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The Journals
"No man ever did more to alter and correct the map of the Earth," writes Percy Adams in his new Introduction, than James Cook, the Scotland-born British naval commander who rose from humble beginnings to pilot three great eighteenth-century voyages of discovery in the then practically uncharted Pacific. His explorations of the eastern coastline of Australia, leading to its eventual British colonization; his thorough charting of New Zealand, discovery of the Hawaiian Island, and his investigation of both the mythical 'Terra Incognita' in the southern ocean and the equally mythical Northwest Passage, as well as his contributions to cartography and to the cure and prevention of sea disease were all of immense scientific and political significance. Though lacking in formal education, Cook was a man of great intelligence and unbounded curiosity, and his journals reflect a wide-ranging interest in everything from island customs to specific problems of navigation, charting, command, and diplomacy.
This reprinting of selections from Cook's journals, edited by A. Grenfell Price, celebrates the bicentennial anniversary of his explorations. It abounds in descriptions of newly discovered plant species, particulars of coastline and land features, details of navigation, and impressions of the various Pacific peoples he encountered. Cook's was a many-faceted genius, able at once to grasp the complexities of mathematics necessary for navigation and mapping and the subtle intricacies of politics and negotiation. He often recorded his keen judgments of both subordinates and native chieftains and priests in a way that displays his own great spirit and humanity. Always solicitous of the health of his crewmen, he took great pains to insure proper diet and conditions of cleanliness, and he carefully described these measures in his journal. His tragic death at the hands of Hawaiian islanders is fully rendered from eyewitness accounts, and the implications of his discoveries to the expansion of scientific knowledge are clearly presented by the editor.
Although Cook's journals will prove of inestimable value to historians, anthropologists, and students of the history of science, they can be enjoyed equally as lively narratives of high adventure and discovery. Any sympathetically roving imagination will take unbounded delight in this great classic of exploration by a most "curious and restless son of Earth."
This reprinting of selections from Cook's journals, edited by A. Grenfell Price, celebrates the bicentennial anniversary of his explorations. It abounds in descriptions of newly discovered plant species, particulars of coastline and land features, details of navigation, and impressions of the various Pacific peoples he encountered. Cook's was a many-faceted genius, able at once to grasp the complexities of mathematics necessary for navigation and mapping and the subtle intricacies of politics and negotiation. He often recorded his keen judgments of both subordinates and native chieftains and priests in a way that displays his own great spirit and humanity. Always solicitous of the health of his crewmen, he took great pains to insure proper diet and conditions of cleanliness, and he carefully described these measures in his journal. His tragic death at the hands of Hawaiian islanders is fully rendered from eyewitness accounts, and the implications of his discoveries to the expansion of scientific knowledge are clearly presented by the editor.
Although Cook's journals will prove of inestimable value to historians, anthropologists, and students of the history of science, they can be enjoyed equally as lively narratives of high adventure and discovery. Any sympathetically roving imagination will take unbounded delight in this great classic of exploration by a most "curious and restless son of Earth."
672 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1825
About the author
James Cook
416 books33 followersBritish navigator James Cook, known as Captain Cook, commanded three major exploratory voyages to chart and to name many islands of the Pacific Ocean and also sailed along the coast of North America as far as the Bering Strait.
During circumnavigation of the globe from 1768 to 1771 with James Cook, Joseph Banks collected and cataloged numerous specimens of plants and animals.
James Cook, captain, visited Austral Islands in 1769 and 1777.
James Cook, fellow of the royal society, served as a cartographer in the Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making, and achieving the first recorded European contact with the eastern line of Australia and Hawaii and the record around New Zealand.
Cook joined the merchant as a teenager and joined the royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This mapping helped to bring Cook to the attention of the admiralty and royal society. This notice came at a crucial moment in career of Cook and in the overseas direction and led to his first commission in 1766 of His Majesty's bark Endeavour.
Cook went thousands of miles across large areas of the globe. From New Zealand, he mapped to Hawaii in greater detail and on a not previously achieved scale. He progressed on his discovery, surveyed features, and recorded lines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.
A fight with Hawaiians killed Cook. He left a scientific and geographical legacy to influence his successors well into the 20th century, and people dedicated numerous memorials worldwide.
During circumnavigation of the globe from 1768 to 1771 with James Cook, Joseph Banks collected and cataloged numerous specimens of plants and animals.
James Cook, captain, visited Austral Islands in 1769 and 1777.
James Cook, fellow of the royal society, served as a cartographer in the Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making, and achieving the first recorded European contact with the eastern line of Australia and Hawaii and the record around New Zealand.
Cook joined the merchant as a teenager and joined the royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This mapping helped to bring Cook to the attention of the admiralty and royal society. This notice came at a crucial moment in career of Cook and in the overseas direction and led to his first commission in 1766 of His Majesty's bark Endeavour.
Cook went thousands of miles across large areas of the globe. From New Zealand, he mapped to Hawaii in greater detail and on a not previously achieved scale. He progressed on his discovery, surveyed features, and recorded lines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.
A fight with Hawaiians killed Cook. He left a scientific and geographical legacy to influence his successors well into the 20th century, and people dedicated numerous memorials worldwide.
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September 10, 2022
Cook's journals are so voluminous – this three-volume set is only a selected edition of the full diaries – that he must have spent almost as much time writing as he did doing whatever it is ship's captains do all day. But then I suppose there isn't really much to do when you're stuck on board ship for months at a time, literally off the edge of the known world.
And just as well, because it's an unbelievably fascinating account. He made three voyages to the Pacific from 1768 to 1779, which were, as the introduction to this edition says, ‘the culmination of centuries of European interest’ in the area, hunting desperately for any sign of the fabled terra australis incognito. Along the way, he circumnavigated New Zealand for the first time, made the first contact with eastern Australia, and ‘discovered’ Hawai‘i.
The Resolution and Adventure at anchor in Matavi Bay, Tahiti. William Hodges, 1776
There were, of course, already people there, and Cook's encounters with the Māori and other Polynesians are genuinely riveting. To take a long view, here are two populations of the species encountering each other after a gap of some forty thousand years. I suppose it was just my ignorance, but I had vaguely assumed that Cook would take a superior, ‘civilising’ attitude towards Polynesian societies, but in fact nothing is further from the truth. Though, ultimately, he does demand a place in their world, he is also constantly aware of the deleterious effect that contact is having on these people, quite beyond any ethnographic interest in learning about their way of life:
Not exactly the gung-ho apologist for imperialism I was expecting. Cook was a Yorkshireman who had only a basic village education, and began his seafaring life working in the coal trade out of Whitby, so he was not, perhaps, the typical lifelong Navy man. Though he is not without an eye for the dramatic when necessary. At one point, they come across a half-devoured human head in New Zealand which the locals cheerfully assure Cook they have eaten. He immediately seizes the opportunity to prove the existence of cannibalism in New Zealand, which had been much debated at the time:
Cook's cool, humane, and often wry demeanour makes it especially sad that some change seems to have taken place with him between the second and third voyages. He appears, on the final expedition, to be much less tolerant both of his own crew and of the native peoples he meets, and deals much more peremptorily with them. Of course, this is not just a tonal problem – the consequences end up being catastrophic. No one is sure exactly what happened on 14th February 1779, but there was some kind of misunderstanding at Kealakakua Bay, an escalation of violence, and Cook ended up stabbed to death by one of his own iron trade daggers, along with four marines. His journal was completed by James King.
Storm with waterspouts in Cook's Straits. William Hodges, 1776
This Folio edition is a treat, brilliantly edited by Philip Edwards with a good index, and a glossary of nautical terms, Polynesian vocabulary, and general archaisms. It also comes with a huge fold-out map of all three voyages, which is an absolute chartophile's delight. Even better, it has illustrations from the original shipboard artists and naturalists who accompanied Cook, filling out the picture of these extraordinary travels perfectly.
