Captain Cook in Canada: The Making of an Explorer

Captain James Cook was arguably the greatest explorer the world has ever seen. Yet he came from a humble background and received hardly any formal education.

Cook first set foot in Halifax in 1758 as a highly competent—but undistinguished—warrant officer in His Majesty’s Royal Navy. When he left Atlantic Canada ten years later, he had acquired the skills and the reputation that made him the obvious choice to lead a British voyage of discovery to the Pacific.

In Atlantic Canada Cook learned the importance of a healthy crew, he perfected his navigation and seamanship skills, and he mastered the arts of surveying, hydrography and cartography. He also acquired a good knowledge of mathematics and astronomy and encountered a handful of men who would become his patrons and mentors. And a few intriguing questions about this period of his life remain unanswered.

James Cook’s three spectacularly successful voyages of discovery in the Pacific have long eclipsed his earlier, formative years. This book is an attempt to shed a little light on those years.