ABSTRACT
The revival of interest, in the mid-eighteenth century, in Terra Australis Incognita did not originate with Alexander Dalrymple, nor did he inaugurate the British search for it in the period following the Seven Years5 War. His belief in the Great South ern Continent was largely based on traditional arguments. But by following these arguments to their logical conclusion he was able to transform the abstract theories of his predecessors and contemporaries into a land-mass of specified size and location. This was a contribution of the greatest significance, for the truth of ancient theories could now be put to the test by undertaking the exploration of clearly defined areas. That this task was primarily undertaken by British seamen was due to Dalrymple more than to any other man; the discoveries of Captain Cook were the outcome of the theorisings and scholarship of Alexander Dalrymple. It was understandable, therefore, that the latter should be angered by the ‘illiberal imputations5 of Hawkes-
THE GREAT SOUTHERN CONTINENT 95 worth, who had depicted his contribution as being confined to the creation of ill-founded hypotheses that it had been the destiny of Captain Cook to destroy. The passage of time has justified Dalrymple’s resentment, for subsequent historians have com monly adopted Hawkesworth’s opinions, thus inflicting lasting damage on Dalrymple’s reputation.
