the
UARTERDECK
Vol. 23 No. 2
Spring 1997
A review and newsletter from the Columbia River Maritime Museum at 1792 Marine Drive in Astoria, Oregon
Captain Cook's Endeavour careened on the coast of New Holland for repairs. From Captain Cook's First, Second, Third, and Last Voyages... London, 1784. Courtesy of David Riswick.
A Heroic Figure of the Age of Exploration The history of maritime exploration was broadly influenced by a single figure of the 18th century, Captain James Cook. Our feature article examines the background of the man whose exploration of the Pacific made such an enduring impact on the Northwest. The establishment of the American maritime fur trade was, in many ways, a response to what members of Cook's ship's company had observed on this coast in 1778-1779. The "men of Captain Cook" also owed their fine training in seamanship and navigation to Cook himself. Their experience under Cook as well as the increased knowledge of the Pacific resulting from his
expeditions enabled men like Kendrick, Dixon, Portlock and Colnett to later pursue the fur trade on this largely unknown coast. How James Cook rose to become a superb leader with a reputation as the Greatest Navigator of the Age is the subject of the feature article, beginning on page 6. We also look at another aspect oflong-distance seafaring that had an enormous impact on exploration and on seamen's lives: scurvy. The history of this dread disease was strongly influenced by Cook's management of the voyages he commanded. Today, scurvy is hardly a concern among seafarers. But before Cook's time it debilitated
whole crews and became virtually synonymous with early seafaring life. Though not often noted in the history of the American West, scurvy was also a common malady among the overland emigrants. But the causes and cures for scurvy and other nutritional diseases remained elusive for centuries. The age of exploration provides fascinating profiles of individuals living and working at a time when the flowering of observational science in Europe met the urge to explore the last unknown coasts of the new world. Join guest writer Byron Ruppel in an excursion into Captain Cook's world, and don't forget to eat your oranges!