James Cook had always longed for an adventurous life. As a boy, he spent his free time climbing a nearby hill shaped like a cresting wave and imagining himself
far away from farm work and a crowded family. In 1745, when he was sixteen, Cook got a job in a nearby fishing village, but that was still too boring. He spent his days staring out of the shop window at the sea and talking to sailors who wanted to purchase food or fabric. The ocean was vast and dangerous and promised adventure in unknown lands. It seemed far more interesting than selling supplies for someone else’s trip.
Cook’s employer could tell that he was more interested in the ocean than the store, so he introduced Cook to friends who owned some ships and made their money trading coal. They hired him to work on one of the ships sailing along the English coast. On board, Cook studied navigation, astronomy, and math. He learned how to control a ship and how to chart a course. He observed the different roles people played on a ship and what it meant to be part of a crew. Cook had finally found something that interested him. He didn’t only want to work on a ship; he wanted to be a captain.
Cook soon traveled farther from home. He took jobs on ships in the Baltic Sea and then joined the British Royal Navy, with whom he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. There was so much to see! Cook was fascinated by the natural world around him and spent much of his time making maps and studying the stars. People began to realize that Cook had a knack for this sort of scientific work and the Navy decided to encourage this talent.
Cook was sent to the Pacific Ocean in search of places that Europeans had never seen before. He reached Australia in 1770 and explored its coast, collecting plants from the shore to study back in England. He sailed to Indonesia, then to South Africa, and finally back to Europe. Cook was celebrated by many scholars and scientists in England, who were impressed by the work he had done. He had come a long way from being a restless farm boy in the countryside!
Although Cook had been to Australia, many people in England believed there was yet another continent hidden in the warm waters of the Pacific. Cook went back in 1772 and sailed almost all the way to Antarctica with the help of Ma’i (Omai), a boy from an island called Ra’iatea near Tahiti. Ma’i had studied under a local priest and was familiar with navigation and many of the different islands and languages in the Pacific. Although Cook encountered many islands that people back home had not previously known about, he proved that there could not be another mysterious inhabited continent.
Cook had now made a name for himself as an explorer of the Pacific, but things did not always go according to plan. In 1779, Cook was frustrated after he was forced to turn back while looking for a new route around North America. He decided to return to one of the island chains he had encountered in the Pacific in order to refuel for the long trip home.
Cook docked on the largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago, which he had dubbed the Sandwich Isles.
He happened to land during a period of festivities and the local population treated Cook and his crew well, providing them with food and supplies. Arguments soon broke out, however. When a small boat was stolen, Cook made the rash decision to capture the island’s chief and hold him hostage. Confusion turned to anger, and Cook was fatally struck down on the shore of one of the most isolated places in the world.
As a young man, Cook had written that he wanted to travel not only “farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it is possible for a man to go.” He had certainly accomplished his goal. The same pride and impulsivity that had led to his death had also fueled his desire to learn about the world and to see as much of it as possible with his own eyes, leaving us with the knowledge gained from his travels.