ship that took him; whereupon they thought themselves obliged to do what they did in their own defence. Then they sent on board me the two persons they said were the Masters of the taken Vessells, and

soon after the two Masters came themselves, they said they were sorry that they had fired at the Kings Coulours, but that colours were not to be trusted. I told them I must acquaint their Lordships with what had past, and if their Lordships would put it up, as it hapned they had done me no damage. The next morning they both sailed, and upon our arivall here we found the said Master John Way and his ship in the road. From St. Jago we proceeded to the southward and being gotten within 100 leagues of the line, we fell into such calmes and small southerly gales, that our ship being very indifferent to windward, we were full seven weeks before we gott 100 leagues to the Southward of the line, in which time our water being near spent, obliged us to recruite it on the coast of Brasile. By this time twas March and we found the Northerly Currents made against us, and we upon the Lee-shore; so that it would have been scarce possible for a more winderly ship than we, to turn it to the Southward. And the winter advancing apace in those Climates I principally entended to discover, I thought it not adviseable to proceed that way at this time of the year; hoping it may give their Lordships some satisfaction if I do curiously adjust the Longitude of most of the Plantations and see what may be discovered in relation to the Variation of the Needle in the Northern Hemisphere. Twas the last of November before we left the coast of England, wch considering the uncertainty of the Winds was I find above two months too late; but I hope to be in England time enough to proceed again this year if their Lordships shall think fitting to allow it. We watred in the river of Paraiba in Brasile here the Governour Dom Manuel Soarez Albergaria was very obliging and civill, but the Portuguez, as farr as I could guess, were very willing to find pretences to seize us and tempted us severall times to meddle with a sort of wood they call Poo de Brasile which is an excellent dye, but prohibited to all foreigners under pain of confiscation of Shipp and goods. I being aware of their design absolutely refused all commerce with them, and having gotten our water we arrived here in three weeks, on the second of this month; Our whole shipps company is hither in perfect health and our provision proves very good.

Paramour Pink

In Barbadoes road

4 April 1699

Received 9 June in ye morning mail

Captain’s Letter Book

These present London

I this day arrived here with his Majesties Pink, the Paramore in 6 weeks from the West Indies, having buried no man during the whole Voiage, and the Shipp being in very good condition. I doubt not but their Lordships will be surprised at my so speedy return, but I hope my reasons for it will be to their satisfaction. For as, this time, it was too late in the year for me to go far to the Southwards, I feared that if I went down to Jamaica, and so to Virginia &c. the same inconvenience of being late might attend me in case their Lordships, as I humbly hope, do please that I proceed again for I find it will be absolutely necessary for me to be clear of the Channell by the end of August or at farthest by the middle of September. But a further Lieutenant, who, because perhaps I have not the whole Sea Directory

so perfect as he, has for a long time made it his business to represent me, to the whole Shipps company, as a person wholly unqualified for the command their Lordships have given me, and declaring that he was sent on board here because their Lordships knew my insufficiency. Your Honour knows that my dislike of my Warrant Officers mad me Petition their Lordships that my mate might have the Commission of Lieutenant, therby the better to keep them in obedience, but with a quite contrary effect it has only served to animate him to attempt upon my Authority, and in order therto to side with the said officers against me. On the fifth of this month he was pleased so grosly to affront me, as to tell me before my Officers and Seamen on Deck, and afterwards owned it under his hand, that I was not only uncapable to take charge of the Pink, but even of a Longboat; upon which I desired him to keep his Cabbin for that night, and for the future I would take charge of the Shipp myself, to shew him his mistake; and accordingly I have watcht in his steed ever since, and brought the Shipp well home from near the banks of Newfound Land, without the least assistance from him. The many abuses of this nature I have received from him, has very sensibly toucht me, and made my voyage very displeasing and uneasy to me, nor can I imagine the cause of it, having endeavoured all I could to oblige him, but in vain. I take it that he envys me my command and conveniences on bord, disdaining to be under one that has not served in the fleet as long as himself, but however it be I am sure their Lordships will think this intolerable usage, from one who ought to be as my right hand, and by his example my Warrant Officers have not used me much Better; so that if I may hope to proceed again I must entreat their Lordships to give me others in their room.

