How do you describe James Cook?

Answer 1

James Cook's original mission was to observe the transit of Venus from the vantage point of Tahiti.

Cook was then under secret orders to try to find the great unknown southern continent, and claim it for Britain. In so doing, he charted the eastern coastline of what he called "New South Wales" (now Australia), making extensive notes on the people, flora, fauna and prospective suitability for colonisation, and reported back to England.

Answer 2

James Cook was an English sea captain, born at Marton in North Yorkshire, on 27 October 1728. The son of a farm labourer, he was apprenticed to a haberdasher/grocer at age 16. He failed in the trade, so his employer introduced him to local shipowners, who took him on as a merchant navy apprentice. Here he was educated in algebra, trigonometry, navigation, and astronomy, which later set Cook up to command his own ship.

Contrary to popular opinion, Cook did NOT discover Australia, nor New Zealand, but he was famous for several reasons:

On his first journey, departing in 1768, he commanded the 'Endeavour' on an expedition to chart the transit of Venus. Cook went on to search for Terra Australis Incognita, the great continent which some believed to extend round the pole. He first came across New Zealand, which had already been discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642. He spent some months there, charting the coastline. Nearly a year later, he set sail east, becoming the first known European to sight the Eastern coast of Australia, in April 1770. He continued north, charting the coast in some detail, before returning a favourable report to England. It was this report which convinced the authorities to colonise the Australian continent with convicts.

On Cook's second journey which lasted from 1772-1775, he commanded the 'Resolution' and the 'Adventure' on an expedition to the South Pacific, disproving the rumour of a great southern continent, exploring the Antarctic Ocean, New Hebrides and New Caledonia.

On his third journey, commencing in 1776, Cook visited and named the Sandwich Islands, now known as Hawaii, and unsuccessfully sought a northwest passage along the coast of North America. On his way back to England, he stopped at Hawaii again. After a boat was stolen by natives, he and his crew had an altercation with the Hawaiians. On 14 February 1779, Cook was speared by Hawaiian natives.

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Answer 3

Contrary to popular opinion, Cook did NOT discover Australia, nor New Zealand, but he was important for several reasons:

On his first journey, departing in 1768, he commanded the 'Endeavour' on an expedition to chart the transit of Venus. Cook went on to search for Terra Australis Incognita, the great continent which some believed to extend round the pole. He first came across New Zealand, which had already been discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642. He spent some months there, charting the coastline, then claiming the islands for the British Empire. Nearly a year later, he set sail east, becoming the first known European to sight the Eastern coast of Australia, in April 1770. He continued north, charting the coast in some detail, before returning a favourable report to England, and claiming the eastern seaboard for Great Britain. It was this report which convinced the authorities to colonise the Australian continent with convicts.

On Cook's second journey which lasted from 1772-1775, he commanded the 'Resolution' and the 'Adventure' on an expedition to the South Pacific, disproving the rumour of a great southern continent, exploring the Antarctic Ocean, New Hebrides and New Caledonia.

On his third journey, commencing in 1776, Cook visited and named the Sandwich Islands, now known as Hawaii, and unsuccessfully sought a northwest passage along the coast of North America. On his way back to England, he stopped at Hawaii again. After a boat was stolen by natives, he and his crew had an altercation with the Hawaiians. On 14 February 1779, Cook was speared by Hawaiian natives.

Answer 4

• Fun Facts about Captain Cook

1. The first European to set foot on Australia's east coast was Cook's nephew Isaac Smith.
2. The Endeavour also had scientists aboard including botanist Joseph Banks. They collected and recorded numerous plants and animals throughout their journey.
3. Tahiti was so nice and the natives so friendly that some of Cook's crew wanted to stay.
4. The Maori warriors in New Zealand wore tattoos on their faces. Some of the Endeavour's sailors got tattoos on their arms and started a tradition that continues today.
5. As Cook was exploring during the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin wrote to the captains of America's warships telling them to not attack or harass Cook's ships.

Answer 5

James cook is the person who discovered Australia New zealand and Hawaii

Answer 6

His main claim to fame is that his voyage to Australia from Britain led the way to European settlement in Australia.

Answer 7

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