Captain Cook killed in Hawaii - Feb 14, 1779 - HISTORY.com Captain Cook killed in Hawaii Share this: Captain Cook killed in Hawaii Author Captain Cook killed in Hawaii URL Publisher A+E Networks On February 14, 1779, Captain James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, is murdered by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group. In 1768, Cook, a surveyor in the Royal Navy, was commissioned a lieutenant in command of the HMS Endeavor and led an expedition that took scientists to Tahiti to chart the course of the planet Venus. In 1771, he returned to England, having explored the coast of New Zealand and Australia and circumnavigated the globe. Beginning in 1772, he commanded a major mission to the South Pacific and during the next three years explored the Antarctic region, charted the New Hebrides, and discovered New Caledonia. In 1776, Cook sailed from England again as commander of the HMS Resolution and Discovery, and in January 1778 he made his first visit to the Hawaiian Islands.

He may have been the first European to ever visit the island group, which he named the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his patrons, John Montague, the Earl of Sandwich. Cook and his crew were welcomed by the Hawaiians, who were fascinated by the Europeans’ ships and their use of iron. Cook provisioned his ships by trading the metal, and his sailors traded iron nails for sex. The ships then made a brief stop at Ni’ihau and headed north to look for the western end of a northwest passage from the North Atlantic to the Pacific. Almost one year later, Cook’s two ships returned to the Hawaiian Islands and found a safe harbor in Hawaii’s Kealakekua Bay. It is suspected that the Hawaiians attached religious significance to the first stay of the Europeans on their islands. In Cook’s second visit, there was no question of this phenomenon. Kealakekua Bay was considered the sacred harbor of Lono, the fertility god of the Hawaiians, and at the time of Cook’s arrival the locals were engaged in a festival dedicated to Lono. Cook and his compatriots were welcomed as gods and for the next month exploited the Hawaiians’ good will.

After one of the crewmen died, exposing the Europeans as mere mortals, relations became strained. On February 4, 1779, the British ships sailed from Kealakekua Bay, but rough seas damaged the foremast of the Resolution, and after only a week at sea the expedition was forced to return to Hawaii. The Hawaiians greeted Cook and his men by hurling rocks; they then stole a small cutter vessel from the Discovery. Negotiations with King Kalaniopuu for the return of the cutter collapsed after a lesser Hawaiian chief was shot to death and a mob of Hawaiians descended on Cook’s party. The captain and his men fired on the angry Hawaiians, but they were soon overwhelmed, and only a few managed to escape to the safety of the Resolution. Captain Cook himself was killed by the mob. A few days later, the Englishmen retaliated by firing their cannons and muskets at the shore, killing some 30 Hawaiians. The Resolution and Discovery eventually returned to England. Related Videos The Demise Of Captain Cook The Demise Of Captain Cook by Betty Fullard-Leo Captain Cook Monument in Kealakekua Bay.

The bay at Kealakekua is so translucent, so placid, that scores of novice snorkelers slip into the water daily, arriving by boats from Kailua-Kona, which anchor, bobbing peacefully, just beyond the obelisk that marks a far more violent episode in Hawaiian history. It was here that the great navigator Captain James Cook was killed on February 14, 1779. Cook and his crew had sailed through the Hawaiian Islands little more than a year earlier when they anchored off Kaua'i to re-provision his flagship Resolution and a smaller vessel, Discovery. This was Cook's third Pacific voyage, but his first to explore the North Pacific. It was the voyage that earned him credit as the first westerner to discover the Hawaiian Islands. When the British ships sailed past O'ahu to Kaua'i in January 1778, they were met by a fleet of canoes filled with Islanders prepared to do battle. Luckily, Cook and his men had learned a bit of Tahitian months earlier. Tahitian was close enough to the Hawaiian dialect so the two groups could communicate, and when Cook gave gifts, the Hawaiians realized he had come in peace.

The boats had been anchored for three days at Waimea Bay, Kaua'i, where the crews had discovered that Hawaiian women gave freely of their sexual favors. While there, the High Chief Kaneoneo returned from across the island to board the Discovery and meet Captain Charles Clerke before the two English ships left Waimea, headed for Alaska and Canada. Cook had anchored off Kaua'i during the time of makahiki, a period of months set aside for the collection of taxes in the form of produce, crafts and other goods, while war was suspended and ceremonies and games were the order of the day. There are, however, no notations in Cook's logs that indicate he knew anything about the makahiki season or its peaceful traditions. Ten months later, he returned from the north, badly in need of provisions and a safe harbor to repair his ships. It was November; once again it was the makahiki season. Cook dropped anchor first off Maui, where a meeting with King Kahekili went well. The Hawaiians were pleased to obtain valuable iron nails to fashion into fishing hooks, as well as iron tools, in trade for food and water.

