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James Cook
James Cook was a British explorer who achieved the first European contact with the Hawaiian Islands and the eastern coastline of Australia. He also holds the record for being the first person to circumnavigate New Zealand.
915 Questions
When did captain James cook go to Fiji?
James Cook was not yet a captain when he embarked on his first voyage in 1768. He arrived in Tahiti on 13 April 1769. Following this, he continued west, reaching New Zealand in October 1769. He arrived at the southeast corner of Australia in April 1770. He returned to England in 1771, having circumnavigated the globe, as well as exploring and charting New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.
Why is Botany Bay now called Sydney harbor?
Botany Bay is now still called Botany Bay. Originally intended as the site for the colony of New South Wales, Botany Bay proved unsuitable for the purpose, so it should not be confused with Port Jackson, the site where Sydney was first established. However, because of the expansion of Sydney, Botany Bay is now part of the city of Sydney.
The first name for Botany Bay was Stingray Harbour.
Did Captain Cook discover Australia or Hawaii?
James Cook certainly did not discover Australia.
He was the first European to discover Hawaii which, at the time, he named the Sandwich Islands after one of his sponsors, the Earl of Sandwich.
Did Captain Cook get sea sick?
I don't think Captain Cook got sea sick (motion sickness), but Admiral Nelson suffered from it his entire life. Apparently, he would say 'If you want to avoid motion sickness, go sit under a tree.' The moral of the story: unless you want to spend your life restricted to tree sitting, forget about it and get out there!
What country sponsored James Cook?
England sponsored James Cook.
Cook was hired in 1766 by the Royal Geographic Society who sponsored Cook's first expedition to observe the transit of Venus in 1769. This journey was co-sponsored by the British Admiralty.
Cook's other voyages were also planned as scientific explorations and were commissioned and sponsored by George III of England and the Admiralty.
What was Eastern Australia called by Captain Cook in Early Times?
James Cook did not name the first colony of Australia. He sailed up the eastern coast 18 years before the continent was colonised.
Cook claimed the eastern half of Australia as New South Wales, and recommended that the site of Botany Bay be colonised. However, when Arthur Phillip led the First Fleet into Botany Bay, he found it was not suitable for settlement, for several reasons, and moved north to Port Jackson.
What was discovered by dutch explorers in 1606 in Australia?
Willem Jansz crossed the Arafura Sea from New Guinea into the Gulf of Carpentaria in far northern Australia. On 26 February 1606, Jansz became the first recorded European to step foot on Australia's shores at the Pennefather River, near where the Queensland town of Weipa now stands, on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula.
How did James Cook become an explorer?
James Cook was the son of a farm labourer. He didn't have much of an ambition, so he was apprenticed to a haberdasher/grocer at the age of 16. He didn't show much promise here, either, having little aptitude for 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.
After working his way up to positions of greater responsibility and experience, Cook was hired in 1766 by the Royal Society to travel to the Pacific Ocean to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun. After this, the young Lieutenant Cook was sent to part of the British Merchant Marine and later the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War. It was these experiences that led to him becoming a captain.
Where in Australia did Captain Cook land in 1770?
Captain Cook did not live in Australia at any time. He was the first to chart the eastern coast, in 1770, long before European settlement in Australia. A reproduction of Cook's cottage is situated in Melbourne, Victoria, but he did not live there.
Why did Captain Cook have orders to sail to Australia?
Captain Cook's original mission was to observe the transit of Venus from the vantage point of Tahiti. He was then under 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.
What is the present name of the Sandwich Islands discovered by Captain Cook?
The Sandwich Islands are now known by their original native name of Hawaii.
When did captain James cook circumnavigate antarctica?
Commanding the ship, the 'Resolution', Captain James Cook became the first known European to visit the waters of Antarctica, crossing the Antarctic Circle in latitude 67 degrees south, on 17 January 1773. Pack ice and the solid freezing of the ship's sails prevented him from exploring the region any further.
A year later, Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle again, on 30 January 1774, and reaching 71 degrees 10'S. Once again, he was stopped by thick pack ice that prevented further progression. This was the furthest south and closest to the South Pole that any known person had ever been.
Did James Cook discover Australia in 1770?
James Cook is believed to have landed at Botany Bay in April 1770. Although he fist sighted the mainland at Point Hicks, on the far southeastern coast of Australia on 19 April 1770, he did not land there. The Botany Bay landing was the first of several.
After charting the eastern coast, he ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, so brought the ship in to where Cooktown now stands, at the mouth of the Endeavour River, for repairs. This is in far north Queensland.