Notwithstanding that I have defeated in my main design of discovery, yet I have found out such circonstances in relation to the Variation of the Compass, and the method of observing the Longitude at Sea (which I have severall times practiced on board with good success) that I hope to present their Lordships with something on those articles worthy of their patronage. I humbly entreat yr Honour

to expedite my orders in the Downs, and if it be their Lordships pleasure, that the Shipp continue there for some time, they please to give me leave to come up to waite upon them, to give them a fuller account.

Plimouth

23 June 1699.

I have received your Letter of ye 23^rd inst from Plymouth & this comes to meet You in ye Downes to acquaint you that Orders are sent to Sir Clo: Shovell to try your Lieutenant at a Court Martial upon ye Complaint made of him in your said Letter. To which I have only to add, that when ye matter is over You will receive Orders from Sir Clo: Shovell for repairing to Longreach and from thence to Deptford where she is to be paid off & laid up. I am

Capt. Halley—Paramour Pink—Downes

Wages book extract:

Halley’s journal entry for February 1, 1700, from his second voyage:

Latitude by Account 52 degrees: 24 minutes. Yesterday in the Afternoon with a fresh Gale at N b W, I steard away E S E, and between 4 and 5 we were fair by three Islands as they then appeard; being all flat on the Top, and covered with Snow. Milk, white, with perpendicular Cliffs all round them, they had this appearance, and bearing.

The greate hight of them made us conclude them land, but there was no appearance of any tree or green thing on them, but the Cliffs as well as the topps were very white, our people called A by the Name of Beachy head, which it resembled in form and colour, and the Island B in all respects was very like the land of the North-foreland in Kent, and was as least as hight and not less than five Miles in Front, The Cliffs, of it were full of Blackish Streaks which seemed like a fleet

of Shipps Standing out to us. Wind blowing fresh, and night in hand, and because our vessell is very leewardly, I feard to engage with the Land or Ice that night, and having Steard in as farr as I durst, I resolved to Stand off and on till day, when weather permitting I would send my boat to See what it was. In the night it proved foggy, and continued so till this day at noon, when by a clear glare of Scarce _ of an hour we saw the Island wee called beachy head very distinctly to be nothing else but one body of Ice of an incredible hight, whereupone we went about Shipp and Stood to the Northward. True Course to this day noon is S 44 E. 25 Miles. Difference of Longitude 29 Minutes East: Longitude from London 35 degrees: 13′.

In obedience to your Commands I have endeavored to draw up such plain directions for making the Survey of a Coast, as may be serviceable to any that have the will and opportunity to describe curiously any Shoals they are acquainted with;

In order to this Survey of a Sea coast and to lay down truly the shoals and dangers near it, if the land be accessible the best way will be to take with all possible care the true positions of as many remarkable objects such as Steeples, Mills, Rocks, Cliffs, Promontorys, or such like as you find most conspicuous along the coast, that is their true barings from one another in respect of the true North and South; which is best done by measuring the angle with any proper instrumt.

From the rising or setting sun, allowing his amplitude and according to the exactness of these angles will your survey be more or less true. I prefer this method of taking these angles by the Sunn rather than by the compass or magneticall needle, because of the smalness of the radius of the Magneticall chart and the uncertainty of the variations on the Lands, the needle being affected with the neighbourhoods of Iron Oars and Mineralls.

This done you may readily plot down all those objects on the Land, by any view of them from a vessell riding at Anchor off at Sea; for if you take their true position from your ship, by help of the rising or setting Sunn as before, the intersections of those lines with those of the positions of the objects to one another, will give you the places and proportionall distances of the sd Objects one from another, to which afterwards a scale may be adapted, as shall be taught by and by.

