Cook, James
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James Cook James Cook
Portrait by Nathaniel Dance Holland, circa 1775.
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Birth name: James Cook
Occupation: navigator
Date of birth: October 27 (November 7) 1728 (1728-11-07)
Place of birth: Marton, Yorkshire, England
Country: Kingdom of Great Britain
Date of death: February 14, 1779 (1779-02-14) [1] (50 years old)
Place of death: Hawaii (island)
Awards and prizes:
Copley Medal (1776)
Autograph:
James Cook is an English naval sailor, explorer, cartographer and discoverer, a member of the Royal Society and a captain of the Royal Navy.
He led three expeditions to explore the world's oceans, all of them were around the world.
During these expeditions, he made a number of geographical discoveries.
He surveyed and mapped the little known and rarely visited parts of Newfoundland and the east coast of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the west coast of North America, the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
Thanks to the attention that Cook paid to cartography, many of the maps he compiled had no analogues in their accuracy and accuracy for many decades and served navigators until the second half of the XIX century.
Cook was known for his tolerant and friendly attitude towards the indigenous inhabitants of the territories he visited.
overshadowed a kind of revolution in navigation, having learned to successfully fight such a dangerous and widespread disease at that time as scurvy.
The mortality from it during his voyages was practically reduced to zero.
A whole galaxy of famous navigators and explorers took part in his voyages, such as Joseph Banks, William Bligh, George Vancouver, Johann Reinhold and Georg Forster.
Content
1 Childhood and youth 2 The beginning of a career 3 The first circumnavigation of the world (1768-1771) 3.1 The goals of the expedition 3.2 The composition of the expedition 3.3 The course of the expedition 3.4 The results of the first expedition
4 Second circumnavigation of the world (1772-1775) 4.1 Objectives of the expedition 4.2 Composition of the expedition 4.3 Progress of the expedition 4.4 Results of the expedition
5 The third circumnavigation of the world (1776-1779) 5.1 Objectives of the expedition 5.2 Composition of the expedition 5.3 Progress of the expedition 5.4 Results of the expedition
6 Memory 7 Notes 8 See also 9 Literature 10 Sources
Childhood and youth[edit / edit wiki text]
James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in the village of Marton (now in the county of South Yorkshire).
His father, a poor Scottish farmhand, had four children besides James.
In 1736, the family moved to the village of Great Ayton, where Cook was sent to the local school (now turned into a museum).
After five years of study, James Cook begins working on a farm under his father, who by that time had received the position of manager.
At the age of eighteen, he is hired as a cabin boy on the coal miner "Hercules" by the Walkers.
This is how the sea life of James Cook begins.
The beginning of a career[edit / edit wiki text]
Cook began his career as a seaman as a simple cabin boy on the merchant brig collier "Hercules", owned by shipowners John and Henry Walker, on the route London — Newcastle.
Two years later, he was transferred to another Walker ship, the Three Brothers.
We know the testimony of friends of the Walkers about how much time Cook spent on books.
He devoted his free time to studying geography, navigation, mathematics, astronomy, and was also interested in descriptions of sea expeditions.
It is known that Cook left the Walkers for two years, which he spent in the Baltic and off the east coast of England, but returned at the request of the brothers as an assistant captain on the "Friendship".
Three years later, in 1755, the Walkers offered him to take command of the "Friendship", but Cook refused.
Instead, on June 17, 1755, he enlisted as a sailor in the Royal Navy and 8 days later was assigned to the 60 gun ship Eagle.
This fact in his biography confuses some researchers — there are no known reasons why Cook preferred the hard work of a sailor to a captain's position in the merchant navy.
But a month after admission, Cook becomes a boatswain.
Soon the Seven Years ' War (1756) began.
The Eagle participated in the blockade of the coast of France.
It is also known that in May 1757, off the island of Ouessant, the Eagle engaged in a battle with the French ship "Duke of Aquitaine" (displacement of 1,500 tons, 50 guns).
During the pursuit and battle, the "Duke of Aquitaine" was captured.
The Eagle was damaged in that battle and was forced to go to England for repairs.
After reaching two years of experience, in 1757, James Cook successfully passed the master's exam (English Sailing Master), and on October 27 he was assigned to the ship "Solebay" under the command of Captain Craig.
