J cook what he discovered and when. James Cook circumnavigations
Cook (Cook), James - the famous English navigator (1728-1779). The son of a farmer, he was sent to train with a merchant, but, having quarreled with the owner, he began his nautical career with 13 years of seven-year service on one coal ship. From 1755 he entered the English fleet; in 1759 he was already an officer, during the years of the Seven Years' War he took part in the siege of Quebec; in 1763-67 he surveyed and surveyed the coast of Newfoundland.
In 1768, Cooke was sent as captain of the Endeavor to the Tahiti Islands for scientific research, among other things, to observe the passage of the planet Venus through the disk of the sun and calculate the distance of the sun from the earth. Having completed this task with the help of the astronomers who were with him and having made a description of the islands, which he called the Islands of the Partnership, Cook turned south, explored and mapped the coast of New Zealand, which was then considered part of the supposed southern mainland, reached the eastern coast of Australia, made its survey over about 2000 miles and declared the country to be English property. Making one discovery after another, he passed through the Torres Strait, proving that Australia was separated from New Guinea, and then through Batavia and Cape Good Hope returned to Europe (1771).
Portrait of James Cook. Artist N. Dance, 1775-1776
Here he was entrusted with a new expedition already on two ships ("Resolution" and "Adventure") to resolve the issue of the existence of the southern continent (Antarctica). James Cook left Plymouth in 1772 and headed south through Kapstadt, but ice floes forced him to turn towards New Zealand. The next year he again sailed south; a storm separated him from another vessel entrusted to him. Cook reached 71 ° 10 "south latitude, when he had to stop further navigation due to ice and turn north. At the same time, he discovered many Pacific islands from the Marquesas in the east to New Caledonia and New Hebrides in the west, after which, rounding the South America, he discovered several more islands in the south of the Atlantic Ocean and returned to England (1774).
Cook's third voyage was made after the British Parliament appointed a prize for the discovery of the northern passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This task was taken over by Cook in 1776 with two ships ("Resolution" and "Discovery"). He followed through the Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand and Tahiti, and from here north. Having discovered here in 1778 the islands called Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands), and sailing further along the coast of North America, Cook passed through the Bering Strait, but at 74 ° 44 "North latitude, ice blocked his further path.
Upon returning to the Hawaiian Islands, Cook first entered into friendly negotiations with the locals, but on February 13, 1779, one English boat was detained by the natives. The next day Cook went ashore to try to get her back. The natives were alarmed; an accidental shot by an Englishman killed their leader. Then the savages attacked the Europeans. In the fight, 4 sailors and Cook were killed. It was not even possible to take away his remains, eaten by the inhabitants. Only the admiral's bones were later found.
Three voyages around the world by James Cook. The first is indicated by red arrows, the second by green arrows, the third by blue arrows.
Three voyages around the world by James Cook discovered more lands and found out the structure and location of the oceans, seas, continents and islands better than any other expedition. Cook holds a place in the history of geography, equal to Columbus and Magellan. Descriptions of all his three travels, full of deep scientific interest, were published many times not only in English, but also in many European languages, including in Russian. The Royal Society of London, of which Cook was a member since 1775, published a number of his very valuable special works, all the more amazing because Cook did not have a proper scientific education.
On August 26, 1768, Captain James Cook set sail for the Pacific Ocean. According to official reports, Cook was supposed to make astronomical observations, but the captain had another task - to find out if the southern mainland existed.
James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 in the family of a poor farmer. At the age of 18, he unexpectedly became interested in sea travel and became a cabin boy on a ship carrying coal. Nine years later, he was already perfectly able to manage such vessels. But he chose to leave merchant navy and again became an ordinary sailor in the Royal Navy. Two years later he was already the captain of his own ship. In 1768-1779. James Cook made three Pacific voyages. He sailed from Antarctic waters to the Arctic Ocean. Cook made a breakthrough in research southern seas, giving their first systematic and reliable cartographic description. The maps he compiled made it possible to conclude that there is not a single landmass, but separate lands.
Secret Mission
In the XVIII century. Europeans knew almost nothing about the South Pacific. Since antiquity, geographers have believed that there is a large continent in the southern hemisphere, extending from South Pole to the tropics. In 1768, Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy was given the task of leading a scientific expedition to the Pacific Ocean to observe the passage of Venus on June 3, 1769 between the Earth and the Sun. In fact, the British government was interested in the unknown southern mainland, which was supposed to discover rich deposits of minerals.
