Do you know who the worlds greatest explorers are? One of them is the topic of
this essay. This essay is about James Cook. The objective of this report will be to
answer the following question: Why do we remember James Cook?
James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in Marton, England. At the age of 18
James Cook became an apprentice with a shipping company. His first voyages he
worked on ships that carried coal to English ports. In 1755, during the French - Indian
war, Cook joined the British navy. In 1759 he was given a dangerous wartime mission.
He was to enter French territory and survey the St. Lawrence river for the British navy.
The charts that he made during this voyage contributed to the capture of the French city
of Quebec later in that year.
James Cook made three voyages to the Pacific.
His first voyage, in 1768, the
navy appointed Cook to lead an expedition to Tahiti. On the Endeavour they left in
August and reached Tahiti in April of 1769. On the island scientists watched the planet
Venus pass between the Earth and the Sun. This was the main goal of this voyage but
cook had been given secret orders to find an unknown continent in the south pacific. He
was told to find it because geographers believed that it kept the world in balance,
however Cook was unable to find it. In October of 1769 Cook became the first European
man to visit New Zealand. In April of 1770 the Endeavor sailed to Botany Bay on the
east coast of Australia. Cook claimed the entire east coast of Australia for Great Britain.
He returned to England in July of 1771. During this voyage, from 1678 - 1771, Cook...