Cook was twenty nine years old at the time.
With the beginning of the Seven Years ' War, he was assigned to the 60 gun ship Pembroke.
The Pembroke participated in the blockade of the Bay of Biscay, then in February 1758 was sent to the North American coast (Canada).
Cook was given the most important task, which was of key importance for the capture of Quebec — - to arrange the fairway of the St. Lawrence River section so that British ships could pass to Quebec.
This task included not only drawing the fairway on the map, but also marking navigable sections of the river with buoys.
On the one hand, due to the extreme complexity of the fairway, the amount of work was very large, on the other hand, it was necessary to work at night, under the fire of French artillery, repelling night counterattacks, restoring buoys that the French managed to destroy.
The successfully completed work enriched Cook with cartographic experience, and was also one of the main reasons why the Admiralty ultimately chose him for its historical choice.
Quebec was besieged, then taken.
Cook did not take part directly in the fighting.
After the capture of Quebec, Cook was transferred by the master to the flagship "Northumberland", which can be regarded as a professional encouragement.
On the orders of Admiral Colville, Cook continued mapping the St. Lawrence River until 1762.
Cook's maps were recommended by Admiral Colville for publication and were published in the North American Lot of 1765.
Cook returned to England in November 1762.
Shortly after returning from Canada, on December 21, 1762, Cook married Elizabeth Butts.
They had six children: James (1763-1794), Nathaniel (1764-1781), Elizabeth (1767-1771), Joseph (1768-1768), George (1772-1772) and Hugh (1776-1793).
The family lived in the East End of London.
Little is known about Elizabeth's life after Cook's death.
She lived after his death for another 56 years and died in December 1835 at the age of 93.
The first circumnavigation of the world (1768-1771)[edit / edit wiki text]
cook's first, second and third expeditions
The goals of the expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
The official purpose of the expedition was to study the passage of Venus through the Sun's disk[2].
However, in secret orders received by Cook, he was instructed to immediately go to the southern latitudes after completing astronomical observations in search of the so called Southern Continent[2] (also known as Terra Incognita).
Also, the purpose of the expedition was to establish the shores of Australia, especially its eastern coast, which was completely unexplored.
The composition of the expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
The following reasons can be identified that influenced the choice of the Admiralty in favor of Cook:
Cook was a sailor, and therefore he was subordinate to the Admiralty, which needed its own person as the head of the expedition.
It was for this reason that Alexander Dalrymple, who also claimed this title, was unprofitable for the Admiralty.
Cook was not just a sailor, but an experienced sailor.
Even among experienced sailors, Cook stood out for his extensive experience in cartography and navigation, as evidenced by the successful work on measuring the fairway of the St. Petersburg River.
Lavrentia.
This experience was confirmed directly by the acting admiral (Colville), who, recommending Cook's works for publication, described Cook as follows:"Knowing from experience the talent of Mr. Cook and his abilities, I consider him sufficiently qualified for the work that he performed, and for the largest enterprises of the same kind" [3].
The expedition was allocated the Endeavour, a small vessel belonging to the class of so called "coal miners" (so named because the ships of this class were mainly used for transporting coal), with a characteristically low draft, converted specifically for the expedition.
The botanists were Carl Solander and Joseph Banks, a member of the Royal Society and its future president, who was also a very wealthy man.
The artists are Alexander Buchan and Sidney Parkinson.
Astronomer Green was supposed to make observations together with Cook.
The ship's doctor was Dr. Monkhouse.
The course of the expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
Reconstruction of the Endeavour
An image of a New Zealand pie from Cook's magazine, 1769, the author is unknown
From left to right: Daniel Solander, Joseph Banks, James Cook, John Hawksford and Lord Sandwich.
Picture.
By John Hamilton Mortimer, 1771
On August 26, 1768, the Endeavour sailed from Plymouth and reached the shores of Tahiti on April 10, 1769.
Following the orders of the Admiralty, which prescribe "to maintain friendship with the natives by all means"[2], Cook established strict discipline in the communication of the members of the expedition and the ship's crew with the natives.
It was strictly forbidden to enter into conflicts with local residents, to use violence.
