WORLD HISTORY : CAPTAIN COOK
Captain Cook
About the Programme
Cook expert and bestselling author Vanessa Collingridge searches for the man behind the myth as she traces his story in a documentary that is part biography, part travelogue and completely enthralling.
A hero to some, a villain to others, this son of an English farm labourer described more of the globe than any other man in three incredible voyages.
Discover the man and his times. Step back into the 18th century to experience what it was like to navigate uncharted and unknown waters in search of a legendary great southern continent and then a North West Passage through the Arctic ice, as well as to be among the first Europeans to visit exotic Pacific islands like Tahiti.
Tune in on 19th August to watch Captain Cook: A Likely Lad, the first episode in this four-part series. A week later, watch the second part, entitled Taking Command.
A Moment on the Man
The name Captain Cook is synonymous with exploration and discovery. Yet very little is known about the man outside of these references. Who exactly was Captain James Cook?
Born on 27th October 1728 in Marton, a small village in Yorkshire, James Cook’s upbringing was far more pastoral than naval, being raised on the farm his father worked on. This all changed in 1745. The young Cook began work in a grocery store in Staithes, a fishing village near the busy port of Whitby. With exposure to the marine world, Cook turned his hand to sailing, undergoing a sea apprenticeship for a firm of Whitby coal shippers, who traded between North England and London.
Traversing up and down the country for almost a decade did wonders for Cook’s sailing acumen, and indeed his reputation: in 1755 the young sailor was approached by the Royal Navy to join their fleet.
Literally thrown in the deep end, Cook served in the Seven Years’ War against France and then spent five consecutive summers surveying the Newfoundland coast.
Cook’s first major voyage of discovery commenced in 1768, when he was appointed commander of the Endeavour. The initial objective of the trip was to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti, a rare event that measures the distance of the Sun from the Earth. Cook used this hook as the perfect opportunity to explore the region further, turning south to chart the enigmatic coasts of New Zealand and eastern Australia.
With curiosity piqued, Cook made a second voyage between 1772-1775 to chart the Atlantic. It was during this trip that Cook voyaged closer to the South Pole than any other man before him, mapping a plethora of lands from Tonga to South Georgia.
Cook’s third voyage proved his last. Making the first comprehensive study of Northwest America, Cook went onto discover the Hawaiian islands. Alas all was not peaceful in paradise: hostility erupted between his crew and the natives, which quickly spiralled into outright fighting. On 14th February 1779 Cook was attacked by a gang of warriors, whereupon he was beaten and plunged into the sea. Legend withstanding, Cook never rose again.
A Word from the Expert
Vanessa Collingridge, the highly-acclaimed TV presenter and novelist, has spent decades indulging her interest in Captain Cook. Fascinated by exploration and discovery as a young girl, she went on to Oxford University to read Geography. After leaving her full-time job in television in 2001, Collingridge dedicated all her energy to learning about Captain Cook. In 2003 her biography on the explorer was published.
Here Collingridge explains why Captain Cook captured her imagination:
"‘Ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me, but as far as I think it is possible for a man to go.’
Strange encounters; secret, buried histories; cartographic crime; passion and madness - how well do you really know the story of Captain James Cook?
Two hundred years after his death on a Hawaiian beach, the legend of this hero is as strong as ever - but what do we know of the man behind the myth? James Cook was arguably the greatest explorer the world has ever known: in three epic journeys - equivalent in distance to sailing to the moon – he discovered more of the earth’s surface than any other person in history.
Cook’s voyages of exploration filled in about a third of the world map. He helped to conquer the fatal disease of scurvy; he pioneered the art of scientific navigation; his maps were so accurate that we’re still using some today! He also exploded the greatest myth of his day: the existence of a ‘Great Southern Continent’, full of precious metals, silks, spices and wondrous civilisations that rumoured to lie at the bottom of the world.
However, the story of the real James Cook – a story as great as his epic voyages - has never been told. In this intimate biography of one of the icons of maritime and British history, Captain Cook explores the inner world of James Cook as well as his famous public achievements.
The book – and now the award-winning TV series – follows the remarkable rise and fall of the great mariner from his very humble birth to his public glory and private demons in a tale of obsession and betrayal, discovery and hidden secrets. The viewer is taken on their own exciting journey from Britain and North America to Australia and the South Pacific, revealing the true story of ambition, exploration and Empire in 18th Century Britain."
Extract from the Book
"One day, the young James led a group of boys to the summit of the hill where he could name every village and hamlet in the vista below. When it came to going back down again, the boys elected to go one way but James was adamant about going the other. What's more, he would not only go down his way but he would be first to reach the bottom! Even when all the boys went the other way, he continued on his path with the characteristic single-mindedness and determination that would mark him out for life. This was typical of young James - but what happened next taught him that exploring alone was not without its dangers. He saw a jackdaw flying into a nest wedged in a crack in the rock and, following it up the crag, he grabbed on to a sapling, pulled himself up to the nest, collected some of its eggs which he put in his cap, then he put the cap in his teeth and began to climb back down. However, this proved rather more dangerous than he had imagined: the sapling he was holding on to suddenly began to come loose from the rocks and he slid perilously down the crag. Luckily, he was not alone on the hill: a soldier on watch for signs of Jacobite invasion from Scotland heard the cry and Cook was rescued, somewhat chastened no doubt, but allegedly having lost none of his courage or adventurous spirit."
Captain Cook, Vanessa Collingridge; Published in 2003 by Ebury Press
Competition
This comprehensive novel gives readers a real insight into the man as both an individual and an explorer.
We have ten copies of the book to give away. For your chance to win a copy, click here.