318 Pacific exploration/annexation orders to find the Great Southern Continent and claim it for Britain He was accompanied by Captain Philip Carteret in the H.M.S Swallow On June 28, 1767, after navigating the Strait of Magellan, the Dolphin discovered the island of Tahiti, where they were met by hundreds of Tahitians in canoes After establishing friendly relations with the curious Tahitians, Wallis docked in Matavi Bay However, the natives decided they were under attack and began pelting the ship with stones Wallis responded with gunfire, destroying at least 50 canoes Afterwards, the Tahitians brought out young girls to entice the sailors back to the beach Satisfied that the danger was past, trading began in earnest, with the English trading nails for young girls, chicken, fruit, and hogs Wallis was forced to confine his men to the ship to keep them away from the girls In May 1768 officials in London learned of Wallis’s discovery of this new tropical paradise CAPTAIN COOK Of all British explorers who traveled the Pacific in the 18th century, Captain James Cook was the best known and most respected In 1768 King George III chose Cook to lead a geographical and scientific expedition in which the Royal Society planned to observe an upcoming phenomenon that involved the planet Venus passing between the Earth and the Sun Scientists predicted that observations of this phenomenon would provide the information needed to calculate the exact distance from the Earth to the Sun Since Tahiti was believed to be an ideal spot for observing the event, Cook traveled there He was also charged with exploring the coast of New Zealand and continuing the search for the Great Southern Continent Consequently, Cook became the first navigator to explore the area of the Pacific Ocean that lies between New Zealand and South America He made three separate voyages to the Pacific between 1768 and 1779, and his accomplishments include disproving the existance of the mythical southern continent, discovering the Hawaiian Islands, claiming parts of Australia for Britain, charting the 300-mile area from Oregon to beyond the Bering Strait, and providing the first comprehensive map of the Pacific On his first journey to the Pacific as captain of the Endeavour, Cook worked for half pay because he was not as experienced as other navigators who had sought the assignment Cook’s entourage was made up of 119 individuals, including 11 passengers The most amazing thing about Cook’s journey was that he did not lose a single individual to scurvy, which was considered the plague of long oceangoing voyages Avoiding the mistakes of earlier navigators, Cook stocked the Endea- vour with a variety of foods that included portable soups, sauerkraut, onions, evaporated milk, vinegar, lemon juice, and all sorts of vegetables and fruits Initially, Cook followed the path established by previous navigators, traveling along the Strait of le Maire to sail between Tierra del Fuego and Staten Island From there, Cook sailed westward By the time, the Endeavour reached Tahiti, Cook and his passengers had traveled some 5,000 miles On June 3, 1769, with the assistance of three telescopes, the scientists were able to observe Venus as it crossed between the Earth and the Sun Cook remained in Tahiti for three months and then sailed south into unknown territory, eventually hoisting the flag over the Society Islands Over a six-month period, Cook and his crew navigated the coast of New Zealand, charting a 2,400-mile area while being besieged by hostile aborigines and severe storms On April 28, 1770, the Endeavour anchored at Botany Bay in Australia, allowing Cook to chart and name the area’s various islands and bays When they reached the 80,000-square-mile area known as the Great Barrier Reef, which reached from the tropic of Capricorn to the coast of New Guinea, the Endeavour struck a reef After repairing the ship, Cook set out for the East Indies Thirty-eight members of the crew were lost to malaria and dysentery over the coming months Nevertheless, by the time Cook returned to England, he had added a considerable amount of land to the British Empire On July 13, 1772, Cook again set sail with orders to circumnavigate Antarctica and settle the question of whether or not another continent existed The Resolution and the Adventure set out together, and Cook’s plan was to continue sailing southward after traversing the area between Madeira and the Cape of Good Hope This was the first voyage to circumnavigate the Earth from west to east Cook also became the first navigator to cross the Antarctic Circle, discovering thousands of islands along the way His journey included extensive explorations of Easter Island, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, the Marquesas, and the Isle of Pine The Resolution arrived at Spithead on July 30, 1775 In honor of his explorations, Captain Cook was named Commander Cook After Captain Cook’s exploration of the southernmost continent laid to rest the question of whether or not an unidentified continent still existed, Cook shifted his focus north and renewed his attempts to find the elusive Northwest Passage, which could decrease travel time between Britain and the East Indies On July 12, 1776, the Resolution again set sail with instruc-