The Endeavor ship was neither beautiful nor fast, but it was very durable
Cook insisted that a large, durable coal-carrying ship set sail. On board this ship, which was called the Endeavor, there was enough space for a crew of 94 people, which also included naturalists, an astronomer, and other "gentleman explorers", as scientists were called at that time. During the voyages, scientists made maps on which open lands were plotted, sketched and described new plant species, and also collected valuable information about the peoples inhabiting the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Crew Health
Cook made sure that during the voyage, the diet of sailors included foods rich in vitamins, and the ships sparkled with cleanliness.
James Cook was very concerned about the health of his crew and made sure that there was a huge amount of food among the taken food supplies. sauerkraut and onions, as well as oranges and lemons, which were supposed to be a substitute for fresh vegetables. As a result, scurvy, a disease associated with a lack of vitamins that decimated sailors on long voyages, was almost never encountered on Cook's ships. Wherever possible, Cook ordered his men to collect vitamin-rich wild herbs. In addition, Cook strictly demanded cleanliness from his people: every day he checked whether the hands of the sailors of his crew were washed and left those who forgot about hygiene without a daily portion of alcohol.
Sir Joseph Banks, botanist, traveler, patron of science and director of the Royal botanical garden in London. He sailed with Cook along the entire route and explored the local flora, including the breadfruit tree.
New Zealand
Going on the first voyage, the expedition had to find out if the discovery in 1642 by the Dutchman Abel Tasman New Zealand part of the hypothetical Southern Continent. Sailing in August 1768 from the port of Plymouth, Cook crossed the Atlantic Ocean, rounded South America, entered the Pacific Ocean and reached the island of Tahiti. October 7, 1769 Cook approached New Zealand. After swimming around her, he determined that she represented two big islands, not associated with any mainland, and mapped the contours of their coasts.
new mainland
Deciding to return to his homeland across the Indian Ocean, Cook headed for Australia and April 19, 1770 reached its eastern shore. Vegetable world these places were so rich that the bay, on the shore of which the city of Sydney now stands, was named Botany Bay (Botany Bay). Accompanying Cook, natural scientists collected hundreds of specimens of unfamiliar plants. Turning to the north, Cook kept close to the shore in order to accurately map its outlines. Despite the precautions, the ship still ran into the reef. The Endeavor was pulled ashore, and for two months, while it was being repaired, Cook explored the wonderful world of the Great Barrier Reef.
by islands
Cook respected the way of life of the indigenous people of the islands. Meeting with residents of the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands.
Cook compiled a detailed geographical description of many Pacific islands. Having visited Tahiti during the first voyage, he discovered the neighboring islands, naming them the Society Islands in honor of the Royal Geographical Society, as well as the island of Tonga, whose inhabitants received him very friendly. On his next voyages, he discovered the Harvey Islands (now Cook), visited Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands and the New Hybrids archipelago, and landed on the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands.
death in paradise
In February 1779, Cook made a stop in the Hawaiian Islands. They looked like heaven to him. The islanders gave the captain and his companions a very warm welcome. But in the future, the relationship deteriorated. It is believed that the Europeans broke a local taboo, and the natives stole the boat used to repair the ship. The quarrel escalated into an armed skirmish, and Cook died from a dagger.
In New Zealand, Cook met the Maori people. At first, the Europeans were met with hostility, but Cook managed to establish relations with them.
James Cook was born in 1728 on October 27 in the town of Morton, located in Yorkshire. At the age of 18, while working in a grocery store, he suddenly became interested in sea travel. Cook entered as a cabin boy on a dry cargo ship that transports coal. And 20 years later, he was entrusted with the management of a scientific expedition in the Pacific Ocean.
In 1770, the clumsy and heavy ship Endeavor stopped in the waters of one bay. Among the members of the Cook team who went in search of the unknown southern mainland, in other words, Australia, was the scientist - botanist of the Royal Society Joseph Banks. Who was so struck by the picture that seemed to him of plants, until then unknown to science, that he was able to persuade Cook to rename the already named bay. Since then, it has become known as Botanical.
It must be said that an expedition with such a number of scientists on board was sent to the Pacific Ocean for the first time. In addition to Banks, there were also naturalists from Sweden Spering and Solander, 2 artists, with assistants - a total of 11 people on board the ship. In addition, Cook himself was an excellent astronomer and cartographer. The main reason for the expedition was just the observation from Tahiti of how Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun.
