James Cook :: essays research papers

James Cook   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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 became the first ship captain to prevent an outbreak of scurvy. Cook had heard that scurvy was caused by a lack of fresh vegetables and fruits. To prevent an outbreak he served his sailor's fruit and sauerkraut. In July of 1772 Cook set off on his second voyage to the pacific. Cook had left England with the Resolution and the Adventure. This expedition was Cook’s second attempt to find the unknown southern continent. During this voyage Cook sailed farther south than any European had ever gone. Cook faced many dangers in the cold Antarctic waters. Jagged mountains and ice as high as 18 meters often blocked the way of the ships. High winds that pushed the icebergs towards the ships increased the danger. Cook circled Antarctica but the ice kept him from sighting land.