Marzy wrote:
A lot of admiralty 'goings on' were also secret yes? (still are)
Wasn't Cook requested to wait until he was in open sea, to open his 'orders' which would reveal the exact nature in detail of what was expected of him ?
David,
Carrying secret orders, to be opened by the ship's captain at a specific place, a latitude and longitude position, or point of land, etc., was quite a common practice. There were two reasons that I can think of for this: a) The Admiralty obviously wouldn't want the enemy (usually the French or Spanish) to get wind of their intentions, which they might have done through spies, loose talk, etc; b) it might perhaps also be thought, in certain circumstances, to keep the information from the crew of the ship concerned – for obvious reasons. However, I don't think 'secret orders' would have been possible in this case, with all the furore of the fitting out, manning, etc., which many would have known about both inside and outside the navy. Consequently, none seem to have been issued.
Regarding Cook's first voyage in the Endeavour 1768–71, the primary object of the expedition was for the scientists and naturalists aboard to witness the transit of the planet Venus across the sun, at Hawaii – an important task since the phenomenon was not to occur again for approximately another hundred years. Although naturally Cook would personally have been interested, very likely Sir Joseph Banks and the other scientists merely expected him to get them there, although I believe he did take some observations himself. A second task, with which Cook was personally entrusted, and as revealed to him in his Admiralty orders (although he knew of them before he was again at sea), was to search for the fabled great southern continent, which was widely thought to exist at the bottom of the world. The Terra Australis Incognita, as it was known, was believed by many at the time to be a great land mass in the southern hemisphere counterbalancing that in the northern part of the world – evidence for it being the supposed sightings, from ships of various nationalities, over the previous century and more. It has to to be said that there was also a certain amount of hysteria generated, regarding both the wealth to be found there and the fortunes expected to be made!
Banks, and presumably many of the others aboard the Endeavour, were themselves believers in this mythical land – whilst the practical, level-headed Cook didn't believe in it at all. I think he had suspected its non-existence for some time, but common sense probably precluded him from saying so amongst the scientists and men of learning in the limited confines of the Endeavour – at least until he had proved them wrong! As it was, given the sensibilities of the age and it being his first voyage, Cook was regarded (if not by the Admiralty) as very much the 'junior partner' in the enterprise and he would have been expected to keep his place. I imagine however, there must have been many occasions where he had to bite his tongue – not an enviable position! When Cook later proved that there was no such land mass, we can imagine the feelings amongst the adherants – anger, disappointment, resentment, and finally acceptance! Banks wrote of his feelings in a letter, but he didn't seem that put out - after all he was a wealthy man in any case.
Regarding the breadfruit, Cook naturally knew of the plant, but the role of transporting it, of course, fell to William Bligh – and I think we all know what happened on that voyage, just ten years after Cook's death!