An interpretation of Hikiau Heiau, the temple at Kealakekua Bay, based on 1779 descriptions Painting by Herb Kawainui Kane. Near Hana, Cook's ships were met by King Kalaniopu'u, who had been warring against Kahekili, but because of the makahiki, the fighting had been suspended. Eight of Kalaniopu'u's chiefs (among them the young Kamehameha) remained on board to direct Cook to the Big Island. From his reception, Cook surmised that swift canoes had raced across the channel to forewarn the Big Islanders of his arrival. Off the northern shore of the Big Island, near Waipi'o Valley, canoes laden with men waving white banners paddled out to greet them. During makahiki, white kapa banners were always hung for ceremonies and displayed at heiau around the islands. Next came young women dressed in their finest kapa, and canoes loaded with "pigs, fruit and roots." The ships were re-provisioned, but unable to make landing.

Cook chose to circumnavigate the Big Island around the windward side, extending his journey far beyond the few days it would have taken for him to reach Kealakekua Bay sailing to the lee. The Islanders, and presumably King Kalaniopu'u, were happy with the decision, as at each seaside village canoes paddled out to trade for valuable western goods. By the time the Discovery and the Resolution, with torn sails and rotting lines, were able to enter Kealakekua Bay for repairs, they were surrounded by possibly 1,000 canoes and thousands of people swimming or on surfboards. Captain William Bligh, Cook's sailing master, who would later go down in history as captain of the mutinous crew of the Bounty, was sent ahead to check the depth of the bay and to find fresh water, thus becoming the first European to actually set foot on Hawaiian soil. Cook invited one of the Hawaiian elders to dine with him and received a pig and a red tapa cloak in return. Lieutenant James King kept detailed journals of the proceedings.

When Cook went ashore, with King in the retinue, King wrote, "...[We] were received by 3 or 4 men .....who kept repeating a sentence wherein the word E Rono was always mention'd, this is the name by which the Captn has for some time been distinguish'd by the Natives." Early historians determined that Cook had been mistaken for the god Lono, most closely associated with the makahiki, but later scholars and Hawaiians cast doubt on the idea. One theory sometimes advanced is that Hawaiians were saying, "E rono," translated as "listen" or "attention," which they called out to attract the crowd's attention to Cook's presence and his important stature. Cook was led to a heiau, the same rock temple called Hikiau that can be found at Kealakekua Bay today, to take part in an elaborate ceremony, at the conclusion of which he was made to bow to the ground and kiss an image of the war god Ku. Cook was not the only one to be treated with honor; Captain Clerke was also led to the temple, and a small pig was sacrificed to him, accompanied by an elaborate ceremony and chanting.

Nine days passed before the Big Island king appeared, accompanied by a long line of sailing and paddling canoes. The British were surprised that the king was none other than their old friend Kalaniopu'u, who had settled in the village where about 125 dwellings were occupied by chiefs. This is the same area that holds the monument to Captain Cook today. The following morning, the king boarded the Resolution from his own 70-foot canoe. He was surrounded by chiefs attired in bright red-and-yellow feather cloaks and helmets and accompanied by canoes carrying chanters, feather idols, and provisions. While their ships were repaired, the British camped in a nearby sweet potato field, and some attempted to learn about the Hawaiian culture; others, like Surgeon's Mate David Samwell, learned lascivious songs from the young Hawaiian women and enjoyed feasts and boxing exhibitions, typical makahiki past times. When Cook ordered the king to purchase the wooden railings atop the heiau they were freely given, possibly because the makahiki season was drawing to a close and the ceremonial structures would soon have been dismantled anyway.

The British ships sailed away on February 4, but within days a gust of wind had broken the Resolution's main mast and Cook had to return. By then the time of peace was past. The mast was hauled ashore; all the while, Islanders continually pilfered from Cook's ships. When an Islander was spotted making off with a pair of blacksmith's tongs from the Discovery, British sailors rowed ashore in pursuit of his canoe. They tried to confiscate his canoe to hold until their tongs were returned, but the canoe's owner came out and was struck with an oar. Hawaiians retaliated by throwing stones. Cook, with Lieutenant King and a marine, came down the beach to intervene, and the three Britishers set off in pursuit of the man with the tongs, but they were misled and laughed at by the Hawaiians. Cook ordered the sentries to reload their fine-shot to the more deadly ball ammunition. When a boat was discovered missing from the Discovery on February 14, ill feelings escalated. The British fired cannons at canoes in the bay and Cook went ashore with some sailors to try to bring Kalaniopu'u back to the Resolution as a hostage.