And just as well, because it's an unbelievably fascinating account. He made three voyages to the Pacific from 1768 to 1779, which were, as the introduction to this edition says, ‘the culmination of centuries of European interest’ in the area, hunting desperately for any sign of the fabled terra australis incognito. Along the way, he circumnavigated New Zealand for the first time, made the first contact with eastern Australia, and ‘discovered’ Hawai‘i.
The Resolution and Adventure at anchor in Matavi Bay, Tahiti. William Hodges, 1776
There were, of course, already people there, and Cook's encounters with the Māori and other Polynesians are genuinely riveting. To take a long view, here are two populations of the species encountering each other after a gap of some forty thousand years. I suppose it was just my ignorance, but I had vaguely assumed that Cook would take a superior, ‘civilising’ attitude towards Polynesian societies, but in fact nothing is further from the truth. Though, ultimately, he does demand a place in their world, he is also constantly aware of the deleterious effect that contact is having on these people, quite beyond any ethnographic interest in learning about their way of life:
we debauch their morals already too prone to vice and we interduce among them wants and perhaps diseases which they never before knew and which serves only to disturb that happy tranquillity they and their forefathers had injoy'd. If any one denies the truth of this assertion let him tell me what the natives of the whole extent of America have gained by the commerce they have had with Europeans.
Not exactly the gung-ho apologist for imperialism I was expecting. Cook was a Yorkshireman who had only a basic village education, and began his seafaring life working in the coal trade out of Whitby, so he was not, perhaps, the typical lifelong Navy man. Though he is not without an eye for the dramatic when necessary. At one point, they come across a half-devoured human head in New Zealand which the locals cheerfully assure Cook they have eaten. He immediately seizes the opportunity to prove the existence of cannibalism in New Zealand, which had been much debated at the time:
The sight of the head and the relation of the circumstances just mentioned struck me with horror and filled my mind with indignation against these canibals, but when when I considered that any resentment I could shew would avail but little and being desireous of being an eye wittness to a fact which many people had their doubt about, I concealed my indignation and ordered a piece of the flesh to be broiled and brought on the quarter deck where one of these canibals eat it with a seeming good relish before the whole Ships Company which had such an effect on some of them as to cause them to vomit.
Cook's cool, humane, and often wry demeanour makes it especially sad that some change seems to have taken place with him between the second and third voyages. He appears, on the final expedition, to be much less tolerant both of his own crew and of the native peoples he meets, and deals much more peremptorily with them. Of course, this is not just a tonal problem – the consequences end up being catastrophic. No one is sure exactly what happened on 14th February 1779, but there was some kind of misunderstanding at Kealakakua Bay, an escalation of violence, and Cook ended up stabbed to death by one of his own iron trade daggers, along with four marines. His journal was completed by James King.
Storm with waterspouts in Cook's Straits. William Hodges, 1776
This Folio edition is a treat, brilliantly edited by Philip Edwards with a good index, and a glossary of nautical terms, Polynesian vocabulary, and general archaisms. It also comes with a huge fold-out map of all three voyages, which is an absolute chartophile's delight. Even better, it has illustrations from the original shipboard artists and naturalists who accompanied Cook, filling out the picture of these extraordinary travels perfectly.
June 4, 2022
The Journals
By James Cook (1728 – 1779)
James Cook was a British navigator, explorer and cartographer who sailed around the world in three voyages by appointment to The Royal Society.
His first official mission was to establish an astronomical record of the transit of the planet Venus on a certain date, if possible, from the latitude of Tahiti or nearby which accordingly was reported.
The secret orders however were to find the supposed missing Southern Continent and take possession of it in the name of the King of Great Britain.
“HMB Endeavour” Cook’s first exploration vessel, left Plymouth on the 26th of August 1768.
The Journal is his handwritten daily record of life on board and on lands visited.
Cook’s first journal entry:
“Friday 26th. Winds NBW, NW, WBS. Course S 21° E. Distance 23 Ml Latd. in 49°30’. Longd. in West from Greenwich 5°52’ W. Bearings at Noon Lizard N21° W. Dist. 23 miles. First part fresh breeze and cloudy, remainder little wind and clear. At 2 pm got under sail and put to sea having on board 94 persons including Officers Seamen Gentlemen and their servants, near 18-month provisions, 10 Carriage guns and 12 swivels with good store of Ammunition and stores of all kinds. At 8 the Dodman point WNW Dist. 4 or 5 Leagues. At 6 am the Lizard bore NWN 1/2W 5 or 6 Leagues Dist. At noon sounded and had 50 fathoms grey sand with small stones and broken shells.”
Subsequent Journal entries were of the same style and manner along with the three voyages over the three years recorded.
To a future reader, I recommend refreshing his mind with the Global Positioning system i.e., Latitude and Longitude to visualize the sailor’s progress around the world.
The journal is colourfully completed with exciting adventures, navigational challenges, unknown ocean currents, near shipwrecking’s, corral perforated hulls, weather extremes, snow and ice, storm, and rain, destroyed sails and broken masts, high seas, and encounters with ocean creatures as well as indigenous populations in the South Pacific and North America. James Cook names them all “Indians”.
One of the challenges of a long-distance exploration voyage was to provide water and fresh food for the sailors and travellers. For this reason, there was the obligation to find land or islands with water and food.
In exchange for fresh food, the sailors proposed iron tools, nails, coloured fabric, glass beads and other unusual items. This offer was met with enthusiasm and great demand from the indigenous populations and always succeed well.
One unexpected problem was ‘thievery’. The local population would try and steal anything they could get hold of. This, with few exceptions, was the case in North America as well as in the South Pacific, where in Hawaii, the theft of a rowboat belonging to the ships, and the subsequent fighting effort to recover it would end up with James Cook’s death.
James Cook did not discover a missing continent, as it does not exist, but he was the first European to set foot in Eastern Australia. He named the position ‘Botany Bay’ and planted a British flag there. He sailed around New Zealand and corrected the coastline maps established by Tasman the first discoverer. Cook sailed almost completely around Antarctica always along a high wall of Ice. He had correctly assumed that land was there but could never see it.
In the Northern Hemisphere, Cook was in vain in search of the Northern Passage to the West. He explored the coast of Alaska met with American Indian tribes and again charted perfect maps of the coastlines up to Kamchatka. His discovery of a profitable fur trade long under Russian control led to increased British trade interference in that part of the world.
I called Homer’s “Odysseus” the first adventure novel; we can place James Cook’s Journals on par. It was a real-life adventure and a perfect book for passionate adventurers. Even when retired.
By James Cook (1728 – 1779)
James Cook was a British navigator, explorer and cartographer who sailed around the world in three voyages by appointment to The Royal Society.
His first official mission was to establish an astronomical record of the transit of the planet Venus on a certain date, if possible, from the latitude of Tahiti or nearby which accordingly was reported.
The secret orders however were to find the supposed missing Southern Continent and take possession of it in the name of the King of Great Britain.
“HMB Endeavour” Cook’s first exploration vessel, left Plymouth on the 26th of August 1768.
The Journal is his handwritten daily record of life on board and on lands visited.
Cook’s first journal entry:
“Friday 26th. Winds NBW, NW, WBS. Course S 21° E. Distance 23 Ml Latd. in 49°30’. Longd. in West from Greenwich 5°52’ W. Bearings at Noon Lizard N21° W. Dist. 23 miles. First part fresh breeze and cloudy, remainder little wind and clear. At 2 pm got under sail and put to sea having on board 94 persons including Officers Seamen Gentlemen and their servants, near 18-month provisions, 10 Carriage guns and 12 swivels with good store of Ammunition and stores of all kinds. At 8 the Dodman point WNW Dist. 4 or 5 Leagues. At 6 am the Lizard bore NWN 1/2W 5 or 6 Leagues Dist. At noon sounded and had 50 fathoms grey sand with small stones and broken shells.”
Subsequent Journal entries were of the same style and manner along with the three voyages over the three years recorded.
To a future reader, I recommend refreshing his mind with the Global Positioning system i.e., Latitude and Longitude to visualize the sailor’s progress around the world.
