Captain Cook

June 6, 2011
The man who searched the Pacific Ocean for the Great Southern Continent was much more than a circumnavigator and an explorer. A polymath and all-round specialist on both coastal and deep-water sailing, his selection by the Royal Society and the British Navy to lead the first expedition to the South Pacific was a strategic, political, and economic decision influenced by the results of the Seven Years War. During his three voyages, he charted the entire coast of New Zealand as well as the east coast of Australia. The introduction of Harrisonâs chronometer in 1759 enabled Cook to establish correct longitude and to chart the Pacific with an accuracy that still astonishes mariners. Cook exhibited his intense interest in fields as varied as astronomy, sociology, navigation, and commerce in his establishment of England as the colonial power in Asian waters. McLynn does a yeomanâs work in transforming Cookâs terse, factual notations in the shipsâ logs into a much more readable portrayal of his voyages. A just and honest captain, Cookâs navigation through the Great Barrier Reef and across both the Arctic and Antarctic circles are achievements that will never be equaled.