A crowd had gathered by the water's edge when, at the far end of the bay, a shot rang out from one of the British boats, and the chief Kalimu, standing in his canoe, was killed. The Hawaiians began to don their war clothing and, when a challenging motion was made toward Cook, he turned and fired his musket. Then his marines fired. When the king's guards charged, the marines, who had no time to reload, headed for the water. Many of the men, like Cook, could not swim. The death of Cook, February 14, 1779. Painting by Herb Kawainui Kane. The recorded details are not exact, but it is thought that Cook was struck with a club from behind, then stabbed repeatedly with an iron dagger that had been obtained from the British in trade by a chief named Nua. Following Cook's death, five British sailors were killed, and four Hawaiian chiefs and thirteen kanaka maoli (commoners) died, before cannon fire from the British ships forced everyone to leave the beach. Captain Clerke, suffering from tuberculosis, took command and had repairs completed to the foremast on deck.

He asked repeatedly for Cook's body, only to learn through friendly Hawaiian priests that it had been cut into pieces and the bones stripped of flesh; as was the Hawaiian custom in the treatment of the remains of a high chief. Islanders believed that the keeper of such bones inherited the mana, the spiritual power, of the deceased. Animosity continued, with Hawaiians on shore taunting the British sailors, until three days later. On the 17th of February, Clerke fired cannons toward the shoreline. Two chiefs came to the ships to discuss peace, but that same evening, British sailors who came onshore to replenishing their fresh water, were pelted with rocks. The sailors burned an unprotected village and cut off the heads of two Hawaiians, displaying them on poles, until Captain Clerke had them deposited into the ocean to show that the British were not cannibals. The following evening, a truce was declared. Some of the remains of Captain Cook were returned to the British, which Clerke deposited in a weighted box and sank in Kealakekua Bay. Kalaniopu'u is said to have kept Cook's long bones and jaw, and the young warrior Kamehameha was given the hair.

The Hawaiians questioned what the British would do and they wanted to know when Erono would return. In early history books, these questions were often said to indicate that the Hawaiians considered Cook the god Lono, while others say it only indicated they feared retribution from Cook's ghost, as ghosts were very real to them. Clerke and his men sailed north after further provisioning off Kaua'i, but Clerke died off Siberia before returning to his native land. In England, the story of Cook became a legend, and he was immortalized in books and in a French stage play: "La Mort du Captain Cook". The story that Hawaiians believed Cook was their god Lono was commonly accepted. With the blurring of history, it is a question that probably never will be settled completely. "Readers may submit editorial comments to any of our stories by sending an email to les@lbdcoffee.com . We would be happy to attach your comments and feedback to anything we publish online. Thank you for your interest." Story appeared originally in Coffee Times print magazine and appears online for archival purposes only. Any use or reprinting of these stories without the expressed written consent of the author is prohibited.

Copyright ï¿½ 2006 LBD Coffee LLC dba Coffee Times, Kauai, HI 96746 USA How did Captain James Cook die? | Reference.com How did Captain James Cook die? A: Quick Answer Royal Navy Captain James Cook died on February 14, 1779, after he was stabbed in a scuffle with Hawaiian islanders when he attempted to take the local leader hostage. His death occurred during his third exploratory voyage on the HMS Endeavour. Full Answer Cook's third voyage was a failed attempt to find the fabled North-West Passage believed to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. When he could not find the route, he took his two ships and explored the island of Hawaii. Cook and his crew were the first Europeans to ever see Australia, which Cook named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain in 1769. He was hoping to locate the southernmost continent, Antarctica, which had not yet been discovered. How did Captain James Cook die? How did Captain James Cook die? 2010.02.19 | Filed Under: Accomplishments Leave a Comment Incredibly, Captain James Cook soon grew restless.

