Let's Find Out - The Voyages of Captain Cook | Soft-spoken History ASMR

Episode Date: November 29, 2019

Captain James Cook is known for his extensive voyages that took him throughout the Arctic and Pacific Oceans in the mid-1700's. Unbeknownst to his crew, he had simultaneously been sent on a clandestine voyage by the British government to discover the lost continent of Antarctica, at that time called "Terra Australis." During this journey, he mapped several island groups in the Pacific that had been previously discovered by other explorers. But he was the first European we know of to encounter the Hawaiian Islands. While on these voyages, Cook discovered that New Zealand was an island. He would go on to discover and chart coastlines from the Arctic to the Antarctic, east coast of Australia to the west coast of North America plus the hundreds of islands in between. Thanks for watching, guys.

Hey guys. For any of you guys who follow my IG, just bought myself an early Christmas present. But also the width. Ambitions. Ambition leads me farther away than any other man has before me. Navigator, cartographer, captains British Navy. Back when British was rapidly colonizing the world, they were the most. They were definitely a naval super power. Close to home, you gave me, so he loved detailed maps. Detailed maps of Newfoundland. Prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean,

he achieved the friend of Australia, New Zealand. And these crows, they sound like seagulls. I came in here to do as, I guess, is characteristic of me. All these crows out there and they sound so much like seagulls. I got inspired to do something along those lines. And we'll see how it works out. But this is, because you guys are always interested, which is awesome to me. I just never thought you guys cared about sources.

But a few of you, quite a few of you are. So we just jumped from Wikipedia, Century Explorer in Navigator, whose achievements in mapping the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia who radically changed Western perceptions of world geography. So let's me zoom in here real quick. One of the very few men in the 18th century navy to rise to the ranks, Cook was particularly sympathetic to the needs of ordinary sailors. James Cook, he was born in 1728.

in a small village near Middlesboro, Middlesbrough, in Yorkshire. Yorkshire? I don't know how you britts it, Yorkshire. His father was a farm worker. At the age of 17, Cook moved to the coast, settling in Whitby, survey, and chart. Because at that time, one too, interesting. You know, maybe I'll leave this out. We can reference it.

Giving perspective. And hopefully you guys aren't just. trying to take a crash course on James Cook because efficient transference of information about this guy here. 1755, 17, which was a rare event, visible only in the southern hemisphere. Joseph Bainz. The endeavor arrived in Tahiti, Rule 1769, where Green was able to transit of New Zealand, and then sailed along the length of Australia's eastern coast and seen by Europeans yet

and Cook claimed it for Britain and named it New South Wales Cook and his crew then returned home not arriving there until two years later in July Australia and New Zealand Cook wasn't satisfied this theory of balancing land has been documented as early as the 5th century, wow the term Australis on his maps.

The 18th century, today's Australia, was actually not mistaken for this southern continent, as it sometimes was imagined but still undiscovered. 6th, Augustralis, sometimes shortened to Australia, the southern continent. I mean, I guess maybe that's a coincidence. Or maybe if you guys look on the map, I wonder, I mean, that's inspiring. It's the sense of adventure and discovering something new that you could bring back. It's a very spiritual endeavor. It's very courageous to do that.

But not pretty big, you know, New Zealand. He too, he wasn't satisfied. So he set out on our second voyage to look for the southern continent. So his two ships did sail close to the Antarctic coast, but were forced to turn back because of the cold. They visited New Zealand and Tahiti, then three years later in 1775. And finally, Cook's third voyage was to find the northwest passage that was believed to link the Arctic. you didn't want to get to the southern hemisphere, so they tried to find a passage through the Arctic. Geassine into the West Pacific unable to find.

Before I get into that real quick, I wanted to actually go into this book. Because I surprisingly found a little excerpt. Captain Coe. A fleet of British ships containing 704 establishing a settlement at Sydney Coe. Over the next 80 years, over 160,000 convicts were sent of New Southern Australia founded in a population in the first few decades. Although voluntary settlers began to arrive from the 1821, the indigenous aborigine population estimated at 750,000. Upwards to a million, actually, declined steeply. As you can imagine, over the next 150 years after the settlement, such as water settlements,

particularly in eastern Australia, also led to violent conflict with the Aborigines. So yeah, I guess Europe, with our black plague and in our overcrowded cities, I say our diseases, such as the smallpox and bubonic plague, settling rushes in the 18, 1950s and 60s also led to a large, large influx of immigrants into Australia. Transportation of convicts ended in 1868, when the population had grown to 1 million, and the colonies were able to support themselves without the need of convicts for labor, no doubt. So yeah, interestingly 1868, which if there wasn't slavery, I'm sure that wasn't slavery, I'm sure that it was at least indentured servitude of some sort, because there had to have been some way,

some system by which the convicts could work to be freed. But 1868, it was only four years after the Civil War in freeing slaves. So it's the connection around the world. That decade, you know, that generation was pretty interesting that those two. 79, actually on February 14th of all days. Captain Cook, the Pacific Surveyor, the first visit. He may have been the first European ever to visit that group, which, uh, so he, he actually named the Hawaiian Islands, the Sandwich Islands, his sailors traded iron. One year later, Cook's ships, his two ships, the, uh, the resolution and the discovery. He returned to to the Hawaiian Islands and found a safe harbor in Hawaii's Kelakua Bay.

