BELOW: Me - In the uniform of an 18th Century British Navy Captain, at World Expo '88, Brisbane.

"Captain James Cook - The Navigator" is the first URL on the Web to focus solely on the man and his achievements. Several other small Websites were in existence when this Site began, and there have been others since, but most have another major purpose - eg. tourism, or else only include references to Cook amongst facts on other historical persons or events. Even Museums, Libraries and Art Galleries don't show much of their collections on the Internet - preferring people to come in and view them in person - which isn't always practical. I will attempt to obtain material from these places to display, so that people everywhere can have access to it. Most Journals featured on this Site have been edited due to the sheer wealth of material available; although all major passages remain intact and are in the words of the original author. I hope that you will find these pages interesting, as they gradually come into shape.

Sean Morgan from Canada supplied the following information: "... After Cook returned, Endeavour was despatched on several missions to South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. After this, she was decomissioned and sold to an American shipping firm, eventually landing in the hands of the French."
The following item has never been confirmed: "In the late 18th century, a British frigate chased the now French 'Endeavour' into an American harbour on (I think) the North East coast of the U.S. After several days, Endeavour slipped back out to sea at night, evading the British frigate but running aground in the process. Abandoned, she was forgotten about until decades later when a British Diplomat was shown the wreck by an American friend and told that almost a century before she was known as 'Endeavour' and had undertaken a notable expedition to the South Seas. The Diplomat assumed the story was true and retrieved a piece of the hull which he later carved into a small jewelry box. It was this box that was likely taken aboard the space-shuttle. Unfortunately, the hulk that the diplomat removed the wood from had no markings and could never truly be identified as Cook's Endeavour."

Another conflicting-account of the ships demise is told in Issue No. 15 of the publication Australian Sea Heritage, 1988:
"After Cook's historic voyage of 1768-71 when he discovered the east coast of Australia; his ship, the Endeavour, became a store ship for the Royal Navy. Pensioned off in the 1890's, she was sold to France, refitted as a whaler and renamed La Liberte. While leaving Newport, Rhode Island later in that decade, La Liberte was forced to return in an unseaworthy condition after having sustained damage. She never went to sea again and saw the end of her days rotting at a wharf. Endeavour's sternpost was acquired from the remains of the ship by a Newport merchant who displayed it outside his house and later outside his shop. Upon his death the sternpost was given to the Newport Historical Society where it remained until coming to Australia. Special measures were taken to ensure the safe transportation of the sternpost, including resin treatment, protective packaging and delivery in a controlled climate. QANTAS flew the precious cargo to Australia free of charge." The wooden-post is described as being "... an irregularly-shaped piece of blackened oak two metres long by an average 30cm square ..." and is the largest remaining fragment known to exist.

The Endeavour Controversy continues ... "Did the wind last fill her sails off the coast of America, or did she remain at anchor in England?"

CAPTAIN'S LOG:

NAUTICAL TERMS: "Avast, ye lubbers!" Back in the 18th Century, there were many words associated with the life of a sailor. Often, you can still encounter them in common use today. New crewmen needed to master their new vocabulary quickly, in order to function correctly as part of the 'team'. Those who were "Pressed" into service by a Naval Recruiting Gang, and awoke nursing a sore head (miles out to sea) were not given much time to adjust! If they didn't learn fast, they might put themselves and others at risk if caught in a dangerous situation like a battle or a storm. For instance, at a critical moment, it could be disastrous if a new crewman misinterpreted his orders and hauled on the wrong rope! Or, while his ship was being pounded by mountainous waves, a helmsman turning to 'port' instead of keeping the rudder 'amidships' might capsize the vessel and send it down to "Davy Jones Locker"! Click on the title of this article to link to a Dictionary of words for budding sailors ...

AN ORANGE A DAY Cook stated: "... many years experience, together with some hints I had from Sir Hugh Palliser, Captains Campbell, Wallis, and other intelligent officers, enabled me to lay a plan..."

Palliser had consulted with Dr Lind (Physician to the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar), and it is probable Cook's guide for the health of his crews were Treatise on Scurvy (1753), and Essay on the Means of preserving the Health of Seamen (1757), by Dr James Lind.

The first symptoms of scurvy: Headache, langour, loss of appetite, diminution of physical strength accompanied by symptoms of enfeebled mental ability, irritability and tendency to insubordination.
Later symptoms are: sallow earthy complexion, pains in joints, swelling of the limbs due to subcutaneous haemorrhages, nose bleeding, bleeding of the gums, with looseness and displacement of teeth, spontaneous fracture of long bones, progressive weakness, and death.

For the prevention of this common disease, Lind proposed a healthy diet of eschalots, onions, leeks, garlic, and a noggin made up of small beer, brandy, molasses and vinegar. While in harbour where they could be obtained, the issue of fresh beef, turnips, cabbage, carrots, apples, fresh soft bread, cider, lemons, oranges, dandelion and brooklime was recommended. At sea, a ration of rob of lemon and orange should be made compulsory. Cook's 'plan' involved the implementation of these recommendations, and more. However, there were a few "teething" problems in getting some of the sailor's to learn new habits. For example, two men (on the 1st voyage) who refused to eat all their ration of fresh beef were given a dozen lashes each. Nevertheless, the end justified the means and there was a dramatic reduction in the number of lives lost from diseases like scurvy. Cook's journeys demonstrated the benefits of improving living conditions for sailors and the methods he employed were adopted throughout the Royal Navy.

