After we talked about the time lines of different countries and doing some research the same name appeared to me several times: James Cook, so I looked up for information about him and I hope you find it as useful as I did.
"Cook was an 18th century explorer and navigator whose achievements in mapping the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia radically changed western perceptions of world geography. As one of the very few men in the 18th century navy to rise through the ranks, Cook was particularly sympathetic to the needs of ordinary sailors."
In 1769, the planet Venus was due to
pass in front of the Sun, a rare event visible only in the southern hemisphere.
The British government decided to send an expedition to observe the phenomenon.
A more secret motive was to search for the southern continent. Cook was chosen
as commander of the Whitby-built Endeavour.
Endeavour arrived in Tahiti in April
1769 where Green was able to observe the transit of Venus. Endeavour continued
on to New Zealand, and then sailed along the length of Australia's eastern
coast, which had never before been seen by Europeans. Cook claimed it for
Britain and named it New South Wales. Cook and his crew then returned home,
arriving in July 1771.Once in England, he was promoted to commander and presented to King George III.
In 1772, Cook set out on a second voyage to look for the southern
continent. His two ships sailed close to the Antarctic coast .Then they visited New Zealand and Tahiti, returning to
England in 1775.
Cook's third voyage was to find the North-West Passage that was believed to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Unable to find the route, Cook took his two ships south and explored the island of Hawaii. Relations with the islanders got worst after the theft of a ship's boat. On 14 February Cook tried to take the local leader as a prisioner. There was an unexpected fight and Cook was killed.
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