On the World’s Seas and Oceans - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 36

underwrite the origins of Britain's Far East Empire. Drake was the first commander to com-
plete a journey around the world. And his success drew in its wake a string of other cap-
tains eager for the Pacific's gold and glory. As they pursued their dreams, they discovered
many if not most of the ocean's 70,000 islands and filled in the Pacific's map.
Figure 3.5. Sir Francis Drake
(Library of Congress)
JAMES COOK
The greatest of the Pacific's explorers is James Cook (1728-79). An officer in the Royal
Navy, Cook commanded three long Pacific voyages of scientific discovery.
Cook solved, almost single-handed, most of the remaining mysteries of the world's
largest expanse of water; he added new islands and landmasses to the charts; he familiar-
ized himself with the wind and current patterns of previously untraveled oceans; and he
kept his ship free of scurvy and fever throughout months at sea. [32]
Cook began the navy's practice of carrying scientists aboard their ships to measure,
catalog, and draw the marvels of newfound lands. On his first voyage, from 1768-71,
he circumnavigated Tahiti and discovered and charted (made maps of) New Zealand. He
charted the east coast of Australia and nearly lost his ship on the rocks of the Great Bar-
rier Reef. As the ship began to sink, “Cook reacted swiftly and with characteristic cool-