Cook's Voyages To The Pacific example essay topic

JAMES COOK'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE) Introduction The purpose of this paper is to describe the life and the contribution to the development of the British Empire of one of the most important English explorers. It was in the second half of the 18th century when James Cook, originally a poor farm boy, explored and mapped vast uncharted areas of the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. However, James Cook was not 'only' an explorer. He can also be called a scientist - he managed to introduce new principles into seafaring and cartography. For better understanding, the paper is divided into five chapters.

The first chapter is the introduction, which throws light on the purpose and structure of the paper. The second chapter is a brief introduction to the situation in Great Britain in the 18th century. It helps to explain why and how the so called "the First British Empire" was built up and later destroyed, and what led to the creation of "the Second British Empire". The third chapter deals with Capt. Cook's life and his three unique expeditions to the Pacific. The fourth part of the paper summarises Cook's achievements and his contribution to the development of the British Empire. The fifth chapter forms the conclusion of the paper.

II) A brief introduction to the situation in Great Britain in the 18th century. Great Britain became a great world power in this period. Under the leadership of William Pitt the Elder, Britain's Prime Minister and at the same time a man who believed that the strength of the nation's economy depended on overseas expansion, the country gained vast territories all over the world and the so called "the First British Empire" was founded. The reasons why Great Britain was so successful can be divided into four groups: o "Revolutions" - the Industrial Revolution, a financial revolution and a revolution in agriculture made Britain the leading power in Europe. The creation of the Bank of England in 1694 helped to raise capital for colonial wars and to support British trade.

At the beginning of the 18th century a series of mechanical inventions enabled the building of the world's first mechanized factories. A steam engine invented in 1769 provided the power to drive machinery and thus enabled mass production of goods. The new ways of making products more quickly and inexpensively together with the extension of new markets also caused a commercial revolution. The structure of commerce changed: imports of raw materials were rising and ever more finished products were exported. Such a structure of commerce enabled the immense growth of wealth of the country. o An imperial enthusiasm - the British found out that they could grow rich from the trade with their colonies.

As a result it led to a constant, unending search for new markets for British products, new trading centres and eventually, new lands to settle their surplus criminals and poor, unemployed citizens. o New inventions in navigation - these inventions had a profound influence, not only upon Britain, but even upon much of the rest of the world. John Hadley's invention of the reflecting quadrant made it possible to determine the latitude at noon or by night. Extremely accurate, it was quickly adopted by the admiralty (1730). John Harrison's ship chronometer was to revolutionize the world's shipping (1736). A new method of combating scurvy was found - James Lind recommended to use citrus juice (1747) and finally, John Campbell introduced the new sextant to the Royal Navy (1757). All of these inventions helped to create Britain's naval supremacy. o A new philosophical approach - the 18th century in Western Europe is the beginning of the Age of Reason, the philosophers and scientists stressed the value of global discovery, of learning more about the earth and of collecting unusual flora and fauna from around the globe.

Thus Great Britain established (or won in a number of colonial wars) numerous new colonies and brought large indigenous populations under British domination. The core of the First British Empire was American colonies, Canada, India and the West Indies. The trade between Britain and its colonies flourished and many people made vast personal fortunes. By the 1750's, a whole new leisured class had been created in Britain. The East India Company making business in India became so rich that it had to be subjected to the special Department of the British Government. In the West Indies and American colonies the leading role was played by the production of cotton, sugar and slave trade.

Step by step, Britain gained the supremacy in the world commerce. Not only rich people profited from Britain's world supremacy but also ordinary Britons felt superior; in comparison with the other European nations they were better fed and had better dwellings. The feeling of superiority was supported by the government propaganda. However, not only England took advantage of the colonial trade. The Scottish towns got even richer in it.

A triumphant and expanded empire meant new responsibilities and new costs. The British government and Parliament wanted the American colonies to pay for their protection. It led to some extra local taxes which appeared perfectly fair in Britain but which made the American colonists upset and they united against the mother country. The most hateful taxes were a Stamp Act (1765), Townshend Acts (1767) and the so-called Intolerable Acts (1774).

