Hakluyt Society

The Hakluyt Society is a London-based learned society and nonprofit publisher devoted to preserving, editing, translating, and disseminating primary records of voyages, travels, exploration, geography, and cultural encounters. Established in 1846, it was named after Richard Hakluyt, the English collector and editor whose compilations documented voyages and overseas activity. The Society’s name reflects its central purpose: extending Hakluyt’s documentary and editorial project into the modern era rather than presenting the organization as an association of explorers itself. The Society emerged from nineteenth-century interest in historical geography and the systematic study of older documentary evidence. A founding meeting was held at the London Library in London on 15 December 1846 under the chairmanship of geologist Sir Roderick Murchison. The initial organizers included William Desborough Cooley, Andrew Smith, Sir Charles Malcolm, Bolton Corney, Sir Henry Ellis, William Rowan Hamilton, and John Edward Gray. Cooley had argued that geographical knowledge should be developed through careful examination of historical sources, not solely through contemporary observation. Although he initially suggested the name Columbus Society, the organizers chose Hakluyt’s name at the first council meeting in January 1847 because it better expressed the Society’s editorial and documentary aims. From its beginning, the Society operated through subscriptions and a voluntary governing structure. Its original model was to print and circulate rare accounts of voyages, travels, and geographical records to members. The first publications appeared in 1847 and 1848, including an edition of Sir Richard Hawkins’s observations and a selection of Christopher Columbus’s letters. Early print runs were modest, generally sized around the membership, but the program soon expanded to include accounts associated with Raleigh, Francis Drake, voyages toward the Northwest, and other subjects. The Society’s volumes are scholarly editions rather than ordinary commercial travel books: they typically include editorial introductions, annotations, historical commentary, maps, illustrations, bibliographical material, and, where necessary, translations from the original language. Its publication program covers a broad geographic and cultural range. Although many early titles concerned British voyages and English-language documents, a substantial portion of the catalog deals with non-British enterprises and sources written in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Dutch, Russian, Greek, Latin, Amharic, Mandarin, Persian, or Arabic. Subjects have included Ibn Battuta, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, Vasco da Gama, Francis Drake, John Cabot, Ma Huan, William of Rubruck, George Vancouver, and many other travelers, navigators, observers, and chroniclers. The Society has published more than 200 scholarly editions in approximately 350 volumes, including its regular series and a separate Extra Series for larger or more costly works. The regular publication history is organized into three series. The First Series comprised 100 volumes published from 1847 to 1899. The Second Series ran from 1899 to 1998 and produced 190 volumes. The larger-format Third Series began in 1999 and had reached 38 volumes by 2021. The Extra Series, formally revived in the 1950s after earlier related publications, has included multi-volume works on Captain James Cook and other substantial projects; it had reached 47 volumes by the end of 2012. In the contemporary period, the Society has generally published about two volumes annually. Publishing remains the Society’s principal activity, but its role also includes public and scholarly engagement. It organizes or participates in lectures, symposia, conferences, and meetings concerning the history of exploration, geography, travel writing, and intercultural contact. Its annual general meeting and annual lecture were held at the Royal Geographical Society until 2011 and subsequently at the University of Notre Dame’s London Centre; meetings moved online during 2020 and 2021. The Society’s website has also supported a discussion group, research guides to its publications, and the peer-reviewed Journal of the Hakluyt Society. Its archives, including council minutes, administrative records, financial papers, correspondence, and committee documents, are held by the British Library. The Hakluyt Society is a registered charity administered by volunteer officers and council members. Membership is open to people and institutions interested in its objectives. A related American Friends of the Hakluyt Society was established in 1996 at the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University to support similar aims, particularly in relation to the history of the Americas, although the reference material indicates that this sister organization had fallen into abeyance by 2025. The Society’s volumes are identifiable by a standard design and by a cover emblem depicting Ferdinand Magellan’s ship Victoria, linking its modern publishing identity to the maritime histories it documents.

The Hakluyt Society was founded in London in 1846 during a period when British scholars and scientific institutions were seeking more systematic approaches to historical geography. Its immediate origin was a meeting held at the London Library on 15 December 1846 under Sir Roderick Murchison. The organizing group included scholars, geographers, naval officers, administrators, and museum figures. William Desborough Cooley was especially influential in shaping the Society’s intellectual rationale, arguing that geographical study required serious engagement with earlier documentary sources. At its inaugural council meeting on 26 January 1847, the organization adopted the Hakluyt name. Richard Hakluyt had collected and edited accounts of voyages and overseas activity but was not primarily an explorer himself; this made his name suitable for a society focused on publication and historical interpretation. A constitution was approved in March 1847, establishing a president, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, and elected council. Membership reached 220 during the first two years. The first publications appeared in 1847 and 1848. These included an edition of observations by Sir Richard Hawkins and a selection of Christopher Columbus’s letters. Other early volumes treated Raleigh’s Guiana voyage, Francis Drake, voyages toward the Northwest, and the history of Virginia Britannia. The Society initially produced small editions for subscribers, but its editorial ambition steadily expanded. Under figures such as Clements Markham, who served as secretary from 1858 to 1887 and president from 1889 to 1909, the Society issued a substantial number of carefully prepared volumes; Markham personally edited 29 of them. The Society’s leadership also shaped editorial standards. Sir Henry Yule, president from 1877 to 1889, required future volumes to include indexes. In 1908, the Society broadened its established chronological practice by publishing a text dating from after 1700. During the early twentieth century it began to undertake activities beyond its core publication program, including support for a Richard Hakluyt memorial in Bristol Cathedral and participation in cultural and scholarly initiatives. Women such as Bertha Phillpotts, Lavinia Mary Anstey, and Zelia Nuttall became notable editors or translators. The interwar and postwar periods brought further growth in membership and editorial quality. Sir William Foster, a specialist in the history of the East India Company and India Office records, served as president from 1928 to 1945 and influenced a generation of editors through his standards of annotation. Membership later rose above 2,000. Postwar officers and editors included R. A. Skelton, Eila Campbell, Terence Armstrong, Sarah Tyacke, Michael Brennan, Robin Law, and Will Ryan. The publication program is now divided among three regular series and an Extra Series. The First Series produced 100 volumes between 1847 and 1899; the Second Series produced 190 volumes from 1899 to 1998; and the Third Series, begun in 1999 in a larger format, had reached 38 volumes by 2021. The Extra Series has carried large or expensive projects, including editions concerning Captain James Cook and his voyages. Across its history, the Society has published more than 200 editions in roughly 350 volumes, normally at a rate of about two new volumes per year. Its catalog extends beyond British exploration. The Society has published editions and translations concerning Asian, African, European, American, and Pacific histories, drawing on sources in many languages. The volumes combine primary texts with contextual notes, maps, illustrations, indexes, and bibliographical guidance. This combination makes the Society both a publisher and a research infrastructure for the history of travel, exploration, geography, ethnography, and cultural encounter. The Society’s institutional life includes an annual general meeting, annual lecture, scholarly conferences, symposia, a discussion group, research guides, and the peer-reviewed Journal of the Hakluyt Society. Its formal meetings were held at the Royal Geographical Society for many years and moved to the University of Notre Dame’s London Centre after 2011; online meetings were used during 2020 and 2021. Its archives are held at the British Library. The organization remains a registered charity and nonprofit institution administered by volunteer council members and officers, with membership open to anyone interested in its aims.

• 2020

  Annual meeting moves online

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society held its annual general meeting online via Zoom during the pandemic period.

• 2011

  Annual meetings move to Notre Dame’s London Centre

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The annual general meeting and annual lecture moved from the Royal Geographical Society to the University of Notre Dame’s London Centre.

• 1999

  Third Series begins

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A larger-format Third Series commenced, continuing the Society’s critical-edition program.

• 1996

  American Friends established

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The American Friends of the Hakluyt Society was founded at the John Carter Brown Library in connection with the Society’s 150th anniversary.

• 1908

  Chronological scope expanded

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society published its first text dating from after 1700, moving beyond its earlier chronological convention.

• 1899

  Second Series begins

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society began its Second Series, which eventually comprised 190 volumes through 1998.

• 1850

  Richard Hakluyt’s Divers Voyages published

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society published its planned Hakluyt text, Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America.

• 1847

  Hakluyt name and constitution adopted

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The inaugural council selected the Hakluyt name, and a general meeting approved the Society’s constitution and publication objectives.

• 1847

  First publication issued

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society issued its first volume, an edition of observations by Sir Richard Hawkins.

• 1846

  Society founded in London

  [1]Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A founding meeting at the London Library on 15 December established the organization that became the Hakluyt Society.

A specialist learned-society publisher serving historians, geographers, archivists, libraries, collectors, and researchers through authoritative editions of primary exploration and travel sources.

• Scholarly book series · 1847

  First Series

  The Society’s original publication series, issued from 1847 to 1899 and comprising 100 volumes. It established the organization’s characteristic approach: edited primary sources on voyages, travels, geography, and overseas encounters, supported by scholarly introductions and annotation.

• Scholarly book series · 1899

  Second Series

  The Second Series ran from 1899 to 1998 and produced 190 volumes. Its subjects extended across British and non-British voyages and used documentary sources in multiple languages, often presenting new translations or corrected earlier translations.

• Scholarly book series · 1999

  Third Series

  The larger-format Third Series began in 1999 and continues the Society’s principal editorial program. Volumes treat historical exploration and travel from a wide range of geographic and linguistic traditions and generally include contextual notes, maps, illustrations, and indexes.

• Specialist scholarly book series · 1903

  Extra Series

  The Extra Series accommodates substantial or expensive works that are offered to members at reduced prices rather than distributed under the regular subscription model. It includes major projects on Captain James Cook and his voyages, as well as earlier related Hakluyt editions.

• Peer-reviewed journal

  Journal of the Hakluyt Society

  The Society’s peer-reviewed journal provides a scholarly outlet associated with the history of travel, geographical exploration, source editing, and cultural encounter. It complements the book series and supports the Society’s research and discussion activities.

1. 1Hakluyt Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official Hakluyt Society websitehakluyt.com