In July 1776, Cook led two ships, the Resolution and the Discovery, back into the unknown. This time, Cook hoped to find the Holy Grail of explorers, the Northwest Passage through North America. Cook sailed through the Indian Ocean, around Australia, and in among the islands that were by now familiar to him. On January 18, 1778, Cook spotted a string of magnificent islands, rising like green jewels out of the Pacific Ocean. He named them the Sandwich Islands. Today, they are called Hawaii. Cook continued east, sighting the Oregon coast on March 7. He turned north and sailed along the North American coast until he entered the Bering Strait, which separates Asia and North America. No passage broke the coastline. As it had been around Antarctica, Cook’s ship was wrapped in bitter cold. The men shot giant walruses for food. Cook continued into the Arctic and was halted by a wall of ice 12 feet thick. Disappointed but vowing to return, Cook turned back south and arrived in Hawaii on January 17, 1779. This time, Cook encountered a group of Hawaiians who considered him a returning god.

They piled gifts of food at his feet and Cook could do nothing to halt their generosity. But when he realized that the natives were depriving themselves of food for his sake, Cook hastily gave the order to sail. Unfortunately, the next day a storm split the sails and snapped the mast, forcing Cook to return. The natives, who had been angered and betrayed by Cook’s sudden departure, received him coldly and began to steal items from the ships. When a large boat disappeared from the Discovery, Cook stormed ashore with a party of armed men and tried to take the king of Hawaii hostage. A battle took place on the beach, and Cook was stabbed fatally in the back. Saddened but determined to carry on Cook’s mission, his captains returned to the Bering Strait. They were blocked again by ice, forcing them to return to England by sailing back across the Pacific and around the tip of Africa. Thousands in England mourned Cook’s death. The skeleton of Cook’s body was recovered and buried at sea on February 21, 1779.

He was posthumously awarded a coat of arms with the inscription: “He left nothing unattempted.” Read More BBC - History - British History in depth: Captain Cook: Explorer, Navigator and Pioneer Print this page The early years The three major voyages of discovery of Captain James Cook provided his European masters with unprecedented information about the Pacific Ocean, and about those who lived on its islands and shores. His achievements were the more remarkable because of his humble origins in an agricultural labouring family, from Marton, North Yorkshire. ... he intended to go not only 'farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go'. Cook first went to sea at the age of 18. He spent ten years working in the coal trade of the east coast of England - with its shoreline of treacherous, shifting shoals, uncharted shallows, and difficult harbours. In 1755 he joined the Royal Navy, and within two years passed his master's examination to qualify for the navigation and handling of a royal ship.

He gained surveying experience in North American waters during the Seven Years War - as Britain and France fought for supremacy in North America - and spent the first years of peace between 1763 and 1767 charting the fog-shrouded coastline of Newfoundland. During those years he gained a practical training in mathematics and astronomy, and steadily accumulated the technical skills needed to make an effective explorer. The following years were to show that in addition he possessed those less tangible qualities, of leadership, determination and ambition, which made him the outstanding explorer of the 18th century. As he wrote, he intended to go not only 'farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go'. Top The first Pacific voyage Cook's first voyage (1768-71) was a collaborative venture under the auspices of the Admiralty and the Royal Society. The original intention was to organise a scientific voyage to observe the transit of the planet Venus from Tahiti, and this was supplemented by instructions to search for the great southern continent, Terra Australis Incognita, whose location had intrigued and baffled European navigators and projectors since the 16th century.

Captain Cook's voyage around New Zealand and the east coast of Australia © With Lieutenant Cook (as he was at that time) sailed the botanist Joseph Banks, the astronomer Charles Green, and a small retinue of scientific assistants and artists. Cook's ship, the Endeavour, was a bluff-bowed Whitby collier chosen for her strength, shallow draught, and storage capacity. Although the ship was to change, the type did not; the Resolution of the second and third voyages was of the same build, and even came from the same shipyard as the Endeavour, to whose qualities, wrote Cook, 'those on board owe their Preservation. Hence I was enabled to prosecute Discoveries in those Seas so much longer than any other Man ever did or could do.' ... Cook had put more than 5,000 miles of previously unknown coastline on the map.

Cook sailed first to Tahiti to carry out those astronomical observations that were the initial reason for the voyage, before turning south where, his instructions told him, 'there is reason to imagine that a Continent or Land of great extent, may be found.' After reaching latitude 40°S, without sight of land, he sailed west to New Zealand, whose coasts he charted in a little over six months to show that they were not part of a southern continent. From there Cook pointed the Endeavour towards the unexplored eastern parts of New Holland (the name given by the Dutch to Australia in the 17th century). Cook sailed north along the shores of present-day New South Wales and Queensland, charting as he went. After a hair-raising escape from the dangers of the Great Barrier Reef he reached the northern tip of Australia at Cape York, where he annexed the east coast on the grounds that it was terra nullius, no person's land. He then sailed through the Torres Strait, so settling the dispute as to whether New Holland and New Guinea were joined. With only one ship Cook had put more than 5,000 miles of previously unknown coastline on the map.

