Background
Hall was born on December 31, 1788 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father was Sir James Hall of Dunglass, the geologist.
( vol. 2 of 3 )
vol. 2 of 3
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(Officer and author Basil Hall (1788-1844) joined the Roya...)
Officer and author Basil Hall (1788-1844) joined the Royal Navy at the age of thirteen and saw service during the Peninsular War. His subsequent career involved extended journeys to the East Indies, the Far East and South America. During these postings - encompassing elements of exploration, diplomacy and scientific observation - he kept a journal, and from his notes he published successful accounts of his voyages. This two-volume work, first published in 1823 and reissued here in its revised 1824 third edition, recounts his travels and first-hand observations during his final commission to South America and Mexico in command of the Conway. Sensitive to both physical and human geography, Hall's travelogue gives readers a sense of the continent's natural and cultural diversity as well as its contemporary political turbulence. Darwin notably had the book with him aboard the Beagle. Volume 1 covers Hall's travels along the coasts of Chile and Peru.
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explorer naval officer writer author traveller
Hall was born on December 31, 1788 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father was Sir James Hall of Dunglass, the geologist.
Basil Hall was educated at the High School, Edinburgh, and in 1802 entered the navy, where he rose to the rank of postcaptain in 1817, after seeing active service in several fields.
By observing the ethnological as well as the physical peculiarities of the countries he visited, Hall collected the materials for a very large number of scientific papers. In 1816 he commanded the sloop "Lyra, " which accompanied Lord Amherst's embassy to China; and he described his cruise in An Account of a Voyage of Discovery to the West Coast of Corea and the Great Loo-choo Island in the japan Sea (London, 1818). In 1820 he held a command on the Pacific coast of America, and in 1824 published two volumes of Extracts from a Journal written on the Coasts of Chili, Peru and Mexico in the Years 1820-1822. Retiring on half-pay in 1824, Hall and his wife travelled (1827-1828) through the United States. In 1829 he published his Travels in North America in the Years 1827 and 1828, which was assailed by the American press for its views of American society. Schloss Hainfeld, or a Winter in Lower Styria (1836), is partly a romance, partly a description of a visit paid by the author to the castle of the countess Purgstall. Spain and the Seat of War in Spain appeared in 1837. The Fragments of Voyages and Travels (9 vols. ) were issued in three detachments, between 1831 and 1840. His last work, a collection of sketches and tales under the name of Patchwork (1841), had not been long published before its author became insane, and he died in Haslar hospital, Portsmouth, on the 11th of September 1844.
(Officer and author Basil Hall (1788-1844) joined the Roya...)
( vol. 2 of 3 )
Hall was fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, and of the Royal Astronomical, Royal Geographical and Geological Societies.
In 1825 Hall married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Hunter.
