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JAMES
IN THE LATE SUMMER OF 1768, a small sailing ship left Plymouth,
England, on an expedition to the Pacific Ocean. In charge of the ship was
Lieutenant James Cook, who was to become one of the greatest explorers
the world has ever known. Cook was an outstanding navigator. He was also
a fine captain. He insisted that his sailors eat sauerkraut (pickled cabbage)
and fresh fruit, and so became the first captain to save his crew from scurvy,
a disease caused by lack of vitamin C. The voyage lasted three years. On
his return to England, Cook was sent on two more voyages: one to the
Antarctic, the other to the Arctic. On these voyages he became the first
European to visit a number of Pacific
islands, sailed farther south than
any other European, and added
many lands, including Australia
and New Zealand, to the
British Empire.SOUTH
AMERICAAFRICAASIASydney Parkinson
was the ship’s artist
on board the Endeavour. He drew this
plant, Banksia serrata, 1, around 1760.Islanders killed Captain Cook
here on February 14, 1779.Cook stocked
up with fresh
fruit at every
landing.COOK
Cook purified the air in
the ship once a week
by burning vinegar
and gunpowder.The Endeavour was 106 ft
(32 m) long, weighed 360 tons,
and carried 112 sailors and
five scientists.ENDEAVOUR
Cook’s ship, the Endeavour, was
originally a coal ship. Cook
chose this ship because it was
sturdy, spacious, and easy to
handle. On the Endeavour
voyage, Cook added many
new territories to the
British Empire.1728 Born in Yorkshire,
England.
1746 Signs on as ship’s boy
on the coal ship Freelove.
1759 Charts Saint Lawrence
River in Canada.
1772-75 Voyage to discover
“southern continent,” a land
that scientists thought must
exist. Circles Antarctica.
1775 Promoted to captain.
1776-79 Voyage to discover
a northwest passage around
North America.
1779 Killed in Sandwich
Islands (Hawaii).KEEPING RECORDS
Cook made many maps, took
regular measurements, and
recorded every event of the
voyages in minute detail.
The scientists onboard
collected botanical
specimens from the lands
they visited. In an age
before cameras, artists on
board made drawings of
all the people, plants, and
wildlife they saw to show
to people at home. They
collected so many specimens
in one bay in Australia that they
named it Botany Bay. It later
became a dreaded prison colony.
FIRST VOYAGE
The British Royal
Navy sent Cook on
his first voyage to
observe the planet
Venus passing between
Earth and the sun.
He also had secret orders
from the government to sail
into uncharted regions to prove the
existence of a southern continent, which
they wanted to add to their empire. He did
not succeed, but in the attempt he became
the first European to visit New Zealand
and the eastern coast of Australia.NORTH
AMERICASandwich
Islands
(Hawaii)Find out more
Australia, history of
Explorers
New zealand, history ofAUSTRALIAPacific
Ocean