These series of laws helped to start the American War of Independence a year later, which resulted in the colonies becoming a separate state, the United States of America. British resistance ended in October 1781. It was not only the end of the American War of Independence but it also meant the liquidation of the First British Empire. However, Britain still kept its supremacy at sea and the departure northwards of over 30,000 "United Empire Loyalists" led to the establishment of the new colony of New Brunswick, which reinforced the British presence in Canada. As Canada's climate was too severe for plantations and thus slave or convict labour, Britain was forced to find new territories which should play the same role as its former American colonies.

Some historians talk about "Swing to the East" in Britain's imperial policy. After considering the coasts of Africa, the British government decided that the recently rediscovered eastern coast of Australia would be suitable and in 1788, the first transport of 750 convicts arrived in Botany Bay in Australia. However, .".. it wasn't just land to resettle criminals that Britain needed. Both the agricultural and industrial revolutions had contributed to an enormous growth in population. There just were not enough jobs to go around, and as one historian has pointed out, in Ireland 'there were neither enough tenements nor enough potatoes. ' Following the peace of 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, there was a great increase in the population of the British Isles, so much so that a feeling of alarm spread through government ranks". (web) There were too many people to feed, misery, widespread unemployment and bad harvests in Great Britain, and all these factors forced the Government to solve these problems very quickly.

Perhaps the easiest solution was emigration of surplus population. As was already mentioned above, the most suitable territories to play the same role as former American colonies were found in Australia. It was James Cook who rediscovered Australia and thus helped to solve Britain's socio-economic troubles.) James Cook - the explorer. James Cook was born in the village of Marton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire on October 27, 1728. He was one of seven children born to a farm labourer.

At the age of 15 he was sent to work for William Sanders in the nearby fishing village of Staithes. Here Cook developed love and fascination for the sea, but he was not especially happy with his job at a small shop of Mr. Sanders. In those days, the nearby port of Whitby was a bustling place, always busy with all kinds of ships. Cook left Staithes and at the age of 17 started to work for John Walker of Whitby, a ship owner specializing in coal trade. While working on colliers, Cook became familiar with this type of ships. His knowledge of all of its advantages and drawbacks later proved crucial and the Admiralty decided to choose this type of ship for his voyages.

During that time he also studied mathematics, navigation and astronomy and gained excellent knowledge of these subjects. In 1755, Cook left his collier and enlisted in the Royal Navy as an ordinary sailor. However, his skills as a seaman and navigator were soon recognised and Cook became boatswain on the ship Eagle and later even commanded his own survey vessel. In those days, Britain was at war with France. The so-called Seven Years War took place in Europe, in North America and India.

In North America, colonial rivalry had gradually developed over lucrative fur-trading posts and over fishing rights in the abundant coastal waters of Newfoundland. Cook was ordered to map the waters of the St. Lawrence River in Canada in order to prepare the British attack on Quebec. His maps of the St. Lawrence River were of superior quality and thus enabled the British fleet to move up the St. Lawrence River and subsequently to beat French and capture Quebec from them in 1759. After the end of the war Cook was proposed to survey the rugged coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and so he spent several following years mapping them. His maps were extremely accurate and were used by sailors for over a century. Those maps along with his observing and recording the eclipse of the sun in 1766 gave Cook a name..

1. First Voyage As a result of surveying Newfoundland successfully, Cook was invited to lead a joint Royal Society and Admiralty expedition to the recently discovered island of Tahiti. The aim of the expedition was to observe the transit of Venus across the sun (predicted by the astronomer Edmund Halley), an astronomical event which would enable mathematicians to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and so enable a more accurate determination of longitude. Although James Cook was almost unknown to the general public in Britain, and some representatives of the Admiralty thought him inexperienced, the majority of the Lords of the Admiralty were convinced that his abilities that had been so valuable in surveying Newfoundland would be equally useful in the uncharted waters of the South Pacific.

Cook's appointment was not the only surprising act of the Admiralty. The choice of a ship was also widely discussed and many officers were embarrassed when such a grimy boat was selected. A collier had been chosen because it could hold the large quantities of supplies and scientific equipment the voyagers would require, and also because it was flat-bottomed and able to sail among sharp coral reefs in the South Pacific. Cook was familiar with colliers from the time when he had been working on them in Whitby, and realised that this ship was perfectly suitable for the planned expedition.

The Earl of Pembroke, a Whitby collier, was bought and sent to the Royal Dockyard of Deptford on the Thames River near London so that the ship could be prepared for the voyage. As the collier was originally built to carry a crew of 17 only, it had to be rebuilt very skilfully to seat a much larger crew. On April 5, the Admiralty renamed the vessel Endeavour and on August 26, 1768, Cook and a crew of 94 sailors and scientists (including the botanist Joseph Banks - later President of the Royal Society, and painters Parkinson and Buchan), set sail from Plymouth. Cook and his crew sailed southward to Madeira, made a stop in Rio de Janeiro, where a delay occurred because the ship was mistaken for a pirate vessel, then rounded the Cape Horn and with good weather and no troubles with wind proceeded westward to Tahiti. On Tahiti, they completed all observations of the transit of Venus across the Sun according to the plan on June 3, 1769. The stay on the island of Tahiti was quite idyllic, though there were some difficulties between the crew and the islanders due to the different views on property.

The islanders considered all property as communal and so small thefts were common but Cook proved to be able to prevent any serious clashes. However, the scientific observation was not the main task of the expedition. Cook was given secret orders in a sealed envelope and was ordered to open it as late as on Tahiti. Its content was not surprising for the crew and Cook himself. His instructions from the Royal Society were to explore and claim possessions for Britain and, primarily, to prove the existence (or the non-existence) of long predicted continent of "Terra Australis Incognita" in the unexplored part of the Southern Hemisphere. The unknown continent had been predicted by geographers since ancient times.

Even ancient Greeks believed that such a landmass was necessary to "balance" the great continents of the Northern Hemisphere. The significance of the Southern Continent for the imperial policy of Great Britain was enormous. The British were still playing the leading role in the world of commerce but France did not give up and was also looking for that unknown Southern Continent. If they had found it they could have threatened Britain's supremacy.

Thus we can read in 'Additional instructions for Lt. James Cook, appointed to command His Majesty's Bark The Endeavour': .".. You are to proceed to the southward in order to make discovery of the Continent above-mentioned until you arrive in the Latitude of 40^0, unless you sooner fall in with it. But not having discover'd it or any Evident signs of it in that Run, you are to proceed in search of it to the Westward between the Latitude before mentioned and the Latitude of 35^0 until you discover it, or fall in with the Eastern side of the Land discover'd by Tasman and now called New Zealand... ". (web) Cook sailed south in the middle of August 1769, but severe weather forced him to turn northwest at the beginning of September. No sight of the supposed Terra Australis was found so he moved to New Zealand as ordered. Cook reached New Zealand and by March 1770 he had circumnavigated both North and South Islands. He accurately charted the coast of New Zealand (almost 4,000 km) and then proceeded westward where he discovered and mapped the eastern coast of Australia (more than 3,000 km).

However, Cook had to pay attention not only to mapping the coast. His ship got stuck on the Great Barrier Reef and was badly damaged but it was rescued by his extraordinary naval talents. The leaking Endeavour continued via Torres Straight (rediscovered by Cook - the Spanish had kept it a secret) towards Batavia (today's Jakarta) where the crew repaired their vessel. Unfortunately, Cook's effort to keep the crew healthy failed here. He successfully fought against scurvy by means of sauerkraut, lime juice and fresh vegetables and by forcing the crew to keep their cabins clean but despite his effort many of his men were infected with malaria and dysentery and about 30 of them died.

The rest of the crew made their way home across the Indian Ocean and via Cape of Good Hope and the island of St. Helena. They finally reached the coast of England after almost 3 years of voyaging on July 13, 1771. James Cook's first voyage was extremely successful. Although he did not find fabulous the Terra Australis, he notably contributed to the world's knowledge of the Southern Hemisphere. He discovered and claimed for Britain a number of islands in the Pacific; managed to accurately map thousands of miles of New Zealand and Australia coast and, naturally, to claim those recently discovered territories for Britain.

He found and charted many possible future ports for British ships; logged many sea currents; successfully completed all observations of the transit of Venus across the Sun, and brought to Britain thous and's of specimens of new plants and animals collected and recorded by Banks and other scientists. In general, this courageous voyage provided new detailed information of geography, navigation, natural science and astronomy. Although Cook's voyage ended in such great success, the Admiralty still was not convinced of the non-existence of the Southern Continent possibly situated somewhere in the unexplored part of the Southern Hemisphere. Thus the Admiralty decided to send someone to resolve this long discussed question once for all. This time no one was surprised that James Cook was chosen to lead the expedition.. 2.

Second Voyage The Admiralty's orders were identical to those for the second part of Cook's first voyage. He was instructed to travel as far south as possible, circumnavigate the area and sail north whenever weather and ice made exploration impossible. If there was any continent or landmass, Cook was ordered to claim it for Britain. Since a collier proved good on the first mission, the Admiralty bought two other small Whitby colliers for this voyage.

Both ships were rebuilt and specially fitted but Joseph Banks required more space for him and ordered some more changes. As a result, the Resolution - Cook's new vessel - was not able to sail. The Admiralty ordered to put the ship in order but Banks refused to travel under 'adverse conditions' and was replaced by Johann Forster and his son. When everything was prepared, the Resolution and the Adventure (under the command of Capt. Furneaux) set sail from Plymouth on July 13, 1772. The expedition sailed south to the Cape of Good Hope and then continued towards Cape Circumcision discovered by Bouvet, a Frenchman.

This cape could prove the existence of the fabulous Terra Australis. However, there was no sign of land in the area where Cape Circumcision was believed to be situated. It is very probable that Bouvet mistook it for an iceberg. They continued in search for the South Continent and in January 1773 the expedition most likely became the first to cross the South Antarctic Circle. They crossed it several times when trying to sail further southward. Because of icebergs and oncoming winter, Cook determined to sail to New Zealand.

He spent the winter exploring the islands of the South Pacific and then again proceeded southward where he repeatedly proved his naval talents. He managed to lead his ship through heavy storms and dangerous ocean filled with huge icebergs without the loss of a single man or any damage to the ships. In one heavy storm the Resolution lost contact with Furneaux's Adventure. Nevertheless, Cook continued in the search for the Southern Continent but he did not find any sign of it. Even if he did not believe in its existence he did his best to find it. Cook was forced to sail north as the weather conditions worsened.

He again spent the winter searching for islands that other explorers (mostly of Dutch and Portuguese origin) had discovered more than a century earlier but then "lost" due to primitive navigation techniques. Thus Cook found and charted e.g. Tonga (formerly known as the Friendly Islands), the Tuamotu Islands, the Marquesas, Vanuatu (the New Hebrides), New Caledonia, the Society Islands, Eastern Island, etc. Searching for the above mentioned islands, Cook made two great circles in the southern Pacific. After the final return to New Zealand, he set out for home in November 1774. On the way home, he was crossing both the South Pacific and Atlantic and discovered and claimed for Britain the South Sandwich Islands and the South Georgia.

Cook returned to Plymouth in July 1775. Cook's second voyage lasted three years and eighteen days. He circumnavigated Antarctica but the ice surrounding the continent prevented discovering the land. The existence of Antarctica remained unproved until 1840.

Nevertheless, Cook sailed farther south than any other European before him - he was only 121 km from Antarctica's coast. Although Cook had never seen the Continent, he probably realised its existence because they several times found rock fragments in icebergs. This expedition finally resolved the question of Terra Australis Incognita. The voyagers had proved that there was no habitable Southern Continent. Cook's second expedition was also the first long voyage without losing a single man to scurvy. Moreover, this voyage brought more land for Britain than any single naval victory of the powerful British fleet of that time.

After the return home, Cook was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and received their highest honour for his geographic exploration. He was also appointed director of Greenwich Hospital but he was not very happy with this form of retirement at the age of 46. He was still full of energy and wanted to put his skills and knowledge of navigation to use again. It did not take long and James Cook was offered to command another expedition.. 3. Third voyage The goal of this third voyage was to locate a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.

