James Cook was born on “October 27, 1728 in Marton-in Cleveland, Yorkshire, England. He died in February 14, 1779 in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii” (Britannica Encyclopedia 1). His father was an owner of a farm from Scotland. During his teen years, Cook had to spend his life on his father’s farm due to his job. One of his father’s employees had to pay for James’ education up until he was 12 years old. At the age of 18, Cook started working for a “well-known Quaker ship-owner named John Walker” (Britannica Encyclopedia 1). James Cook lived “near the shore and studied mathematics when he was 21” (Britannica Encyclopedia 1). Walker offered James Cook some training at sea. In 1752, Cook was given a career after 8 years on working and training on sailing. Instead of taking the job, he volunteered in the Royal Navy. At the age of 29, Cook was in the Seven Years’ War and took part in the Siege of Louisburg.
In 1768, the Royal Society created the first expedition to the pacific. James Cook was appointed to be the commander of the expedition at 40 years old. The purpose of the expedition was to observe the transportation of the “planet Venus from the vantage point of Tahiti” (World Geography and Culture 1). This journey carried on until 1771 and brought Cook to explore the New Zealand coasts and graph the eastern coastline of Australia. James traveled to the far south plotting out the south pacific and southern areas. He later then became advertised as a captain for his voyages across the North West passage. During the years of 1772-1775, Cook set …show more content…
The most important voyage was the second expedition to explore the New Zealand coasts and the eastern coast of Australia. Cook’s main purposes to his journeys were to explore most of the southern areas and discover more about it. James Cook had set many “standards in discovery about navigation, cartography, and the science of the sea” (Britannica Encyclopedia 1) from all of his