Another book: Farther Than Any Man
Farther Than Any Man
The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook
There have been many books written about Captain James Cook, but this is my first look at the life and times of Cook. It's an interesting perspective of an American writer's coverage of the life of British explorer Captain James Cook. I was hoping for a read as riveting as Lansing's Endurance - the story of Ernest Shackleton's big Antarctic adventure. Not really the same thing, but no less intriguing.
At first I was put off by the idea that an non-British author wrote the book, but maybe the result is a more honest, less worshipping account. That is my guess; I can't really say for sure, since I haven't read any other works on Cook (other than grade school history and Wikipedia).
He started out as the son of a farmer - James Cook Sr. - a farm foreman of a wealthy man's large farm in northern England near the North Sea. It was a decent life, very comfortable for a person of the lower class. The owner of the farm paid for his schooling, and then he spent some time working in a shop in a fishing village. From there he started a career in the merchant fleet, and worked his way up to first mate, and was earmarked to captain his first ship at age 26.
But the lure of the Royal Navy was irresistible, so just as he was about to make the big time (and be set for life), he quit the merchant fleet and enlisted with the Royal Navy as an able seaman. However, because of his years of experience in the merchant fleet, his capability, knowledge, physical size and self-confidence, he rose through the ranks quickly. To his great disadvantage, his position in the British class system meant that there was a limit - he could never become an officer. That just never happened in the Royal Navy.
Cook became a master's mate in just a month. Aboard HMS Eagle, he served under a Captain Palliser, who just happened to come from the same area as Cook in the north of England. Palliser saw that Cook was trained as a surveyor and cartographer, and was promoted to Warrant Officer, and soon after that to Master - the highest possible rank of an enlisted man in the RN.
But Cook didn't stop there; he was thrust into large events, and served aboard HMS Pembroke to fight the French in Quebec - where he mapped the St. Lawrence in preparation for the attack on Quebec City. While under threat from French guns, he provided the maps needed for the sneak attack at the Plains of Abraham - and even gave suggestions to General Wolfe. He returned to England a hero, and was given the task of mapping the island of Newfoundland, and after that came the perfect opportunity.
First command was HMS Grenville, in which he surveyed and mapped the island of Newfoundland over the course of 5 summers. So accurate and complete, the map was used commonly until after World War 2.
Cook had a handful of allies and rivals, including:
Palliser - Royal Navy captain during the seven-years war, War of the Austrian Succession and the American War of Independence, and later governor of Newfoundland. A very important ally for Cook.
Sandwich - politically powerful long-time supporter of Cook - twice First Lord of the Admiralty. Arranged a commission for Cook as First Lieutenant. Another key ally.
Banks - a rival of Cook - aristocrat, scientist, playboy, president of the Royal Society for decades - wanted to lead Endeavour’s first mission as a civilian, with authority over Captain Cook, but did not get the authority he wanted.
Dalrymple - a rival of Cook - Fellow of the Royal Society, and writer/geographer for the Admiralty - wanted to have authority over Cook as well, but was refused.
Cook’s second command was Endeavour - he supervised the refitting and provisioning for the entire time it took. The ship was in excellent shape, well provisioned, and well crewed. Cook was a technically excellent captain, and a benevolent leader, rarely resorting to corporal punishment. On the first voyage, Cook and crew in Endeavour sailed to discover the “unknown southern land” and to view the transit of Venus across the sun on 3/4 June 1769 from Tahiti in the southern hemisphere.
The Venus transit part of the expedition was a success, and while searching for the “unknown land”, he surveyed New Zealand in great detail. Conditions were unfavorable in the quest to determine if Tasmania was part of the “unknown land” and they had to sail north around Australia. Another victory was the absence of scurvy due to the provisioning of fruit and sauerkraut. Unfortunately, some 30 crew died of malaria and dysentery during maintenance and provisioning lay-overs in the West Indies.
Cook’s second voyage (on Resolution) was intended to sail as far south as possible to find the “unknown southern land” that many in the Royal Society thought must exist. On this voyage, he discovered the South Sandwich islands, which he named after his supporter - he did his best to go as far south as possible to discover what lay down there. Unfortunately he picked the wrong latitudes to try - he made quite an effort, sailing as far south as the ship could bear (on two occasions), but had to quit the effort or lose the ship to pack ice.
Cook’s third and final voyage took place after his fame had gotten the best of him. While for the first voyages he took great interest in the preparations undertaken on the ships, for the third voyage, he was quite lax in that area, paying more attention to his social status. The result was a poorly prepared (and leaky!) ship that had to stop more than once for repairs. His temperament had also changed by the third voyage - while earlier, he was very interested in the welfare of his crew (one of the first Royal Navy captains to completely eliminate scurvy on a long voyage), now he was less interested in the crew’s welfare, and far more interested in achieving goals, and topping his previous two highly successful voyages. He became short with the crew, and grew quick to temper, lashing out at them (literally), where he rarely did before.
Cook died on the last mission, while attempting to force his will on the Hawaiian natives when a shore-party sortie went sour. His men had superior weapons of course, but were overwhelmed. He was killed, his body taken, and his hands returned the next day - he was cannibalized. In a variety of ways, he lost focus on this voyage, and paid the ultimate price. A very unsuitable ending for such a great and accomplished man.
Dugard’s book is what the title says - the rise and fall of Cook, and that is what happened. It was a terribly good read; highly recommended if you’re interested in this period in history.
8/10
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