The journal is colourfully completed with exciting adventures, navigational challenges, unknown ocean currents, near shipwrecking’s, corral perforated hulls, weather extremes, snow and ice, storm, and rain, destroyed sails and broken masts, high seas, and encounters with ocean creatures as well as indigenous populations in the South Pacific and North America. James Cook names them all “Indians”.
One of the challenges of a long-distance exploration voyage was to provide water and fresh food for the sailors and travellers. For this reason, there was the obligation to find land or islands with water and food.
In exchange for fresh food, the sailors proposed iron tools, nails, coloured fabric, glass beads and other unusual items. This offer was met with enthusiasm and great demand from the indigenous populations and always succeed well.
One unexpected problem was ‘thievery’. The local population would try and steal anything they could get hold of. This, with few exceptions, was the case in North America as well as in the South Pacific, where in Hawaii, the theft of a rowboat belonging to the ships, and the subsequent fighting effort to recover it would end up with James Cook’s death.
James Cook did not discover a missing continent, as it does not exist, but he was the first European to set foot in Eastern Australia. He named the position ‘Botany Bay’ and planted a British flag there. He sailed around New Zealand and corrected the coastline maps established by Tasman the first discoverer. Cook sailed almost completely around Antarctica always along a high wall of Ice. He had correctly assumed that land was there but could never see it.
In the Northern Hemisphere, Cook was in vain in search of the Northern Passage to the West. He explored the coast of Alaska met with American Indian tribes and again charted perfect maps of the coastlines up to Kamchatka. His discovery of a profitable fur trade long under Russian control led to increased British trade interference in that part of the world.
I called Homer’s “Odysseus” the first adventure novel; we can place James Cook’s Journals on par. It was a real-life adventure and a perfect book for passionate adventurers. Even when retired.
March 7, 2023
All nautical journals inevitably contain much dry scientific detail which is of little interest except to the most hardcore sailing nerds. These sections are, naturally, heavily edited. What remains gives a very good flavour of the man and the voyages, and is a good narrative counterpoint to the much more fascinating sections when Cook is encountering other peoples and exploring their island homes.
I was startled to discover how badly educated Cook was. His writing has a certain powerful immediacy but his spelling and syntax are shockingly and amusingly erratic. Also, at one point he encounters Russians in Alaska but communication is impossible because no one on the ship or amongst the Russians (who are relatively senior members of their Alaskan colony) is able to find a common tongue. Surely at least some of them should have had basic French? If not, they were all surprisingly ignorant.
There is something attractive about Cook, who was clearly honest, diligent and dutiful. He took great care about the diet and nutrition of his crew. He often writes admiringly of some of the Pacific islanders he encounters, and he can be prescient and reflective about the negative effects of colonialism:
“To our Shame...we debauch their Morals already too prone to vice and we interduce among them wants and perhaps diseases which they never before knew and which serves only to destroy that happy tranquillity their fore Fathers had injoy’d. If any one denies the truth of this assertion let him tell me what the Natives of the whole extent of America have gained by the commerce they have had with Europeans.”
Of the Maori, after recording several unfortunate and violent altercations, he writes:
“I must however observe in favour of the New Zealanders that I have allways found them of a Brave, Noble, Open and benevolent disposition, but they are a people that will never put up with any insult if they have an oppertunity to resent it.”
Nevertheless it is a melancholy fact that many of the encounters with indigenous peoples were fraught with exploitation and misunderstanding. In bartering, sometimes the islanders grabbed what they wanted and paddled away. Cook’s men fired muskets over their heads, but the islanders could not conceive this would do them any harm. Some of them were then shot dead. Losing one’s life for stealing a handful of nails is, as Cook remarks, a shockingly excessive and melancholy outcome. Yet he wasn’t always able to stop this kind of thing, and – on his final voyage especially – there are increasing signs of his excessive punishments inflicted on both “natives” and his own crew.
Did he go a bit mad before the end? He records his participation in a fascinating pagan ritual in Hawaii in which he appears to accept honours as if he was a deity. His descriptions reveal an extraordinary hubris and lack of awareness that what he was doing was in direct contradiction of his Christian beliefs (abstaining from “meat sacrificed to idols” being one of the minimal requirements of a Christian according to Acts 15 – and St Paul also fulminates against it in I Corinthians. It again reveals how badly educated Cook was that he seems unaware of this). Some have even thought his death was a kind of ritual god slaying of the sort described in Frazer’s Golden Bough: my edition thinks this is unlikely, but there is a fascinating appendix which discusses this. Even if his death was not a literal apotheosis, he certainly seems tinged with a kind of legendary quality – of both good and evil.
I was startled to discover how badly educated Cook was. His writing has a certain powerful immediacy but his spelling and syntax are shockingly and amusingly erratic. Also, at one point he encounters Russians in Alaska but communication is impossible because no one on the ship or amongst the Russians (who are relatively senior members of their Alaskan colony) is able to find a common tongue. Surely at least some of them should have had basic French? If not, they were all surprisingly ignorant.
There is something attractive about Cook, who was clearly honest, diligent and dutiful. He took great care about the diet and nutrition of his crew. He often writes admiringly of some of the Pacific islanders he encounters, and he can be prescient and reflective about the negative effects of colonialism:
“To our Shame...we debauch their Morals already too prone to vice and we interduce among them wants and perhaps diseases which they never before knew and which serves only to destroy that happy tranquillity their fore Fathers had injoy’d. If any one denies the truth of this assertion let him tell me what the Natives of the whole extent of America have gained by the commerce they have had with Europeans.”
Of the Maori, after recording several unfortunate and violent altercations, he writes:
“I must however observe in favour of the New Zealanders that I have allways found them of a Brave, Noble, Open and benevolent disposition, but they are a people that will never put up with any insult if they have an oppertunity to resent it.”
Nevertheless it is a melancholy fact that many of the encounters with indigenous peoples were fraught with exploitation and misunderstanding. In bartering, sometimes the islanders grabbed what they wanted and paddled away. Cook’s men fired muskets over their heads, but the islanders could not conceive this would do them any harm. Some of them were then shot dead. Losing one’s life for stealing a handful of nails is, as Cook remarks, a shockingly excessive and melancholy outcome. Yet he wasn’t always able to stop this kind of thing, and – on his final voyage especially – there are increasing signs of his excessive punishments inflicted on both “natives” and his own crew.
Did he go a bit mad before the end? He records his participation in a fascinating pagan ritual in Hawaii in which he appears to accept honours as if he was a deity. His descriptions reveal an extraordinary hubris and lack of awareness that what he was doing was in direct contradiction of his Christian beliefs (abstaining from “meat sacrificed to idols” being one of the minimal requirements of a Christian according to Acts 15 – and St Paul also fulminates against it in I Corinthians. It again reveals how badly educated Cook was that he seems unaware of this). Some have even thought his death was a kind of ritual god slaying of the sort described in Frazer’s Golden Bough: my edition thinks this is unlikely, but there is a fascinating appendix which discusses this. Even if his death was not a literal apotheosis, he certainly seems tinged with a kind of legendary quality – of both good and evil.
March 11, 2021
This book consists of extracts from the journals and logs of Captain James Cook on his three voyages of exploration to the South Seas. In fact, he was a Lieutenant (in terms of rank) in the Royal Navy but was Captain of his ship, hence the title.
I really enjoyed this book, which provides a fascinating insight into the mind of Cook, who has a controversial place in history. He was primarily an explorer and mapmaker, and he fulfilled his missions with great success, overall.
He has been regarded as a hero and pioneer for most of the 241 years since his death in 1779 but, in recent years, has been reviled for the events that took place subsequently in Australia where thousands of aboriginal people there were treated appallingly, murdered and/or displaced. I believe this anti-Cook sentiment to be misplaced – the atrocities took place 20 years (and much later) after his initial visit to Australia so he can hardly be held responsible. It is true that without his exploration and excellent map-making abilities, Australia may not have been colonised for a few years later than it was but, have no doubt, it would have been colonised and the atrocities would still have happened. The 18th century was a time of exploration, colonisation and exploitation, and people all over the world suffered at the hands of the colonisers. This is not to detract from the fact that Europeans (mainly British) did commit dreadful acts against the indigenous population but anyone who has read the history cannot lay the blame at Cook’s feet – he is just a name they know and an easy target because of his fame, good reputation, and because he got there first.
