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=Captain James Cook= Captain James Cook was a son to James and Grace Cook who lived in a village of Marton. Cook was born on the 7th of November 1728, in Marton Yorkshire England. He died on the 14th of February, 1779 aged 50. He was killed in a fight in Hawaii against the hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the pacific. As a young boy his family moved to Aireyholme farm which was three miles away from Great Ayton. He was a British Explorer, navigator and cartographer. He had joined the British Merchant Navy as a teenager and then joined the Royal Navy inn 1755.

His father was a Scottish migrant farm worker. His father allowed him to apprentice on coal carrying boats when he was the age of eighteen. While he worked in the North Sea in his spare time he spent learning maths and navigation.

James had been taught to read and write by a lady called Mrs Walker back in his Marton years and was under the guidance of his head master Mr Pullen.

From when James worked with his dad he started searching for more of an adventure. In 1755 he had volunteered for the British Royal Navy which he took part in the 7 years war. Cook was involved with the surveying of the St Lawrence River which had helped the capture of Quebec from the French. As he had worked in the Royal Navy his position had risen to the rank of being Captain in 1766.

When James was sixteen years old he worked in a shop in Staithes, which was a fishing village not far from whitby. Working at this place the nature he had come attatched to was to shape James Cook to become apart of the seafaring community. He hardly worked with his father on the farm as he had to work.

In staiths he he had learnt the art of quietly bringing a small boat and navigating a passage to the shore in the dark. James' experience amongst working with the people of the Staith's fishing community was to be vital and a direct influence in shaping his career as a sailor. He had found working in the shop that it wasn't the type of Job he wanted, so he had told Willian Sanderson about his to desire to go to sea.

Captain James Cook was first to map the newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the pacific ocean which he had achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia. He accurately charted many areas and recorded several islands and coastlines on the European map. Captain James Cook was recognised for the British Discovery and claiming of the east coast of Australia, the european discovery of the Hawaiian Islands and for the first circumnavigation and mapping of the newfoundland and new zealand. His achievements can be attributed as a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills. He had courage in exploring dangerous locations when at sea so he could confirm the facts of what he had founded (e.g dipping into antarctic circle repeatedly and exploring around the great barrier reef). He had an ability to lead his men in dangerous conditions and taking risks both with regards to the extent of his explorations and his willingness to outdo the instructions given to him by the Admiral.