Table of Contents
At the age of 18 Cook underwent an eight year apprenticeship as a mariner and in 1755 was offered the position of ships’ master by John Walker, to whom he had been apprenticed. Vanessa Collingridge relates that Cook’s reason for joining the navy was that he “had a mind to try his fortune”.
Cook worked on a Yorkshire farm in his youth before winning an apprenticeship with a merchant sailing company at age 17. He was being groomed to become a captain, but in 1755, he shocked his superiors by quitting his merchant sailing career and enlisting in the British Royal Navy as a common seaman.
When did James Cook join the Royal Navy?
June 1755
James Cook joined the Royal Navy in June 1755 at Wapping in East London as an ordinary seaman and, as there was a large shortage of seamen in the area, he was immediately sent to Spithead to join His Majesty’s Ship Eagle.
Why was James Cook important?
James Cook was a naval captain, navigator and explorer who, in 1770, charted New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia on his ship HMB Endeavour. Cook’s voyages helped guide generations of explorers and provided the first accurate map of the Pacific.
How did James Cook influence people?
At his death, Cook had charted thousands of miles of coastline around the world and solved several mysteries of the South Pacific. He did all that and along the way lost only a few men to scurvy, a rampant problem at the time, by encouraging his sailors to eat their fruits and veggies.
When did Captain James Cook go to Australia?
Australia: The British. …the three voyages of Captain James Cook on behalf of the British Admiralty. The first, that of the HMS Endeavour, left England in August 1768 and had its climax on April 20, 1770, when a crewman sighted southeastern Australia.
Why did James Cook join the Royal Navy?
As between the two services there might seem to be no possible claim that the navy had on the rational man. If such a man, for his own purposes, wanted a different sort of ship from colliers, or a longer voyage than those of the coal or Baltic trades, he could join an Atlantic vessel, or enter the service of the East India Company.
Who was the captain of Captain James Cook’s ship?
When Cook joined the ship at Spithead, it had just come out of Portsmouth Dockyard after recommissioning. It also needed some repairs after a storm damaged it while in Portsmouth dockyard. The captain of the Eagle was Joseph Hamar, an officer with a sound if somewhat undistinguished history.
When did James Cook become captain of the Endeavour?
Jason, thank you for your interesting question, the answer to which is that James Cook never held the rank of Captain. He was appointed Lieutenant on 18 May 1768, before embarking on the Endeavour voyage (1768-1771). On returning from that voyage he was promoted to Commander on 11 August 1771.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2U4k77TP6A