Captain Cook discovered Australia and New Zealand, which opened the Pacific Age.

A long time ago, even in ancient Greece, the so-called southern continent problem has been the focus of scholars' long-term discussion. There is a theory that there are many continents in the northern hemisphere, so from the perspective of balancing the weight of the earth, there should also be a large area of land in the southern hemisphere. Otherwise, due to the imbalance of the earth, the rotation of the earth will inevitably swing from side to side, but in fact, the rotation of the earth has been very stable, so it can be guessed that there must be a southern continent.

At that time, it was the climax of the western development. In order to find and occupy this imaginary continent before other countries and expand the territory of the British Empire, the British government sent Cook to the sea to search for this mysterious southern continent.

1768 (thirty-three years of Qianlong) On August 25th, 39-year-old Cook and his crew set sail from England on the long-distance ship Endeavour. For Cook, this voyage is no less difficult than modern people exploring the moon or Mars. He will lead Endeavour to sail thousands of miles across the vast ocean, looking for a piece of land only 20 miles away from Fiona Fang.

Cook and Endeavour

At that time, the steam engine and generator had not been invented, just a legend. There is no navigation equipment such as GPS. This famous fully assembled ship in the history of human exploration is actually only 97 feet (29.8 meters) long, which is less than the length of two and a half 40-foot containers now.

During the voyage, dangerous storms will suddenly appear without warning, and some unknown life forms are waiting in the depths of the ocean. But the voyage was a great success. Cook ordered the crew to sail south for five months. 1769 10 arrived in New Zealand on17 October, setting a record for the first time that a European ship sailed around New Zealand. He used a longitude measuring instrument to draw a large number of maps for the Pacific islands between New Zealand and Hawaii. The accuracy and scale of the maps are incomparable to those of predecessors. Later, the strait between the two islands of New Zealand was also named "Cook Strait".

Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to set foot on New Zealand soil. Later, people who fished seals and whales also came here, and missionaries quickly followed, and settlements began to be gradually established. New Zealand became a British colony after Britain immigrated to New Zealand in large numbers.

The following is Cook's diary:

1770 March 3 1

There are many kinds of fish in the high seas, bays and rivers, most of which are unknown to the British. And lobster, which is said to be the best. Oysters and other shellfish are also the best of their kind. Seabirds and waterfowl, no matter what kind, are not many. Europeans know ducks, cormorants, gannets and seagulls. We have eaten all these and they are delicious. Impeccable. There's nothing better. The number of land birds is also very small. I believe that all land birds except quail have never been seen in Europe. "

On April 20th, 1770, I finally arrived in Australia. Until April 29th, Endeavour finally landed in a suitable bay. There are many new plants around the bay that are not found in Europe, so Cook named it "Plant Bay". This day has also become the anniversary of Captain Cook's landing in Australia. The landing place is Botany Bay in Sydney, which will become a fascinating tourist attraction in the future.

Botany Bay in Sydney

Cook led the crew to become the first Europeans to land on the east coast of Australia, named the east coast of Australia "New South Wales" and declared that the Australian mainland belonged to Britain in the name of King George III. This is New South Wales on the east coast of Australia today, and it is still the most populous and industrially developed area in China.

177 13 July 13, Endeavour finally returned to England after three years of sailing. During this voyage, they added more than 5000 miles of coastline to the world map. There were 94 people at the time of departure, and only a dozen people were left after returning. Captain Cook's Pacific exploration made Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii known to civilized society and gradually became a part of the world. The map of the world has thus expanded by 8 million square kilometers. Soon, the world entered the Pacific Age.

The following year, Cook embarked on a second voyage and continued to explore the rumored "unknown southern continent" (Antarctica), because Australia was obviously too small to balance the land in the northern hemisphere.

After three years, the voyage successfully sailed to the sea near the South Pole at 7 1 degree south latitude, becoming the southernmost point that navigators have been to in the whole18th century. However, Cook, who didn't find Antarctica, decided to turn back at this time because of the bad weather environment, which dashed the hope of finding the mysterious continent. In addition to the Antarctic, Cook also made a detour in the South Pacific, visiting Easter Island, Tonga, norfolk island and other places, during which he also crossed an unnamed island reef, which was later named "Cook Islands".

1776- 1779, Cook's third voyage was his last. Cook's fleet sailed past the Prince of Wales on August 8, 778, and entered the Bering Strait. A few days later, it sailed into the Arctic Circle on August 14. This is the northernmost place that Cook has been to, but it was also at this time that Cook had to decide to return to the south because he was blocked by icebergs and frozen sea. Prepare for the winter and then go to Beihang University.

The bronze statue of Captain Cook in Australia.

The replica of Endeavour is permanently docked in Sydney Harbour.

Cook should not be the first European to arrive in Hawaii, but he was the first person to accurately mark the Hawaiian islands on the map, so he was regarded as the discoverer of Hawaii. Cook and his party returned to Hawaii to have a rest. At that time, it was not a tourist attraction. There are no lovely girls dancing hula, no coconut milk, only dark-skinned and hostile aborigines. The islanders not only refused to replenish food and prohibited them from cutting down wood, but also robbed them of their belongings. The ship of Discovery was also stolen by local islanders. Cook's fleet had an armed conflict with local aborigines, and Cook, who was only 50 years old, was unfortunately stabbed to death with a spear, ending his maritime adventure career.

Captain Cook is widely regarded as the father of Australia. 1934, on the occasion of the 0/00th anniversary of the founding of Melbourne, Australia/kloc-0, Cook House was demolished and moved to Melbourne, Australia for permanent preservation. In 2002, Captain Cook was ranked 12 in the British Top 100 Great Men Election organized by BBC.