The twin islands of New Zealand, the east coast of Australia and the Torres Strait had at last emerged from the mists of uncertainty. Top The second Pacific voyage Cook's second voyage (1772-75) was the logical complement to what had been explored, and left unexplored, on his first. Again there were scientists and artists on board, and for the first time chronometers, one of which was Kendall's copy of John Harrison's famous no. 4 marine chronometer. This superb instrument kept accurate time throughout the buffeting it endured on the long voyage, showing that a practical solution to the problem of determining longitude at sea had been found. In his three years away, the newly-promoted Captain Cook disposed of the imagined southern continent, reached closer to the South Pole than any previous navigator, and touched on many lands - Tahiti and New Zealand again, and for the first time Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, Tonga and the New Hebrides. ... on his two voyages he had laid down the essentials of the modern map of the South Pacific. Most of these places had been sighted by explorers on earlier expeditions, so that even by conventional definitions Cook did not 'discover' them for Europe.

His contribution was to bring order to confusion, to replace vagueness and uncertainty with a scrupulous accuracy. He had, he explained, put an end to the search for the great southern continent, 'which has at time ingrossed the attention of some of the Maritime Powers for near two Centuries past and the Geographers of all ages.' But his achievement was more than this, for on his two voyages he had laid down the essentials of the modern map of the South Pacific. Top The third Pacific voyage On his return from his second voyage, Cook found that his fame had spread beyond naval circles. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and awarded its Copley Gold Medal, was painted by Nathaniel Dance, dined with James Boswell, and was described in the House of Lords as 'the first navigator in Europe'. Brief thoughts of retirement were replaced by a determination to return to the Pacific. Cook's third and final voyage (1776-80) had its own logic in that it took him to the North Pacific in an effort to solve a geographical mystery as old as the southern continent - the question of the existence of a navigable north west passage. ...

in a single season Cook put the main outline of the coast of north west America on the maps ... As he approached the north west coast of America in 1778, Cook made the major discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, the northernmost outliers of Polynesia. He spent that summer in hazardous exploration along the American coast from Vancouver Island to the Bering Strait, searching in vain for the wide strait leading to an ice-free Arctic Ocean, as indicated on the speculative maps of the period. Although he found no north west passage, in a single season Cook put the main outline of the coast of north west America on the maps, determined the shape of Alaska well beyond the Bering Strait, and closed the gap between the Spanish coastal probes from the south and those of the Russians from Kamchatka. Did one of Cook's temper tantrums seal his fate? © It was to be his last achievement, for the following winter he was killed on his return to the Hawaiian Islands. His death at Kealakekua Bay on 14 February 1779 has remained a source of scholarly controversy.

During the weeks after his arrival Cook seems to have been regarded by the Hawaiians as the god Lono, bringer of light, peace and plenty, for he had arrived at the time of makahiki, Lono's festival. Cook continued to conform to the sacred calendar of the islanders by sailing away from Hawaii as makahiki came to an end. However, the Resolution got damaged at sea, so that Cook was forced to return to the bay to repair his ship out of the correct season, thus making himself a violator of sacred customs. It was noted that there was an eerie atmosphere among the islanders following his return, and Cook's death after an argument on the beach was predictable if not preordained. Not all accept this interpretation. Some scholars see Cook's 'deification' as the product of a Western, imperialist tradition, and they explain his death as being the result of a row caused by one of his uncontrollable outbursts of temper, which had become increasingly noticeable during the voyage. Top Consequences The circumstances of Cook's death were a reminder that one of his tasks was 'to observe the Genius, Temper, Disposition and Number of the Natives'.

