The English seafarer and the talented cartographer James Cook is known for the geographical discoveries. Life of the captain was full of adventures, but the destiny him was tragic. During another expedition to the Pacific Ocean the fearless researcher died by hand local natives.
James Cook is a seafarer and the cartographer
Future captain Cook was born and grew up in England. Since young years little James dreamed of the sea and travel. For the first time he tried the hand as the sailor at the age of nineteen years. Having accumulated experience, Cook came on service to the royal military fleet and more than once performed responsible tasks on a research of distant lands and drawing up sea charts. Cartographic materials, carefully and accurately made by Cook, were so good that several decades were used in seafaring.
James Cook happened to make three sea expeditions which brought him glory and a celebrity. He opened and described a set of the islands and archipelagoes located in southern latitudes. The captain Cook studied the coast of Australia and New Zealand in detail. During the wanderings the Great Barrier Reef was discovered by them. Cook also made attempt to find the mysterious southern continent.
Contemporaries noted that the captain Cook differed in very tolerant and correct attitude towards the population of those lands which opened and visited. He developed quite tough rules of communication with natives and demanded from the team of their strict observance. For example, he received products and necessities for the expedition from natives only at equivalent exchange for goods necessary to them.
As the captain Cook died
During the third and last expedition James Cook explored including the Hawaiian Islands which are nowadays belonging to the USA. Cook arrived here to the heat of the festivals devoted to local gods. Its vessels needed under repair. Superstitious natives, having caught sight of the exotic big ships, first decided that to them gods who heard laudatory songs and prayers went down from the sky. But fears and nervousness of Hawaiians settled. Soon the first acquaintance which became for representatives of both cultures strong shock took place. First inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands showered strangers with various gifts. Natives with interest observed, in style repair the ships. In other days was going to look for repair work at up to two thousand locals. Gradually natives understood that before them the mere mortals who do not have any relation to deities. Between them and guests because of the ocean the conflicts began to arise. Small thefts from Hawaiians became a reason for quarrels. During one of the large conflicts the captain Cook made the careless decision to take hostage one of local leaders. Citizens of the local kinglet gathered, intending to fight off strangers of the governor. Europeans made a shot from a ship board for intimidation of attackers, but it provoked natives even more, having provoked a full-scale skirmish. During this armed conflict James Cook was also killed. Hawaiians had a custom to dismember a body of the killed enemy. But the existing legend of the fact that "natives ate Cook", most likely, represents fiction. Islanders gave a part of remains of the unfortunate captain upon the demand of British aboard the ship for burial. So life of the famous researcher of the southern seas came to the end.