Such a connection between both oceans would allow sailing between Europe and Asia across the top of North America. Over the previous 250 years, there had been many unsuccessful explorers who tried to find this new trading route from Europe to the Orient. The discovery of the passage would shorten a travel to Asia to such an extent that Britain even offered lb 20,000 to anybody who would explore it. Nevertheless, Cook's interest in finding the passage was not caused by the prize money but only by his nature of an explorer. He proposed to buy another collier because the Adventure was incapable of navigation. The Admiralty accepted a purchase of a new ship.

The Resolution left Plymouth on July 12, 1776 and the Discovery, the new collier under the command of Capt. Clerke (lieutenant on Cook's former voyage), followed them a few weeks later. The delay of the Discovery was caused by the imprisonment of Capt. Clerke. However, everything was cleared up soon and the Discovery joined Cook at the Cape of Good Hope. Both ships continued to the Pacific where they made stops in New Zealand and Tahiti, where a native called Oma i who had been brought to England by Capt. Furneaux, was returned home.

Then they proceeded northward, discovered a group of islands now known as the Cook Islands, and crossed the Equator for the first time in Cook's Pacific voyages. Soon they discovered Hawaii, where they met friendly people speaking a language, surprisingly enough, very similar to the one used on Tahiti. Cook judged correctly that the Polynesians spread from one island to another throughout the Pacific and realised that not only Europeans were capable of making extremely long sails. From Hawaii (Cook named it 'Sandwich Islands' in honour of his friend John Montague, the Earl of Sandwich and at the same time the first Lord of the Admiralty) they sailed farther northward. On March 6, 1778, they reached the coast of North America in what is called Oregon nowadays. Then James Cook started exploring and mapping the coast up to the north.

During spring and summer 1778 Cook charted the west coast of Canada, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands trying to find the supposed Northwest Passage. Through the Bering Strait he entered the Arctic Ocean and even crossed the North Arctic Circle. He had spent as much time as possible there but bad weather and dangerous icebergs forced him to interrupt his search for the passage. Cook decided to winter in Hawaii and then to return back the following summer. He arrived to Hawaii in November 1778 and after several weeks of exploring the islands and seeking a suitable harbour Cook finally found a safe anchorage at Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii. The crew was warmly welcomed by thousands of natives, they were given many gifts and spent over a month there.

It is very probable that Cook was considered to be the Hawaiian god Lono and the crew as his children. However, some historians doubt this myth. They claim, for example, that the Hawaiians would expect Lono to be able to speak their native language or that Lono should come from Kah iki and not from Britain (it was one of the rules of the Admiralty to tell the natives where the explorers came from). Cook and the crew spent several pleasant weeks there but the initially slight tension between the natives and the British was increasing gradually and thus Cook ordered to leave the islands on February 4.

Soon after their departure a storm damaged the foremast of the Resolution and forced them to return to Kealakekua Bay for repairs on February 11. Unfortunately, the reception of the crew was not very friendly, their return probably made the Hawaiians doubt the divine origin of Cook's men. It is not certain what exactly happened then but one thing is undoubted: Capt. James Cook, one of the greatest sea explorers, had been stabbed by the natives and died on February 14, 1779. After Cook's death the crew proceeded northward to make another attempt to find the Northwest Passage. They did not succeed and returned home. Capt. Clerke took command of both ships, but he too died on the voyage.

The expedition finally ended on October 7, 1780, when both ships reached the coast of Britain. IV) Results of Capt. Cook's voyages Cook's explorations considerably increased British knowledge of the world. Cook surveyed and charted thousands of kilometres of the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, and North America and hundreds of Pacific islands. He showed that the fabulous great southern continent - Terra Australis Incognita - was only a myth, as well as the so-called Northwest Passage. The evidence of non-existence of Terra Australis Incognita took from France one of the promising possibilities to end the British supremacy in the world commerce.

