James Cook was born in Marton England on October 27 th
, 1728. He joined the British
Navy in 1755. Cook then started working as an apprentice for a ship owner in his late teens. His father James was originally from Scotland married to Grace Pace from
Thornarby. He was an agricultural laborer and moved about the area to find work on estate farms.
The voyage was from August 26 th
1768 – July 13 th
1771. He was captain of the
Endeavour. Cook got to Tahiti. James and his crew were nearby the island for 3 months collecting information about the Tahitians and their culture. He also tried to search for a large southern continent. Cook sailed from Plymouth England to Brazil, around the Cape
Horn and to the Tahiti’s April 11 th
, 1769. James then sailed to New Zealand on October
6 th
, 1769 where his crew fought with the Maoris. He sailed to and mapped eastern and northern Australia. The Endeavor was stuck for one day on the Great Barrier Reef of northeastern Australia; the ship was damaged by the coral and almost sank. They repaired it in Northern Queensland, Australia. Cook then sailed through the strait between
Australia and New Guinea, and reached Batavia, Java, in October 1770 where about 30 members of the crew died from malaria, a disease carried by mosquitoes. Cook replaced these crew members in southern Africa on July 13 th , 1771. The Endeavor returned to
England after a journey lasting almost three years.

The Voyage went from 1772-1775 and Cook brought two ships called the Resolution and
Adventure. James became the first navigator to cross the Antarctic Circle. He then got to
Antarctica and Easter Island on a voyage intended to show there was a large southern continent. James left Plymouth England on July 13 th , 1772 and sailed to Cape Town southern Africa. The two ships were separated in February 1773 and met again in New
Zealand in April 1773.
Cook Sailed from England on July 12 th
, 1776 on the Resolution. Cook arrived at Cape
Town southern Africa, on October 18 th , 1776 and sailed to the Indian Islands and on to
New Zealand in early 1777. He then sailed to and named the Sandwich Islands. Cook searched for a northwestern passage in Alaska, but was unsuccessful. He then returned to the Sandwich Islands.
Cook sadly died by Hawaiians on February 14 th
, 1778. He was the first captain to stop the disease scurvy now known to be caused by lack of vitamin c among sailors by providing them with fresh fruits. Before scurvy had killed sailors or incapacitated many sailors on long trips.
Works Cited
"James Cook: British Explorer - EnchantedLearning.com." ENCHANTED LEARNING
HOME PAGE. 27 Feb. 2009
<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/c/cook.shtml>.
"James Cook." The Official Site of The Seattle Mariners | Mariners.com: Homepage. 27
Feb. 2009 <http://www.mariners.org/educationalad/ageofexcook.php>.
"James Cook." World Book. Chicago: Scott Fetzer, 2006. 1025-026.