Captain James Cook Research Paper

In the early 16th century, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan named the largest ocean in the world ‘O Mar Pacífico’ meaning peaceful sea. What Magellan didn’t know is that his arrival would mark a fateful new era for the inhabitants of the pacific and forever disrupt whatever peace they had before. In “The Other One-Third of the Globe,” anthropologist Ben Finney explains the history the habitation of the Pacific islands. He looks at the complete human history of the islands, not just the colonial period, which was unusual but very refreshing.

“Upon docking, I called Eurylochus and two others who were the smartest of my men to the shore to see the state of the island and its inhabitants. The land to the north, I assigned Eurylochus. The western domain I gave to the soldier in command behind Eurylochus, and the southern territory was handed to the soldier fourth in command. The eastern area, which was the largest in size and most populated with dense forests, I took for myself to explore. Any information the men acquired while searching, they were

We as a human race are mentally programed to explore the unknown whether it is sneaking out into the woods behind your house as a child or going up into the depths of space. Curiosity is what allows us to think outside the box, and when we expand out of our comfort zones we discover things that help advance our race as a whole. There was once a time when space exploration was just a science fictional thought – humans were never expected to pass through Earth’s atmosphere. It all began during the Cold War, when different counties began competing with each other. The race resulted in numerous satellite launchings and the mission that brought man onto the moon; Apollo 11. This inspired so many in the rising generation to pursue careers in science

Columbus writes a full description about the names they gave to the islands and the scale of how large

Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent. He survived shipwreck and disaster only to be imprisoned for violating the terms of his scientific passport by changing ships and carrying prohibited papers.

In the analysis of Cook’s travel journal of Hawaii, it is clear that he did not see the same cultural significance in the Hawaiians as he saw their utilitarian value in helping him repair the ship and get on his was to the Northwest Passage. Additionally, many discrepancies exist because many of the European travel accounts, that were once published as true and factual, were later discovered to be second hand accounts of people miles away from the battle itself. Scholars rightly bring concern at the fabrication of events surrounding Cook’s death as the crew member John Ledyard made a large effort to make appear to have been at the scene of the death when in actuality, he was at least a mile away. In this, the imperialist attitude is brought forth again, Ledyard, by adapting his account to place himself at the place of Cook’s death, is taking power and control over the telling of the events leading up to and following the battle and takes ownership over how Cook is perceived, giving the crew the most favorable view in the retelling of the battle. Years later, it was found that Ledyard’s account is purely speculation and hearsay but his actions in editing his account of the voyage show Cook’s imperialist

How did the Polynesians find their way to Hawaii, over two thousand miles from any other land? Was it over population at home, or political turmoil? Whatever reason for leaving these people used amazing knowledge and skill of the ocean and of the sky to navigate them to this new land. They faced the unknown and braved into the wide-open ocean for long periods of time. The real focus in this paper is on the navigation techniques that they used in these voyages throughout the Pacific.

Captain Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was found dead of gunshot wounds on October 11, 1809. Most experts believe his wounds were of his own doing by reason of his known ingestion of mercury pills to combat syphilis and gonorrhea during the famous exploration of the uncharted West. Mercury pills have been known to cause neurological damage which led most historians to conclude that was the source of his suicidal tendencies and outbursts. Even still, some have found to believe he was murdered during his stay at a small Tennessee inn while on course to Washington, D.C. to settle financial matters. The mystery has existed since his death and never truly been resolved. In my personal beliefs, Meriwether Lewis took his own life that day after dementia finally overtook his brain.

To the Taino people, Christopher Columbus and his crew were complete strangers who arrived carrying swords and speaking an unfamiliar language. Yet the Taino men, women, and children quickly emerged from their villages and ran onto the island's beaches to welcome these unwanted guests with food, water, and gifts. (Zinn)

already had their own maps. They sailed into the wind by the triangular shaped sails on

Indian voyages on the Indian Ocean were part of a more general development, bordering on current with the Mauryan Empire, in which sailors of assorted origins began to piece together the shores of the “Southern Ocean”, a Chinese term referring to all the waters from the South China Sea to the eastern coast of Africa.  During that time period, the most bodacious sailors were most certainly the Malays; peoples came from what is now Malaysia, Indonesia, the southeastern coast of Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Polynesia was a massive country forming a triangle that stretched between New Zealand in the west, Rapa Nui in the east, and Hawaii in the north. This triangle covered 10 million square miles. It was discovered by these amazing people who were like the astronauts of the time, because of their amazing exploration skills. Remarkably, these Polynesians arrived in Hawaii 1,000 years before Columbus sailed to the Americas. They were considered some of the greatest explorers in all of history. These explorers were able to discover every livable land mass and island in the Pacific, without the use of modern technology. All they had were canoes that were very similar to the Hokulea. Polynesian explorers relied heavily on the stars, winds, waves, and other signs from nature to navigate the ocean.

The exact nature of the encounters between Captain James Cook and the Polynesian natives of Hawaii as well as all interactions and exchanges between Europeans and native Polynesian peoples of the Pacific while Cook was exploring the islands of Hawaii and after has been investigated by anthropologists and historians for many years. Captain Cook died at the hand of Polynesian natives while he was at Hawaii in 1779. Marshall Sahlins stated that Cook was seen as the god Lono during the celebration of the Makahiki festival taking place at the time of Cook’s visit. Gananath Obeyesekere, in his noted work, The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific, argues

Progress is key to living life, but if one is advancing through life with the motivation of revenge, then, in actuality, he or she is truly regressing. Revenge is an extremely corruptive trait. It causes people to do uncharacteristic things that normally would not be done. The perception of right and wrong is blurred and one takes inadvertent actions that may cost friendships, possessions, and even lives. Revenge is often a major motivating factor in the characters that are in the works written during the Dark Romanticism period. One of the most celebrated and influential American authors in history, Herman Melville, was born on August 1, 1819; his reputation was not quite

Why did Columbus travel west? Why did Marco Polo head east? Because it is that pull, that unknown, that prospect of adventure that compels humans to seek new frontiers to explore.