The cases of violation of this order were strictly punished.
Fresh food for the expedition was obtained by exchanging for European goods.
Such behavior of the British, even if dictated by purely pragmatic considerations (it was simply unprofitable to arouse excessive self hatred), was nonsense at that time — Europeans, as a rule, achieved their goals with the use of violence, robbing and killing aborigines (there were also cases of gratuitous murders).
For example, Wallis, a compatriot of Cook, who had visited Tahiti shortly before him, in response to the refusal to supply his ship with food for free, fired at the Tahitian villages from the ship's artillery.
But the peace loving policy bore fruit — it was possible to establish good relations with the islanders, without which the observation of Venus would have been seriously difficult.
In order to ensure control over the coast, where observations were to be carried out, a fort was built, surrounded on three sides by a rampart, in places — a palisade and a moat, protected by two cannons and six falconets, with a garrison of 45 people.
On the morning of May 2, it was discovered that the only quadrant, without which it was impossible to conduct the experiment, was stolen.
By the evening of the same day, the quadrant was found.
From 7 to 9 June, the crew was busy listing the ship.
On July 9, shortly before sailing, Marine soldiers Clement Webb and Samuel Gibson deserted.
Faced with the reluctance of the islanders to contribute to the capture of deserters, Cook took all the most important leaders of the district hostage and put forward the return of the fugitives as a condition for their release.
The leaders were released when, with the help of local residents, the soldiers were returned to the ship.
After making astronomical observations, Cook headed for the coast of New Zealand, taking with him m there was a local chief named Tupia, who knew the nearby islands well and could also serve as an interpreter, and his servant Tiata.
Despite the emphasized peacefulness of the British, it was not possible to establish good relations with the aborigines of New Zealand.
The expedition had to participate in several skirmishes, during which the New Zealanders suffered some losses.
Continuing to move along the western coast, Cook found a bay very convenient for anchoring.
In this bay, which he named Queen Charlotte Bay, the Endeavour got up for repairs: the ship was pulled ashore and re rolled.
Here, on the shore of Queen Charlotte Bay, a discovery was made — rising to an elevation, Cook saw the strait dividing New Zealand into two islands.
This Strait was named after him (Cook Strait or Cook Strait).
An image of a kangaroo from the illustrations for the swimming magazine on the Endeavour
In April 1770, Cook approached the eastern coast of Australia.
On the shore of the bay, in the waters of which the Endeavour stopped, the expedition managed to find many previously unknown plant species, so Cook called this bay Botanical.
From Botany Bay, Cook headed northwest along the eastern coast of Australia.
On June 11, the ship ran aground, seriously damaging the hull.
Thanks to the tide and the measures taken to lighten the ship (spare parts of the rigging, ballast and guns were thrown overboard), the Endeavour was able to be removed from the shoal.
However, the ship was quickly flooded with water through the damaged side skin.
In order to block the flow of water, a canvas was brought under the hole, so the intake of seawater was reduced to an acceptable level.
Nevertheless, the Endeavour needed serious repairs, since in its current position, the smooth operation of the pump units was required to keep the ship afloat, not to mention the fact that it was simply dangerous to continue sailing with a huge hole in the side barely covered by the sail.
And Cook begins to search for a place where it would be safe to get up for repairs.
After 6 days, such a place was found.
The Endeavour was pulled ashore, the holes were repaired.
It soon became clear that the ship was cut off from the sea by the Great Barrier Reef, so the expedition was trapped in a narrow strip of water between the Australian coast and the reef, dotted with shoals and underwater rocks.
Skirting the Reef, we had to go 360 miles to the north.
We had to move slowly, constantly throwing the lot, we had to pump the incoming water out of the hold without stopping.
In addition, scurvy began on the ship.
But Cook continued to follow this path, ignoring the gaps that occasionally appear in the solid wall of the Reef.
The fact is that the coast, gradually moving away from the Great Barrier Reef, could one day be inaccessible to observation from the open sea, which did not suit Cook at all, who wanted to keep the Australian coast in front of his eyes.
This perseverance bore fruit — continuing to follow between the Reef and the coast, Cook came across the strait between New Guinea and Australia (at that time it was not known whether New Guinea was an island or part of the Australian mainland).
