James Cook conducted three major voyages of exploration and discovery: (1) To observe the transit of Venus in 1768-1771, exploring New Zealand, Australia, and Tahiti; (2) In 1772-1775 to search for the mythical southern continent of Terra Australis, disproving its existence while mapping other areas; (3) From 1776-1779 to search for the Northwest Passage, landing in Hawaii where he was killed in a fight with Hawaiians in 1778. Cook made many contributions including mapping territories, discovering the true nature of Polynesians' relations with Europeans, and identifying that citrus cures scurvy. He was a skilled navigator and leader who expanded

1. James Cook:
Exploratory Voyages

2. The Three Voyages
• 1768-71 Voyage to observe the transit of Venus across the sky. Red
• 1772-75 Voyage to discover the mythological Terra Australis. (the
southern continent) Green
• 1776-79 Voyage to land on Hawaii and explore the (northwest
passage) As well as his death in Hawaii. Blue

3. st
The 1 Voyage
Cook’s first Voyage was
to observe the transit of
Venus across the sky, in
order to measure the
distance from the Sun to the
Earth. While the
measurements he obtained
in Tahiti were not useful
enough for measuring the
distance, it still was useful
because Cook and the
naturalists with him
explored islands such as
New Zealand, Australia,
and Tahiti..

4. nd
The 2 Voyage
Cook’s Second voyage
was to find the mythological
Terra Australis. While much
evidence disproved the
existence of an 8th Continent
below Australia and yet above
Antarctica, the notion was so
compelling and popular that
the Royal British Navy sent
Cook on an expedition. Of
course, Cook’s voyage
disproved the existence of the
continent; but it allowed him
to map the island of Georgia.

5. rd
The 3 Voyage
Cook’s third and final voyage
was to explore the fabled
northwest strait, a route that
could bring goods from one
side of the world to the other
without rounding Cape Horn.
After exploring in the Arctic,
Cook turned around and
landed in Hawaii. .On 14
February at Kealakekua Bay,
some Hawaiians took one of
Cook's small boats. Normally,
as thefts were quite common
in Tahiti and the other islands,
Cook would have taken
hostages until the stolen
articles were returned. Instead
he tried to retrieve the boats.
In the resulting fight Cook
was hit in the head, and then
stabbed to death. Four of the
marines accompanying him
were likewise killed.

6. The Ships
• The Endeavour,
Formerly The Earl of
Pembroke, was used by
Cook in the 1st and 3rd
voyages. Top
• The HMS Resolution
was used by cook in his
second voyage. Bottom
• The ships are featured
in pictures on the first 2
voyage slides

7. The Black Glove
Most people do not know that
James Cook always wore a black
glove over his right hand because
of scars on the hand which were
due to an explosion off the coast
of Quebec.

8. The Quartermaster
On Cook’s third voyage, in the
middle of the Bering strait, the
quartermaster lowered the anchor, but
his ponytail snagged on the anchor’s
rope and he was pulled under the icy
water.

9. The Aborigines
• New Zealand : The Aborigines of New Zealand (The
Maori) were very friendly. At least they were friendly
enough to come on the ship, and trade fish and other
such items with Cook and his men.
• Australia: The Aborigines in Australia were very
hostile. In the beginning they just tried to watch
everything the crew did from the bushes but later the
became hostile, and threw stones.
• Hawaii: At first the islanders thought the newcomers
were gods, but when they inevitably figured out they
weren’t, they became angry.

10. Scurvy
It was captain Cook and his crew that
originally discovered the cure for scurvy—
Vitamin C.
Cook discovered this in New Zealand when
some of his men with scurvy ate meadow
cress, celery and other vegetables, and were
cured of scurvy.

11. Legacy
Many modern scholars
have a desire to turn Captain
Cook into some type of
marauding invader that just
sailed around and killed
people. This is not really true.
Despite the turbulent times in
which he lived, Captain Cook
was a very happy, religious
man. He was known as an
uncommonly kind and just
leader to his men. When not at
sea James Cook lived on the
east side of London with his
wife and six children. I am his
descendent on my father’s
side, so I have a special
appreciation for him.

12. Conclusion
Captain James Cook was a great explorer,
and without him Western civilization would
not have found out many important facts until
much later.
He served his country well, and despite his
untimely death, his legacy lives on.