Cook’s mission was to explore the mostly uncharted waters of the southern Pacific Ocean. His first voyage was primarily to witness and record details of the transit of Venus over the Sun from Otaheiti (Tahiti), an event anticipated by the Royal Society. Cook was a sailor, navigator and cartographer, not a scientist, so on board HM Bark Endeavour he had scientists (known as natural philosophers at that time), artists and naturalists. These ‘gentlemen’ collected samples, made drawings and studied the geography, anthropology, astronomy and flora and fauna to gain knowledge for the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society.
Another objective of his voyages was to make friendly contact and to study the indigenous peoples of the places he visited. This was for several reasons: firstly, to enable him to resupply his ship with food and water throughout the voyage (even though he took about two years’ supply of food with him), to establish a trade with the local people and to study their cultures and ways of living. Cook took pains not to upset the people he met; he established friendly relations with them and invited them on board his ship many times.
In this way, Cook established good relations with people in the Tongan islands, Tahiti, New Zealand and others. He took one man from Tahiti back to England (at the man’s request) where he stayed for a few years, then returned, a wealthy man, with Cook back to Tahiti.
Cook’s second voyage was primarily to try to locate an undiscovered southern continent in the southern Pacific Ocean between Australia and South America. This does not exist, of course, but it was Cook’s extensive and risky explorations that proved the point. His ships were often surrounded by icebergs and he came very close to Antarctica but was prevented from getting close enough to definitely claim to have seen it by the extensive sea ice that stretched for many miles beyond its shores. In between exploring the extreme southern ocean, Cook returned to Tahiti and other Pacific islands to resupply and conduct friendly relations with the local chiefs.
Cook was a tough Yorkshireman who rose from being a worker on his parents’ farm to a common sailor and on to be commander of these expeditions, through his intelligence, hard work and innate abilities. He was no pushover, and sailors or island people that committed crimes would be flogged or otherwise punished. The punishments look immensely cruel to us but you must not forget this was the 18th century, and life was cruel. In fact, Cook was less cruel than many of his contemporaries. He also went to great lengths to be fair. On one occasion, two of his sailors stole something from the people of one of the islands. The chiefs asked him to find them and restore their property. Cook did, and then had the men flogged in front of the locals to show them that the British would not tolerate dishonesty and had standards. He also had locals punished when they stole from the ship and from his men on shore, something that happened regularly.
The mission of Cook’s third voyage was to discover a Northwest Passage, a mythical route from Eastern Canada through to the North Pacific via the Bering Strait. This had been the subject of speculation for decades, if not centuries, and many others had tried and failed to find it, or even to disprove its existence. In Cook’s case, he was to try it from the Pacific side, so he sailed to the southern Pacific islands he had visited previously, spent time there learning more about the people, resupplied and then headed north. On the way he discovered Hawaii (discovered in terms of Europeans, anyway) and found the Hawaiians friendly, welcoming and numerous. Having little time to waste (he had to get up north during the summer so that the amount of sea ice would be minimised), he sailed the coast of western Canada (New Albion, they called it), sailing along and then around the top of what would later be named Vancouver Island, then on up the coast towards Oonalashka (Alaska). On the way he interacted with many tribes of indigenous Canadians, studied them and traded with them.
After many trials and tribulations trying to find the Northwest Passage, which he was unable to do because even in July there were expanses of sea ice and icebergs, he resupplied in Kamchatka (Russia) and headed south to Hawaii. His intention was to resupply, interact with the local people to establish good relations and a trade in the things they needed for the ship (water, wood and food), as well as to learn about their culture and ways of living. He would stay there until the following year and then make another attempt at finding the Passage.
They (Cook’s Resolution and Captain Clerke’s Discovery) were there some months and during that time the local chiefs were exceedingly generous in giving them huge amounts of food (hogs, plantains, yams and coconuts) for their crews. In return they gave presents of iron, beads, cloth and other things, though it was the iron the people wanted because it was so versatile and useful. They helped themselves to water from the stream that exited into the sea. They also enjoyed performances of the locals’ dances etc. Reading about this, I could not help but wonder why Cook did not speculate on the reasons for the chiefs' generosity and do more to return it in some way.
What Cook did not and could not know, owing to the language barrier, was that he was considered a god by the local people because he had arrived just as they were celebrating their god Lono. His arriving in a ship larger than any vessel they had seen before and seemingly endowed with great power, it was little wonder they were impressed. This explained their generosity but they were glad when Cook and Clerke set sail again because it was costing them too much to provide them with provisions, though they dare not refuse him in fear that the god might kill them all.
Unfortunately, one of the Resolution’s smaller masts broke shortly after they had set sail and they returned because the beach there was the best place they knew within a thousand miles to effect repairs and resupply. The chiefs were not as welcoming this time and relations became strained. The locals began to steal many things from the sailors and the ships, creeping up in the night as well, even prising loose nails holding the underside of the ship together. They then stole the Resolution’s cutter, a largish boat used to transport men and material from the shore to the ship. This was intolerable to Cook, so he went ashore with a party of armed marines with the intention of inviting the most important chief on board (he had visited the ship many times before) and then holding him hostage until the boat was returned.
The chief was willing to go and clearly knew nothing of the theft, but his favourite wife and a very unfriendly lower chief about whom several of the islanders had warned Cook, argued with and physically held him back, insisting that Cook would kill him if he went into the ship. After failing to persuade him to accompany him on board, Cook gave up the plan and began walking back to his boat on the beach, but just then a boatload of sailors he had stationed in the bay to prevent the islanders’ canoes from leaving the bay in case they attacked the ships from behind, fired on a canoe that was attempting to leave, killing a chief. The people on shore then becoming agitated and threatening, one of the marines fired and then the people began to attack the British. Cook turned his back on the crowd (no-one had threatened him while he was facing them) and tried to make the people in his boats cease firing but a local man stabbed him in the back with a spear and he fell into the surf, whereupon he was set upon, and stabbed and smashed with many stones, dying on the spot. Four marines were also hacked and stoned to death and about 30 locals were shot in the melee.
The ships had to remain in the bay for a few more days to effect repairs and they tried to make peace with the locals, but their spokesman was the untrustworthy minor chief who kept lying about Cook’s body, which the British demanded be returned to them. In fact, Cook had been treated as a slain chief was usually treated in Hawaii at that time – his body was dismembered and burned, his hands being preserved in salt; various parts of his body were given to a number of chiefs as trophies. His bones were then polished and preserved. Eventually, after the British destroyed a village on the shoreline and threatened the chiefs with total destruction, some of Cook’s remains were given back and he was buried at sea with full military honours. It was all very sad and unnecessary, and could probably have been avoided if communication had been easier.
Captain Clerke took over as mission commander and the ships carried on to the Bering Strait to carry out another attempt to find the Northwest Passage. In this they failed again owing to ice, so they returned home via Kamchatka, Japan, China and the Cape of Good Hope.
Throughout this book, Cook comes across as a fair, open-minded and able commander who respected the indigenous peoples he met, treating them as human beings and not in contempt. He was not a wealthy aristocrat but the son of a farmer who had worked his way up. One of his achievements was that out of three voyages, only one man died of scurvy, an illness common on long sea voyages at the time. It is caused by a lack of vitamin C but no-one knew that, although there were several theories on the matter. Cook was so concerned about the well-being of his crews that he insisted on taking large quantities of various ‘remedies’ with him, including lemon juice and sauerkraut and, despite the sailors’ reluctance to consume them, insisted upon it. This saved many lives and added to the loyalty of his crews. These are not the attitudes and actions of a despot or a bully, and his journals demonstrate that he was full of good intentions towards the people he met.
