Cook's Voyages......
Cook wanted to find out if another Southern Continent existed and 2 ships were sent for this purpose . He captained the Resolution whereas Captain Tobias Furneaux was in charge of The Adventure.
The ships set an easterly course and became separated. Cook had foreseen this possibility and had arranged meeting places in advance. He sailed the Resolution to New Zealand, where he found the Adventure awaiting him in Queen Charlotte Sound. Furneaux had arrived there by way of Van Diemen's Land, wrongly assuming that it formed part of the Australian mainland. The Furneaux group of islands at the eastern end of Bass Strait are named after the Adventure's captain. The Resolution then cruised the South Pacific extensively, visiting Tahiti, Tonga, Easter Island, the Marquesas, the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. On Oct. 10, 1774, Cook landed on Norfolk Island, then uninhabited.
The Resolution
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During Cook's search for the supposed southern continent, he became the first man to cross the Antarctic Circle. He returned to England by way of Cape Horn. The King received him warmly and promoted him to the rank of captain.
On January 18, 1778, Cook made his last great discovery...the Hawaiian Islands. For the following month, the two ships sailed north up the west coast of America. Several unsuccessful attempts to locate the passage were tried along the coasts of Canada and Alaska. After sailing through the Bering Strait and crossing the Arctic Circle, Cook abandoned his search and turned both ships south for the Hawaiian Islands.
They reached the islands at the end of November and in the middle of January, 1779, Cook anchored at Kealakekua Bay where he was greeted by thousands of cheering natives. Upon returning to his ship on February 10, Cook discovered a native had stolen one of their boats. Cook went ashore on the 14th with a squad of marines to take the king back to the ship as a hostage. The king was even willing to go but when they reached the water's edge, a large group of natives stopped them and urged the king not to go. Up the shoreline, a chief was killed while trying to leave the beach and suddenly the mood became very hostile. A native approached Cook in a threatening manner and Cook fired at him. The natives attacked and the marines fired back with guns and bayonets. The battle only lasted a few minutes but when it was over, Cook lay
dead on the beach.
The discoveries of James Cook were vast and varied . He joins the ranks of great explorers such as Columbus and Magellan and has played a significant role in the history of world explorations.
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Biography.............James Cook
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