This was easier said than done, for successive migrations across the Pacific had left societies organised in overlapping layers and groups, and the strained nature of the contact between Europeans and non-Europeans made understanding between them all the more difficult. ... the coming of venereal disease, alcohol and firearms brought a depressing train of consequences to the islands. Cook and his fellow navigators of the period were for the most part humane and moderate commanders. Even so, the Europeans were intruders, emerging by the score from their towering vessels, appearing and disappearing without warning, violating sacred sites. An inescapable tension hung over the encounters, sometimes dissipated by individual contacts or trade, but often erupting into violence and death. Although the relationship between Polynesians and Europeans was not the one-sided affair of some portrayals, in the longer term the coming of venereal disease, alcohol and firearms brought a depressing train of consequences to the islands. Cook set new standards in the extent and accuracy of his surveys, but to see his voyages simply in terms of geographical knowledge would be to miss their broader significance. The observations of Cook and his colleagues played an important role in natural history, astronomy, oceanography, philology and much else.

Above all, the voyages helped to give birth in the next century to the new disciplines of ethnology and anthropology. In practical ways, too, Cook set new standards, especially in terms of health. There were no recorded deaths from scurvy on any of his voyages, and few from natural causes generally - except during the Endeavour's disastrous stay at Batavia in 1770, when 30 members of the crew, who had been remarkably healthy until then, died of fever and dysentery. Specialists have corrected the popular view that Cook discovered the cure for scurvy - rather he applied with unusual thoroughness all suggested remedies. He ensured cleanliness and ventilation in the crew's quarters, and insisted on an appropriate diet that included cress, sauerkraut, and a kind of orange extract. Even so, his epitaph in a medical journal claimed that Cook's success in keeping his crews alive 'added more to his fame, and is supposed to have given a more useful lesson to maritime nations, than all the discoveries he ever made'.

Captain Cook Time-line Captain Cook Time-line Cook's Life & Time-line 27 Oct 1728 James Cook is born the son of a casual farm labourer in a tiny cottage in Marton in Cleveland. His father had married Grace Pace at Stainton in Cleveland in 1725 and between 1727 and 1745 they have eight children, four dying in infancy. The eldest, John, is to die later aged just 23 and only James and two sisters Christiana and Margaret live through to adulthood. 1735 With the opportunity of full-time employment the family move to Aireyholme farm near the village of Great Ayton where James' father becomes bailiff. He is employed by Thomas Skottowe of Ayton Hall who owns extensive estates in the area. 1740 Mr Skottowe pays for young James to attend the nearby Postgate School at Great Ayton. Here Cook learns well, especially arithmetic. On leaving school at the age of about twelve, James works on the farm alongside his father and brother for a while.

1744 Cook's proficiency in letters and numbers is such that Mr Skottowe obtains a position for him as an assistant in a general dealers shop belonging to Mr. William Sanderson at Staithes. Here he hears tales of the sea and seamanship and soon Sanderson recognises that Cook's interests lie elsewhere than shopkeeping. 1746 After just eighteen months in Staithes, Sanderson recommends the youngster to a Quaker - John Walker of Whitby a shipowner who runs collier vessels to London and the Baltic. Apprenticed to Captain Walker, Cook goes to sea on the 341 ton coal-carrying ship 'Freelove'. Cook lives in the attic of Walker's house in Grape Lane when ashore, where he studies navigation and the use of nautical instruments. 1752 At the age of 23 Cook is promoted to mate on the 'Friendship', another of Walker's collier vessels. 17 Jun 1755 He declines an offer of the command of the 'Friendship' and volunteers for service as an ordinary seaman with the Royal Navy.

He is drafted to the fourth rate 60 gun ship HMS Eagle where he is soon promoted to master's mate and sees action in the Channel under Captain Hugh Palliser, later to become member of parliament for Scarborough and Cook's lifelong supporter. 30 Jun 1757 Discharged from 'Eagle', Cook now joins HMS Solebay at Leith in Scotland. 27 Oct 1757 Cook, now a 'master', is drafted to HMS Pembroke, part of the squadron under Admiral Boscowen which is sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia in April 1758. The Pembroke crosses the Atlantic in record time but 29 men are lost on the way from scurvy - a fact which is to influence Cook's care for the welfare of his later crews. He was present at the capture of the French base of Louisbourg. There he meets the militaty surveyor Samuel Holland from whom he learns new techniques. His charting of the St. Lawrence leads to the storming of Quebec and the end of French domination in Canada.

Cook remains in eastern Canada carrying out survey work on HMS Northumberland, and when Captain Palliser is appointed Governor of Newfoundland, Cook gets his first command as master of the Grenville his first real survey ship. 21 Dec 1762 Cook marries Elizabeth Batts, thirteen years his junior, at St Margaret's church, Barking in Essex. May 1763 Cook sails to Newfoundland again as surveyor, making accurate surveys of the coast from land & sea, returning to England each winter to draw up and publish his charts. 13 Oct 1763 First son, James, born. (drowned 25/1/1794). 14 Dec 1764 Second son, Nathaniel, born. (drowned 5/10/1780). 1766 Solar eclipse observed at Cape Race. 1767 Only daughter, Elizabeth, born. (died 9/4/1771).