Being thus assured of the plot of several objects on the shore, it will be very easy to lay down the points of any sand or shole, or any sunk rock on that Coast, either by the position of two or more of those objects, from a vessell riding at those points; or more compendiously and easily by taking the angles between those objects, at the said places entended to be laid down in your platt. That this may be the better understood, take the following Scheme. On the Coast to be described Let A be a steeple, B a Mill, C a Rock, D a remarkable Tree, E a steep Cliff&c. and lett each of them be seen from some other of the objects, and their positions truly taken. For example Let B bear from a West 12 degrees. Northerly; C from B, W 30 degrees. Southerly, D from C W. 20 degrees. N. and E from A W 2 degrees. Southerly. This done at a convenient distance off at Sea as at [the point marked by the arrow, let the position of A be North 20 degrees Easterly, B. N 2 degrees East, C. N 22 degrees 1/2 W or NNW, D. N 40 degrees W and E. N 53 West. I say the true platt of the aforesd places A, B, C, D, E &c. will be as in the Scheme, although as yet we know not the reall distances of them, and wee may use them with certainty to lay down any other places in their true position. As for example, let there be a shole at one end whereof E bares NNW and C, NE; this being protracted, tis plain tis at F that that point of the shole ought to be laid down. At

the other end of the same shole which wee will call G, for want of the Sunn, wee can only take the angle DGB 60 degrees & the angle CGA 80 degrees, I say the point G will be nicely determined therby. For if the angle BDH be made 30 degrees or the Complement of DGB, DH=BH, the arch of the Circle DBG described within the radius DH and center H, shall be such that wherever you take the point G therin the angle BGD shall be 60 degrees. In like manner making the Angle ACK 10 degrees the arck of the Circle AGC whose center is K passing through A and C, shall in all its points G make the angle AGC 80 degrees, and consequently the Intersection of those two Arches is the point G sought; this is demonstrated from 20.3. Euclid: the angle at the Circonference of a Circle being half of that at the Center. This is a very easy and expeditious way for putting down the soundings in Sea Charts in their proper places, and may be practisd in a ship under saile.

If it be an enemys Coast or otherwise inaccessible, it wil be necessary to make use of two Shipps or Boats, as two Stations, wherby to obtain the position of the objects on shore; which afterwards you may use as before. After your chart is made, you may adapt a scale to it, by help of the motion of Sound, which has been accurately tried both in England and France, and it is certain that sounds be they great or small move at the motion of Sound, which has been accurately tried both in England and France, and it is certain that sounds be they great or small move at the rate of a marine League in 15 seconds of time; and in still weather a gunn may be heard a great way, especially before a gentle gale of wind, and this I propose and recommend as a very usefull method of determining distances in these Hydrographicall Surveys. I shall be very willing further to explain any thing herin, that may obscure or difficult.

Halley’s description accompanying his Atlantic Chart.

The Description and Uses Of a New and Correct

SEA-CHART

Of the Western and Southern

OCEAN

Showing the Variations of the

COMPASS

The projection of this Chart is what is commonly called Mercator’s; but from its particular Use in Navigation, ought rather to be named the Nautical; as being the only true and sufficient C H A R T for the Sea. It is supposed, that all such as take Charge of Ships in long Voyages, are so far acquainted with its Use, as not to need any Directions here. I shall only take the Liberty to assure the Reader, that having taken all possible Care, as well from Astronomical Observations, as Journals, to ascertain the Scituatuion and Form of this Chart, as to its principal Parts, and the Dimensions of the several Ocean; he is not to expect that we should descend to all the Particularities necessary for the coaster, our Scale not permitting it

What is here properly New, is the Curve-Lines drawn over the several Seas, to shew the Degrees of the Variation of the magnetical needle, or Sea Compass; which are design’d according to what I my self found in the Western and Southern Oceans, in a Voyage I purposely made a the Publick Charge in the Year of our Lord 1700.

