Clil HISTORY JAMES COOK, NAVIGATOR AND CARTOGRAPHER Captain James Cook (1728-1779) sailed the globe aboard the legendary HMS Endeavour and conducted three expeditions which led to the exploration of large parts of Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia. In 1769, the British government decided to send an expedition to observe the rare astronomical phenomenon of the planet Venus passing in front of the Sun, visible only in the southern hemisphere, but the real secret motive was to search for the legendary southern polar continent. James Cook was an unknown officer in the service of the Royal Navy when he was chosen as commander of the ship HMS Endeavour, which had the astronomer Charles Green on board. The astronomical event was observed in Tahiti in April 1769. James Cook was also a very expert cartographer. Before his involvement with exploration, Cook was based in Canada where he developed skills in surveying and drawing. When Cook returned to Europe, his collected cartographic data were almost immediately turned into print because they were extremely precise. His achievements in mapping the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia radically changed western perceptions of world geography. Adapted from: https://leidenspecialcollectionsblog. nl/articles/the-cartography-of-captain-james-cook 14 Impossible interviews. Imagine you are a journalist who wants to interview James Cook about his expeditions. In turns, take the parts of the journalist and James Cook and fill in the dialogue with the missing answers. You: What were the cartographic data you You: What was the name of your ship and how collected used for? many expeditions did you conduct? J.C. (1) : ................................................................................................................ J.C. (7): ................................................................................................................. You: What rare astronomical event was visible in 1769? You: What was the consequence of your achievements in mapping technique? J.C. (2): ................................................................................................................. J.C. (8): ................................................................................................................. You: What was the real secret reason of the 1769 British expedition? J.C: (3): ................................................................................................................. You: Who was Charles Green? J.C. (4): ................................................................................................................. You: When was the astronomical phenomenon observed? J.C. (5): ................................................................................................................. You: What skills did you develop when you were in Canada? J.C. (6): .................................................................................................................