The Endeavor sailed from Plymouth in 1768. The following year, in June, he reaches Tahiti, where the observation of the planets took place. It seems that the task is completed, but Cook had a secret package instructing him to sail further south. There, the expedition team was supposed to search for hitherto unknown southern land.
In search of the mainland, James Cook brought the Endeavor to the coast of New Zealand, which was discovered by Abel Tasman back in 1642. As in the case of the Dutch researcher, the reaction of the local Maori population was extremely unfriendly. However, the British were ready for this hostile reception, among the expedition there were no losses, but several islanders were still killed during the skirmish. Cook decided to carefully explore the coast of New Zealand. As a result of a four-month study near the North Island and a seven-week study near the South Island, an accurate map of this continent appeared.
On April 1, 1770, Endeavor left New Zealand and headed for New Holland. A month later, the ship reached the bay, which soon became known as Botany Bay. In the ship's log, Cook defined this land as pleasant to the eye, rather calm and varied. The Endeavor lay in the harbor for eight days. Joseph Banks during this time made many descriptions of new plant species, as well as the character of the local inhabitants, whom he could not attribute to either Negroes or Polynesians. The natives were at first hostile to the travelers, but a few shots fired into the air calmed them down. Then there were no disagreements with the indigenous people.
A couple of kilometers from Botany Bay, Cook found a large natural passage to the huge harbor - Port Jackson. In the report, he described it as a good place for the parking of many ships. The report was not forgotten, and many years later the first city, Sydney, was founded here.
Then it took Cook four months to sail up to the top of the Gulf of Carpenter, to a place called New Holland. The traveler draws up an accurate map of the coast of the future Australia. A dozen new names appear - bays, harbors, capes, bays, receiving new English names. The kings and ministers, lords, provinces and cities of Britain all acquire Australian counterparts.
After not very successfully passing a large barrier reef, the ship, in the end, reaches the northern edge of Australia. More than once, Endeavor was on the verge of death, but the experience of the team and the captain helped to prevent serious problems. Only once luck turned away from the discoverers. On June 17, the ship hit a reef and almost drowned. This event took place near the city of Cooktown. Repair of the ship took seven weeks. And today this place, in memory of past events, is called Cape Tribulation, which translates as Cape of Misfortune. It is famous all over the world for its forest. This is the only place on earth where the "Rhine Forest" goes into the ocean. The rainforest grows its roots from the reefs.
In "" 1770 on August 22, James Cook, on behalf of George 3, proclaims the land he solemnly explored as the property of Britain and calls it New South Wales. This name probably came from the fact that the area here reminded the traveler of the coast of Glamorgan in South Wales. With a proud sense of duty, Cook sent the Endeavor to Batavia, and then to Great Britain, where he was expected by universal recognition, an audience with the king and promotion. On July 13, 1771, the ship reaches Plymouth.
Surprisingly, Cook was unable to find fresh water in New South Wales. Most likely, because the researcher did not go deep into the mainland. However, this was an occasion to write in the report that he made when he returned to Great Britain that this territory was uninhabitable. It was a rare case when the traveler made a mistake. There was fresh water, but another person had already fallen out to find it. This was done by Arthur Philip, the captain of the first fleet, who came here with the prisoners after 18 years.
Cape Tribulation QLD, Australia
Hello friends. Today in the heading " interesting stories for kids” let's talk about James Cook! Why did I suddenly remember him? The fact is that somehow my daughter was given the task at school to prepare an essay about James Cook, about what he discovered and how he died. You know this famous saying that "the natives ate Cook"? Even Vysotsky has such a song)
So it was necessary to tell what his last days really were, and in general what kind of person he was. All in all a little story from the life of a great navigator.
So I thought: what if someone also needs such information? And I decided to post this story on the blog. In fact, this is quite interesting, for example, until the matter touched the abstract, I did not even know about these facts.
James Cook was born on October 27, 1728. The biography of Captain Cook is actually quite interesting. During his life he did a lot geographical discoveries. What did James Cook discover? Among his discoveries were Australia, New Zealand, the islands of New Caledonia and so on. You can see in more detail and clearly what lands Cook discovered in the video at the bottom of the article.
In the life of Captain Cook, there was everything: heroism, inspiration, the joy of learning something new. But that is not all. What else? You will learn about this from the story of James Cook. Let's try to remember the whole truth about the glorious captain, about how he died and is it true that "the natives ate Cook." So let's go...
The Hawaiian Islands are rightly called the Islands of Eternal Spring. And so, one fine day, English ships under the names "Resolution" and "Discovery" anchored near these green shores. Everything was quiet and calm on the islands, which promised a pleasant stay. And it all happened in 1779.
Captain James Cook was surprised by the reaction of the islanders to their arrival. The fact is that the Hawaiians greeted the ships not just with joy, but with real delight. What's happened? The local high priest boarded the ship on a diplomatic mission, so to speak. Surprised by the merriment of the Hawaiians, Captain Cook asked the priest what were these cheerful half-naked people shouting?
- Oh, Rono! - the inhabitants of the island were noisy, and the old high priest, just like them, nods his head importantly with the words: - O-Rono!
And what do you think that would mean? The fact is that the natives mistook Cook for their local god! Behind the ancient Hawaiian legends, O-Rono is the one who left his homeland in hoary antiquity, promising to return and bring happiness and wealth to his native people. So they thought that it was he who appeared, the god O-Rono, and even brought his retinue behind him! For them it was a good sign, a very good sign!
After a while, James Cook realized that acting as the divine O-Rono was not so pleasant as it might seem at first glance. Food supplies on ships began to run out, and the Hawaiians began to carry pigs, tropical fruits, and birds onto ships for their god. After all, in their opinion, O-Rono should eat as well as possible. And the fact that for the captain all the time, as if, but a shadow, the high priest walks, shouting some incomprehensible words, just nonsense.
However, the natives were not so naive, and slowly began to doubt the deity of the arriving guest. After all, O-Rono had been visiting the island for the third day, and the desired wealth somehow still did not appear. But O-Rono was collecting food on his ship and, and it began to seem to the locals that he was going to repeat his own feat, which he once carried out, namely, to escape again to distant lands, giving the islanders only generous promises.
Then the local king came to Cook and directly asked him how long O-Rono was going to stay on hospitable island? Cook promised that very soon his ships would sail. Glad at least for this, the king wished the deity a happy journey.
Before sailing, Cook remembered that he also needed firewood. As you remember, a lot of trees grew on the island that could be used for firewood. But there was no time to prepare firewood, as it was time to raise the anchor and move on. Therefore, in order not to waste time on trees, Cook ordered the piles that protected the O-Rono temple to be pulled out of the ground. And the temple stood a hundred yards from the bay. The Hawaiians were sure that the divine O-Rono would not break the fence of his own temple, so they were very indignant at this.
- To hell! Cook said. “Give them two iron axes for those pieces of wood!”
"Discovery" and "Resolution" went to sea under the silent and stern eyes of the Hawaiians.
And then, fate played an unkind joke with James Cook: the ships got into a storm and the main mast of the Resolution was damaged. And since there were no other islands nearby, Cook had to return to the same island, where not so long ago he behaved rather badly and not politely.
At first, it seemed that during the week that had passed, the Hawaiians had completely forgotten about the greed of O-Rono and were ready to help the guests again, only now not as divine creatures, but simply as guests. However, the behavior of the locals was somehow strange.
And suddenly an unfortunate incident occurred: one of the islanders stole pincers from the deck of the ship, jumped into the sea and swam. The sailors began to shoot at him, but did not hit. They didn’t even have to catch him, since the Hawaiians themselves caught the thief and brought him to the trial of Captain Cook.
The boatswain decided to intervene in this process, who demanded that the thief be shot immediately. But shooting for stolen ticks was, by any law, too severe a punishment. Therefore, a fight ensued, but one of the older natives ordered the violence to stop.
James Cook was very angry at this:
“We need to take more decisive action against these savages!”
The next morning, the captain was informed that a lifeboat had disappeared from the Discovery. As it turned out much later, the loss happened due to the fact that the watchman fell asleep, and the carelessly fixed boat broke off and swam with the flow. But Cook did not conduct any investigation about the boat. Instead, the captain landed on the shore with a detachment of armed sailors and went straight to the local king. Cook very persistently began to invite the king to stay a little with him on the ships.
The king realized that something was wrong here, but, seeing the gloomy faces of the English sailors and the weapons in their hands, he was forced to agree.
The hostage was led along the shore to the bay where the "Resolutions" and "Discovery" were stationed. Suddenly, the king's wife came running and began to beg Cook to let her husband go. At the sound of these loud cries, many Hawaiians flocked.