Finally, on 22 August 1770, James Cook claimed Australia for the British Crown when he landed at Possession Island in Torres Strait.
What did Captain James Cook eat on his voyage?
Captain James Cook brought along several experts on his journeys to effectively record all that was important about the new discovery. Sydney Parkinson, documented botanist findings that were of immense value to British scientists. William Hodges, an artist, was able to provide stunning landscape paintings of Tahiti and Easter Island. William Bligh, Cook's sailing master was sent to Tahiti to return with breadfruit (Note: he was THE Captain Bligh, whose ship was mutinied!).
How long was Captain Cook's ship?
Captain James Cook commanded three ships. The best known of these was the HM Bark Endeavour. The Endeavour had a length of 109'3" (33.3 m).
The HMS Resolution was the longest of James Cook's ship, with a length of 110'8" (33.73 m).
Who was the explorer who came to Australia before colonization?
The first known Europeans to live in Australia were the British convicts, officers and marines of the First Fleet.
However, there is considerable evidence to indicate that the first Europeans to live in Australia were survivors of Dutch shipwrecks on the Western coast.
What was the name of Captain James Cook's boat on the third voyage?
James Cook commanded three ships, the HM Bark Endeavour,the Resolution and the Adventure.
Cook's best known ship was the 'Endeavour', which departed Plymouth, England, on 26 August 1768 on Cook's expedition to observe the transit of Venus from the vantage point of Tahiti. It was on this journey that Cook circumnavigated New Zealandand the eastern coast of Australia.
On Cook's second and third journeys, he commanded the 'Resolution' and the 'Adventure'.
Where did captain James cook go to school?
Like many young farming lads of his time, James Cook had just a basic education at his local school, the village school of Marton, Yorkshire. He did not attend any specialist or trade school, or university.
Young James was expected to help out on the farm where his father was employed, but had no great ambitions to continue in farming. Cook was not particularly ambitious as a youngster, and despite his father being a farm labourer, Cook did not follow him into this line of work. At age 16 he was apprenticed to a grocer/ haberdashery, but he had no aptitude in even this basic trade. His employer introduced the young James Cook to local shipowners, who took him on as a merchant apprentice on coal ships, and from there he became familiar with shipping and ships. Here he was educated in algebra, trigonometry, navigation, and astronomy.
He spent 9 years doing this, as well as considerable service as ship's master, then joined the royal navy as an ordinary sailor. His experience on the coal ships and his education stood him in good stead, setting him up to command his own ship, and he soon assumed positions of authority in the Royal Navy.
Who traveled with James cook on his first voyage?
Apart from the usual ship's crew, Captain Cook also had the botanist Sir Joseph Banks with him. Banks classified and named many new species of plants in Australia and New Zealand, and the unique Australian species known as the banksia is named after him. The Swedish botanist Daniel Solander and Finnish scientist Dr. Herman Spöring also travelled with Cook, being employed by Joseph Banks.
At Tahiti, Cook was also joined on his voyage by a Tahitian chief named Tupaia, who wanted to travel, together with his boy-servant Tayeto.
What were James Cook's first impressions of the aboriginals?
Diaries and journals of the first fleeters labeled the indigenous as Barbaric, Native, Primitive and even stupid.
Addition:
However, James Cook was not one of the First Fleeters. James Cook charted Australia's east coast 18 years before the First Fleet came.
Cook's first encounters with the Aborigines of Australia were simple communications in which the indigenous people indicated to Cook that a kangaroo's name was gangurru. Cook did regard the Aborigines as simple, primitive savages, but he did not call them barbaric. He also did not recognise their claim to the land, referring to the continent as "terra nullius", or "no-man's land".
What animals did James Cook find in Australia?
Cook's botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, was the one who observed the animals, but Cook naturally made notes in his journals. His notes included observations on what he called "birds of the Parrot kind such as Lorryquets and Pigeons, Doves, Quailes, and several sorts of smaller birds." he mentioned waterbirds such as "Herons, Boobies, Noddies, Gulls, Curlews, Ducks and Pelicans". He made mention of lizards, snakes and scorpions. There was also, of course, the "kanguru", or kangaroo.
Why was Abel Janszoon Tasman sent to new zealand?
Abel Janszoon Tasman was sent to New Zealand on an exploration expedition. His trip from Tasmania to New Zealand was treacherous, and he noted in his diary that the only reason he lived through it was because he had a good compass.
