He was a navigator, explorer and cartographer in the service of the British Empire. 250 years ago, James Cook was the first European to set foot on the east coast of Australia. This story has two perspectives.
In the 18th century, learned people assumed that there was a huge continent in the southern hemisphere of our planet, as a counterweight to the Eurasian mass. Geographers of that time believed that this was the only way the planet could remain in balance. This assumption was fueled by the thirst for knowledge, adventure and new land.
The British Empire wanted that undiscovered continent for itself. It would thus be more powerful than the competing colonial powers of Portugal, Spain, Holland and France. Thus, in 1768, the Royal Society, as the main scientific institution, urged the Admiralty of the United Kingdom to act immediately. It was decided to organize an expedition headed by the experienced navigator and cartographer James Cook.
He spends the next ten years at sea in the service of the British crown. His discoveries made him famous. Over 35 places on the globe are named after him. Even two objects in space bear his name. How did James Cook become one of the most famous explorers in history?
Who was James Cook?
He was born in 1728 in Marton near Middlesbrough, in the north-east of England. His father is a wage earner. He grows up in poverty with many brothers and sisters. Only thanks to his father's employer is he allowed to attend primary school. The boy is bright and a quick learner. At the age of 18, he embarked as a sailor on a ship transporting coal. He teaches all maritime skills, from steering to navigation. That's how James Cook came to love the sea.
He did not accept the offer to become the captain of that ship, his goal is the Royal Navy. In just a few years, he showed a great talent for making detailed and accurate geographical maps. His precision even brought military success to the British fleet. James Cook, a man who grew up in poverty, becomes indispensable to the British crown.
On August 26, 1768, James Cook boards the "Endeavor" in Plymouth and sails south. There are 94 crew members on board, among them botanists, draughtsmen, zoologists and a number of technical devices for an unusual expedition.
A secret mission
Officially, the expedition had the task of observing the passage of the planet Venus by the Sun, in order to use these measurements to more easily calculate the distance of the Earth from the Sun. The South Pacific island of Tahiti was an ideal spot for observation. In June 1769, Cook successfully completed this task. The second part of the mission was a secret in a sealed envelope. Under orders from that envelope, Cook went in search of the legendary, undiscovered continent.
After a few months, he reached New Zealand, which was discovered by Dutch sailors 150 years before him. But Cook was the first to accurately map the island, so his maps were used until the middle of the XNUMXth century. After six months, Cook continued sailing and reached the shores of New Holland, as Australia was then called.
His precise mapping proved that there is no famous continent in the southern hemisphere of the earth and that it is mostly covered by water. In April 1770, Cook and his crew sailed into the bay, which is called the Botanical Bay because of the variety of flora and fauna. Then he sails to the north where he declares a group of hoards as British possessions.
Two perspectives
James Cook can be seen from the British perspective, but also from the perspective of the domicile population. When James Cook returned to Great Britain he was hailed as a hero. King George II personally congratulated him. Although Cook did not find the legendary giant continent, he expanded the possessions of the British crown to new lands. In the coming years, British ships will sail to Australia. First, they will establish a penal colony there. To this day, that day is a national holiday in Australia.
Aborigines in Australia were described by James Cook as aggressive natives who attacked his crew with stones and arrows, so the British allegedly fired in self-defense.
dr. Shane T. Williams, as a representative of the indigenous perspective, describes that encounter for the British Library quite differently. He says that the men who attacked Cook's crew were acting out of a spiritual obligation to expel persons who were not allowed to linger on holy ground. According to the customs of the natives, it is not allowed to enter a country without the host's permission.
From that perspective, James Cook opened the door for exploration and conquest of lands and peoples who did not want to be explored and conquered. To this day, the consequences of James Cook's discovery from that point of view are disputed, but his contribution to the mapping of the world is indisputable.
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