Mapping James Cook was not the one to map out the Pacific Ocean, nor the first one to discover New Zealand and Australia. In fact, the map of the Pacific was finished for the most part by the 18th century. However, he was the first one to circumnavigate the southern continents, and complete the map of the Pacific by perfecting the map of the continent. The history of cartography in the Pacific dates back to B.C., where Romans made regional maps. Civilizations continued to create more comprehensive and accurate maps and by the 15th century, Asia and Europe were already somewhat fully mapped out. There was already a sophisticated map involving trade routes such as the Silk Road and the Spice Route. Trade was very abundant between civilizations …show more content…
He was notorious for being quite finicky about hygiene on his ships, but his efforts were to prevent scurvy among crewmembers, and his efforts succeeded. Out of his “crew of 118”, he only lost one, and won the “Copley Gold Medal of the Royal Society” for his feats (Encyclopedia 2). On top of this, his skill as an explorer was notable. His journal entries about his expedition were written with so much detail and honesty “not even the modesty of Cook’s report could obscure the extent or importance of his achievements” (Australian National University 1). In his journal, he would write the “longitude and latitude” and “observations of the Sun and Moon”. These attributes made him a successful sailor. In his first voyage, Cook was only a lieutenant, but in recognition of his achievements of sailing new seas and claiming land for England, he was promoted to commander for future …show more content…
In this arduous environment, Cook had “unbelievable accuracy” (Australian National University 1), was able to circumnavigate Australia and New Zealand and provide “the first accurate map of the Pacific” (Biography 2) by placing the location of the land.
He further made contributions to the Pacific map when he found the islands of present day Hawaii. On January 18, 1778, he passed by the island of Ohau and later landed on Kauai, naming the islands the “Sandwich Islands” in honor of one of his patrons (AE Networks 1). Through this discovery, Cook became the first European to circumnavigate the globe in the Southern Seas without losing any personnel to scurvy.
In all, James Cook was nor the one to map out eastern Asia nor the first one to discover New Zealand and Australia. However, he was the one to circumnavigate the southern continents, and complete the map of the Pacific. “The Man that Mapped Out the Pacific” is a title that seems too exaggerated, but his feats are undeniable and he deserves the title of “The Man Who Completed the Map of the
His first voyage took place in 1598 with his uncle. He was on his own for his next trip which lasted 2 years. He was in France from 1603 until 1607. They then found some West Indians that
In 1802 Jefferson had started to strategize an expedition to explore out west all the way out to the Pacific. President Jefferson commenced preparations for this expedition in the same year after inspiration from the writings of Canadian explorer Sir Alexander Mackenzie. These writings were called the Voyages from Montreal. After reading these fascinating excerpts, Jefferson knew he wanted an American expedition out west. Jefferson’s expedition was also impacted by the journeys of Captain George Vancouver and James Cook in tha...
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
Supporters of the Age of Exploration believe James Cook was an example of a great explorer and a navigator. In his text/lecture “Cook’s Third Voyage”, Encyclopedia argues that in Hawaii he fought with the Hawaiians during his third voyage in 1779 and died leaving a legacy. Cook mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii, the great Barrier Reef of Australia, and the Pacific Ocean. He had a superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in many different conditions. Based upon this research, it is clear that James Cook is significant because he’s a great seaman. This evidence supports
The Exploration Era was a time period when countries and people made journeys overseas to find “the New World.” With the help of the printing press, the discoveries of the Americas were known globally making people curious to explore it themselves. In the map “Distribution of Columbus’ Letter” (Document D), it shows where the letter was published and where it was translated to different. This is due to the printing press. Along with the many documents, the news of Christopher Columbus’ discoveries of “India” or the New World had sparked the curiosity of people all over the world. People became more interested in geography and seeing what’s out there along with the different resources. The New World discovery opened up a new trade route and different trade items. This would create pros and cons like economic growth and slavery. In addition the exploration of the Europeans helped us gain knowledge and get a picture of the Americas. In the “Henricus Martellus’ World Map, 1489” (Document E), it shows the world as they knew it with Europe, Africa, and Asia. The “Martin Waldseemuller's World Map, 1507” was an updated, more correct version of the world we see today. Waldseemuller’s map includes the Americas and was much bigger than Martellus’. The printing press had helped Waldseemuller use this new knowledge to create a map that would depict something
"Early Explorers of the Western Hemisphere." World Almanac & Book of Facts 2000, 1999, p456.
