Report on Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Scope and Contents
An incomplete, printed report, 86 pages, with manuscript marginal annotations and a 2-page typed introduction by the R.C.S. Librarian. The report comprises papers respecting the declaration of a British Protectorate over the Gilbert Islands by Captain Davis, of H.M.S. 'Royalist', and general reports on the Gilbert, Ellice and Marshall Islands. The original cover, which is made out of a linen-backed chart of Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, is bound in at the start. Loose with the volume is a typescript copy of some of the sections of the report.
Dates
- Creation: 1892
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).
Biographical / Historical
Admiral Edward Henry Meggs Davis (1846-1929) served in Japan at the bombardment of Kagosima, 1863, and at the capture of the Forts Simonoseki, 1864. He was a member of the Naval Brigade during the Xhosa War, 1877-1878, and took part in the Zulu War of 1879. Davis was involved in the establishment of British dominion over the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, hoisting the flag on thirteen islands of the Gilbert Group during 1892. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Jamaica in 1900, and subsequently became Assessor to the House of Lords in Admiralty Appeals. He died on 6 October 1929.
Extent
1 volume(s) (1 volume) : paper
Language of Materials
English
Former / Other Reference
MSS 96
Other Finding Aids
Donald H. Simpson, ed., 'The manuscript catalogue of the library of the Royal Commonwealth Society' (London, 1975), p. 178.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Presented by Mrs C.R. Swayne, 1922.
Existence and Location of Copies
The contents of the volume are similar, but not identical to Foreign Office Confidential Print 6269 in P.R.O. ADM 1/7113: Z.172/1892.
General
This collection level description was created by RAS. The biographical history was compiled with reference to the entry on Admiral Davis in 'Who was who', vol. III, 1929-1940 (London, 1967), p. 339.
Originator(s)
Davis, Edward Henry Meggs, 1846-1929, Admiral
- Date
- 2005-09-27 15:16:45+00:00
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository
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