Question: What did James Cook accomplish?
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Captain James Cook (1728-1729) was a great navigator, surveyor and cartographer, who was the first to map the coastline of Newfoundland (1763-1766) and went on to make three famous voyages to the South Pacific. He was the first known European to circumnavigate New Zealand, navigate the eastern coastline of Australia, and make contact with the Hawaiian Islands.
His first Pacific voyage (1768-1771), commissioned by the Royal Society, was to observe the transit of Venus across the sun from the island of Tahiti. He went on to map the entire coastline of New Zealand and from there sailed west to reach the south eastern coast of Australia.
His second voyage (1772-1775), again for the Royal Society, was in search of the theoretical southern continent of Terra Australis. During this voyage he circumnavigated the globe at a high southern latitude and was one of the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. Discoveries included South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Landfalls on his return journey included the Friendly Islands, Easter Island, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. This voyage dispelled the myth of Terra Australis, but ironically, Cook came close to discovering Antarctica.
The third voyage (1776-1779) had the principal purpose of searching for the North West Passage. After calling at Tahiti he headed north, passing and making landfall on the Hawaiian Islands en route to the west coast of America. On this voyage he mapped most of the North West coast of America for the first time, from Oregon to the Bering Strait, filling in many of the gaps left by Spanish and Russian exploration. Finding the Bering Strait impassable, Cook sailed back south, calling at Hawaii. After a month's stay, and shortly after leaving the islands, he was obliged to return to carry out repairs to one of his ships. Cook was killed during an altercation with the islanders on 14 February 1779.
Cook is important in that he increased knowledge of considerable portions of the globe, thus assisting further exploration and the extension of trade. During his voyages he claimed new territories for Britain and opened the door to the eventual colonisation of Australia, New Zealand and other newly discovered regions. His journals were completed after his death by Captain James King and published on the return to Britain of the last expedition.
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