Cook S Second Voyage example essay topic

Abstract Captain James Cook is most perhaps famously remembered for his almost complete eradication of scurvy, and his skills as a great navigator and seaman. Despite this his beginnings as a seafarer are rather surprising for a historically important figure, in fact Cook seemed to come into the position he was in purely by chance. Cook made three significant voyages, both significant in the form of discovery, and in the improvement of navigation. Perhaps most famously discovering and claiming the East Coast of Australia for Britain. In short Cook was a pioneering man, being at the forefront of discovery and invitation. James Cook was born in Marton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire and was the son of a farm labourer, which was perhaps strange for someone who was to become a seafarer, and not only that but an officer in the Royal Navy.

By the age of eighteen he was an apprentice to the ship owner, and coal shipper John Walker in Whitby, this being his first real contact with the sea. As an apprentice, he taught himself maths and astronomy which of course was to become invaluable to him in his future. Another important factor of Cooks work in the firm was that he came familiar with the collier ships he was to use in his later voyages, for example the Endeavour. When the Seven Year!'s War broke out between Britain and France, cook enlisted in the Royal Navy as an Able Seaman, and within two years he had worked up to the rank of Master.

Whilst serving in North America Cook learnt surveying and navigational skills, which were to prove vital in his later voyages to the Pacific. In 1763 Cook was appointed as the surveyor of Newfoundland, and in May he left for St. John!'s. During his extensive time here, Cook displayed many of skills, which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty, and the Royal Society. However before Cook was able to complete his survey of Newfoundland, he was reappointed to a new mission, and it was to be the beginning of Cook!'s fame. In February 1768, the Royal Society asked if the government to send observers to! (R) the Southwards of the Equinoctial Line! to record the movement of Venus across the disc of the sun.

Another reason for this expedition was to see whether there was a southern continent below 40! AE S. On the 25th of May 1768 Cook was promoted to First Lieutenant and on the 26th set sail from Plymouth for the Pacific aboard the Endeavour, which was a converted Whitby Collier. This was to be the first of Cooks famous voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean. Cooks first voyage to the Pacific was to be a joint Royal Society, and Royal Naval expedition. The expedition was to aid in the accurate plotting of longitude with the use of astronomical charts. Also aboard the Endeavour was the botanist Joseph Banks who would record the many plants and before unseen vegetation on the voyage.

The main task of voyage to plot the movement of Venus was completed on the 3rd of June 1769. Cook then sailed on South-Westwards in search of a southern continent, and on the 7th of October, Cook reached the Northern Island of New Zealand. By March 1770, Cook had circumnavigated both North and South Islands, and had formally claimed the Islands for Britain. Cook had also managed to accurately chart 2,400 miles of coast, and this was partly possible, because with Harrison!'s Chronometer onboard he could!

(R) place himself on the surface of the globe! These charts were so accurate that they were used well into the 19th century. Cook sailed on hoping to locate Van Diemen!'s Land (Tasmania) and New Holland (Australia), however a storm forced Cook to sale north, and they came upon the South-East coast of Australia. On April the 28th 1770, Cook reached a large natural bay (Botany Bay), where they went ashore to find many plant species previously unknown to Europeans, and these were recorded by Joseph Banks.

From Botany Bay Cook continued northwards charting 2000 miles of coast, and claiming the Eastern Coast for Britain (New South Wales). Cook arrived back in England in July 1771. Cooks circumnavigation had taken three years, but the Admiralty was not convinced that there wasn! t a Great Southern Continent. In 1771 Cook was promoted to Commander very reluctantly by the Admiralty, due to Cook!'s background, however on the 11th of July 1772, he once again set sail from Plymouth this time in command of two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure.

Cook!'s Second voyage was to circumnavigate as far south as possible from the Cape of Good Hope, hoping to find any sign of the Great Southern Continent. Cook made the first recorded crossing of the Antarctic Circle on the 17th of January 1773. Soon after the Resolution, and Adventure were separated in the icy conditions, and it became impossible to travel further south. The two ships after reuniting continued east across the Pacific, and the two ships spent July to October 1773 exploring various islands between New Zealand, and mid-pacific. In a storm of New Zealand, the two ships were once again separated, and this time the Adventure returned to England. Cook once again set out from New Zealand in the Resolution heading once again into Antarctic waters, heading further south than any other European had been!

(R) 70 ca 11's outh! But once again ice forced Cook to sail north and charted many islands that had already been visited by the Dutch and Portuguese. These islands included Easter Island, and Marquesas. After one more trip to New Zealand, Cook set sail for England in November 1774. On his journey home, Cook discovered various islands in the South Atlantic. These included the Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia.

Cook returned to England in July 1775. On his return he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and received the Copley Medal for scientific achievement. On this second voyage of the Pacific, Cook was able to prove to the admiralty!'s satisfaction that there was no Great Southern Continent in existence, only the ice regions of the Antarctic. Cook was also noted on this voyage for keeping an impeccable health record for his crew. This was due to Cooks revolutionary ideas on general hygiene i.e. washing whenever possible, and a diet including lime juice, which greatly reduced scurvy. Cook was not expected to go to sea again retire, and instead he was to become the director of Greenwich Hospital.

However Cook turned down this position and instead set off on his third and final voyage in July 1776 to find a Pacific entrance to a northern passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The expedition was started by the Hudson Bay Company, who were keen to find new trade routes in that area. Cook once again sailed in the Resolution and the Discovery and for the first time in his Pacific voyages, he headed north of the equator in the early part of 1778. Cook searched in vain for a northern passage, but was once again turned back by ice.

In January 1779 Cook returned to the Sandwich Islands where he surveyed the islands of Hawaii and Maui. On the 14th of February 1779, Cook was dramatically killed in a fight with the islanders, after a boat was stolen. The Resolution and Discovery continued there voyage of discovery returning to England in August 1780. Cook!'s three famous voyages to the Pacific were very important in bettering people!'s knowledge of geography, and natural history of the Pacific area.

Cook!'s exploration of the Pacific also led to important expansions of the British Empire. Cook!'s exploration was not only important from a sense of land grabbing and discovery, but also in his scientific discoveries. Cook was very accurately able to chart coastlines and accurately plot the ships position. Perhaps what Cook is mostly remembered for was his almost complete eradication of scurvy from his voyages due to his insistence of hygiene and special diet.

All of these factors make Cook! (R) arguably the greatest seamen of all!

Bibliography

Philip de Souza: Seafaring and Civilization: Maritime Perspectives on World History. Profile Books LTD. 2001 J.
C. Beagle hole: The Life of Captain James Cook. 1974 Richard Woodman: The History of the Ship.
Conway Press 1997 The invention of the Marine Chronometer: web Captain James Cook: web Cook!'s First Voyage: 1768-1771: web David Mackay: Cook, James 1728-1779.
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 2002 web.