Cook sent the ship through this Strait to Batavia (the old name of Jakarta).
In Indonesia, malaria entered the ship.
In Batavia, where the Endeavour arrived in early January, the disease took on the character of an epidemic.
Tupia and Tiatu were also victims of malaria.
The ship was immediately put into repair, immediately after which Cook left Batavia with its unhealthy climate.
However, people continued to die.
On the island of Panaitan, dysentery was added to malaria, which has since become the main cause of deaths.
When the Endeavour entered the port of Cape Town on March 14, there were 12 people left on the ship who were able to work.
The losses in personnel were extremely high, only on the way from Batavia to Cape Town, 22 crew members were killed (mainly from dysentery), as well as several civilians, including the astronomer Green.
To make further sailing possible, the team was completed.
On July 12, 1771, the expedition returned to England.
Results of the first expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
The main stated goal — to observe the passage of Venus through the Sun's disk was fulfilled, and the results of the experiment, despite the inaccuracies of measurements caused by the imperfection of the equipment of that time, were subsequently used (in conjunction with four more similar observations from other points of the planet) to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun quite accurately.
The second task — the discovery of the Southern Continent — was not completed, and, as is now known, could not have been completed by Cook during the first voyage.
The expedition also proved that New Zealand is two independent islands separated by a narrow Strait (Cook Strait), and not part of an unknown continent, as was previously believed.
It was possible to map several hundred miles of the eastern coast of Australia, which had not been explored at all until that time.
The strait between Australia and New Guinea was opened.
Botanists have collected a large collection of biological samples.
Cook himself was promoted to captain after returning to his homeland.
Second circumnavigation of the world (1772-1775)[edit / edit wiki text]
In 1772, the Admiralty began preparing for the second expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
The goals of the expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
Cook's second expedition (1772-1775) was associated with geographical and political problems that were put on the agenda at the initial stage of European expansion into the seas of the southern hemisphere.
The French at this time were very active in the south seas.
At least four French expeditions were sent in the late sixties to search for the Southern continent.
They are associated with the names of Bougainville, Surville, Marion Dufresne, Kerguelen.
The initiative came, among other things, from the French East India Company, it was she who equipped the Surville expedition, as well as in the first half of the XVIII century — the Bouvet expedition, which Cook mentions.
The results of these French expeditions (except for the Bougainville expedition) were not yet known in London, which added to the concern.
It was decided to send two ships (the French sent 2-3 ships together) and put Captain Cook at the head of a new expedition, whose success made a huge impression in England.
The Admiralty was in such a hurry with this matter that Cook was given only three weeks of rest (in December 1771) after drawing up a detailed report on his first voyage — after a three year voyage.
Of course, the Royal Society also had a hand in this — it was considered a semi governmental organization and represented a powerful force in society; the leading geographers of that time, especially Alexander Dalrymple, continued to believe in the idea of a large Southern continent suitable for colonization.
Cook himself describes his instructions in his own diaries as follows:
On July 3, in the Plymouth Channel, Resolution met with the "Adviser".
The night before, we had a meeting with Lord Sandwich in the waters of the canal.
On the yacht "Augusta", accompanied by the frigate "Glory" and the sloop "Hazard", he made a detour of the admiralty shipyards.
We saluted him with seventeen shots.
Lord Sandwich and Sir Hugh Pelliser visited the Resolution and gave a new, this time the last, proof of their concerns about our safe departure.
They wanted to personally make sure that the ship is equipped for long distance navigation in full accordance with my requirements.
In Plymouth, I received an instruction signed on June 25.
This instruction made it my duty to take the Adventure under my command, immediately proceed to the island of Madeira, stock up on wine there and continue on to the Cape of Good Hope.
Having replenished our supplies there with everything necessary for further navigation, I had to go south in search of Cape Circoncision, which, according to Bouvet, was located at 54° S and 11°20' VD.
Having discovered this cape, I was obliged to establish whether it was part of the southern continent (the existence of which has long been disputed by navigators and geographers) or the tip of a relatively small island.
In the first case, the newly discovered lands had to be examined in the most detailed way, taking into account the needs of navigation practice and trade and the importance of such research for science.
