English navigator and discoverer James Cook. Biography, travel history

James Cook is one of the greatest discoverers of the XVIII century. The man who led the three round-the-world expeditions, discovered many new lands and islands, an experienced navigator, researcher and cartographer - that's who James Cook is. Briefly about his travels, read this article.

Childhood and youth

The future navigator was born on October 27, 1728 in the village of Marton (England). His father was a poor farmer. Over time, the family moved to the village of Great Ayton, where James Cook was educated at a local school. Since the family was poor, James's parents were forced to give it to an apprentice shopkeeper, who lived in the small seaside town of Steytes.

Being an 18-year-old boy, James Cook, whose biography tells of him as a hardworking and purposeful man, left his job at a shopkeeper and hired a cabin boy for a coal ship. Thus began his career as a sailor. The ship on which he sailed at sea for the first few years, mostly cruised between London and the English city of Newcastle. He also visited Ireland, Norway and the Baltic, and devoted almost all his free time to self-education, interested in such sciences as mathematics, navigation, astronomy and geography. James Cook, who was offered a high position on one of the ships of the trading company, preferred to enlist as an ordinary sailor in the British navy. Later, he took part in the Seven Years' War, and at its end he established himself as an experienced cartographer and topographer.

The first round-the-world trip

In 1766 the British Admiralty decided to send a scientific expedition to the Pacific, the purpose of which was various observations of space bodies, as well as some calculations. In addition, it was necessary to explore the coast of New Zealand, discovered by Tasman in 1642, James Cook was appointed the head of the voyage. His biography, however, contains more than one journey, in which he played a dominant role.

James Cook sailed from Plymouth in August 1768. The expedition's expedition crossed the Atlantic, skirted South America and entered the Pacific Ocean. The astronomical task was carried out on the island of Tahiti on June 3, 1769, after which Cook sent the ships south-westward and four months later reached New Zealand, the coast of which he thoroughly studied, before continuing the journey. Then he sailed to Australia and, finding Torres Strait, which at that time was not known to Europeans, rounded it from the north and on October 11, 1970 sailed to Batavia. In Indonesia, the expedition underwent an epidemic of malaria and dysentery, from which a third of the team died. From there Cook went west, crossed the Indian Ocean, rounded Africa and on July 12, 1771, returned to his homeland.

The second round-the-world trip

In the autumn of the same year, the British Admiralty again started another voyage. This time, its purpose is to study the still unexplored parts of the Southern Hemisphere and search for the alleged Southern continent. This task was entrusted to James Cook.

Two ships of the expedition sailed from Plymouth on July 13, 1772 and on October 30 they landed in Kapstadt (now Cape Town), located in the south of Africa. After spending a little less than a month, Cook continued to sail south. In the middle of December the travelers came across the solid ice that blocked the way to the ships, but Cook did not intend to surrender. He crossed the Southern Arctic Circle on January 17, 1773, but soon was forced to turn ships north. Over the next few months he visited several islands of Oceania and the Pacific, then made another attempt to break into the south. January 30, 1774 the expedition managed to reach the southernmost point of its voyage. Then Cook again headed north, visited several islands. James Cook, whose biography is full of discoveries, and this time stumbled upon new islands. Having completed the research in this region, he sailed to the east and in December approached the Tierra del Fuego. The expedition returned to England on July 13, 1775.

At the end of this voyage, which made Cook very famous throughout Europe, he received a new promotion, and also became a member of the Royal Geographical Society, which also awarded him a gold medal.

The third round-the-world trip

The purpose of the next voyage was the search for a northwest route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The journey of James Cook began in Plymouth, from where, on July 12, 1776, an expedition consisting of two ships led by him. The navigators arrived in Kapstadt, and from there went to the southeast and by the end of 1777 visited Tasmania, New Zealand and elsewhere. In the middle of December of the following year the expedition visited the Hawaiian Islands, after which it continued to follow the north, where Cook directed ships along the coast of Canada and Alaska, crossed the Arctic Circle and soon, finally stuck in solid ice, was forced to turn back to the south.

In January 1779, Cook stuck to the Hawaiian Islands and stayed there for a while. On February 14, a conflict occurred between the mariners and the natives of the island of Hawaii , which resulted in the death of several sailors, including Captain James Cook.

Conclusion

The legacy of Cook - his diaries containing a lot of ethnographic and geographical data, were repeatedly reprinted in many languages. These records are of particular interest to researchers today. James Cook, whose biography abounds in a lot of colorful episodes, is rightly considered one of the most outstanding discoverers on a par with such great people as Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci.