Livingstone was an intellectually curious explorer, who recorded in great detail the life and geography of central Africa. Not always easy to deal with, his abhorrence of slavery remained central to him, as did his pre-Imperial dislike of racial superiority, ‘the most pitiable puerility’.
A map, taken from Livingstone’s Last Journals, published in 1874 after his death, that shows the route of his last journey, as well as his two previous expeditions. European knowledge of the area was limited — Lake Victoria, for example, is drawn as a series of unconnected lakes.
Captain James Cook and HMS Endeavour
“Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.
Captain James Cook
WHEN
1768–1771
ENDEAVOUR
To find evidence for the postulated unknown landmass, known as Terra Australis, in the unexplored Southern Ocean.
HARDSHIPS & DANGERS
The expedition constantly braved storms, cramped conditions and disease. They also ran aground on a coral reef and were threatened with violence by natives.
LEGACY
Captain Cook sailed for thousands of kilometres across uncharted areas of the globe, and mapped them in detail for the first time. He was the first European to land on and map the eastern coastline of Australia. He was also the first to visit the Hawaiian Islands, and the first to circumnavigate New Zealand.
A portrait of Captain James Cook, with his chart of the Southern Ocean, by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland c.1775
The genteel city of Newport, Rhode Island, has a proud maritime tradition. Perched on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it was a key strategic naval point during the American War of Independence while today it is renowned as a global centre for yachting. Newport has hosted the prestigious America’s Cup competition no fewer than twelve times.
But perhaps Newport’s greatest maritime claim to fame can be found in the silt and sand of the harbour’s sea bed. It’s home to the wreck of an eighteenth century research vessel which opened up the world to one of history’s greatest explorers.
The Endeavour’s final resting place
For years it was believed that HMS Endeavour, the ship which had carried Lieutenant James Cook on his first circumnavigation of the globe, lay somewhere in the waters near Newport. It had been one of a number of ships scuttled by the British navy in 1778 — an attempt to block Newport harbour and deter an attack by French and American forces. It was not until 2016, when the results of a survey by the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project were published, that substantial evidence was provided to establish Endeavour’s final resting place. The timbers of the old ship were said to be among a cluster of five shipwrecks huddled together on the harbour floor — a modest resting place for a ship that was used to change the world.
In 1768, Endeavour had sailed from Plymouth harbour under the command of Lieutenant Cook. The three-year circumnavigation of the globe which followed had a profound influence on modern history and was a critical step in Britain’s path towards building the largest empire the world has ever seen.
A replica of James Cook’s ship Endeavour in Sydney. The real vessel lies at the bottom of Newport Harbour.
A rise through the ranks
Cook was an unlikely expedition leader. He was from a humble background and had risen through the naval ranks at a time when such progress was far from common. One of eight children, he had an impoverished childhood as a farm labourer’s son but was to benefit from the generosity of his father’s employer, who paid for young James to attend the local school near the family home in North Yorkshire.
After a brief and unhappy spell as a trainee shopkeeper, Cook moved to the bustling port of Whitby and signed up as an apprentice in the merchant navy. He proved an eager and talented seaman, with an aptitude for mathematical disciplines such as trigonometry and geometry and real ability in navigation and surveying. Cook appeared to be settling into a career in commercial shipping and was offered command of his own vessel but in 1755, aged 27, he volunteered to join the Royal Navy.
From war to science
Cook served in the Seven Years War where his proficient work in charting the rugged Newfoundland coast was to bring him to the attention of the naval hierarchy. When the British admiralty commissioned a scientific expedition to journey to the southern hemisphere and observe the transit of Venus across the sun, James Cook was chosen to lead the venture. The mission also had a second objective, the orders for which were sealed and only to be opened once the Venus transit had been recorded.
Cook was promoted to Lieutenant, a rank which allowed him to command the expedition, and in the company of a retinue of botanists, astronomers and artists – as well as more than seventy hardened sailors and a dozen Royal Marines – they sailed west into the Atlantic on 26 August 1768. The journey to the south Pacific was not without incident. The master’s mate was killed when he became ensnared in chains when the ship’s anchor was lowered at port in Madeira, and two naturalists died of exposure while collecting scientific samples on the barren lands near Cape Horn. But in April 1769, the Endeavour reached Tahiti where she would stay for three months while her crew carried out their astronomical observations. It was only on completion of this task that Cook was able to open the sealed orders he had brought with him from Britain.
A world map from 1784 showing Cook’s voyages in the South Pacific – pink lines – as well as his later expeditions further north.
Seeking the unknown land
The Endeavour was to sail westwards across the Pacific in search of the great, undiscovered southern territory known as Terra Australis. The concept of a sizeable land mass on the opposite side of the world from Europe had been a source of keen speculation for some time. Exploratory missions by representatives of the Dutch East India company had charted a coastline which was believed to represent the north, west and southern coast of Terra Australis but the east remained uncharted and no European had set foot on the land. Cook and his crew would become the first to do so.
Before then, Cook’s party would become the first Europeans to land on New Zealand. The Dutch sailor Abel Tasman had charted the western coast of New Zealand more than 100 years before but had not reached the shore. On 7 October 1769, Cook landed at Poverty Bay and over the next six months he circled New Zealand in its entirety, concluding that the land consisted of two islands rather than one and that it was not sizeable enough to be Terra Australis. Cook claimed the islands for Great Britain before setting off westwards again.
On 19 April 1770, a lookout sighted land ahead. Ten days later the Endeavour was moored in a large natural harbour with Cook and his company making preparations