A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before

The narrator describes a circumnavigation undertaken for trade and opportunistic aims, criticizing earlier voyage accounts as either dry technical logs or superficial reports. He vows to present a livelier, more varied narrative that records landings, local encounters, storms, skirmishes, and commercial dealings, giving fuller portraits of incidents and diversions. To pursue both trade and prize he and his companions adopt different guises and shift roles as circumstances require, and the account blends practical maritime detail with anecdotes and observations meant to inform and entertain readers unfamiliar with distant regions.