Do you know who the worlds greatest explorers are? One of them is thetopic of this essay. This essay is about James Cook. The objective of thisreport will be to answer the following question: Why do we remember James Cook?James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in Marton, England. At the ageof 18 James Cook became an apprentice with a shipping company. His firstvoyages he worked on ships that carried coal to English ports.In 1755,during the French – Indian war, Cook joined the British navy. In 1759 he wasgiven a dangerous wartime mission. He was to enter French territory and surveythe St. Lawrence river for the British navy. The charts that he made during thisvoyage contributed to the capture of the French city of Quebec later in thatyear.
James Cook made three voyages to the Pacific. His first voyage, in 1768,the navy appointed Cook to lead an expedition to Tahiti. On the Endeavour theyleft in August and reached Tahiti in April of 1769. On the island scientistswatched the planet Venus pass between the Earth and the Sun. This was the maingoal of this voyage but cook had been given secret orders to find an unknowncontinent in the south pacific. He was told to find it because geographersbelieved that it kept the world in balance, however Cook was unable to find it.
In October of 1769 Cook became the first European man to visit New Zealand. InApril of 1770 the Endeavor sailed to Botany Bay on the east coast of Australia.
Cook claimed the entire east coast of Australia for Great Britain. He returnedto England in July of 1771. During this voyage, from 1678 – 1771, Cook becamethe first ship captain to prevent an outbreak of scurvy. Cook had heard thatscurvy was caused by a lack of fresh vegetables and fruits. To prevent anoutbreak he served his sailor’s fruit and sauerkraut. In July of 1772 Cook setoff on his second voyage to the pacific. Cook had left England with theResolution and the Adventure.
This expedition was Cooks second attempt to findthe unknown southern continent. During this voyage Cook sailed farther souththan any European had ever gone. Cook faced many dangers in the cold Antarcticwaters. Jagged mountains and ice as high as 18 meters often blocked the way ofthe ships. High winds that pushed the icebergs towards the ships increased thedanger. Cook circled Antarctica but the ice kept him from sighting land. In1773 and 1774 Cook became the first European to visit a number of PacificIslands, including the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. He arrived back inEngland in July of 17775 and was promoted to a captain. Cooks final voyage wasin July of 1776. Cook took two ships, the Resolution and the Discovery, to finda possible northern sea route between Europe and Asia. Cook first sailed to NewZealand and some other Pacific Islands. In January of 1778 James Cook becamethe first European to go to the Hawaiian Islands. Cook named them the SandwichIslands to tribute Britains chief naval minister, the Earl of Sandwich.
Later that year Cook sailed to the northwest coast of North America. He was theFirst European to land on Vancouver Island. Cook then continued up the coastand sailed Bering Strait and then entered the Arctic Ocean. The walls of ice inthe Arctic Ocean blocked the expedition so Cook headed back to the SandwichIslands in August. In February of 1779 an Islander stole a boat from theDiscovery at Kealakekua Bay. Cook tried to investigate the theft of the boatbut was stabbed to death in a fight with Islanders on February 14, 1779. Theexpedition returned to England in October of 1780.
James Cook accomplished many things in his lifetime. He had surveyedand charted thousands of kilometers of coast and solved many mysteries of thePacific Ocean. He opened the northwest American coast trade and colonization.
He also discovered the Hawaiian Island, which he called the Sandwich Islands,and was the first European man to set foot on New Zealand and Vancouver Island.
James Cook played a very important part in the formation of Canada. Themaps he made of the St. Lawrence river helped the British conquer the French.
If he had never gone on these voyages Canada would now be under French rule andwe would be living, talking, and acting differently. He opened the northwestAmerican coast to trade which led to the colonization of North America.
