Captain James Cook (1728-1779) is best known for his three voyages to the Pacific (1768-71; 1772-75; and 1776-79). His discoveries radically changed the western understanding of the world in the late 18th century. He was the first to circumnavigate and chart New Zealand and provided the earliest European accounts of exploration along the eastern coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. On February 14th, 1779, he was killed on Hawaii after attempting to kidnap the chief of the island.

Many contemporary accounts of Cook’s voyages, including charts and engravings, appeared in the late 18th century. The first official account of Cook’s first voyage was published in 1773 by John Hawkesworth in Volumes II and III of An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere... William Strahan and Thomas Cadell published the first official accounts of the second and third voyages in 1777 and 1784. Accounts of his exploration were subsequently translated into French, German, and Dutch.

An attractive group of maps showing areas in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean discovered by Captain Cook on his journeys.

1) Chart of the Society Isles Discovered by Captn. Cook is dated 1769 and features the Leeward group of the Society Islands (Tahiti), Tupai, Maupiti, Bora Bora, Tahaa and Huahine with all the harbors named. There is some faint foxing (13.75 x 8.5").
2) Christmas Island... is a chart of the island of Kiritimati in the Pacific Ocean, discovered by Cook on Christmas Eve, 1777. At that time it was uninhabited, it is now populated by Gilbertese, a Micronesian people who take their name from another British sea captain, Thomas Gilbert, who explored the group in 1788. Engraved by T. Bowen. There is faint irregular toning (11.7 x 8.5").
3) Views on the Coast of Asia shows six coastal views of the Siberian coast and the Kamschatka Peninsula. There are a few light spots and one tear that just enters the top neatline (13.8 x 8.4").

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Condition: B+

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