Ken Jennings was a map nerd from a young age himself, you will not be surprised to learn, even sleeping with an old creased atlas at the side of his pillow, most kids his age were cuddling with a trusted blanket- Jennings was not. As he travels the world meeting people of kindred spirits--map librarians, publishers, geocachers, and the engineers behind google maps. Now that technology and geographic unknowing is increasingly insulting us from the space and land around us, we are going to be needing these people more than ever. Mapheads are the ones who always know exactly where they are and...
There were many people responsible for the westward expansion of the US. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were one of the first Americans to precisely explore and map the western Territories. During their expeditions they were aided by a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea and her French-Canadian husband Toussaint Charbonneau, during which they served as translators. Their expedition helped path a way for thousands of settlers to move west.
...de him fearless and victorious against hardship. Because of his unfaltering dedication to knowledge and the preservation of the West, Powell is truly one of the most significant American explorers of the nineteenth century.
und three hundred men. His journey took him around three years and while making this journey he was thinking about no one but himself. Magellan took all the credit for everything and without his crew members he would be nothing and could not have achieved half as much. He also ended up using violence to make people change they way they believe. Magellan was not worth defending and shouldn't get all the credit he does.
However, other factors, most importantly the voyagers’ ability to winter, also played key roles in their successes and failures. There is certainly a correlation between the dangers of wintering and the need for support from the Company; without this support, voyagers had little chance of surviving throughout the winter as they relied on Hudson Bay posts as shelter. This proved to be a great problem, particularly for early voyagers including Knight and Middleton, who faced tough negotiations with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Of course different factors affected different explorers more drastically than others. Cook avoided Hudson Bay by travelling from the East and Hearne dealt with the dangers of wintering very well. The Company was certainly the most antagonising factor for eighteenth century expeditions as it caused more issues than necessary. However, wintering was more damaging as it caused the death of various voyagers and greatly limited their capabilities. Overall, different factors affected individual voyagers to varying extents, but the Hudson’s Bay Company was certainly pivotal to the success of eighteenth
Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark, also known as Lewis and Clark, they led one of the most famous expeditions in American history. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps of Discovery Expedition was one of the earliest exploratory missions across America to the Pacific Coast. Though its primary purpose was to find a direct water route to the Pacific Ocean, President Jefferson also wanted the journey to focus on the economic usefulness of different regions, particularly in terms of plant and animal life. On May 14, 1804, along with 31 other men, Lewis and Clark set out to do exactly that. It was a long, treacherous trip by water and on foot across a expansive unknown wilderness. Keeping the expedition members healthy and well-fed was obviously a pressing concern. This epic mission had a wild, strange and often surprising menu. Their favorite foods were always elk, beaver tail, and buffalo, and when they were struggling up the Missouri the men ate prodigious amounts of it, up to nine pounds of meat per man per day. But dogs would do if dogs were all that they could get. Only Clark formerly declined. He couldn't bring himself to eat dog meat. They also had to cut down trees to make boats after going over miles of land while being forced to leave their original boats. What they did was burn the insides of
From 1566 to 1569 he sailed on two slave-trading voyages with his cousin and partner Sir John Hawkins. He is another famous sea dog in his time. They went to Africa and got slaves and sold them to the Western Indians. Portugal and Spain were not happy about this voyage that England made because they were giving Portugal competition with slave trade and ...
Sir Walter Ralegh set sail on many voyages to colonize lands. Working under Queen Elizabeth, he voyaged to North America where he was responsible for colonizing the coastline north of Florida. (Cambridge University Press, 1910) He was famous for his explorations to the New World by colonizing North Carolina, the states present day capital is named after him. Sir Walter Ralegh kept going on voyages to colonize land, but when returned home he paid for his mistake of a secret marriage which resulted in his execution for disobeying the Queens rules.
They knew what Cook’s maps would be used for and how it put most of the world at a disadvantage. Those from the Present day know Cook’s mapping has put all of the world except Britain at a geographical disadvantage because other nations have not discovered and mapped the places Cook has been, so by the time they start voyages to discover new lands the British would have already found most of them. An example of how Cook puts all except the British at a disadvantage comes from a biography on Cook. “Many sailors noted Cook's stellar work with mapping and surveying and how extremely accurate his drawings were. It was those surveys that gave Cook a name, along with the information he carefully obtained from the observing and recording of the eclipse of the sun in 1766.”