ENDEAVOUR: official copy of journal kept by Captain James Cook. Voyage of discovery, South Indian Ocean. 1768 May 27-1771 July 10. Catalogue ref: ADM 55/40.

ENDEAVOUR: official copy of journal kept by Captain James Cook. Voyage of discovery, South Indian Ocean. 1768 May 27-1771 July 10. Catalogue ref: ADM 55/40.

ENDEAVOUR: official copy of journal kept by Captain James Cook. Voyage of discovery, South Indian Ocean. 1768 May 27-1771 July 10. Catalogue ref: ADM 55/40.

SECRET LETTERS. ADM 2/1332

Chart of New Zealand drawn by Cook during his first voyage, around 1770.

CO 700/NEWZEALAND1: New Zealand by Lt James Cook, Commander of the Endeavour c1770, Catalogue Ref: CO 700/NEWZEALAND1

The oldest known Māori map of New Zealand, drawn by Tooka-Titter-anue Wari-Ledo in 1793.

Chart of New Zealand drawn by Tooka-Titter-anue Wari-Ledo [Tuki Tahua], 1793. Catalogue Ref: MPG 1/532/5

[West is at the top of the map. North Island (right), where Tuki lived, is drawn larger than South Island, which he had never visited].

In June 1769, James Cook opened an envelope containing secret instructions from King George III. Cook was in Tahiti, having led the expedition to observe the transit of Venus across the sun by astronomer Charles Green and others.

These secret instructions revealed that there was a second mission: to find the mysterious alleged southern continent ‘Terra Australis’, and claim it for Britain.

Cook set sail southward. From 1769 to 1770, he would reach and chart what are now New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. While he never found ‘Terra Australis’ – which was thought to cover the entire southern hemisphere – his voyage had long-lasting consequences for the places he visited and led to the formation of the modern countries Australia and New Zealand. Although they were inhabited, Cook charted and claimed the places he visited in the name of his country, which led to their occupation and colonisation by Great Britain. The first penal colony in Australia was established in 1788 in Botany Bay, a place originally named and described by Cook. Today, Australia and New Zealand are still part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Use this lesson to explore extracts from Cook’s original journal with other documents to find out what happened. What was the impact of his voyage on Britain and on the Indigenous peoples of the places he arrived at?

Click on this map to trace Cook’s voyage and see the location of each source in this lesson. Read an accessible description of the map here.

In 1768, Captain James Cook set out on a voyage from England to the South Pacific Ocean, a joint initiative between the Admiralty and the Royal Society, which was commissioned by King George III. Cook and his men travelled on the HMS Endeavour from 1768 to 1771.

The official reason for the voyage was to observe the transit of Venus in 1769 from Tahiti. The transit of Venus takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a bigger planet. The hope was that by observing it, astronomers would be able to measure the size of the solar system.

However, this was not the government’s only aim. Cook had received a second set of instructions marked ‘Secret’, which he was to open after observing the transit. These instructions told him to travel southward to search for a large, undiscovered continent that might lie in the South Pacific.

This continent, called ‘Terra Australis’ (Latin for ‘South Land’), had been theorised to exist for many centuries, even appearing on world maps. It was theorised to be very, very large – much larger than the lands that Cook would eventually come to.

If Cook were to find this Southern continent, the secret instructions told him to chart its coasts, build an alliance with its people, get as much information as he could about them, and claim any useful land for Great Britain.

These instructions were kept secret to avoid other European powers finding out about his search. European countries were competing with each other for dominance by claiming and colonising land all over the globe to build their empires. In fact, the Netherlands had already claimed the western coast of Australia (‘New Holland’) in 1664, although without the knowledge of what lay beyond and without settling in the region.

After opening his secret instructions in Tahiti, Cook set out southward, not knowing what he would find. He eventually reached the coast of what is now New Zealand and charted its entire outline. After that, he reached and charted the eastern coast of what is now Australia. Despite meeting many of the inhabitants, he claimed both New Zealand and eastern Australia in the name of King George III.

Cook travelled with many different men. One of the most notable people on the journey was Joseph Banks, a wealthy British botanist and President of the Royal Society. He accompanied Cook to collect botanical specimens, bringing around 30,000 specimens home. Banks would eventually advocate directly for British colonisation of Australia, and would advise the government on Australian matters.

Some of the most significant, yet unnamed people that feature in Cook’s journals are the Indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, Cook encountered many Māori groups, including people who were killed by his men such as Ngāti Oneone leader Te Maro and Rongowhakaata leader Te Rakau. In Australia, Cook and his men first landed on Gweagal country in Dharawal land, shooting at the Gweagal men they encountered. They encountered many other Australian Aboriginal peoples throughout the rest of the voyage.

Partly as a result of Cook’s charts and claims to the land, and the knowledge gained from the voyage, both New Zealand and eastern Australia (later the entire country) would become part of the British Empire. Australia became a penal colony in 1788, just 17 years after Cook’s voyage ended. Over the next 80 years, 158,702 convicts arrived in Australia from England and Ireland, as well as 1,321 from other parts of the Empire. New Zealand did not become a formal British colony until 1840. In the centuries since colonisation, Indigenous peoples in both countries have faced loss of land, cultural dispossession, discrimination, legal barriers, and a sharp decline in population.

Australia became nominally independent in 1901 and New Zealand in 1907. Both countries still have the British Monarch as their Head of State.

Extract from the Great Roll of the Pipe for the thirteenth year of the reign of King John, A.D 1210-1211. Catalogue Ref: E 372/57, m. 22

Letter to the Constable of Bristol ordering the imprisonment of Jews. Catalogue Ref: C66/10, m. 10

Letter to the Constable of Bristol ordering that Isaac son of Jurnet is delivered to the Tower of London. Catalogue Ref: C66/10, m. 10