James Cook: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:03, 11 November 2005

Revision as of 01:09, 11 November 2005

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==Early Life==

James Cook was born in relatively humble circumstances at [[Marton,_Middlesbrough|Marton]] in [[North Yorkshire]], near what is today recognised as the town of [[Middlesbrough]]. Cook was one of five children born to a local woman and a [[Scotland|Scottish]] immigrant farm labourer, Grace and James Sr. As a child, Cook moved with his family to a farm at [[Great Ayton]] where he was educated at the local school, his studies financed by his father's employer. At 13 he began work with his father, now as the farm's manager.

In [[1745]] when he was 16, Cook left home to be apprenticed in a [[grocer]]/[[haberdasher]]y in the fishing village of [[Staithes]]. According to legend, Cook first felt the lure of the [[sea]] while gazing out the shop window.

After about a year and a half in Staithes, the shop's owner of the shop(Mr Anderson) found James unsuited to the trade. Mr Anderson took James to the nearby port town of [[Whitby]] and introduced him to John and Henry Walker. John and Henry were prominent local ship-owners and [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]], and were in the coal trade business. Cook was taken on as a [[merchant navy]] apprentice in their small fleet of vessels plying coal along the English coast. His first assignment was aboard the [[collier]] ''Freelove'', and he spent several years on this, and various other [[Coastal trading vessel|coasters]] sailing between [[River Tyne, England|the Tyne]] and [[London]].

For this new apprenticeship, Cook applied himself to the study of [[algebra]], [[trigonometry]], [[navigation]], and [[astronomy]], skills he would need one day to command his own ship.

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His three-year apprenticeship completed, Cook began working on trading ships in the [[Baltic Sea]]. He soon progressed through the merchant navy ranks, starting with his [[1752]] promotion to Mate (officer in charge of navigation) aboard the collier [[brig]] ''Friendship''. In [[1755]] he was offered command of this vessel, but within the month he volunteered for service in the British [[Royal Navy]].

In [[1755]], The Kingdom of Great Britain was re-arming for what was to become the [[Seven Years War]]. Cook saw that his career could advance more quickly in the military service. However, Thisthis necessitatedrequired starting over in the naval hierarchy, and on [[June 17]] he began as [[Able Seaman|able-bodied seaman]] aboard [[HMS Eagle|HMS ''Eagle'']] under the command of Captain [[Hugh Palliser]]. He was very quickly promoted to Master's Mate.

==Family Life==