page_title: British Empire
section_title: Exploration of the Pacific
hierarchical_section_title: British Empire / Rise of the "Second" British Empire (1783–1815) / Exploration of the Pacific
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: 1776: James Cook English: Official portrait of Captain James Cook Suomi: Kapteeni James Cookin virallinen muotokuva. National Maritime Museum, Yhdistynyt kuningaskunta. Français&#160;: James Cook par Nathaniel Dance. Italiano: Ritratto di James Cook 日本語: クックの公式肖像画　海軍博物館（ロンドン）所蔵 Nederlands: James Cook na zijn terugkeer van zijn tweede expeditie in de Stille Zuidzee Polski: Kapitan James Cook Català: Retrat de l'explorador britànic James Cook Lietuvių: Džeimso Kuko portretas 中文: 庫克船長畫像。現存於英國海事博物館。 Русский: Портрет Дж. Кука, 25 май 1776 года. Художник Натаниэл Дэнс Gagana Samoa: Ata o James Cook, 25 Me, 1776. (le tusiata o Nathaniel Dance) Čeština: Kapitán James Cook, 25. května 1776. (oficiální portrét) Español: Retrato oficial de James Cook
context_page_description: The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35,500,000 km², 24% of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, the phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" was often used to describe the British Empire as its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
  During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires.
context_section_description: Since 1718, transportation to the American colonies had been a penalty for various offences in Britain, with approximately one thousand convicts transported per year across the Atlantic. Forced to find an alternative location after the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, the British government turned to the newly discovered lands of Australia. The coast of Australia had been discovered for Europeans by the Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon in 1606 and was named New Holland by the Dutch East India Company, but there was no attempt to colonise it. In 1770 James Cook discovered the eastern coast of Australia while on a scientific voyage to the South Pacific Ocean, claimed the continent for Britain, and named it New South Wales. In 1778, Joseph Banks, Cook's botanist on the voyage, presented evidence to the government on the suitability of Botany Bay for the establishment of a penal settlement, and in 1787 the first shipment of convicts set sail, arriving in 1788. Britain continued to transport convicts to New South Wales until 1840, to Tasmania until 1853 and to Western Australia until 1868. The Australian colonies became profitable exporters of wool and gold, mainly because of gold rushes in the colony of Victoria, making its capital Melbourne for a time the richest city in the world and the second largest city (after London) in the British Empire.
  During his voyage, Cook also visited New Zealand, first discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, and claimed the North and South islands for the British crown in 1769 and 1770 respectively. Initially, interaction between the indigenous Māori population and Europeans was limited to the trading of goods. European settlement increased through the early decades of the 19th century, with numerous trading stations established, especially in the North. In 1839, the New Zealand Company announced plans to buy large tracts of land and establish colonies in New Zealand. On 6 February 1840, Captain William Hobson and around 40 Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty is considered by many to be New Zealand's founding document, but differing interpretations of the Maori and English versions of the text have meant that it continues to be a source of dispute.
caption: James Cook's mission was to find the alleged southern continent Terra Australis.
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