On a recent visit to Wellington, New Zealand, I had the pleasure of stepping aboard the HMB Endeavour, a faithful, Australian-built replica of James Cook’s ship the HMS Endeavour. The ship is normally docked at Darling Harbour in Sydney but was over for a visit.
It was an awe-inspiring sight to stare up into the rigging of such an exact copy of the Endeavour, Captain Cook has always been my greatest hero. I felt quite emotional and looking at the long queue of people waiting to step aboard the ship, I could see that many others shared my emotions.
The original Endeavour started life in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, with the Navy purchasing her in 1768 for a scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean and to explore the seas for the surmised Terra Australis Incognita or “unknown southern land”.
As I stared up at her rigging, next to me was a little old lady, a school history teacher as it turned out. She loved this ship, she said to me: “Don’t believe what these silly people tell you these days about Captain Cook, our colonies and empire, it’s all rubbish.
I didn’t need to be told and we got to discussing Captain James Cook for a while, a man that as far as I and many others are concerned, was a genius. James Cooke’s career was remarkable in many ways, particularly because of his background. Born in Yorkshire, the son of a farm labourer, he had no formal education but his father’s employer paid for him to attend a local school for five years. By the time the now Lieutenant Cook departed in command of the Endeavour on his first voyage of discovery in August 1768, he had become competent in mathematics, astronomy and charting.
Cook made enormous contributions in the above fields and the primary objective of his first voyage of discovery was to observe the transit of Venus across the sun. The purpose of this observation was, combined with other observations, to calculate the distance of the Earth from the Sun.
Captain Cook continued to build on Britain’s navigational knowledge, we were becoming the best navigators in the world, thanks to previous work by John Harrison. Harrison was another Yorkshire man, a humble carpenter that dedicated his life to the development of the marine chronometer. Unless you are a navigator, you probably wouldn’t know that when fixing one’s position at sea using celestial navigation, for every four seconds of inaccuracy of time, it equates to one nautical mile of longitudinal error.
Harrison, after a lifetimes work, eventually won a prize offered by Parliament of 20,000 pounds (around three million pounds in today’s money) under the 1714 Longitude Act. Harrison’s contribution to safety at sea was immeasurable and he gave Britain its dominance at sea. Don’t forget, to this day, the Prime Meridian of the world runs through Greenwich.
For me and I’m sure many others, the staggering thing is, the realisation that it wasn’t royalty, kings and queens or politicians that gave Britain its empire but humble, common men, men that were geniuses none the less, often with no formal education. After living in South America for many years, other places too, I’ve realised that countries colonised by the French, or particularly the Spanish and Portuguese, didn’t fare so well as those colonised by the British. The Spanish and Portuguese ransacked much of South America. I always remember a student of mine, many years ago. She was working towards a qualification to enable her to emigrate to a Western country. She said to me: “I want to move to a country that was an ex British colony: every country that the British have ever been to works, it is a good place to live.” For most of these countries, this is indeed the case. Many of the countries that we colonised, if they hadn’t been colonised by we British, they’d have been colonised by one of the European countries. We were the best option, we weren’t perfect but nothing ever is.
We seem to be in a similar position today, the European Union would like to dominate us to make us subservient. For many of these countries, it has long been their dream and we’ve fought the battles that prove it: we are fighting them again. We need have no fear of life outside the European Union, we don’t need them and never did.
As I stood on the HMB Endeavour, a staggering monument to the brilliance of my countrymen, built by one of our ex-colonies, I realised that our credentials are good with the world. Symbolically, Great Britain is still great, the world will do business with us again and I’m sure that this is what gives the unelected Eurocrats nightmares. I will always be proud of my countrymen, my country and my heritage. I will never have time for the weak-minded morons that have turned their back on their own country and culture.
Just as I was about to walk away from the Endeavour, the little old lady that I had been chatting to me said two more things. She said: “When my students ask me: why are we here? I always say, you’re lucky we are, because of us, you’re innocent until proven guilty.” Long may this remain the case.
Then she said: “Don’t believe what they say about the Syphilis, that was spread by the French, Spanish and Portuguese.” She was referring of course to the great Syphilis epidemic that was spread by sailors that nearly wiped out much of Polynesia and was blamed on the British.
This lady may well be right about the Syphilis, nothing would surprise me. The irony is, now we face another disease spread by Europeans: the European Union, we don’t need it and it is about as welcome as a dose of Syphilis.
Thoroughly enjoyed the article and learned a lot from it too.
Captain Cook was a Humanist and a Philanthropist. At a time when men died routinely at sea from Scurvy and other diseases, Cook circumnavigated the globe and didn’t loose one man until he got to India and lost three to local diseases. This was after years at sea in uncharted waters.