It is unfortunate that some people in the 21st Century believe he was such a bad person, perhaps without reading enough about him, so I am glad that I have read about him to satisfy myself that this was not the case.
I really enjoyed this book, which provides a fascinating insight into the mind of Cook, who has a controversial place in history. He was primarily an explorer and mapmaker, and he fulfilled his missions with great success, overall.
He has been regarded as a hero and pioneer for most of the 241 years since his death in 1779 but, in recent years, has been reviled for the events that took place subsequently in Australia where thousands of aboriginal people there were treated appallingly, murdered and/or displaced. I believe this anti-Cook sentiment to be misplaced – the atrocities took place 20 years (and much later) after his initial visit to Australia so he can hardly be held responsible. It is true that without his exploration and excellent map-making abilities, Australia may not have been colonised for a few years later than it was but, have no doubt, it would have been colonised and the atrocities would still have happened. The 18th century was a time of exploration, colonisation and exploitation, and people all over the world suffered at the hands of the colonisers. This is not to detract from the fact that Europeans (mainly British) did commit dreadful acts against the indigenous population but anyone who has read the history cannot lay the blame at Cook’s feet – he is just a name they know and an easy target because of his fame, good reputation, and because he got there first.
Cook’s mission was to explore the mostly uncharted waters of the southern Pacific Ocean. His first voyage was primarily to witness and record details of the transit of Venus over the Sun from Otaheiti (Tahiti), an event anticipated by the Royal Society. Cook was a sailor, navigator and cartographer, not a scientist, so on board HM Bark Endeavour he had scientists (known as natural philosophers at that time), artists and naturalists. These ‘gentlemen’ collected samples, made drawings and studied the geography, anthropology, astronomy and flora and fauna to gain knowledge for the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society.
Another objective of his voyages was to make friendly contact and to study the indigenous peoples of the places he visited. This was for several reasons: firstly, to enable him to resupply his ship with food and water throughout the voyage (even though he took about two years’ supply of food with him), to establish a trade with the local people and to study their cultures and ways of living. Cook took pains not to upset the people he met; he established friendly relations with them and invited them on board his ship many times.
In this way, Cook established good relations with people in the Tongan islands, Tahiti, New Zealand and others. He took one man from Tahiti back to England (at the man’s request) where he stayed for a few years, then returned, a wealthy man, with Cook back to Tahiti.
Cook’s second voyage was primarily to try to locate an undiscovered southern continent in the southern Pacific Ocean between Australia and South America. This does not exist, of course, but it was Cook’s extensive and risky explorations that proved the point. His ships were often surrounded by icebergs and he came very close to Antarctica but was prevented from getting close enough to definitely claim to have seen it by the extensive sea ice that stretched for many miles beyond its shores. In between exploring the extreme southern ocean, Cook returned to Tahiti and other Pacific islands to resupply and conduct friendly relations with the local chiefs.
Cook was a tough Yorkshireman who rose from being a worker on his parents’ farm to a common sailor and on to be commander of these expeditions, through his intelligence, hard work and innate abilities. He was no pushover, and sailors or island people that committed crimes would be flogged or otherwise punished. The punishments look immensely cruel to us but you must not forget this was the 18th century, and life was cruel. In fact, Cook was less cruel than many of his contemporaries. He also went to great lengths to be fair. On one occasion, two of his sailors stole something from the people of one of the islands. The chiefs asked him to find them and restore their property. Cook did, and then had the men flogged in front of the locals to show them that the British would not tolerate dishonesty and had standards. He also had locals punished when they stole from the ship and from his men on shore, something that happened regularly.
The mission of Cook’s third voyage was to discover a Northwest Passage, a mythical route from Eastern Canada through to the North Pacific via the Bering Strait. This had been the subject of speculation for decades, if not centuries, and many others had tried and failed to find it, or even to disprove its existence. In Cook’s case, he was to try it from the Pacific side, so he sailed to the southern Pacific islands he had visited previously, spent time there learning more about the people, resupplied and then headed north. On the way he discovered Hawaii (discovered in terms of Europeans, anyway) and found the Hawaiians friendly, welcoming and numerous. Having little time to waste (he had to get up north during the summer so that the amount of sea ice would be minimised), he sailed the coast of western Canada (New Albion, they called it), sailing along and then around the top of what would later be named Vancouver Island, then on up the coast towards Oonalashka (Alaska). On the way he interacted with many tribes of indigenous Canadians, studied them and traded with them.
After many trials and tribulations trying to find the Northwest Passage, which he was unable to do because even in July there were expanses of sea ice and icebergs, he resupplied in Kamchatka (Russia) and headed south to Hawaii. His intention was to resupply, interact with the local people to establish good relations and a trade in the things they needed for the ship (water, wood and food), as well as to learn about their culture and ways of living. He would stay there until the following year and then make another attempt at finding the Passage.
They (Cook’s Resolution and Captain Clerke’s Discovery) were there some months and during that time the local chiefs were exceedingly generous in giving them huge amounts of food (hogs, plantains, yams and coconuts) for their crews. In return they gave presents of iron, beads, cloth and other things, though it was the iron the people wanted because it was so versatile and useful. They helped themselves to water from the stream that exited into the sea. They also enjoyed performances of the locals’ dances etc. Reading about this, I could not help but wonder why Cook did not speculate on the reasons for the chiefs' generosity and do more to return it in some way.
What Cook did not and could not know, owing to the language barrier, was that he was considered a god by the local people because he had arrived just as they were celebrating their god Lono. His arriving in a ship larger than any vessel they had seen before and seemingly endowed with great power, it was little wonder they were impressed. This explained their generosity but they were glad when Cook and Clerke set sail again because it was costing them too much to provide them with provisions, though they dare not refuse him in fear that the god might kill them all.
Unfortunately, one of the Resolution’s smaller masts broke shortly after they had set sail and they returned because the beach there was the best place they knew within a thousand miles to effect repairs and resupply. The chiefs were not as welcoming this time and relations became strained. The locals began to steal many things from the sailors and the ships, creeping up in the night as well, even prising loose nails holding the underside of the ship together. They then stole the Resolution’s cutter, a largish boat used to transport men and material from the shore to the ship. This was intolerable to Cook, so he went ashore with a party of armed marines with the intention of inviting the most important chief on board (he had visited the ship many times before) and then holding him hostage until the boat was returned.
The chief was willing to go and clearly knew nothing of the theft, but his favourite wife and a very unfriendly lower chief about whom several of the islanders had warned Cook, argued with and physically held him back, insisting that Cook would kill him if he went into the ship. After failing to persuade him to accompany him on board, Cook gave up the plan and began walking back to his boat on the beach, but just then a boatload of sailors he had stationed in the bay to prevent the islanders’ canoes from leaving the bay in case they attacked the ships from behind, fired on a canoe that was attempting to leave, killing a chief. The people on shore then becoming agitated and threatening, one of the marines fired and then the people began to attack the British. Cook turned his back on the crowd (no-one had threatened him while he was facing them) and tried to make the people in his boats cease firing but a local man stabbed him in the back with a spear and he fell into the surf, whereupon he was set upon, and stabbed and smashed with many stones, dying on the spot. Four marines were also hacked and stoned to death and about 30 locals were shot in the melee.
The ships had to remain in the bay for a few more days to effect repairs and they tried to make peace with the locals, but their spokesman was the untrustworthy minor chief who kept lying about Cook’s body, which the British demanded be returned to them. In fact, Cook had been treated as a slain chief was usually treated in Hawaii at that time – his body was dismembered and burned, his hands being preserved in salt; various parts of his body were given to a number of chiefs as trophies. His bones were then polished and preserved. Eventually, after the British destroyed a village on the shoreline and threatened the chiefs with total destruction, some of Cook’s remains were given back and he was buried at sea with full military honours. It was all very sad and unnecessary, and could probably have been avoided if communication had been easier.
Captain Clerke took over as mission commander and the ships carried on to the Bering Strait to carry out another attempt to find the Northwest Passage. In this they failed again owing to ice, so they returned home via Kamchatka, Japan, China and the Cape of Good Hope.