- To hell! - Cook repeated his saying, and these words, unfortunately, turned out to be the last in the life of the glorious captain.
Cook jerked the hostage by the shoulder to get him into the boat faster.
Suddenly a stone flew through the air, the captain staggered back, turned around and fired. However, for some reason, the timid natives did not run away this time. The islanders brandished their spears, driving away strangers to the water, to the boats and trying to free their king. At first, the captain thought to give the order and start firing. But there were several dozen times more Hawaiians, and the bow guns of the ships were not even loaded ...
Cook turned to give the command to get into the boats, and at that moment one of the most daring islanders hit the captain on the head with a stick.
Cook let go of the pistol, took a few steps and fell, then got up again, extended his hand to the Discovery and the Resolutions, which were swaying in warm waves a mere three hundred yards away. Frightened sailors froze watching what was happening.
At that moment, a spear flashed, and the life of Captain Cook, the divine O-Rono, was cut short. With shouts of triumph, the Hawaiians dragged the captain's body into the depths of the island.
So, as a result of a misunderstanding, a quarrel, a blow of a spear, England lost her best navigator. What was this one? Tragedy? Coincidence?
Suffice it to recall how Cook treated the native population. Not very polite, right? It was still possible to accept gifts, but it was clearly unnecessary to tear out the piles that protected the temple from the ground, and, moreover, to take the local king hostage.
In general, almost all European sailors behaved on the lands they discovered as occupiers in the newly captured territory.
Why did this happen? Because in those days there was an erroneous point of view that all natives are savages who need to be subjugated and taught how to live correctly. But the fact that the same Hawaiians were carriers of a very old and mysterious culture, a separate people, no one wanted to understand. And even today, in our time, very often representatives of the so-called civilized peoples behave worse than savages in distant lands, especially if they have weapons.
After the death of Captain Cook, Captain Charles Clerk, who was Cook's first deputy, took command of the expedition.
And the fact that supposedly “natives ate Cook” is just a legend. Hawaiians have never been in the habit of eating people. The very next day, the expedition command agreed with the Hawaiian priests, and the body of James Cook was taken aboard the Resolution. And soon, under the thunder of a cannon salute, the coffin with the body of a glorious navigator, following the maritime custom, was lowered into the depths of the bay.
This is the real truth about Captain Cook and last days his life. I hope you were interested)
On February 14, 1779, Captain James Cook (1728-1779), one of the greatest discoverers of new lands who lived in the 18th century, was killed on the island of Hawaii during an unexpected skirmish with the natives. No one knows what really happened that morning at Kealakekua Bay. It is known, however, that the Hawaiians did not eat Cook, contrary to the well-known song of Vysotsky: it was customary for the natives to bury especially important people in a special way. The bones were buried in a secret place, and the meat was returned to the "relatives" of the captain. Historians argue whether the Hawaiians considered Cook a god (more precisely, the incarnation of the deity of abundance and agriculture, Lono) or simply a presumptuous stranger.
But we will talk about something else: how did the team even allow the death of their captain? How did envy, anger, pride, thieves, cowardice and passivity lead to a tragic set of circumstances? Fortunately (and unfortunately), more than 40 conflicting accounts of Cook's death have survived: this does not unequivocally clarify the course of events, but it details the motives and motivations of the team. About how the death of one captain blew up the ship's microcosm of the heroic navigators of the 18th century - in the historical investigation of Lenta.ru.
Clash with the Hawaiians
The background is as follows: Cook's third circumnavigation began in 1776. On the ships Resolution and Discovery, the British were to find the Northwest Passage: a waterway north of Canada connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Rounding South Africa, the sailors sailed to New Zealand and from there headed north, discovering the Hawaiian Islands along the way (in January 1778). Having regained strength, the expedition went to Alaska and Chukotka, however solid ice and the approach of winter forced Cook to return to Hawaii to the parking lot (December-January 1779).
The Hawaiians greeted the British sailors very cordially. However, over time, the free treatment of local women and too active replenishment of water and food caused discontent, and on February 4, Cook decided to prudently set sail. Alas, on the same night, a storm damaged the foremast of the Resolution, and the ships returned to Kealakekua Bay. Openly hostile Hawaiians stole pincers from one of the ships: in retaliation, the British stole a canoe, which they refused to return as a result of negotiations.
