July 12, 1776: James Cook’s final voyage begins

On this day in 1776, British explorer James Cook departed on his third and final voyage, on which he would die attempting to kidnap the Hawaiian king.

The supposed goal of the trip was to return a native Pacific islander to his home, but the Admiralty had secret aims: to discover the Northwest Passage. In 1778, Cook’s two ships, Resolution and Discovery, sailed through the Bering Strait but were blocked by ice; his crew returned to the Sandwich Islands (now called Hawaii) to wait out the winter.

Although they received a celebratory greeting, relations turned sour after several months; Cook was killed as he and a raiding party attempted to take the Hawaiian King hostage as ransom for a small boat that had been stolen.

Here is an overview of Cook’s other two voyages:

First voyage (1768-1771, westward circumnavigation):

• ship: HMS Endeavour
• reached Tahiti in time to see the transit of Venus across the sun;
• became the second group of Europeans (after Abel Tasman, who was Dutch) to reach New Zealand;
• charted the New Zealand coast;
• became the first Europeans to reach the east coast of Australia.

Second voyage (1772-1775, eastward circumnavigation):

• ships: Resolution and Adventure
• tried to discover the mythical southern continent Terra Australis;
• became the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle, reaching as far as 71°10′ S;
• claimed several Pacific islands.

For more on James Cook’s voyages, visit Enchanted Learning.

Image: Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735–1811), portrait of James Cook (1776), National Maritime Museum