James Cook Trivia

1. Following the Seven Years' War, Cook returned to North America with new orders in 1763 as Master of the schooner Grenville. He spent five seasons surveying and charting the whole of which Canadian island for the first time in history?

From Quiz What's Cookin', Captain James?

Answer: Newfoundland

These were important years for Cook as he perfected his skills as a cartographer. Michael Lane assisted Cook in this endeavour. Two small islands off the southeast coast, St. Pierre and Miquelon, were also charted by Cook. These islands remained under the control of France after the Seven Years' War. Cook's maps of Newfoundland were published in 1775 and were extremely accurate. They included soundings and anchoring points. He anglicized place names and gave names to places which had not yet been seen. Surveys more detailed than Cook's would not come until more than a century later.

From Quiz What's Cookin', Captain James?

Answer: Shipwrecked and drowned off the Isle of Wight

James Cook Jr held the rank of Commander aboard the sloop Spitfire in the Royal Navy. In January of 1794, he was returning from shore leave in an open boat. It capsized during a storm and his body was recovered off the Isle of Wight.

From Quiz What's Cookin', Captain James?

Answer: To observe the transit of Venus across the Sun

The Royal Society wanted to observe the transit of Venus in hopes of determining the distance from Earth to Venus as well as the Earth's distance to the Sun. The Royal Navy, in secret, wanted Cook to search for Terra Australis or the Great Southern Continent. No one had ever been there or seen it, but the Admiralty believed it existed and wanted to exploit this mythical fertile land. Cook witnessed the transit of Venus at Tahiti on the 3rd of June, 1769. He did not find Terra Australis. The transit of Venus occurs in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits 8 years apart separated by gaps of 121 years and 105 years. During these times Venus can be seen moving across the Sun. There was a transit of Venus in 2004 and will be again on June 6, 2012. Percautions need to be taken while viewing as it is seen during an eclipse.

From Quiz What's Cookin', Captain James?

Answer: New Zealand

Abel Tasman first discovered New Zealand in 1642 but did not land or circumnavigate the islands. It was thought to be a continent until Cook disproved this theory. He also was the first to discover Cook Strait, showing that New Zealand consisted of two large islands. His charts of over 2400 miles of New Zealand coastline in under six months from October 1769 to March 1770 contained only minor errors which were discovered much later. Cook's encounter with the Maori people did not go well although he did manage to trade with them a little. Small fights erupted and a few Maori were killed. Cook himself regretted these incidents. Cook would visit New Zealand twice more, once in 1773 during his second voyage and again in 1776 during his third voyage.

From Quiz What's Cookin', Captain James?

Answer: Botany Bay

Cook had originally named the landing place "Sting Ray Harbour", after his crew saw and caught stingray there. He changed the name to "Botany Bay" after the scientists he had on board collected many new samples of plants. Point Hicks is the name Cook gave to the spot on the Australian coast that was first seen by a crewman, Lieutenant Hicks. Poverty Bay and Cape Farewell are names Cook gave to spots in New Zealand. Cook was the first to map the east coast of Australia and also claimed the land for King George III, naming it "New South Wales". His dealings with the people went much better in Australia than in New Zealand. The Endeavour struck the Great Barrier Reef in June. It took seven weeks to repair the ship before they could begin the journey home.

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