Then on February 14, the longboat disappeared from the Resolution: and then Cook armed himself with a gun and, together with a detachment of ten marines (led by Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips), demanded one of the local leaders to come on the ship (either as a hostage, or, more likely to negotiate in a more relaxed atmosphere).
At first the leader agreed, then, yielding to the entreaties of his wife, refused to go. Meanwhile, thousands of armed Hawaiians gathered on the shore and pushed Cook to the shore. For some unknown reason, the crowd went into action, and in the ensuing turmoil, someone hit Cook on the back with a stick. The captain fired in retaliation, but did not kill the Hawaiian - and then the natives rushed at the British from all sides.
Already in the water, Cook was hit in the back with a spear or a throwing dagger, and the captain (along with several sailors) died. Cooke's body was dragged ashore, while the British retreated in disorder to the ships.
After another fight, negotiations took place that ended in peace: the Hawaiians solemnly returned Cook's body (in the form of pieces of meat), which infuriated the team. An error in intercultural communication (the British did not understand that the locals buried the captain with maximum dignity) caused a punitive raid: the coastal settlement was burned, the Hawaiians were killed, and as a result, the islanders returned the remaining parts of Cook's body, buried at sea on February 21. The position of expedition leader passed to Discovery's captain Charles Clerk, and when he died of tuberculosis off Kamchatka, to Resolution's second mate James King.
Who is guilty?
But what really happened that morning at Kealakekua Bay? How was the fight in which Cook died?
Here is what First Officer James Burney writes: “Through binoculars we saw Captain Cook get hit with a club and fall off a cliff into the water.” Bernie was most likely standing on the deck of the Discovery. And here is what the captain of the ship Clark said about the death of Cook: “It was exactly 8 o'clock when we were alarmed by a gun salvo, given by people Captain Cook, and strong cries of the Indians were heard. Through the spyglass, I clearly saw that our people were running towards the boats, but I could not see exactly who was running in the confused crowd.
The ships of the 18th century were not very spacious: the Clerk was hardly far from Burney, but he did not see individual people. What's the matter? Members of the Cook expedition left behind a huge number of texts: historians count 45 manuscripts of diaries, ship logs and notes, as well as 7 books printed back in the 18th century.
But that's not all: the ship's log of James King (author official history third expedition) was accidentally found in government archives in the 1970s. And not all texts were written by members of the wardroom: the captivating memoirs of the German Hans Zimmermann speak about the life of sailors, and historians learned a lot from the complete plagiarism of the book of a half-educated student John Ledyard, Corporal of the Marines.
So, 45 memoirs tell about the events of the morning of February 14, and the differences between them are not pure coincidence, the result of gaps in the memory of sailors trying to recreate the terrible events. What the British “saw with their own eyes” is dictated complex relationships on the ship: envy, patronage and loyalty, personal ambitions, rumors and slander.
The memoirs themselves were written not only out of a desire to bask in the glory of Captain Cook or make money: the texts of the team members are replete with insinuations, irritated hints at hiding the truth, and, in general, do not look like old friends' memories of a wonderful trip.
The tension in the team had been accumulating for a long time: it was inevitable during the long voyage on cramped ships, the abundance of orders, the reasonableness of which was obvious only to the captain and his inner circle, and the expectation of inevitable hardships during the coming search for the Northwest Passage in subpolar waters. However, the conflicts poured into an open form one and only time - with the participation of two heroes of the future drama in Kealakekua Bay: a duel took place in Tahiti between Marine Lieutenant Phillips and Resolution's third assistant John Williamson. All that is known about the duel is that three bullets passed over the heads of its participants without harming them.
The character of both Irishmen was not sugar. Phillips, heroically injured by Hawaiian weapons (he was wounded while retreating to the boats), ended his life as a London bum, playing cards on trifles and beating his wife. Williamson was disliked by many officers. “This is a scoundrel who was hated and feared by subordinates, hated by equals and despised by superiors,” one of the midshipmen wrote in his diary.
But the hatred of the team hit Williamson only after Cook's death: all eyewitnesses agree that at the very beginning of the collision, the captain gave some kind of signal to Williamson's people who were in boats off the coast. What Cook wanted to express with this unknown gesture will forever remain a mystery. The lieutenant stated that he understood him as "Save yourself, swim away!" and gave the appropriate command.