Throughout this book, Cook comes across as a fair, open-minded and able commander who respected the indigenous peoples he met, treating them as human beings and not in contempt. He was not a wealthy aristocrat but the son of a farmer who had worked his way up. One of his achievements was that out of three voyages, only one man died of scurvy, an illness common on long sea voyages at the time. It is caused by a lack of vitamin C but no-one knew that, although there were several theories on the matter. Cook was so concerned about the well-being of his crews that he insisted on taking large quantities of various ‘remedies’ with him, including lemon juice and sauerkraut and, despite the sailors’ reluctance to consume them, insisted upon it. This saved many lives and added to the loyalty of his crews. These are not the attitudes and actions of a despot or a bully, and his journals demonstrate that he was full of good intentions towards the people he met.
It is unfortunate that some people in the 21st Century believe he was such a bad person, perhaps without reading enough about him, so I am glad that I have read about him to satisfy myself that this was not the case.
September 8, 2008
What a weird, important book. Cook almost sees the native peoples he encounters as human, and that's a good thing, but the evidence of the lousy Western filters he's internally compelled to place over his observations are a word to the wise about our own predispositions. Read this and deal with your whiteness.
January 13, 2015
Stirring accounts of Cook’s scissoring across the world in leaky boats, to places often unexplored, from South America, Africa, South East Asia, the Bering Sea & Strait and all over the Pacific. This book is based on Cook’s journals and reports to Admiralty, selected by Glyndwr Williams for the Folio edition (1997). Cook was one of a handful of giants in exploration when about a third of the world was unknown. By the time he was lethally sandwiched by natives in Hawaii, he had become famous in his homelan and well known to much of the rest of the world. I appreciated this acclaim when I dropped in on his cottage, built in Yorkshire (1855) and transported to the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne, stone by stone and reassembled in 1934.
May 29, 2014
I recently finished the unabridged volumes of Captain Cook's journals and... man, they can be really, really boring. A good 2/3 of the books consist of a good seaman's reports: latitude and longitude (calculated using the best equipment available at the time), wind, speed, and condition of the boat. Since weeks would pass by with little else to report on, save the occasional crewman infraction (which can be weirder than you'd think). For armchair circumnavigators, this stuff is probably really fascinating.
And yet I gave this review 4 stars. Why? Because the repetitious nature of the book, along with the exacting details provided, actually serve to give a powerful impression the sheer difficulty of Cook's task, and how powerful an impression the peoples he meets ('discovers') must have had. I grew up in Oceania, the child of expatriate parents, and was thus raised to admire -- even venerate -- Captain Cook. This book did little to change that: Cook is not a particularly complex person, but someone of such determination and unwavering focus at the task at hand. He is a true sailor, that is to say he is not a flowery writer, and his sketches of life in the islands he comes across are not prosaic, but informative and direct.
Recommended for people who like reading high seas adventures; ship life in the Golden Age of Sail; "discoveries" of "exotic" lands; Oceanic cultures and traditions that have since disappeared.
And yet I gave this review 4 stars. Why? Because the repetitious nature of the book, along with the exacting details provided, actually serve to give a powerful impression the sheer difficulty of Cook's task, and how powerful an impression the peoples he meets ('discovers') must have had. I grew up in Oceania, the child of expatriate parents, and was thus raised to admire -- even venerate -- Captain Cook. This book did little to change that: Cook is not a particularly complex person, but someone of such determination and unwavering focus at the task at hand. He is a true sailor, that is to say he is not a flowery writer, and his sketches of life in the islands he comes across are not prosaic, but informative and direct.
Recommended for people who like reading high seas adventures; ship life in the Golden Age of Sail; "discoveries" of "exotic" lands; Oceanic cultures and traditions that have since disappeared.
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June 11, 2023Cook's journals, which make up a three-volume set, are a remarkable account of his experiences as a ship's captain. Despite the extensive scientific detail included, the edited sections provide insight into Cook's character and his encounters with other cultures. It was surprising to learn that Cook was not well-educated, but his interactions with native peoples highlight the impact of Western biases on our observations of others.
James Cook, a British navigator, explorer, and cartographer, completed three voyages around the world by appointment to The Royal Society. His first mission was to record the transit of Venus from the latitude of Tahiti. Cook's encounters with other cultures serve as a reminder of the importance of recognizing and overcoming our own biases.
James Cook, a British navigator, explorer, and cartographer, completed three voyages around the world by appointment to The Royal Society. His first mission was to record the transit of Venus from the latitude of Tahiti. Cook's encounters with other cultures serve as a reminder of the importance of recognizing and overcoming our own biases.
May 3, 2022
very bad very gross but the audacity within it will make for an excellent final essay !!
April 4, 2019
Cook. A sailer. An explorer. And a man who befall the curse of nominal determination (spolier alert: they only went and ate him!)
So much praise has been handed to Cook for his achievements in exploring the southern oceans, discovering New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Hawaii and a new recipe for "salty sailor" (an ancient delicacy I am told). However, let us not go over board (do not excuse the pun!) and heap undue praise on a man who basically sailed aimlessly across the Earth, bumping into things and claiming it as some sort of achievement.
I, for my sins, live with an idiotic ginger monkey. At night he rises from his bed, still asleep, and wanders about my pristine winged-all-terrain-amphibious-bus and bumps aimless into things. Only last night the grinning fool managed to empty an entire jar of mayonnaise (full fat) into my map collection whilst sleep walking. Panicking, I leapt out of bed to prevent the mess from being spread any further and slipped in the eggy-goo and found myself wedged in the garbage chute until that ginger idiot woke in the morning!
And for that does he get made Captain? Or commended? Or honoured by the means of scholarly folk such as the author of this book? No. Because if you praise them for that, you'll end up with one for President one day.
So much praise has been handed to Cook for his achievements in exploring the southern oceans, discovering New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Hawaii and a new recipe for "salty sailor" (an ancient delicacy I am told). However, let us not go over board (do not excuse the pun!) and heap undue praise on a man who basically sailed aimlessly across the Earth, bumping into things and claiming it as some sort of achievement.
I, for my sins, live with an idiotic ginger monkey. At night he rises from his bed, still asleep, and wanders about my pristine winged-all-terrain-amphibious-bus and bumps aimless into things. Only last night the grinning fool managed to empty an entire jar of mayonnaise (full fat) into my map collection whilst sleep walking. Panicking, I leapt out of bed to prevent the mess from being spread any further and slipped in the eggy-goo and found myself wedged in the garbage chute until that ginger idiot woke in the morning!
And for that does he get made Captain? Or commended? Or honoured by the means of scholarly folk such as the author of this book? No. Because if you praise them for that, you'll end up with one for President one day.
July 25, 2011
Ce livre contient les journaux de bord des trois voyages que le navigateur James Cook fit dans l'océan Pacifique à la fin du dix-huitième siècle, et au cours desquels il découvrit la Nouvelle-Zélande et les îles Tahiti. Ces expéditions avaient en premier lieu un caractère scientifique, mais Cook avait également des instructions pour établir de bonnes relations avec les naturels. La Nouvelle-Zélande a un climat parfait pour l'agriculture, ainsi qu'il s'en rendit compte après avoir planté toute sorte de végétaux et les avoir retrouvé dans les voyages suivants. La curiosité des naturels, et leur goût du commerce rendit assez facile les échanges, mis leur penchant pour le vol imposait une attention de tous les instants. L'anthropophagie semble avoir eu cours chez certaines peuplades du Pacifiques, mais la majorité l'avaient en horreur. Le capitaine périt au cours du troisième voyage, faute d'avoir été assez précautionneux, étant à terre avec les autochtones. Le récit est très intéressant, car Cook se montre très attentif dans ses observations et minutieux dans son récit, en particulier dans tout ce qui touche les usages et les mœurs des hommes du Pacifique.
