Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada - Essay Example

Lecturer: Topic: Introduction James Cook, one of the pronounced explorers of the 18th century was born in Yorkshire in the year1728 to an agricultural Scotsman. At 17years, he was working for a shopkeeper in Staithes near Whitby, and it was while working here that he discovered his interest in life in the sea and chose to pursue his ambitions. He learned mathematics and astronomy skills significant for navigators and in a short while he earned the authority of a commercial ship, but as an alternative went to join the Navy as a seaman (Simmons, 11). He ascended through the positions to turn into a mate from a mere sea man and in four years he became a master. However, it was not until 1759 that he attained the capacity to command the Mercury and to sail to Canada up to the St Lawrence River, where he assisted in the survey of the river channel. At this point, he was responsible and could successfully pilot the fleet, and they took over took Quebec, for his expeditions, Cook choice of the vessel was precise. He went for sturdy and practical vessels, preferably one that could hold lots of provision as well as be able to be managed by a small crew if need be. Among his crew members was, Dr Green who was responsible for the scientific instruments that were used for observations used in the expedition. In his lifetime Cook went for three major voyages across the pacific, each voyage, however, a different purpose had and was directed to different parts of the world. Perceptions he presented to indigenous islanders In his expeditions, Cook visited vast areas and interacted with numerous islanders in his missions. According to Simmons, (41), James Cook was only twenty-nine years old when he set for the voyage with the chilling experience. In a few years achieved recognition for his success in preventing the loss of the men under his command to scurvy, in. It marked as one of the most outstanding accomplishment he managed to attain during his voyages and exploration around the world. Cook was always cautious and compassionate in his character; he paid close attention to the health of the ship’s company on those voyages as he had not witnessed the terrible suffering aboard Pembroke. When Cook arrived in Halifax outbreaks of scurvy were not uncommon in the city itself may be due to lack of property rights discouraged settlers from erecting fences, and cultivating home gardens and this made fresh vegetables be scarce. On June 19th, the British started bombarding the fortress with heavy artillery and two days later the French vessel célèbre was hit by gunfire and burst into flames. They put a strong resistance against the British onslaught which caused the siege to last until July 26 when two of their vessels were captured. When the siege was over and Louisburg surrendered, James Cook was to make an important meeting in his career. At the shore James met with Samuel Holland, whose works he admired and also took a keen interest in as it was vital as a navigator and sailor. After conversing Samuel agreed to teach him how to use the plane table as it was clear to him the device would make the drawing harbor and coastal plans easier with precision (Edwards, 319). His three years aboard Northumberland, Cook in portraying his ambitions and self-drive did a survey of the harbor himself, and, as a result, he drafted two manuscript charts. These charts led to rising of a number of questions on the reason as to why he would survey the harbor in the first place. There was the Morris’s chart, which he could have, made improvement on. His first manuscript had two curious omissions it didn’t show any buoyage which were certainly in place when he drew the chart. One recompose for James Cook, which made his time in Halifax more tolerable, was, on January 19, 1761 when Colvill ordered the storekeeper at the navy yard to pay him fifty Euros. This was equal to eight month’s pay, and he earned it for his hard work and diligence. During this period, he was accountable for the care and safety of the ship, and this is when he immersed in the study of mathematics, astronomy and navigation since idleness was not in his nature. As opposed to journals, Cook kept his records in his official masters log book which give a detailed picture of the daily winds and weather on an hourly basis. Hallett (9) asserts that from time to time the ship’s monotony was broken by minor drama, for instance, in January during strong gales and heavy squalls the merchant ship Elizabeth parted and was driven ashore on George Island. Northumberland’s were sent to assistance was provided the following day together with its men to help in the process of refloating the ship. In March, twenty-two men of Northumberland’s men returned from the hospital and the crew were employed in getting the ship ready for sea (Edwards, 319). This indicates that cook had different faces in dealing with the islanders and is own crew. The change of faces allowed him effectively manages his crew and handle the native islanders in the areas visited in the explorations. The nature of Cook’s personality: a humane and tolerant navigator using force as the last resort or a brutal imperialist The voyages cook made had underlying missions, most of which he did on behalf of the government. To cover up the secret missions, cook was required to maintain an unpredictable personality and maintain some sense of power over his subjects. For example, the first Voyage mission was given in secrecy was to search for the terra Australia incognata, also known as the unknown southern land. They set off from Plymouth and sailed around Cape Town and into the Pacific anchoring by the island of Tahiti, where they encountered the islanders who were the recipient of them and were kind also kind to them. They also showed great interest in the crew and all they did. Some difference emerged between the crew and islanders due to the different