Unfortunately for him, the rest of the officers were sure that Cook was desperately calling for help. The sailors could provide fire support, drag the captain into the boat, or at least recapture the corpse from the Hawaiians ... Williamson was opposed by a dozen officers and marines from both ships. Phillips, according to Ledyard's recollection, was even ready to shoot the lieutenant on the spot.
Clark (the new captain) was immediately required to investigate. However, the main witnesses (we do not know who they are - most likely the chiefs on the pinnass and skiff, who were also under the shore under Williamson's command) withdrew their testimony and accusations against the third mate. Did they do it sincerely, not wanting to ruin an officer who got into a difficult and ambiguous situation? Or were they pressured by the authorities? We are unlikely to know this - the sources are very scarce. In 1779, while on his deathbed, Captain Clark destroyed all papers related to the investigation.
There is only the fact that the leaders of the expedition (King and Clark) decided not to blame Williamson for the death of Cook. However, rumors immediately circulated on the ships that Williamson had stolen documents from Clark's locker after the captain's death, or even earlier issued brandy to all Marines and sailors to keep them quiet about the lieutenant's cowardice upon their return to England.
The truth of these rumors cannot be confirmed: but it is important that they went for the reason that Williamson not only avoided the tribunal, but also succeeded in every possible way. Already in 1779 he was promoted to the second, and then to the first assistant to the captain. His successful career in the fleet, only the incident of 1797 interrupted: as the captain of the Agincourt, in the battle of Camperdown, he once again misinterpreted the signal (this time by the sea), evaded an attack on enemy ships and went to court for dereliction of duty. He died a year later.
In his diary, Clark describes what happened to Cook on the shore according to Philips: the whole story boils down to the misadventures of a wounded marine, and not a word is said about the behavior of other team members. James King also showed favor to Williamson: in the official history of the voyage, Cook's gesture was described as a act of philanthropy: the captain tried to keep his people from brutally shooting the unfortunate Hawaiians. Moreover, King places the blame for the tragic collision on Lieutenant of the Marine Corps Rickman, who shot the Hawaiian on the other side of the bay (which infuriated the natives).
It would seem that everything is clear: the authorities are covering up the obvious culprit in Cook's death - for some reason of their own. And then, using his connections, he makes a stunning career. However, the situation is not so clear cut. It is curious that the team was divided into haters and defenders of Williamson approximately equally - and the composition of each group deserves close attention.
British navy: hopes and disappointments
The officers of Resolution and Discovery were not at all pleased with the great scientific significance expeditions: for the most part, they were ambitious young people who were not at all eager to spend their best years on the sidelines in cramped cabins. In the 18th century, promotion was mainly given by wars: at the beginning of each conflict, the "demand" for officers increased - assistants were promoted to captains, midshipmen - to assistants. It is not surprising that the members of the crew sailed longingly from Plymouth in 1776: literally before their eyes, conflict with the American colonists flared up, and they had to “rot” for four years in the dubious search for the Northwest Passage.
The British Navy, by the standards of the 18th century, was a relatively democratic institution: people who were far from power, wealth and noble blood could serve and rise to commanding heights there. To go far for examples, one can recall Cook himself, the son of a Scottish farm laborer, who began his maritime biography as a cabin boy on a coal-burning brig.
However, one should not think that the system automatically selected the most worthy: the price for relative democracy “at the entrance” was the leading role of patronage. All officers built networks of support, looked for loyal patrons in the team and in the Admiralty, earning a reputation for themselves. That is why the death of Cook and Clark meant that all contacts and agreements reached with the captains during the voyage went to dust.
Having reached Canton, the officers learned that the war with the rebellious colonies was in full swing, and all the ships were already completed. But before the disastrous (the Northwest Passage was not found, Cook died) geographical expedition, no one really cares. “The crew felt how much they would lose in rank and wealth, also deprived of the consolation that they were being led home by an old commander whose known merits could help the deeds of the last voyage be heard and appreciated even in those troubled times,” writes King in his journal (December 1779). In the 1780s, the war with Napoleon was still far away, and only a few were promoted. Many junior officers followed the example of midshipman James Trevenen and went to serve in the Russian fleet (which, we recall, fought against the Swedes and Turks in the 1780s).