If these lands were inhabited, I had to determine the number of the native population, collect information about the character, customs and customs of the inhabitants and enter into friendly relations with them.
For this purpose, it was necessary to generously distribute gifts and attract the natives to trade operations.
Under all circumstances, it was necessary to treat the local residents with care and consideration.
I was obliged to make every effort to open up new territories in the south, following either an easterly or a westerly direction, at my own discretion.
At the same time, it was necessary to keep to the highest latitudes and sail to the south pole as long as our supplies, the health of the crew and the condition of the ships themselves would allow it.
Under all circumstances, it was necessary to have a reserve supply of food on board, sufficient for a safe return home to England.
In the second case, if Cape Circoncision turned out to be only part of the island, I had to determine its exact position.
Then, whether I found it or not, I had to keep heading south while there were still hopes of discovering the Southern Continent.
Then I had to take a course for vo drain and explore the unexplored parts of the southern hemisphere in search of undiscovered lands.
Sailing in high latitudes, perhaps closer to the south pole, I had to circumnavigate the globe, return to the Cape of Good Hope, and from there proceed to Speedhead.
I could, if sailing at high latitudes at an unfavorable time of the year turned out to be dangerous, temporarily return to a pre selected point located to the north to rest people and repair ships.
However, the instructions required that from this point the ships should again head south at the first opportunity.
If the Resolution had died on the way, the voyage should have continued on the Adventure.
I gave a copy of this instruction to Captain Furneaux for guidance and strict execution.
In case of an unexpected separation of the ships, I determined the points for the next and subsequent meetings: the first meeting was to take place on the island of Madeira, the second — in the Port of Praia on the island of Santiago, the third — at the Cape of Good Hope, the fourth — off the coast of New Zealand.
During our stay in Plymouth, astronomers Walls and Bailey made observations on Drake Island to verify the ship's chronometers.
They found that Drake Island lies at 50°21 ' 30 "s.
s.
and 4°20' s.
d. The Greenwich meridian was taken by us as the starting point, and the longitudes in both the eastern and western hemispheres were subsequently calculated from it, up to 180°.
The composition of the expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
The main candidates for the position of the expedition's chief were James Cook and Joseph Banks.
It is known that during the preparation for the expedition, there were disagreements between the Admiralty and Banks, as a result of which Banks refused to participate in the expedition.
James Cook became the head of the expedition again.
The expedition was allocated two ships — the Resolution with a displacement of 462 tons, which was assigned the role of the flagship, and the Adventure, which had a displacement of 350 tons.
The captain on the Resolution was Cook himself, on the Adventure — Tobias Furneaux.
The lieutenants on the Resolution were: John Cooper, Richard Pickersgill, and Charles Clerk.
The expedition was attended by naturalists Johann Reinhold and Georg Forster (father and son), astronomers William Wells and William Bailey, artist William Hodges.
The course of the expedition[edit / edit wiki text]
"Resolution" and "Adventure" in Matavai Bay (Tahiti).
Picture.
By William Hodges, 1776
"Resolution".
Picture.
By John Murray, 1907
On July 13, 1772, the ships sailed from Plymouth.
In Cape Town, where they arrived on October 30, 1772, the botanist Anders Sparrman joined the expedition.
On November 22, the ships left Cape Town, heading south.
For two weeks, Cook searched for the so — called Circumcision Island, the land that Bouvet saw for the first time, but could not accurately determine its coordinates.
Presumably, the island was located about 1,700 miles south of the Cape of Good Hope.
The search yielded nothing, and Cook went further south.
On January 17, 1773, the ships crossed the Southern Arctic Circle (for the first time in history).
On February 8, 1773, during a storm, the ships were out of line of sight and lost each other.
The actions of the captains after that were as follows.
Cook cruised for three days, trying to find the Adventure .
The search turned out to be fruitless and Cook led the Resolution on a course to the southeast to the 60th parallel, then turned to the east and remained on this course until March 17.
After that, Cook set a course for New Zealand.
The expedition spent 6 weeks at the anchorage in the Foggy Bay, exploring this bay and recuperating, after which it moved to Charlotte Bay — a meeting place agreed in advance in case of loss.
Furneaux moved to the vos
