189
See also: Marco Polo reaches Shangdu 104–05 ■ Christopher Columbus
reaches America 142–47 ■ The Treaty of Tordesillas 148–51 ■
The voyage of the Mayflower 172 –73I
n 1768, British navigator James
Cook sailed to Tahiti to make
scientific observations of the
Transit of Venus across the Sun, a
rare event that could be seen only
from the southern hemisphere.
Having recorded the event, Cook
sailed on in search of the rumored
“unknown land of the South.” He
mapped the New Zealand coast,
and then traveled northwest,
discovering the eastern coast of
Australia in the process. Claiming
the land for Britain, he named it
New South Wales. Working closely
with botanists Joseph Banks and
Daniel Solander, he also produced
unique records of the indigenous
peoples, flora, and fauna.An enduring link
Cook’s voyages were part of a wider
tradition of European exploration
of the Pacific by navigators such
as Dutchman Abel Tasman, after
whom Tasmania is named. Cook
forged the enduring connection
between Australasia and Europe,
beginning a process that continued
with colonization, the transportationof British convicts into exile, and
the founding of cities such as
Sydney and Melbourne.
In his later voyages, Cook used
the chronometer, newly developed
by Englishman John Harrison. It
facilitated accurate timekeeping at
sea, and so the calculation of precise
longitude, which was invaluable to
Cook in charting his discoveries. ■THE EARLY MODERN ERA
AS FAR AS I THINK
IT POSSIBLE FOR
MAN TO GO
THE VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN COOK (1768–1779)
IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Pacific and Australasian
explorationBEFORE
1642–1644 Dutchman Abel
Tasman becomes the first
European to reach New
Zealand and Tasmania.1768 –1771 James Cook makes
his first voyage to Australia
and New Zealand.1772–1775 Cook sails close
to Antarctica, and around the
southern Pacific.1776 –1779 Cook’s third
voyage takes him to Hawaii,
where he is killed in a fight
with local people.AFTER
1788 The first convicts
from Britain arrive at the Port
Jackson (Sydney Harbour)
penal colony.1802 British navigator
Matthew Flinders
circumnavigates Australia.We were regaled with
the pleasing sight of the
Mountains of New Zealand—
after an absence from Land
of 17 weeks and 3 days...
how changed the scene!
Richard Pickersgill,
Third lieutenant on the Resolution
(1773)US_188-189_Newton_Captain_Cook.indd 189 15/02/2016 16:43