In this regard, it is curious that midshipmen and master's assistants, who were at the very beginning of their careers in the Navy, spoke out loudest of all against Williamson. They missed their luck (the war with the American colonies), and even a single vacancy was a valuable enough prize. The rank of Williamson (third assistant) did not yet give him much opportunity to take revenge on his accusers, and his trial would create excellent opportunity remove a competitor. Combined with a personal dislike of Williamson, this more than explains why he was reviled and called the main villain who killed Cook. Meanwhile, many senior members of the team (Bernie, although he was a close friend of Phillips, draftsman William Ellis, Resolution's first assistant John Gore, Discovery master Thomas Edgar) did not find anything reprehensible in Williamson's actions.
For approximately the same reasons (career future), in the end, part of the blame was shifted to Rickman: he was much older than most of the members of the wardroom, began serving as early as 1760, "missed" the start of the Seven Years' War and did not receive a promotion in 16 years. That is, he did not have strong patrons in the fleet, and his age did not allow him to make friends with a company of young officers. As a result, Rickman turned out to be almost the only member of the team who did not receive any more titles at all.
In addition, by attacking Williamson, many officers, of course, tried to avoid uncomfortable questions: on the morning of February 14, many of them were on the island or in boats and could act more proactively, having heard the shots, and retreat to the ships without trying to recapture the bodies of the dead as well looks suspicious. The future captain of the Bounty, William Bly (master on the Resolution), directly accused the Phillips Marines of fleeing the battlefield. The fact that 11 of the 17 Marines on the Resolution were subjected to corporal punishment during the voyage (on Cook's personal order) also makes one wonder how willing they were to sacrifice their lives for the captain.
None of the surviving members of the team was supposed to become a scapegoat, guilty of the tragic death of the great captain: circumstances were to blame, vile natives and (as is read between the lines of memoirs) the arrogance and recklessness of Cook himself, who hoped almost single-handedly to take the local hostage leader. “There is good reason to believe that the natives would not have gone so far if, unfortunately, Captain Cook had not fired at them: a few minutes before this they began to clear the way for the soldiers so that the latter could reach that place on the shore , against which the boats stood (I already mentioned this), thus giving Captain Cook the opportunity to get away from them, ”the Clerk’s diaries say.
Now it becomes clearer why Clerk and Bernie saw such different scenes through their telescopes. This was determined by the place in the complex system of "checks and balances", the status hierarchy and the struggle for a place under the sun, which was going on board the ships of the scientific expedition. What prevented the Clerk from seeing (or talking about) the captain's death was not so much the "confused crowd" as the officer's desire to remain above the fray and ignore the evidence of the guilt of individual members of the team (many of whom were his protégés, and others were the protégés of his London superiors).
What is the meaning of what happened?
History is not just objective events that happened or didn't happen. We know about the past only from the stories of the participants in these events, stories that are often fragmentary, confused and contradict each other. However, one should not draw a conclusion from this about the fundamental incompatibility of individual points of view, which allegedly represent autonomous and incompatible pictures of the world. Scientists, if not able to authoritatively state how "it really was," they can find probable causes, common interests and other solid layers of reality behind the apparent chaos of "testimony".
This is what we tried to do - to unravel a little the network of motives, to discern the elements of the system that forced the team members to act, see and remember in this way and not otherwise.
Personal relationships, career interests. But there is another layer: the national-ethnic level. Cook's ships were a cross section of imperial society: representatives of the peoples and, most importantly, regions, in varying degrees remote from the metropolis (London), in which all the main issues were resolved and the process of "civilization" of the British took place. Cornish and Scots, natives of the American colonies and the West Indies, Northern England and Ireland, Germans and Welsh ... Their relationship during and after the voyage, the influence of prejudices and stereotypes on what is happening, scientists have yet to understand.
But history is not a criminal investigation either: the last thing I wanted to do was to finally identify the person responsible for the death of Captain Cook: be it the “coward” Williamson, the “uninitiative” sailors and marines on the shore, the “evil” natives, or the “arrogant” navigator himself.
It would be naive to consider Cook's team a detachment of science heroes, "white people" in identical uniforms. This a complex system personal and work relationships, with their crises and conflict situations, passions and prudent actions. And by chance this structure in dynamics explodes with an event. The death of Cook confused all the maps of the expedition members, but made them burst into passionate, emotional notes and memoirs, and thus shed light on relationships and patterns that, with a more favorable outcome of the voyage, would have remained in the darkness of obscurity.
But the death of Captain Cook can also be a useful lesson in the 21st century: often only similar emergency events (accident, death, explosion, escape, leak) can manifest internal organization and the modus operandi of secret (or at least non-public) organizations, be it a submarine crew or a diplomatic corps.