It's suspected, it's suspected, that the Hawaiians attached religious significance to the first stay of the Europeans on their islands. Relations appeared to become 79 Kelakakawa Bay, but rough seas actually damaged them and the foremast of the resolution damaged the foremast. and after only a week at sea they were forced to return to Hawaii. So now the Hawaiians created Cook with hurling rocks. And then they stole a small cutter vessel off the discovery. So then negotiations with King Kalanyopu for the return.

The lesser Hawaiian chief was shot to death and a mob of Hawaiians descended on Cook's. The captain and his men then fired on the angry Hawaiians, but they were soon overwhelmed, and only a few managed to escape to the safety of the resolution. Captain Cook himself was killed by the mob. A few days later, the Englishman retaliated some 30 discovery, and actually made his way by portraying himself as a god.

I mean, you know, of course, that was probably out of, partly out of necessity for survival, but I'm sure there could have been some other routes. He can to escape such a not too pleasant fate. He was an expert mapmaker. His cook, James Cook first rose to prominence as a cartographer during the Seven Years War, which was a, uh, let's see, he six in 17. Every European great power at the Spaned five continents, Europe, the America's West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The other side, the Kingdom of France. Austrian-led Holy Roman Empire, the Russian Empire, in Sweden. See, that's why I love learning about history.

It's like wars, or the First World Wars, I guess the Brits call it. That was just the reverberations of earlier battles across the world. It's not like we're all just living peacefully and then a world war happened. There's generations of generations and of cyclical relations and has to do with the zero to the other World War zero. And this was before, it ended ten years before the American Revolution. No doubt that was a big influence. So that, because the Americas undoubtedly didn't want any part in that. 20 years before the French Revolution, undoubtedly again, a lot of unnecessary French lives in the Seven Years' War.

It's useful. It's really useful to be able to learn from history. So, yeah, Cook was an expert. He was a cartographer during the Seven Years' War of the St. Lord Prize attack, in 1960s, he was given the ship tasked with the charting of the island of Newfoundland off the coast. would later become a crucial tool to his explorers. Their journey was ostensibly a scientific expedition. They were charged with sailing to Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus. But, um, the cook carried sealed, he carried sealed orders instructing him to seek out the great southern con-discovered landmass that was believed till near the bottom.

so he had was in unmapped territory. He had no idea he was sailing directly into the razor-sharp coral formations of the Great Barrier Reef. His endeavor slammed into the reef and began taking on water, endangering both his crew in the priceless charts of his South Pacific discoveries. He pumped out water out of the hole through cannons and equipment overboard. to lighten their load. They even used an old sail to try to plug the hole in their hull, seaworthy. Your methods for warding off scurvy. In the 18th century, the specter of scurvy, which is the lack of vitamin C, loomed over every long distance sea voyage. Cook managed to

keep all three of his expeditions nearly scurvy free, though, and this was partially because his obsession with procuring fresh fruit or fresh food in each of his stops. But many have also credited his good fortune to the unlikely source of sourcrow. He didn't know the cure or cause of scurvy, but he did know that the nutrient-rich pickled cabbage seemed to keep the disease at bay. So he brought several tons of it on his voyage. His only problem was getting the crew to eat it. To trick them, Cook simply had sourcrown dressed every day for the officer's table.

They assumed it was a delicacy and requested some for themselves. Apparently now even Britain's enemies respected Cook spuriously at war and Francis well. His reputation as a pioneering explorer allowed him to travel to sea, with relative impunity. In 1772, a squadron of Spanish vessels briefly detained his ships only to release them after realizing Cook was in Camac's third voyage

set sail during the American Revolution. So he penetrated so far west from the east side of North America through the Arctic. He apparently came within 50, but his attempts to locate it were ultimately thwarted. by freezing weather and heavy ice flows in the Bering Sea. When the extreme conditions drove his crew to the brink of mutiny,

Cook reluctantly turned south for the summer. He offered a grisly death while he docked for repairs in Hawaii. February of 1779, Cook became enraged. After a group stole a cutter ship from the ship discovery fired its cannons at another group of his rifle before fling to a waiting boat he didn't get a hitting it far though before he was pelted with stones and struck by a club

a wine warrior then brandished a gift from cook that's ironic and plunged it into his back with a surf and was repeatedly stabbed and bashed with rocks after he perished the Hawaiians ritualistically prepared his corpse as they would a king.

They reserved his hands in sea salt, then roasted the rest of his body on a pit before cleaning his bones. It would be, I guess maybe it was feeding time when I started filming. So, uh, hopefully when they were chirping, squawking, they weren't too loud for you. And, uh, sounds like someone's back in on us. Sounds like someone's backing up there. So I'm just going to let you go. I'm just going to thank you guys for watching, subscribing, liking, commenting, and just showing love for the channel.

So yeah, this is a pleasure to be able to talk about it. So you guys enjoyed this one. Leave a comment. Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, and I'll see you in the next video. Until next time, get some sleep. Sleep well.