 Indeed, the confidential purpose of the voyage (in particular, from the point of view of the British Admiralty) was to seek out the hypothetical "unknown southern continent", or"Terra Australis (Incognita)".The other noted naturalist on the voyage was Daniel Solander, Spöring's former employer who had recommended Spöring for the post when he himself signed up.Solander was a former student and protégé of the noted Swedish botanist and founder of modern taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus.