A View of Christmas Harbour, in Kerguelen’s Land, with the manner of killing Penguins, a representation of a Seal,..

Title

A View of Christmas Harbour, in Kerguelen’s Land, with the manner of killing Penguins, a representation of a Seal,..

Description

View shows the Port-Christmas on Kerguelen Island with sailing ships, penguins and a seal offshore. It lies in the southern Indian Ocean.

ca. 1800

Artist

Hogg (1778-1824)

Alexander Hogg (1778-1824) was a publisher of books, maps and prints. He was active in London and worked under the sign of the Kings Arms in Paternoster Row. He became known for his publications of James Cook's voyages of discovery.

Historical Description

Kerguelen is a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The archipelago, which covers over 7000 km² and is uninhabited except for members of the research station, forms part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories.The Kerguelen Islands were discovered in February 1772 by the Breton-French navigator Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec. Soon after its discovery, the archipelago was regularly visited by whalers and sealers (mainly British, American and Norwegian), who hunted the resident whale and seal populations to the brink of extinction, including fur seals and elephant seals until the 19th century. Several expeditions have briefly visited the islands in the past, including that of Captain James Cook. Cook's third voyage with the ships Resolution and Discovery again took him across the southern Indian Ocean and, starting from the Cape of Good Hope and passing through the Prince Edward Islands and Crozet Islands, he headed for the Kerguelen Islands, where Cook anchored at Baie de l'Oiseau on December 25, 1776. He named his landing place after the day of arrival: Port-Christmas.