January 12, 2014
Quite dense and clotted with nautical terminology that might baffle anyone who hasn't spent their life either at sea or reading all of Patrick O'Brien's novels, but still packed full of wonder. Cook was an authentic hero, and surprisingly modern in his view of other cultures. His end was decidely sticky but that, obviously, doesn't feature in his Journals: '14 Feb 1779 - Kealakekua Bay. Hacked to death today on beach. Weather quite pleasant. Wind North by North East.'
May 10, 2008
The editor of this abridged version of Cook's journals has left out most of the interesting anthropological observations made by Cook and his crew. What we're left with is page after monotonous page of navigational details and weather reports: fascinating, I suppose, if you can read a sextant, but a little dry for the rest of us.
January 1, 2019
I was thrilled to receive a boxed edition of this book as a gift. Fascinating material. Absolutely not a read-one-session volume!
February 21, 2022
If you like your history narrated in rat-a-tat style, throwing rapid-fire facts your way in the driest manner possible then this might just be for you. However, if you prefer the novelist style of more recent historians then this volume may prove heavier going than your tastes will allow you to enjoy. This 1999 version is a re-print of the 1906 Everyman edition, so the language and descriptive manner used are very much of their time and written at the zenith of the British Empire's might. The assumption that Cook and Company are of an all together superior race to the 'savages' they encounter oozes from every page and is likely to bring a tear to the eye of the Little Englander.
Cook's three great voyages are detailed at great length and with much repetition, so the potential reader may benefit from skipping straight to the third voyage, which takes up the second half of the book, and covers the whole range of places visited, races condescended to and territory claimed in the name of the king, regardless of the feelings of the inhabitants. The Captain and his entourage were clearly considered to have done the locals a huge service merely in their showing up; their inalienable right being that the locals think the sun shone from their pompous backsides.
Cook's three great voyages are detailed at great length and with much repetition, so the potential reader may benefit from skipping straight to the third voyage, which takes up the second half of the book, and covers the whole range of places visited, races condescended to and territory claimed in the name of the king, regardless of the feelings of the inhabitants. The Captain and his entourage were clearly considered to have done the locals a huge service merely in their showing up; their inalienable right being that the locals think the sun shone from their pompous backsides.
September 26, 2020
Wow I feel like I took the length of one of Cook's voyages to finish reading this book haha.
In fairness I was only reading a few pages every few days, rather than devouring vast swathes in a single sitting.
Anyway this comic
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php...
is a pretty good summary of the final chapter.
(Well, apart from the sex; TBH I think that during his travels Cook only thought about sex in terms of how to stop his men going off and sleeping with local women (this happened a lot apparently, who's shocked, I'm not), not because the women might not like it but because the men might spread/contract STDs).
Anyway, I was impressed with the sheer amount of information gathering here (geographical, botanical, anthropological, etc. etc.); too bad exploration by Brits has nearly always been mingled with colonialism. Sigh.
PS: I was VERY confused by the references to what Cook calls Sea Horses (especially as he was talking about killing and eating them); these turned out to be walruses lol. Fun fact: their Latin name, Odobenus rosmarus, does in fact mean tooth-walking seahorse.
In fairness I was only reading a few pages every few days, rather than devouring vast swathes in a single sitting.
Anyway this comic
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php...
is a pretty good summary of the final chapter.
(Well, apart from the sex; TBH I think that during his travels Cook only thought about sex in terms of how to stop his men going off and sleeping with local women (this happened a lot apparently, who's shocked, I'm not), not because the women might not like it but because the men might spread/contract STDs).
Anyway, I was impressed with the sheer amount of information gathering here (geographical, botanical, anthropological, etc. etc.); too bad exploration by Brits has nearly always been mingled with colonialism. Sigh.
PS: I was VERY confused by the references to what Cook calls Sea Horses (especially as he was talking about killing and eating them); these turned out to be walruses lol. Fun fact: their Latin name, Odobenus rosmarus, does in fact mean tooth-walking seahorse.
March 18, 2024
I am not a sailor, although I have sailed upon the San Francisco bay a time or two. But I have sailed extensively with Melville and Dana and Conrad and Columbus and Kipling and Darwin and London and Forester and Hayden and O'Brian and Wouk and Bligh and Stevenson and Matthiessen and Morison and the amazing Samuel Taylor Coleridge. That said, these excerpted journals ( and running commentary ) rank among the best sea journeys that I have been upon. In three voyages, Cook discovered the east coast of Australia, the islands of New Caledonia and Hawaii ,and proved that New Zealand was an island and not the western edge of some unknown continent. He also disproved the existence of a large unknown landmass in the south seas and on his final voyage, to the Bering Strait, helped disprove the the long sought northwest passage. All the while he promoted hygiene and antiscorbutics (scurvy was a leading cause of death aboard ship), and tested Chronometers to find a more accurate means of locating longitude. Too say nothing of his cartographic abilities.
January 17, 2021
Very interesting read, although some passages could be cut even further. Also, editor's comments are often not very useful as they just tell you what you are going to read in the next paragraph from Cook himself. Still, a fascinating read and it gave the appreciation for the man. The included maps are extremely helpful in understanding what's happening especially because some of the names of islands and other territories have changed.
January 26, 2021
I loved reading about Captain Cook's voyages. I travelled with my imagination throughout the Pacific, despite the fact that the pandemic has kept me confined in England for some time now. However, I would have liked a better edition, offering explanatory notes on the different locations described and historical facts narrated. The captaincooksociety website really helped me to fill in the gaps and I absolutely recommend it.
September 19, 2021
These journeys read in part like a boy’s own adventure. The bravery and inner strength. I can see why they were best sellers at the time. But then, oh boy, the racism and violence, mainstays of imperialism.
January 27, 2024
Cook was a navy man and this book is written in the formal, technical tone you would expect not from a wide-eyed adventurer but a clear-headed, logical individual who simply carried out his Empire's orders to a fault.
May 30, 2020
Very fascinating account of Cook's travels up to his tragic death
April 28, 2022
Instead of celebrating Valentines Day, we should celebrate Cook’s death.
April 6, 2023
I learned a lot about indigenous tribes, I think most of them lost their culture today. It's good to know how it used to be.
August 29, 2023
Interesting to start with but became a bit of a slog.
July 24, 2024
I got hungry for dog when I read this book
September 26, 2024
A gripping book, well written & edited.
February 6, 2008
I like sailing. I'm fascinated with explorers. I relish accounts of two entirely different cultures meeting. For these reasons The Voyages of Captain Cook seemed to me as if it would be the absolute paramount of my insatiable reading desires. For the first time in my life I was wrong (wait, maybe it was the second, if I'm wrong on this count it will be he third). The Voyages of Captain Cook was what I would like to call, in the old fashioned sense: boring. By the time I was halfway through, completing each page was a tortuous, painstaking effort.
I'm not sure when this account was compiled, but it must have been not too long after the famed adventurer's successes because the editor could hardly contain his occasionally smarmy, and unstintingly patriotic voice from commenting here or there on Cook's accomplishments. The book follows the three voyages of Captain Cook. In my humble opinion (often mistaken as a pompous opinion), the book was two voyages too long. The beginning talks about Cook's early career, which was readable enough, especially knowing that it would lead to his glittering career as an explorer. Then he goes on his first voyage. The first place of substance he stops at is a tropical island ... somewhere in the Pacific (the maps accompanying the book were not very helpful with connecting the events of the book with the names on the maps). The Captain's endeavors on this island were vaguely interesting, and seemingly identical to what happens for the rest of the book. Each successive island after that first one is just another tropical island with various native tribes who each end up being either somewhat hostile or nice, or trade with Cook or don't, or give Cook and crew pigs to eat or do dances for them. There is nothing to distinguish any of the islands or the cultures from each other. Copy that and then paste it for the next voyage and for three fourths of the last voyage, and you have The Voyages of Captain Cook.
