Captain James Cook

            James Cook was an explorer in the 1700s, and he is best known today for mapping out the New Zealand/Australia area. For many people, these are the only facts that are known about him, and a lot of people don’t know anything about him! Knowing these facts about Captain Cook, can you tell a lot about him? More importantly, do these achievements that he accomplished tell you what kind of person he really was? In a way, I guess you could say that someone’s accomplishments tell about them. For example, when you see that someone made an accomplishment, you can probably tell that they were a persevering and hard-working person. Don’t your actions define you? “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,” Jesus himself once said. Let’s be honest, though, being an explorer and mapping out Australia isn’t really a ton of action. I think it also helps to know what somebody does in their houses, domestic life, and other parts of private life, because it is easy to make a good decision when people are watching you. A good example of what I am trying to say is this: Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election twice. Does that make him a good person? Let us explore James Cook’s background and his life, and then we can start making conclusions about what kind of a person he was.

Captain Cook (not Captain Hook)

            Cook was born in the small town near Middlesbrough, in Yorkshire, England. His father was a farmer, and like many others of that day, James was brought up as a hard worker. This childhood, perhaps, transitioned to his life on the seas, which would take much perseverance and dedication. At age 17, Cook moved to the port city of Whitby to work with a coal merchant. If you really think about it, this is an early age to take responsibility and move out of the house. It was probably just the time period, but if you look at people today, many are still living with their parents in their mid-twenties! This certainly shows that James Cook took responsibility for his life. Cook worked as a coal merchant until he was 26, when he enlisted in the Royal Navy. He was working in North America, and he learned how to chart and survey the ocean by the coast. This was obviously preparation for discovering Australia and New Zealand, but I’m sure it also gave him a better perspective on how sea life works.

            At age 40, Cook was chosen by the British government to be the Captain of the HMS Endeavour, which would be taking on an expedition that included sailing to the Southern Hemisphere to observe Venus passing in front of the Sun. Cook made stops at Tahiti and New Zealand on this voyage, and he also sailed the coast of Eastern Australia. This part of Australia had never before been discovered by Europeans, so Cook called it “New South Wales” and claimed it for Britain. Upon returning home, Captain Cook still wasn’t satisfied with his expedition, so he decided to take on another voyage to the South. Cook took two ships to try to explore the coast of Antarctica, but he was driven back by the cold weather. During this expedition, Cook visited what are now the Cook Islands, and that is how the Cook Islands got their name. Cook also visited New Zealand and Tahiti before returning home. His next expedition was an endeavor to discover the North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Cook tried hard, but he wasn’t able to discover the passage. Instead, Cook and his two ships went to explore the Hawaiian Islands. The crew tried to be friendly to the natives, but it was clear that the natives didn’t want to be friends after they robbed Cook’s ships. During the robbery, a fight broke out, and Captain Cook was stabbed. As a result of this, Cook died shortly afterwards.

            What do we see from this man’s life? We have established that Cook worked hard, he took responsibility for his life, he valued learning, and he persevered in his voyages. I think these four aspects of his life tell a lot about him. These are four traits are certainly desirable among good people, and Cook was able to establish these traits in himself. So, for the most part, I think that Captain Cook was a good captain, leader, and person that contributed greatly to this world.