That this may be the better understood, the curious mariner is desired to observe, that in this Chart the Double Line passing near Bermudas, the Cape Verde Isles, and Saint Helena every where divides the East and West Variation in this Ocean, and that on the whole Coast of Europe and Africa the Variation is Westerly, as on the more Northerly Coasts of America, but on the more Southerly Parts of America ’tis Easterly. The Degrees of Variation, or how much the Compass declines from the true North on either side is reckoned by the number of the Lines on each side of the double Curve, which I cal the Line of No Variation; on each fifth and tenth is distinguished in its Stroak, and numbered accordingly, so that in what Place soever your Ship is, you find the Variation by Inspection.

That this may be the fuller understood, take these Examples. At Madera the Variation is 3 and 1/2 d. West; at Barbadoes 5 1/2 d. East; at Annabon 7d. West; at Cape Race in Newfoundland 14d. West; at the Mouth of Rio de Plata 18d. East, &c. And this may suffice by way of Description.

As to the Uses of this Chart, they will easily be understood, especially by such as are acquainted with the Azimuth Compass, to be, to correct the Course of Ships at Sea; For if the Variation of the Compass be not allowed, all Reckonings must be so far erroneous; And in continued Cloudy Weather, or where the mariner is not provided to observe this Variation duly, the Chart will readily shew him what Allowances he must make for the Dfault of his Compass, and thereby rectify his Journal.

But this Correction of the Course is in no case so necessary as in running down on a Parallel East or West to hit a Port; For if being in you latitude at the Distance of 70 or 80 Leagues, you allow tot the Variation, but steer East or West by Compass, you shall fall to the

Northwards or Southwards of your Port on each 19 Leagues of Distance, one Mile for each Degree of Variation, which may produce very dangerous Errors, where the Variation is considerable; for Instance, having a good Observation in latitude 49d, 40m. about 80 Leag. Without Scilly, and not considering that there is 8 Degrees West Variation, I steer away East by Compass for the Channel; but making my way truly E. S.d N. when I come up with Scilly, instead of being 3 or 4 Leagues to the South thereof, I shall find my self as much to the Northward: And this Evil will be more or less according to the Distance you sail in the Parallel. The Rule to apply it is, That to keep your Parallel truly, you go so many Degrees to the Southward of the East, and Northward of the West, as in the West Variation; but contrariwise, so many Degrees to the Northwards of the East, and Southwards of the West, as there is East Variation.

A further Use is in many Cases to estimate the Longitude at Sea thereby; for where the Curves run nearly North and South, and are thick together, as about Cape Bona Esperance, it give a very good Indication of the Distance of the Land to Ships come from far; for there the Variation alters a Degree to each two Degrees of Longitude nearly; as may be seen in the Chart. But in this Western Ocean, between Europe and the North America, the Curves lying nearly East and West, cannot be Serviceable for this Purpose.

This Chart, as I said, was made by Observation of the Year 1700, but it must be noted, that there is a perpetual tho’ slow Change in the Variation almost every where, which will make it necessary in time to alter the whole System: at present it may suffice to advertise that about C. Bona Esperance, the West Variation encreases at the Rate of about a Degree in 9 years. In our Channel it encreases a Degree in seven Years, but slower the nearer the Equinoctial Line; as on the Guinea Coast a Degree in 11 or 12 Years. On the American side the West Variation alters but little; and the East Variation on the Southern America decreases, the more Southerly the faster; the Line of No Variation moving gradually towards it.

I shall need to say no more about it, but let it command it self, and all knowing Mariners are desired to lend their Assistance and Informations, towards the perfecting of this useful Work. And if by undoubted Observations it be found in any Part defective, the Notes of it will be received with all grateful Acknowledgement, and the Chart corrected accordingly.

E. Halley

This C H A R T is to be sold by William Mount and Thomas Page on Tower-Hill.