First voyage begins 1 Aug 1768 Commissioned lieutenant, James Cook, sails on his first voyage of discovery on board the Whitby-built HM Bark Endeavour to observe the transit of Venus over the sun's disc in Tahiti, and with secret orders which are to lead him to New Zealand. 26 Aug 1768 Third son, Joseph, born. he dies just a month later on 13 September without Cook ever seeing him. 7 Oct 1769 Cook's cabin boy Nicholas Young is reputed to be the first to spot New Zealand and the point is logged as Young Nick's Head. Cook is aware that the Dutch explorer, Tasman, had sighted New Zealand some 100 years before, but was seen off by Maori and did not land. Cook charts the entire coastline of the country Tasman had seen, and discovers it is two large islands. He is also aware that there is land to the west, whose western, and in part southern and northern shores had been found by the Dutch but whose eastern seaboard was entirely unkown. Leaving New Zealand on roughly the same latitude as the known land had been plotted, Cook sails westwards.

20 April 1770 The eastern seaboard of Australia is sighted at Point Hicks. 28 April 1770 Cook lands in an area he originally charted as Stingray Harbour because of its local occupants, but because of the great profusion of plants and flowers he re-names Botany Bay. He first names the area South Wales, but later changes it to New South Wales He charts the eastern coastline of Australia and continues to New Guinea and Java. 12 Jun 1771 Cook returns to England in Endeavour after two years and 11 months, having travelled some 30,000 miles and charted over 5,000 miles of coastline. 30 Jan 1772 Now a nationally known figure, Cook returns to Whitby for a visit which is to prove his last. He also sees his father's home at Great Ayton for the last time. Later the same year, the family sell the cottage (In 1934 the cottage was transhpped to Australia and it now stands in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne). Cook's father later moves to Redcar to live with his married daughter, now Margaret Fleck.

8 July 1772 Fourth son, George, born. (dies 1 October 1772). Second voyage begins 13 July 1772 The Whitby built HMS Resolution is Cook's chosen vessel for his second voyage of discovery on which he is accompanied by the A dventure, also Whitby built. Cook now a captain is tasked to map out the Great Southern Continent which is believed to lie in the temperate regions of the Southern Ocean. 17 Jan 1773 Cook and 'Resolution' cross the Antarctic Circle for the first time in history. 21 Dec 1773 Second crossing of the Antarctic Circle. 26 Jan 1774 Third crossing of Antarctic Circle takes place, the last. Cook reaches 71°10's sailing further south than any other captain and proves that an inhabitable Great Southern Continent does not exist. The Antarctic Circle is not crossed again for nearly half a century. 1774 'Adventure' returns home, while Cook continues to explore and circumnavigate the South Seas. 30 July 1775 'Resolution' returns with Cook to England after 3 years & 18 days, and anchors at Spithead.

Cook has become the first man ever to have circumnavigated the world in both directions. He is received by King George III. Feb 1776 Cook's memories of the 'Pembroke' crossing help his writing of a paper on 'The preservation of the health of the crews of ships on long voyages' of which he now has great experience. For this he is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and awarded their gold medal. 23 May 1776 Fifth son, Hugh, born. (dies 21/12/1793). Third voyage begins 12 July 1776 Cook's third voyage of discovery is to be his last. He sets sail on his promotion to Post Captain, with 'Resolution' and 'Discovery', the latter not joining up until 1st August. Objectives of the voyage are further exploration of the Pacific and to investigate the presence of an exit from the North West Passage. 1777 Expedition visits New Zealand, Tonga, Tahiti, and Christmas Island. 18 Jan 1778 Cook discovers the Sandwich Islands, now the Hawaiian islands.

