The+Three+Voyages

Captain James cook had made three voyages:


 * The first Voyage -** Following the 7 years of war, Cook's skill at naviagtion and interests in astronomy had given him an opportunity to lead an expedition planned by the Royal Society and Royal Navy to sail to Tahiti to observe the infrequent passage of venus across the face of the sun. Around the world precise measurements were needed to determine the accurate distance between the sun and the earth.

Cook set sailed in August 1768 on the Endeavour. The first stop was Rio De Janeiro. Then he needed to achieve to sail to the west to Tahiti where camp was established and the transit of Venus was measured. After Cook stopped at Tahiti he made orders to explore and claim possessions for Britain. He charted New Zealand and the east coast of Australia which was known as New Holland at the time. The next place he sailed to was the east Indies (known now as Indonesia today) and across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. They had found it an easy Voyage between Africa and sailing home, which they arrived in July 1771.


 * The second Voyage -** The Royal Navy had promoted James as Captain following his return from his first voyage. He already had a new mission which was like an adventure for him which was to find Terra Australis Incognito which was the unknown Southern land. In the 18th Century people had believed that there was more land then expected South of the Equator.

Two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure left in July 1772 and headed to cape town just in time for the southern summer. Captain Cook proceeded south of Africa amd turned around after heading through large amounts of pack ice. He then sailed to New Zealand for winter and in the summer once again proceeded south past the antarctic circle. By circumnavigating the southern waters around antarctica he had determined that there was no habitable southern continent. Also during this voyage he discovered several island chains in the pacific ocean.

When he had arrived back home on July 1775 he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society and recieved their highest honour for his geographic exploration.


 * Third Voyage -** The Navy had wanted Cook to determine if there was a Northwest passage, a mythical waterway which would allow sailing between Europe and Asia across the top of North America. Cook set sail on July 1776 and rounded the southern tip of Africa and headed East across the Indian Ocean. He had passed between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, towards the coast of North America. He sailed along the coast of what would have been Oregon, British Columbia while Alaska proceeded through the Bering Straight. His naviagtion of the Bering Sea was halted by the impossible Arctic ice.

Yet again Cook had discovered something that didn't exist or have been discovered but continued on with his voyage. His last stop was in February 1779 at the Sandwhich Islands (Hawii) which was where he was killed in a fight with islanders over the theft of their boat.

The remaining crew that survived returned home in October 1780.

Cook's exploration dramatically increased European knowledge of the world. As ship captain and skilled cartographer, he filled in many gaps on the world maps. His contributions to the eighteenth century science helped propel further exploration and discovery for many generations.