views on property. The islanders considered all property as communal contrary to the belief of the crew, but Cook, however, was less harsh with regard to small thefts, and even went ahead to encourage his crew to do so though not many listened to him. The interaction with the islanders led to the emergence of tattooing among the sailors as depicted in the islanders’ custom of decorating themselves of pricking their skin as well as dyeing it. In this mission, he revived New Zeeland Cook that had been discovered through several months rotating and investigation or North Island and South Island: with the aim of proving they were Islands as opposed to earlier views that they were continents. As the endeavor continued on its voyage towards Tsamania and the east coast of Australia, it was almost broken down on the coral reefs to the north, but maintenance were made, and it managed to travel northwards towards Batavia the modern Jakarta. Some of the crew had died of fever Cook, however, managed to scurvy, which was more serious a threat to the sailors, and he made sure that high standards of cleanliness were observed on board ship as he made them scrub their hammocks as well as a wash and clean the ship using vinegar. This practice was common when there was any suspicion of a contagious disease. He also ensured that the crew ate as many fresh vegetables as possible despite the fact it was a rare commodity. The second voyage attempted to look for the southern continent after he had stayed a whole year at home. He took two Whitby colliers this time –the Resolution and Adventure. Dr. Bank a botanist who always accompanied him wanted to join the expedition but could not. This was so as Cook was strict and could not allow him to bring in an extra deck in the ship. In this expedition, Cook’s primary goal was to test a copy of a time keeper, or sea clock, which had been previously designed by John Harrison. This was though the successful performance whose success benefited even the future navigators. The results showed that the navigators would fix longitude accurately and hence resolve the adventure lost contact and finds its way back to England and circumnavigate the world. “Cook who was commanding the Resolution and his crew, however, crossed the Antarctic Circle, stopped at Easter Island and Tonga and exploited New Hebrides, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island; they successfully cut across the South pacific through the Rounded Cape Horn Crossed the South Atlantic and landed at the Cape of Good Hope” (Lockett, 24). The voyage leads to a conclusion of the greater continents besides Europe in the temperate regions of the pacific and beyond pacific. For example, Antarctic was a continent on its own and as a result of his successful expeditions he was elected a member of the royal society, (Lockett, 24). On his third and last voyage Cook wanted to find out the North passage that connected the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and his vessel of choice was the Resolution and another white collier named the Discovery. In his exploration, he come to a wall of ice in the arctic which made him turn south and explored the island of Hawaii and to his amazement he found that the islanders treated him like a god. The stay at the island was not for long and soon Cook and his ship took off and returned later since the Resolution needed repair to her mast, which had broken. When Cook attempted to take the King captive after the robbery of a ship’s boat the islanders were enraged and during the struggle Cook was stabbed and killed on the 14th of February 1779 paving way for Captain Clerke to command the ships who also died along the way leaving Lieutenant Gore in-charge to bring the ships home. Thus, he was considerate and a humane and tolerant navigator using force as the last resort and not a brutal imperialist. In this case, he used force when it was necessary, but generally he acted depending on the issue at hand. Personality Change Significant change is ascertained to his last voyage as he transformed from a patient, non-violent, and tolerant person in a violent and angry one. The upheavals over Cook from Iceland and the problem of possession to the actual nature of Cooks death and his role in the pacific mark contemporary scholarship in such an aggressive way because they signal the expected fact that cook was unknowable and subservient, rather than known and dominant. Cooks subjectivity appears more like ice islands that thrilled him should perhaps should not be surprising; however, his peculiar entries about the absent southern continent resonate across the scripted landscape of British poetry This revealed that he understood the nature of the human needs and had gone through significant changes in how he related to the islanders and other natives. Conclusion James Cook in his explorations brought negatives and positives one among them being solving of mysteries of the areas around the Pacific Ocean. As well as opening the northwest American coast to trade and colonization. As a captain, he handled the ships as well as its crew extraordinarily well, managed to avoid scurvy, and conducted all his exploration in a extraordinarily nonviolent fashion. Works Cited Edwards, Philip. James Cook; The Journals. Ed. Philip Edwards. London: Penguin Books. N.p., 2003. Print. Hallett, Nicky.Lives of Spirit: English Carmelite Self-Writing of the Early Modern Period. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Internet resource. Lockett, Jerry. Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada: The Adventurer & Map Makers Formative Years. Halifax: Formac Pub, 2010. Print. Simmons, Thomas. Imperial Affliction: Eighteenth-century British Poets and Their Twentieth-Century Lives. New York: P. Lang, 2010. Internet resource Simmons, Thomas. Imperial Affliction: Eighteenth-century British Poets and Their Twentieth-Century Lives. New York: Lang, Peter, Pub, 2011.Internet resource. Read More