On the other hand, Cook's voyages to the Pacific laid the foundation for British dominions in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Although Australia was long known only as a penal colony, the opinion of its role in the British Empire changed very soon. At the beginning of the 19th century Britain changed its policy towards Australia: .".. attitudes in Parliament began to shift with the publication of Captain Alexander McConochie who recommended that Britain look to the Pacific Ocean to expand its commerce. He particularly advocated a settlement of New South Wales that would open up new markets as well as absorb what he termed Scotland's 'superabundant population'... ". (web). Pastures suitable for sheep farming were found in Australia's interior and thus Australia attracted more and more settlers who established efficient wool industry in the country. Fertile islands of New Zealand also added to the British commerce and in the end of the 19th century, Britain and Europe were flooded with cheap mutton and lamb produced by New Zealand's farmers.

Cook's exploration of the west coast of Canada and the Chinese interest in receiving fur in exchange for the tea, silk and porcelain (goods much demanded in Europe) led to the British settlement on the west coast of Canada. The first settlers were a group of English traders on Vancouver Island discovered by Cook 10 years before. However, another European power demanded that territory: .".. Spain still claimed the whole West Coast of America up to the boundary of what is now Alaska, but after a confrontation at Vancouver between the two countries, England presented an ultimatum to the Spanish whose lack of allies, and an effective navy, forced them to accept its terms. The Spanish recognition of British trading and fishing rights in the area opened the way for the establishment of British Columbia and the creation of a British North America stretching from ocean to ocean". (web).

Capt. Cook can be called the 'father of modern cartography'. He devised techniques that reduced the error in ranging distances to a few miles. His mastery in making maps was a result of skilful combination of all methods available at that time. He used recently invented instruments such as a chronometer or a sextant. Cook's scientific methods caused that his extremely accurate maps were in use until the early part of the 20th century.

Due to Cook's excellent charting skills Britain had beaten France in Quebec, gained vast territories in the Pacific, and had information about sea currents, shallow places, reefs and possible harbours all around the globe. James Cook also indirectly contributed to one of the greatest sea victories in Britain's history: the victory in the Battle of Trafalgar which helped to secure the supremacy of British naval forces for the rest of the 19th century. Cook's contribution consisted in introducing new principles in alimentation of seamen, which led to the disappearance of scurvy from British ships whereas this disease continued to take its deadly toll on enemy ships. Cook paid much attention to the health of his crews and many of his observations and recommendations were accepted by the Admiralty. Subsequently, the better physical condition of British crews played an important role in the naval competition of that time. Cook also opened the Pacific to the 'conquerors' of all kinds. e.g. the European owners of whaling fleets were attracted by the frequent mention of a large numbers of seals and whales encountered during the voyages.

Whale-hunting brought to them huge profits. Naturally, also English missionaries flooded the recently discovered territories and contributed to the spreading of British influence. Cook's voyages increased our knowledge of the Southern Hemisphere. The scientists who accompanied him described and brought to Britain thousands of plants and animals never seen before by Europeans.

The amount and wealth of scientifically collected material from Cook's expeditions was unique. He also created a tradition of sending scientists on long voyages of exploration: there were many of them who took part in the future expeditions including Charles Darwin on board the Beagle, or T.H. Huxley on board the Rattlesnake. V) Conclusion James Cook belongs to the greatest explorers ever. He explored an immense part of this planet's surface and solved many geographical mysteries of the end of the 18th century.

Territories discovered by Cook played an important role in spreading British influence. Australia and New Zealand - rediscovered by Cook - proved very beneficial in solving serious Britain's socio-economic troubles. It helped to resettle criminals and unemployed citizens, and kept British supremacy in the world commerce. His scientific approach towards seafaring helped the British to retain their supremacy of naval forces for the rest of the 19th century. All his expeditions contributed immensely to the knowledge of our world. Books: Beagle hole, J.C. The Journals of Captain Cook [ABRIDGED].

London: Penguin Classics 1999 Cook, James. Cesta kol em sv ta. Praha: Panorama, 1978 Judd, Denis. Imp " erbium. Praha: BB art, 1999 CD-ROM: Encarta 98 encyclopedia. "Cook, Captain James".

Microsoft. CD-ROM. Microsoft Item: X 03-22823 Web sites: http: //152.105. 19.10/scouts / nun thorp//badge wk / history web cook.'s html web web clark / ch 4-25. html web cook. html web.