Chapter IX. JAMES COOK AND HIS SUCCESSORS

The name of Captain James Cook stands above those of all others who voyaged in the southern half of the globe, for he finally laid to rest the myth of the southern continent, and brought the first definite news to the world of the great island of Australia and of New Zealand. His first voyage was undertaken under the auspices¹ of the Government in 1768 with the object of observing under the most favourable² circumstances the transit³ of Venus, and was thus not primarily one of exploration. An immense amount of work was done, however; the transit was successfully observed at Tahiti, and the Society Islands were discovered. Six months were spent in a thorough exploration of the coast of New Zealand, and of 2,000 miles of the east coast of New Holland, or Australia. Thence he sailed to Batavia, and proved what Torres had stated in 1607, that New Guinea was not, as had been supposed, a part of Australia. In 1772 he started on another journey under Government auspices, designed for the special purpose of finally solving the question of the southern continent. This object was thoroughly⁴ accomplished⁵, as Cook sailed from the Cape⁶ of Good Hope to New Zealand, passing twice within the Antarctic circle on the way, and thence he sailed three times across the Pacific. He first cruised about to the south-west of New Zealand, reaching as high a latitude⁷ as88 71°, and finally touching⁸ at Easter Island. He then visited for the first time New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and the Isle⁹ of Pines, besides gaining a clearer knowledge of the Marquesas, New Hebrides, and Tonga groups, and again reached New Zealand. Finally he voyaged from New Zealand to Tierra del Fuego and the Cape of Good Hope, exploring and touching at many little-known points. This journey, from which he returned in 1775, was remarkable¹⁰ as much for Cook’s splendid success in combating scurvy¹¹, the scourge¹² of ocean travellers, as for the great discoveries made. During the long voyage, equalling three times the circumference¹³ of the earth, only one life was lost, and this striking result of his precautions did much to encourage and help explorers who followed after him.

Cook’s third voyage, which was undertaken primarily with the idea of forcing a way through the north-west passage, has already been mentioned in the chapter on Polar Exploration. But it must be noticed here that on his way to the Arctic region, besides revisiting many of his previous discoveries and finding the larger islands of the Cook Archipelago, he sighted for the first time since the sixteenth century the Hawaiian group. These important islands are supposed to have been discovered by the Spaniard Gaetano in 1555, but had long been forgotten; it was here that Cook was murdered by the natives in 1779. His work was of extreme importance in several directions: he made known to the world a larger area of the globe than perhaps any other man before or since; he overcame the disease which had previously¹⁴ been one of the greatest obstacles in the way of explorers, and he laid the foundation of the British Australasian Empire. It89 is said that had he returned from his last voyage he would have received honour from the King; it would have been due, and overdue¹⁵.

Cook’s work in the Pacific was ably carried on after his death by several other explorers, of whom the best known was J. F. G. de la Pérouse, who set out in 1785 to fill in the gaps left by Cook on his voyages, and particularly to explore the great sea between North-west America and Japan. He made a successful exploration of Manchuria and the islands to the north of Japan, which were then little known, and he visited Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka, whence he sent home the journals of his voyage. He then voyaged to the east of Australia, touching at Samoa, and reached Botany Bay. Then disaster overtook the expedition, and no one returned to tell how its members perished somewhere to the north of the New Hebrides. In 1791 d’Entrecasteaux set out to search for La Pérouse; and though he was unsuccessful, he advanced to a large extent the knowledge of the islands north-east of Australia. During the following hundred years many explorers and scientists worked in the Pacific, filling in the gaps left by the pioneers in the region. In 1803 the Russians came on the field, with Adam Krusenstern, followed by Otto von Kotzebue (1816), and Fabian von Bellingshausen (1819–21). The French followed in 1818 with L. C. D. de Freycinet, and later with Louis Duperrey and Dumont d’Urville. In 1839 the first important American expedition sailed under Charles Wilkes. Much scientific work for purposes of research was carried on in Oceania in the nineteenth century; but with the exception of the famous “Challenger” expedition (Chapter XIV) it is beyond the scope of this book.

1 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

2 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

3 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

4 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

7 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 scurvy   

adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病

参考例句：

• Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。
• That was a scurvy trick to play on an old lady.用那样的花招欺负一个老太太可真卑鄙。

12 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

13 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

14 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

15 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。