Captain Cook
Geographers of the eighteenth century were positive that a
huge continent could be found in the southern waters of the Pacific
or Atlantic Oceans. When King George III of England was having
trouble with his rebellious American Colonies, he was sure that
settlements could flourish on the southern continent.
James Cook was the son of a poor farm laborer. During his
spare time he taught himself mathematics, astronomy, and
navigation. At forty years old he was singled out to lead the
historic expedition.
Joseph Banks was 24 years old, hansom, rich, and eager to
travel the world. He was interested in botany and zoology. Banks
traveled with Cook on his first voyage. He was a great asset on the
voyage being that he was a good observer and he participated in
rites and rituals.
On August 26, 1768 the Endeavor set sail from Plymouth,
England. Nine months later the Endeavor anchored in Matavi
Bay, Tahiti. The Tahitians did not share the Europeans’ belief in
the sanctity of private property. They were constantly tempted by
the things they had never seen before. To get these things back
Cook had to detain some of their things until the sailors’ property
was returned.
Cook arrived at New Zealand, and country that had been
discovered by the Dutch navigator, Abel Tasman in 1642. Before
The Essay on Do The Right Thing
The movie Do the Right Thing, a group of people in the district of Brooklyn, have had enough and tensions are growing in this black ghetto area. The only local businesses are a Korean grocery and Sal's Pizzeria. Mookie, Sal's delivery boy, manages to always be at the center of the action. The movie Do the Right Thing is a movie about a neighborhood that suffers from lack of diversity. On a hot ...
leaving, Cook raised the Union Jack and claimed the land in the
name of His Majesty King George III. Cook called it Poverty Bay.
Two weeks after leaving New Zealand the Endeavor reached
Australia, which was then called New Holland. Cook spent four
months charting two thousand miles of Australia’s east coast.
Hew named it New South Wales. By July 12, 1771 the Endeavor
returned home to England. Their voyage lasted two years and
eleven months.
The Admiralty approved of Cook’s plan to circumnavigate
the world. His plan was to travel through the South Atlantic,
Indian, and South Pacific Oceans. Cook lead two ships, the
“Resolution” and the “Adventure.”
On July 13, 1772 Cook sailed from Plymouth, England. The
two ships headed directly south into unknown and frozen waters.
The only signs of life were whales, sea birds, and penguins.
Cook was the first to sail across the Antarctic Circle. After
one hundred and thirty days the Resolution reached the Easter
Islands. This ship covered four thousand miles before sighting
South America on December 17, 1774. This voyage proved to the
world that James Cook was one of the history’s greatest
navigators.
For three centuries after the discovery of the Americas,
European navigators had searched in vain for an all water route to
the west.
Cook’s third voyage was launched from Plymouth Harbor,
England and was headed towards New Zealand. On February25,
1977 Cook sailed from New Zealand to Tahiti.
The crew sighted the Hawaiian Island of Kauai on the
morning of January 19, 1778. Cook named these islands the
Sandwich Islands in honor of the Earl of Sandwich.
His ships found a harbor Nootka Sound, an inlet of
Vancouver Island. Following the coastline, the ships continued to
be approached by natives. They traded nails and other small
trinkets with the natives in return for furs.
Traveling on, his men sighted a Hawaiian Island they had not
visited before. While Cook was in Maui, the natives mistook him
for their god, “Lono.” Lono was the Hawaiian god of prosperity
The Essay on Magellan Ships Spain South
In 1517 Ferdinand Magellan proposed to King Charles I of Spain for a fully funded expedition to find a western sea route to the Moluccan Islands. If Magellan could find an easy way through or around South America it would enable the Spanish to set up a profitable trade route with the Molaccans, known for its abundance of spices. On May 22, 1518 King Charles I granted Magellan enough money to buy ...
and peace. He was said to be a white god that was fated to come
to them on a magical floating island during the holiday of
Mahahilli. The captain cooperated. Whenever Cook would go for
a walk he was always preceded by a priest.
On February 4, 1779 they sailed away. Cook had to return
because of storms. When he came back he was looked down
upon. Everyone was very edgy and a fight broke out. While Cook
was waving the ships in, he was attacked from behind with a club.
For revenge the sailors destroyed a number of homes and sacred
buildings. On the afternoon of February 20, six days after the
disasters, the remains of Cook were returned.
On April 29, 1779 the ships reached Kamchetka in Siberia.
The ships anchored on December 4, 1779 near Latin, China. The
ships arrived back home in London on October 4, 1780. This
voyage lasted four years, two months, and twenty-two days.
Captain James Cook’s explorations were influential on the
English who colonized and developed New Zealand and Australia.
