Guide to the Journal of Captain James Cook (as filmed by the AJCP), 09 April 1772-19 July 1775

Summary

Collection number:

M722

Creator:

Cook, James, Captain, 1728-1779

Extent:

2 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Copy of Journal of Captain James Cook kept on HMS Resolution on his second voyage to the Pacific, 9 April 1772 – 19 July 1775, in two folio volumes (416 and 558 pages).

The inscription on the title page reads "A Journal of the proceedings of His Majesty's sloop the Resolution in a voyage on Discoveries towards the South Pole and round the World by Captain James Cook 1772, 3, 4, and 5.

Biographical / Historical:

James Cook (1728-1779) was born at Merton, Yorkshire and grew up on a farm at Ayton. In 1747 he moved to Whitby and joined the merchant navy, working on colliers and other ships in the coastal trade and later in the Baltic Sea. In 1755 he joined the Royal Navy and in 1757 he qualified as a master. He served in North America during the Seven Years War, taking part in the capture of Louisburg and Quebec, and as master of HMS Grenville he spent five years surveying the coasts of Newfoundland.

In 1768 Cook was promoted to lieutenant and given command of HMS Endeavour on its voyage to the South Pacific. After visiting Tahiti and observing the transit of Venus (the ostensible purpose of the expedition), Cook mapped the entire coasts of New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia. He returned to England in July 1771 and was immediately promoted to the rank of captain. In 1772 he was commissioned by the Royal Society to search for a southern continent that many believed lay in the high latitudes of the South Pacific. HMS Resolution, accompanied by HMS Adventure, spent nearly three years exploring the extreme latitudes of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, twice crossing the Antarctic Circle. Using bases in New Zealand and Tahiti, Cook also explored much of the South Pacific, including the Friendly Islands (Tonga), Easter Island, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island. In July 1776 Cook, again commanding HMS Resolution, set off on his third great voyage with the aim of exploring the North Pacific and discovering the North West Passage. He discovered the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and explored the north-western coast of America as far as the Bering Strait. Returning to the Sandwich Islands, he was killed in a skirmish with the Hawaiians in February 1779.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn333767] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin. Collection Reference: MSJ 7 (Vol 1) and MSJ8 (Vol 2). For further information see, Captain James Cook at the National Library of Ireland [http://catalogue.nli.ie/]

The manuscript in the National Library of Ireland closely resembles the journal in the National Maritime Museum, London. It appears to be in the hand of Alexander Dewar, the clerk on HMS Adventure.

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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