12/22/07

Humanities

Essay

The Voyage of the Endeavour:  A Summary of the Book 

Endeavour, the Story of Captain Cook's First Great Epic Voyage

By Peter Aughton

Chapter One

        James Cook's first round-the-world voyage was on the Endeavour. The ship was a coal trading ship and Cook chose it out of three ships because he knew what style of ship he needed. Getting the equipment was easy, but assembling the crew was a bit difficult.  However, after some days of fussing and shuffling, they where all prepared. The Endeavour left from Plymouth, England.  They left on August 19, 1768.  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
        Along the way to go around CapeSantiago and Cape Horn the Endeavour lost five people, a small boat, and some food and supplies. Cook went from Plymouth to south tip of South America. The Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro were friendly, but firm on following orders of the king. In southern tip of South America there where the people called The Fuegians and they were friendly. Scientists explored even when the situations where hard and challenging the group aboard found what they came adventure and new discoveries.

Chapter Three  
  
          Captain's Cooks studies of previous circumnavigations provided good advice and Cook knew what to expect of Cape Horn and where to go. The Endeavour went through CapeSantiago and that was difficult, as were the straits of Magellan.  They then went on to Tahiti. The Endeavor lost the ship's artist to sickness.  The crew knew it was worth going through Cape Horn and the long journey when they got to Tahiti, met Tahitian ladies and got to walk on land. Back in the times of Cook was alive they had the stars to go by for reckoning, a practice called celestial navigation.  
  
   
  
Chapter Four  
  
        The Endeavour was not the first to Tahiti and Cook was at Tahiti in summer of 1767. Captain Cook made rules and decisions without knowing how a lot about the Tahitian culture. The Tahitians stole some things and were curious about the things that the Endeavour and Cook's crew carried. Cook and his crew where furious at how the Tahitians acted and tried to do there job as best they could. On June 3, 1769 there was a rare solar eclipse Venus covering the sun disk and Cook and crew traveled to see this as well.  In fact, this was the main reason England gave for the voyage, which really was mainly for the purpose of exploring for riches and new lands.

Chapter Five  
  
        Captain Cook and his crew knew something was wrong with their equipment and tried to measure Venus but it was blurry.  There was a disease, possibly Yaws or Syphilis Cook said. Cook felt like the Endeavor brought the disease to the island but the Tahitians did not blame them.  The Endeavor left with lots of emotion, two marines tried to stay but were hauled back aboard.  It was forgiven and some Tahitians left with the Endeavor.  There was not a greater bond than these too groups made, and the historic parting could hardly happen again.  
  
   
  
Chapter Six  
  
        Captain Cook went to Tahiti's neighboring islands and the Polynesians there were more understandable to the British than the Tahitians.  There were four main islands and they were all nice and easy going.  Cook looked at a sealed package that said go to New Zealand.  When he got there the people stole and traded unfairly; there was also bad sailing on the west coast.  They went around the north island as fast as possible and accurately mapped it and then went on the south island.

Chapter Seven

        On the south island of New Zealand, Tovypoenammu, the natives were usually more hostile then friendly. The natives were called Maoris and had interesting clothes, tattoos, body piercings, and a different way of life. The northern land was beautiful and the birds were bountiful but there was not a huge variety of animals on the islands. Going around Tovypoenammu was good except the southern part of the island. Cook put great detail into the map of New Zealand, Cook was hoping to find the place called New Holland, and left New Zealand on April 1, 1770.  
  
   
  
Chapter Eight  
  
       on April 19, 1770 they spotted land, but found it not to be Van   
  
Dieman's land but it was New Holland (Australia) and first thing they saw after seeing land were waterspouts.  The Australians spoke a language that no one could understand and they ran at the sight of Cook and his crew.  The sailing was slow because of the build up of weeds and barnacles so that the naturalist took advantage of the time to study the alien-like animals that were quite strange.  The Aborigines were nomadic, they had no one home around the East Coast; they did not wear clothes.  Cook and crew went fast as they could up the coast and then ran into a hidden reef and were sinking.

Chapter Nine  
  
     The Endeavour ran into the Great Barrier Reef and was in a state that it should have sunk but by some miracle survived, and crawled up the east coast of Australia. Cook showed some feeling about himself in his journal and praised his crew. The aborigines came around and the two groups "bumped heads" over conflicts regarding food supplies and the provisions Cook needed.  The aborigines did not care for beads or gifts but were interested in trading for food. Upon leaving, Cook and crew where in a life and death situation in a rip tide that could destroy the ship but cheated the boats death a second time. The Endeavour went on to New Guinea, the Tanimbar Islands, and Timor where they spotted a white person and a horse for the first time since Rio.  
  
   
  
Chapter Ten  
  
     The Endeavour was resupplied well and tried to learn about the local politics in Timor and Sumba. The Endeavour made it to Java and then made repairs in Batavia, Java. Most of the crew caught malaria and there were seven deaths.  Cook wanted to leave as soon as possible and made it up the Strait of Sunda, and around the Cape of Good Hope, before the remaining crew was close to recovering from the sickness. Through the Indian Ocean it was down to seven to eight people feeling well enough to help to manage the ship at times. The Endeavour was considered lost by England and it was thought that the Spanish had shot and sunk the ship.  The Endeavour made it home on July 17, 1771 and soon after, set off on another expedition.