UNWELCOME MESS-MATESMany of us have a somewhat romantic image of life on board a tall-ship. However, some uninvited guests could make your journey far from pleasant. Cook describes such occasions during his 3rd voyage to the Pacific: "While we lay in this harbour, we carried ashore the bread remaining in the bread-room, to clear it of vermin. The number of cockroaches that infested the ship at this time is incredible; the damage they did to us was very considerable, and every method devised by us to destroy them proved ineffectual. These animals, which at first were a nuisance, like all other insects, had now become a real pest, and so destructive that few things were free from their ravages; if food of any kind was exposed only for a few minutes, it was covered with them, and they soon pierced it full of holes resembling a honeycomb. They were particularly destructive to birds, which had been stuffed and preserved as curiosities, and, what was worse, were uncommonly fond of ink; so that the writing on the labels, fastened to different articles, was quite eaten out; and the only thing that preserved books from them was the closeness of the binding, which prevented these devourers getting between the leaves. According to Mr. Anderson's observations, they were of two sorts, the Blatta orientalis and germanica. The first of these had been carried home in the ship from her former voyage, where they withstood the severity of the hard winter in 1776, though she was in dock all the time. The others had only made their appearance since our leaving New Zealand, but had increased so fast, that they now not only did all the mischief mentioned above, but had even got amongst the rigging, so that when a sail was loosened, thousands of them fell upon the decks. The orientales, though in infinite numbers, scarcely came out but in the night, when they made everything in the cabins seem as if in motion, from the particular noise in crawling about; and, besides their disagreeable appearance, they did great mischief to our bread, which was so bespattered with their excrement, that it would have been badly relished by delicate feeders".

WHO HAD GONE BEFORE?In 1788 the expedition of the French Mariner, La Pérouse, set sail from Botany Bay, never to be heard from again. About 3½ decades later, a chance discovery of a sword guard inscribed J.F.G.P. on one of the Santa Cruz Islands gave a clue as to their grisly fate. Not long afterwards, a pile of 60 European skulls was uncovered, each one giving mute testimony that Pérouse and his men had been killed and eaten by Santa Cruz Islanders after being shipwrecked. In spite of the risks involved, there had been no shortage of men willing to put to sea in leaky, overcrowded vessels. Those who dared enter the immense Pacific Ocean were driven by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge or profit. As they cruised through this alien landscape, it seemed that they had stepped back in time to an earlier, more innocent age of mankind. Although many explorers never returned to their waiting families, the spirit of adventure which drove them on, serves as an inspiration to us all.

CAPTAIN'S GALLERY: Look here for additional Cook-related images. (These pictures will be displayed at random on this page until a more permanent location is found for them.)

MOVIE PROPOSAL: For a long time now, I have dreamed of making an epic-movie, on the life and times of Captain James Cook. As with any such undertaking, a considerable amount of resources must be found to enable the realization of this goal. If anyone reading this article has connections in the Film industry and would like to discuss this further with me, please drop me an email. So far a good mini-series has been made, but it wasn't large enough in it's scope and was low-budget. Now, there exists a full-size replica of his famous ship Endeavour, which could be employed for added realism. I envisage a character-driven plot, involving a cast of thousands and utilizing spectacular imagery; from the siege of Quebec to lush tropical islands, treacherous reefs, storms, Cannibals, an Indian raid and the search for the North-East passage set amongst a beautiful background of frozen arctic-waters. The options and variety possible are unlimited. I sincerely believe that if handled properly, it could be made on an epic scale, similar to that used for the highly successful movie "Titanic"; maybe even incorporating present-day footage of what is believed to be the Endeavour's, final resting place at the bottom of Newport Harbor.

THE VOYAGE HOMEFor a long time I've been living in Australia, the great southern Continent discovered by Cook, but deep down I've always longed to explore my roots and return to England, where his epic journey's began. To realize this dream, later this year (2006), I'll be hauling up my anchor and moving to the United Kingdom - where I will continue my studies of the Captain by visiting places like the Dockyard in London (where HMS Endeavour was built) and various museums and art-galleries. I hope to be able to bring you new material, as it comes to hand, and update these pages more often.

It will be exciting for me to walk in the footsteps of the man who inspired these pages and see the places where he grew-up and worked, when he was not at sea. I can also imagine being transported through time, as I tred the worn cobblestones and creaking floorboards of places which may still survive the hundreds of years since James Cook himself stood there.

Although my permanent abode will be in the Northern Hemisphere and in spite of all the oceans that seperate me from family and friends, thanks to modern technology, I can use the Internet to communicate in a way un-dreamed of in the 18th Century. When Cook said goodbye to his wife and children, they knew it would be years before they could see each others faces again... Today, I'm thankful that the World is a much smaller place through inventions like Video-Conferencing & Broadband; although, as a result, there is not so much mystery or things left to explore...

If he was alive today, he'd be sailing the Web!

© 1996 Michael Dickinson

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page