James Cook invented what he called Portable Broth, a kind of vegetable stew to prevent scurvy, he was dedicated to the welfare of the men under his command. Cook was a genius at many different levels, he really was the best of Brits and a pioneer in every sense of the word.
”…..we don’t need them and never did…..” Well said, indeed.
I am sickened by the EU sycophancy. What is wrong with these people who think we should be subservient to their EU ”masters”? I am appalled by the lack of education and research that remainers display. Perhaps there aren’t many of them – but there are enough to spread poison, and that’s the worrying thing.
“… every country that the British have ever been to works, it is a good place to live.”
Yes and they know this.
I had the privilege of spending most of my high school years being educated in the last outpost of the British Empire, Rhodesia. Looking back it make me sad to think that there was a little country where everyone was driven by the ethos ‘if we all pull together and show them how good it is for everyone when we’re allowed to do what we do so well maybe they will just leave us alone’.
No, they won’t!
They hate us doing things better than they can. They will destroy completely all and any competition. If millions die? Well it didn’t deter them in the past. Remember the famine in Zimbabwe? (Never mind all the others across the globe.) Of course they changed the name. Obliterate the past and prevent comparisons being made.
People think the UK giving up sovereignty to the EU is just about a different bunch of people taking over at the top and everything will carry on as before. I beg to differ. Many if not most of the EU countries are 3rd world.
The plan is not for them to become more like us. That’s not how things work. Quite the opposite in fact. I’ve been watching it my whole life.
IN A FEW DAYS TIME we have an election to vote upon, for the decision to be made upon the Governance of this Nation, possibly for the next five years ! – There is the question of our National Independence, outside the EU ! – There are also questions about our domestic values and standing, plus our wealth and debts in the world, and if we have what it takes to build our Trade with the world, though to my mind I can say that I have no doubts upon that score. – Deep questions that overtake any history of old Party loyalties, but rather a sober understanding to the course we wish our Nation to follow !
We are not blessed with excellence of leadership to any Party ! – Regrettably we do not have a Winston Churchill, but then Thankfully we are not in a position of facing a general war either ! ….. One leader is a Terrorist lover of those who wish this Nation harm, and who’s manifesto joyfully puts this Nation into a National Debt, that we may never be able to escape from ! ….. One leader gives joyful assistance to rubbishing Democracy that a referendum of this Nation already gave its considered opinion and wish upon, due to ‘The People not understanding what they were voting for’ ! ….. One leader is trying to make a break from the EU, but has ensured that his new Party does not field a National coverage, and that leader does not want power, so is not standing for election himself ! ….. One leader is badly selling the break from the EU, but wants Brexit done. – He falls over his own use of language, which gives opponents free rein in claiming that he is lying ! ….. It’s a poor choice that voters are being given !
My own take upon this rather backs off from the National picture. Locally we have an excellent Tory ‘Representative’ MP, and what is being made available by other Parties, comes into the range of useless to utterly reprehensible ! So this election for me is for the man rather than the Party ! – Nationally we are being made to vote for ‘The Less Than Ideal’ on all counts ! ….. Labour and Lib/Dems are alien to the good of Britain and our values. ….. TBP started well, but the leader by his own decisions, has made his Party of little account Nationally. ….. Conservatives already hold power, but the leader must adjust to real leadership, and his own personal discipline ! ….. Nationally, its a poor choice isn’t it ? !
NOT BEING A POLITICIAN, I would never try to sell the line that Great Britain made no mistakes in its Empire building, or were not guilty of some horrendous actions against some groups of people. – We were and we did, and such are dutifully recorded in our history ! ….. However, although there are groups of people, dedicated to rubbishing the facts about Great Britain, and can only overstate our errors, the fact remains that we brought in good order to many Nations. – Sold the idea of Democracy. – With many others, introduced Christianity and furthered the human rights of many ! ….. It should be remembered that once we were guilty of promoting slavery, yet it was this Nation that turned against that value and practise, and did not rest with just making it illegal, but commissioned our huge Navy to eradicate the slave trade ! Is it any wonder that this Nation’s balanced views and values are recognised around the world ? – Grudgingly in some quarters, yet recognised all the same !
Good one. You do know that God is a Yorkshireman, don’t you?
Us Yorkshiremen know that Yorkshire is Gods own county.
The bible is written in Yorkshire dialect. This proves it.
Excellent reminder of those to whom we owe so much. I must try and take a trip to Sydney to see the Endeavour…
You don’t have to. The “original” replica lives at Whitby where Cook set out from. Made from proper English wood, not funny wood from Oz.
https://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/work-begins-move-endeavour-replica-whitby-313735
https://www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com/Whitby-The-Endeavour-Experience-Whitby/details/?dms=3&venue=3634680#
Thanks Harry..