7 Feb 1778 The Cook expedition crosses the Pacific eastwards to make landfall off the coast of Oregon. He turns northwards to discover Nootka Sound and British Columbia in his search for an exit from the elusive North West Passage. 25 April 1778 'Resolution' maintains northerly heading to reach Alaska, resting for a while in what Cook charted as Anchorage Bay. 8 Aug 1778 Cook sails into the Bering Straits but foiled by ice, returns due south to Hawaii where he arrives in January 1779 to prepare for another attempt at the North West Passage the next season. 4 Feb 1779 Cook leaves Kealakekua Bay but is forced to return because of a damaged foremast of 'Resolution'. 14 Feb 1779 The theft of a ship's cutter leads Captain Cook to put ashore to demand the return of the boat. The shore party is suddenly attacked by armed warriors and Cook is clubbed and stabbed to death. Two Royal Marines are also killed. After negotiations with the Hawaiians, Captain Clerke, now in command, is able to have parts of Cook's body returned.

All have been scraped clean of flesh and burned in a fire, except some flesh from Cook's thigh, the scalp, and the hands. The hands are preserved with salt, and there are enough identifying marks that they are able to determine that it is Cook's body. The remains are put into a coffin, and with great ceremony are buried at sea in Kealakekua Bay on 21 February. April 1779 James Cook senior dies without learning of the death of his son, and is buried at Marske near Redcar. 22 Aug 1779 Capt. Clerke dies in Kamchatka and is buried there. Lt. Gore assumes command of the expedition. Jan 1780 The Geographic Adventures of Captain Cook - 1728-1779 Captain James Cook The Geographic Adventures of Captain Cook - 1728-1779 Detail of bronze statue Captain James Cook by sculptor Thomas Woolner 1879 in Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images By Matt Rosenberg Updated February 19, 2016. James Cook was born in 1728 in Marton, England.

His father was a Scottish migrant farm worker who allowed James to apprentice on coal carrying boats at the age of eighteen. While working in the North Sea, Cook spent his free time learning math and navigation. This led to his appointment as mate. Searching for something more adventurous, in 1755 he volunteered for the British Royal Navy and took part in the Seven Years War and was an instrumental part of the surveying of the St. Lawrence River, which helped in the capture of Quebec from the French. Cook's First Voyage Following the war, Cook's skill at navigation and interest in astronomy made him the perfect candidate to lead an expedition planned by the Royal Society and Royal Navy to Tahiti to observe the infrequent passage of Venus across the face of the sun. Precise measurements of this event were needed worldwide in order to determine the accurate distance between the earth and sun . Cook set sail from England in August, 1768 on the Endeavor. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge His first stop was Rio de Janeiro , then the Endeavor proceeded west to Tahiti where camp was established and the transit of Venus was measured. After the stop in Tahiti, Cook had orders to explore and claim possessions for Britain.

He charted New Zealand and the east coast of Australia (known as New Holland at the time). From there he proceeded to the East Indies (Indonesia) and across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. It was an easy voyage between Africa and home; arriving in July, 1771. Cook's Second Voyage The Royal Navy promoted James Cook to Captain following his return and had a new mission for him, to find Terra Australis Incognita, the unknown southern land. In the 18th century, it was believed that there was much more land south of the equator than had already been discovered. Cook's first voyage did not disprove claims of a huge landmass near the South Pole between New Zealand and South America . Two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure left in July, 1772 and headed to Cape Town just in time for the southern summer. Captain James Cook proceeded south from Africa and turned around after encountering large amounts of floating pack ice (he came within 75 miles of Antarctica). He then sailed to New Zealand for the winter and in summer proceeded south again past the Antarctic Circle (66.5° South).

By circumnavigating the southern waters around Antarctica, he indisputably determined that there was no habitable southern continent. During this voyage he also discovered several island chains in the Pacific Ocean . After Captain Cook arrived back in Britain in July, 1775, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and received their highest honor for his geographic exploration. Soon Cook's skills would again be put to use. Cook's Third Voyage The Navy wanted Cook to determine if there was a Northwest Passage , a mythical waterway which would allow sailing between Europe and Asia across the top of North America. Cook set out in July of 1776 and rounded the southern tip of Africa and headed east across the Indian Ocean . He passed between the North and South islands of New Zealand (through Cook Strait) and towards the coast of North America. He sailed along the coast of what would become Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska and proceeded through the Bering Straight. His navigation of the Bering Sea was halted by the impassible Arctic ice. Upon yet again discovering that something did not exist, he continued his voyage.

Captain James Cook's last stop was in February, 1779 at the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) where he was killed in a fight with islanders over the theft of a boat. Cook's explorations dramatically increased European knowledge of the world. As a ship captain and skilled cartographer , he filled in many gaps on world maps. His contributions to eighteenth century science helped propel further exploration and discovery for many generations.

Question: Where did Captain James Cook die
Answer: Hawaii