The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1840

The Nautical Magazine first appeared in 1832, and was published monthly well into the twenty-first century. It covers a wide range of subjects, including navigation, meteorology, technology and safety. An important resource for maritime historians, it also includes reports on military and scientific expeditions and on current affairs. Alongside regular items on wrecks, harbours and lighthouses, naval personnel and law proceedings, the 1840 volume notes Queen Victoria’s marriage. The Pacific region features strongly, with reports on the ongoing voyage of the Beagle around Australia, an ethnological article on the Maori (including descriptions of the haka and the ‘almost amphibious’ swimming of the women), and a brief note on the departure of ‘a great number of emigrants’ to New Zealand on board the Coromandel. Other contributions include Dumont d'Urville’s account of his second Antarctic voyage, essays on China and Mozambique, and scientific work on electricity, magnetism and scurvy.