How to cite this page Comment citer cette page

Cook, James

Person

Media metadata | Métadonnées multimédias
James Cook
has biography | a une biographie
British colonial explorer, cartographer and naval officer in the eighteenth century.

Cook is most well know for his three voyages (1768-1771; 1772-1775; 1776-1779) in the Pacific Ocean, which set off British colonial expansion into the region. During his first voyage, Cook's first encounter with the Māori people in New Zealand ended in the deaths of nine Māori. In 1779, during his third and final voyage, Cook was killed trying to take Kalaniʻōpuʻu hostage, who was the ruling chief (aliʻi nui) of the island of Hawaii at the time.

The legacy of Cook's expeditions, and in particular its consequences for the indigenous people of the Pacific Ocean, has been highly contested in the present. In 2019, for instance, the British government expressed its regret for the killing of Māori people during Cook's first voyage, although it stopped short of a full apology. In 2024, a statue of Cook in Melbourne, Australia was sawn off in protest over the Australia Day public holiday, with the words "THE COLONY WILL FALL" graffitied on the plinth underneath.
was born | est né
27 October 1728
died in | est mort par
14 February 1779
has nationality | a la nationalité
has type | est de type

Linked resources

Items with "main figure depicted | personnage principal représenté: Cook, James"
Statue of James Cook, Westminster
Statue of James Cook, Whitby