It took me forever to read the book, but as I had bought it, started it, lost it, and then bought it again, I was determined not to let this one go. Besides, I knew that Cook got killed at the end, and I just had to know how this guy met his end. Well, I wouldn't claim that the end was worth it, but the last hundred pages were more of what I was hoping for. Cook ends up going along the American coast looking for a northwest passage and ends up running into Alaska before retreating back to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands to wait for the next summer to come before making another attempt. Finally, a change in atmosphere, some excitement of avoiding icebergs, the initial exploration of the Berring Strait, storms--all of these instead of the head-poundingly boring and monotonous cruise of tropical islands where the most exciting thing was how much tendency the local natives had of pilfering. Then, once Cook gets to the Hawaiian Islands, we see the fascinating evolution of how things with the natives escalate until the death of Cook himself. On top of that, we are treated to a fresh attempt at the Berring Strait the next summer, this time including some run-ins with Russians. Sigh. The book could have been so much shorter, more interesting, and satisfying with a heck of a lot of editing, but alas, I'm certain poor Ernest Rhys felt that would have been a disservice to his country and his idol James Cook.
I'm not sure when this account was compiled, but it must have been not too long after the famed adventurer's successes because the editor could hardly contain his occasionally smarmy, and unstintingly patriotic voice from commenting here or there on Cook's accomplishments. The book follows the three voyages of Captain Cook. In my humble opinion (often mistaken as a pompous opinion), the book was two voyages too long. The beginning talks about Cook's early career, which was readable enough, especially knowing that it would lead to his glittering career as an explorer. Then he goes on his first voyage. The first place of substance he stops at is a tropical island ... somewhere in the Pacific (the maps accompanying the book were not very helpful with connecting the events of the book with the names on the maps). The Captain's endeavors on this island were vaguely interesting, and seemingly identical to what happens for the rest of the book. Each successive island after that first one is just another tropical island with various native tribes who each end up being either somewhat hostile or nice, or trade with Cook or don't, or give Cook and crew pigs to eat or do dances for them. There is nothing to distinguish any of the islands or the cultures from each other. Copy that and then paste it for the next voyage and for three fourths of the last voyage, and you have The Voyages of Captain Cook.
It took me forever to read the book, but as I had bought it, started it, lost it, and then bought it again, I was determined not to let this one go. Besides, I knew that Cook got killed at the end, and I just had to know how this guy met his end. Well, I wouldn't claim that the end was worth it, but the last hundred pages were more of what I was hoping for. Cook ends up going along the American coast looking for a northwest passage and ends up running into Alaska before retreating back to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands to wait for the next summer to come before making another attempt. Finally, a change in atmosphere, some excitement of avoiding icebergs, the initial exploration of the Berring Strait, storms--all of these instead of the head-poundingly boring and monotonous cruise of tropical islands where the most exciting thing was how much tendency the local natives had of pilfering. Then, once Cook gets to the Hawaiian Islands, we see the fascinating evolution of how things with the natives escalate until the death of Cook himself. On top of that, we are treated to a fresh attempt at the Berring Strait the next summer, this time including some run-ins with Russians. Sigh. The book could have been so much shorter, more interesting, and satisfying with a heck of a lot of editing, but alas, I'm certain poor Ernest Rhys felt that would have been a disservice to his country and his idol James Cook.
January 2, 2023
this 530 page book is a collections of Captain Cook's personal memoirs spanning eleven years and three voyages. the first voyage in particular is spliced together with accounts of his fellow explorers such as Joseph banks who served as a Botanist in his expedition; the editor also takes considerable liberty with the accounts changing many passages from their previous context.
apart from this his memoirs are mostly faithful to how their would have been originally displayed by Cook. I knew relatively little about him or his voyages before reading this and had a predisposed negative opinion towards him. however I now have a newfound respect and admiration for his leadership and wide range of skills he displayed. he treated the natives fairly well and always attempted to win their friendship and only resorted to violence as a last resort. there's one passage in particular which exemplified the type of man he was when during his first voyage his men fired on a group of natives on the beach at Tahiti. Cook was mortified by their behaviour and punished the perpetrators while going to great lengths to heal relations with the local chiefs. he also showed a keen interest for learning all about the natives traditions and cultures which he records in great detail he doesn't refrain from getting involved in any of their often bizarre traditions either.
despite the interest of reading about the various interactions with the previously unknown peoples of the pacific the discoverers over his voyages are also astounding most notable Australia but also New Zealand and Hawaii to name a few which paved the way for future British colonisation in the area. the discovery of these lands is even more impressive considering the heavy amount of activity from other europeans powers such as France and Spain during this time with many islands already holding signs of having previously interactions with them. even during his third voyage when he travels to the northern tip of America and Asia where a number of Russians were already residing he manages to create an even more accurate and detailed map then any of Russians in the area many of which had been living their for many years with some even taking part in Vitus Bering's voyage in 1728.
despite the first voyage being undoubtable the most well-known and successful I found each one to be exciting with a variety of hurdles which cooks crew persevere through. the memoir format was very refreshing from the detached writing that often comes from books taking place in the distant past, his writing makes you feel as if your their with him yourself even if I can't understand a great deal of his nautical language. the footnotes which were used often were hit and miss sometimes giving important context and other times giving bloated information when it really wasn't necessary.
overall although their certainly were parts that were a bore to get through, cooks account is mostly interesting and informative about the people, nature and geography of the pacific islands. as well as the bravery and determination of the men in the Royal Navy to achieve their goal and discover new lands no matter how far away from home it takes them.
apart from this his memoirs are mostly faithful to how their would have been originally displayed by Cook. I knew relatively little about him or his voyages before reading this and had a predisposed negative opinion towards him. however I now have a newfound respect and admiration for his leadership and wide range of skills he displayed. he treated the natives fairly well and always attempted to win their friendship and only resorted to violence as a last resort. there's one passage in particular which exemplified the type of man he was when during his first voyage his men fired on a group of natives on the beach at Tahiti. Cook was mortified by their behaviour and punished the perpetrators while going to great lengths to heal relations with the local chiefs. he also showed a keen interest for learning all about the natives traditions and cultures which he records in great detail he doesn't refrain from getting involved in any of their often bizarre traditions either.
despite the interest of reading about the various interactions with the previously unknown peoples of the pacific the discoverers over his voyages are also astounding most notable Australia but also New Zealand and Hawaii to name a few which paved the way for future British colonisation in the area. the discovery of these lands is even more impressive considering the heavy amount of activity from other europeans powers such as France and Spain during this time with many islands already holding signs of having previously interactions with them. even during his third voyage when he travels to the northern tip of America and Asia where a number of Russians were already residing he manages to create an even more accurate and detailed map then any of Russians in the area many of which had been living their for many years with some even taking part in Vitus Bering's voyage in 1728.
despite the first voyage being undoubtable the most well-known and successful I found each one to be exciting with a variety of hurdles which cooks crew persevere through. the memoir format was very refreshing from the detached writing that often comes from books taking place in the distant past, his writing makes you feel as if your their with him yourself even if I can't understand a great deal of his nautical language. the footnotes which were used often were hit and miss sometimes giving important context and other times giving bloated information when it really wasn't necessary.
overall although their certainly were parts that were a bore to get through, cooks account is mostly interesting and informative about the people, nature and geography of the pacific islands. as well as the bravery and determination of the men in the Royal Navy to achieve their goal and discover new lands no matter how far away from home it takes them.
December 4, 2016
This book encompasses the three journeys of James Cook. It is hard to believe that he traveled so far back in the late 1600's and early 1700's. The first journey was done by telling longitude from the stars; the last two he had a chronometer on board. He discovered many new islands in the Pacific, went all around the northern and southern islands of New Zealand, went as far south as he could to Antarctica, up to the Arctic Sea, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, and on and on. He collected trees, plants, animals.
It is detailed day by day with readings, wind measurements, tides, etc. Very descriptive. But the impression I had was of the variety of things, people, plants and animals. His knowledge of the sea was amazing and he knew his ships and his people well.
It is detailed day by day with readings, wind measurements, tides, etc. Very descriptive. But the impression I had was of the variety of things, people, plants and animals. His knowledge of the sea was amazing and he knew his ships and his people well.
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