Why is Captain James Cook famous in Australian History?

Answer 1

James Cook FRS RN (October 27, 1728 (O.S.) – February 14, 1779) was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer. Ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy, Cook made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, achieving the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia, the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation and mapping of Newfoundland and New Zealand.

After service in the British merchant navy as a teenager, he joined the Royal Navy in 1755, seeing action in the Seven Years' War, and subsequently surveying and mapping much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This allowed General Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack on the Plains of Abraham, and helped to bring Cook to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society at a crucial moment both in his personal career and in the direction of British overseas discovery, and led to his commission as commander of the HM Bark Endeavour and the first of his three Pacific voyages in 1766.

Cook accurately charted many areas and recorded several islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. His huge achievements can be attributed to a combination of excellent seamanship, his superior surveying and cartographic skills, courage in exploring dangerous locations to confirm the facts (e.g. dipping into the Antarctic circle repeatedly and exploring around the Great Barrier Reef), ability to lead men in adverse conditions, and boldness both with regard to the extent of his explorations and his willingness to exceed the instructions given to him by the Admiralty-.

Answer 2

Why Is Captain Cook Famous

Answer 3

Just to clarify/correct some of the previous answers. James Cook did explore a lot of the South Pacific, including the Pacific (east) coast of Australia. His charting of Australian waters was so thorough that his maps formed the basis for some naval charts up to the 20th century.

He was NOT the first European to discover Australia. Willem Janszoon discovered the northern tip of the country in 1606. He was NOT the first Englishman to land in Australia either, that was William Dampier in 1688.

Answer 4

Aboard his ship The Endeavour , Captain James Cook was the first English explorer to land on Australian soil. This happened in 1770 on the Eastern coast of Australia (just North of Sydney), at a site a botanist on the voyage named Botany Bay. He claimed Australia as English Crown Land based on his dehumanising statement that the territory was 'terra nullus' meaning uninhabited - despite the fact that over 300 distinct indigenous tribes lived there!
Today Cook is discussed in Primary school and High school history classes as an explorer and founder of this colony, but he is also remembered - especially by Indigenous Australians - as a symbol of the disintergration of traditional Indigenous culture and the beginning of virtual genocide!

Answer 5

Captain Cook was in charge of an expedition that circumnavigated the globe.The expedition charted much of the Australian eastern coast and parts of the South Pacific and gathered extensive information about botanical,geological,geographical and astronomical matters.His reports probably led to the subsequent colonization of Australia.

Answer 6

Curl up on sun-drenched beaches, eat at award-winning restaurants and far more is what you would get on your own trip to Sydney. Find more with hotelbye . One of many world's great icons and a definitely must see in Sydney could be the Sydney Opera House, a location is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the celebrity appeal on the glittering harbour. This graceful creating, formed like covers or billowing sails, perches on a hand of area surrounded by water. Sydney is a distinctive spot to spend your holiday so, do not eliminate the ability to visit a great city.

Answer 7

They are famous partly for their connection to Australia (they both had additional reasons for fame) but they were not Australians. In fact no one was an Australian until after Federation in 1901. Until then there was no such thing as an Australian.

Answer 8

He was the captain that planned out the first colonies in Australia (originally going to land in botany bay but it wasn't clear enough to land the ships so went to Sydney harbour)

Answer 9

capt cook sailed and charted the waters for all to know about he discovered so many places he was outstanding indeed

Answer 10

He was the 1st European to reach Australia.