Captain Cook Discovers the Ends of the Earth
Overview
Almost half the globe was a mystery before James Cook began his voyages. By the time he was finished, it was clear that there were no large landmasses left to be discovered on the planet. He proved that the legendary southern continent, terra australis, did not exist and showed that there was no practical Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Cook also discovered Hawaii, New Caledonia, and many other remote islands. He was the first recorded individual to travel below the Antarctic Circle. His voyages made major contributions to science, especially botany, and helped establish good nutrition as the way to prevent scurvy.
Background
All the inhabited continents had been discovered before Captain James Cook (1728-1779) began his three major voyages of discovery, but nobody knew this fact. Large portions of the Southern Hemisphere remained unexplored. Maps showed blank space or terra australis, a legendary southern continent filled with fantasy creatures.
Symmetry was one of the main arguments for the southern continent. Should not there be as much land in the Southern Hemisphere as in the Northern? The known landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere only amounted to about aquarter of those of the Northern.
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