James Cook And The Exploration Of The Pacific

Preface by Adrienne L. Kaeppler
Foreword by Robert Fleck

‘Let us look at the most important object of our researches, at our own species … their customs, their modes of life and dress, their religion, their ideas of science and works of art, in short everything that was collected by Cook for his contemporaries and for posterity’ Johann Reinhold Forster, Cook’s companion on his second voyage

Captain James Cook's penetration into the vast spaces of the Pacific changed Europe’s view of the world.

Exploration in order to gain knowledge was a key characteristic of the Enlightenment, and it is thanks to Cook and the botanists, scholars and artists who accompanied him that Europeans received the first reliable maps and the earliest images and surveys of the flora and fauna of the Pacific Islands.

This book documents Cook’s three voyages and reproduces around 500 ethnographic and natural history items gathered by him and his team. These are supplemented by magnificent paintings and drawings that offer a rare insight into the explorers’ euphoric yet curious view of the exotic South Sea landscapes and peoples. Reproductions of original sea charts and navigation instruments add fascinating insight into the voyages.