Editing James Cook (section)

==Second voyage (1772–1775)==
{{Main|Second voyage of James Cook}}
[[File:James Cook's portrait by William Hodges.jpg|thumb|Portrait of James Cook by [[William Hodges]], who accompanied Cook on his second voyage]]

Shortly after his return from the first voyage, Cook was promoted in August 1771 to the rank of [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hough|1994|p=180}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|McLynn|2011|p=167}}</ref> In 1772, he was commissioned to lead another scientific expedition on behalf of the Royal Society, to search for the hypothetical Terra Australis. On his first voyage, Cook had demonstrated by circumnavigating New Zealand that it was not attached to a larger landmass to the south. Although he charted almost the entire eastern coastline of Australia, showing it to be continental in size, the Terra Australis was believed to lie further south. Despite this evidence to the contrary, [[Alexander Dalrymple]] and others of the Royal Society still believed that a massive southern continent should exist.<ref>{{harvnb|Hough|1994|p=182}}</ref>

Cook commanded {{HMS|Resolution|1771|6}} on this voyage, while [[Tobias Furneaux]] commanded its companion ship, {{HMS|Adventure|1771|6}}. Cook's expedition circumnavigated the globe at an extreme southern [[latitude]], becoming one of the first to cross the [[Antarctic Circle]] on 17 January 1773. In the Antarctic fog, ''Resolution'' and ''Adventure'' became separated. Furneaux made his way to New Zealand, where he lost some of his men during an encounter with Māori, and eventually sailed back to Britain, while Cook continued to explore the Antarctic, reaching 71°10'S on 31 January 1774.<ref name="G_Williams" />

[[File:James Cook, English navigator, witnessing human sacrifice in Taihiti (Otaheite) c. 1773.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Illustration from the 1815 edition of Cook's ''Voyages'', depicting Cook watching a human sacrifice in [[Tahiti]] {{circa|1773}}]]
Cook almost encountered the mainland of [[Antarctica]] but turned towards Tahiti to resupply his ship. He then resumed his southward course in a second fruitless attempt to find the supposed continent. On this leg of the voyage, he brought a young Tahitian named [[Omai]], who proved to be somewhat less knowledgeable about the Pacific than [[Tupaia (navigator)|Tupaia]] had been on the first voyage. On his return voyage to New Zealand in 1774, Cook landed at the [[Tonga|Friendly Islands]], [[Easter Island]], [[Norfolk Island]], [[New Caledonia]], and [[Vanuatu]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Before returning to England, Cook made a final sweep across the South Atlantic from [[Cape Horn]] and surveyed, mapped, and took possession for Britain of [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia]], which had been explored by the English merchant [[Anthony de la Roché]] in 1675. Cook also discovered and named [[Clerke Rocks]] and the [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Sandwich Islands]] ("Sandwich Land"). He then turned north to South Africa and from there continued back to England. His reports upon his return home put to rest the popular myth of Terra Australis.<ref>{{harvnb|Hough|1994|p=263}}</ref>

[[File:Cook-1777.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|James Cook's 1777 South-Up map of [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands#South Georgia|South Georgia]], which he named after King [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]]]]
Cook's second voyage marked a successful employment of [[Larcum Kendall#K1|Larcum Kendall's K1]] copy of [[John Harrison]]'s H4 [[marine chronometer]], which enabled Cook to calculate his longitudinal position with much greater accuracy. Cook's log was full of praise for this time-piece which he used to make charts of the southern Pacific Ocean that were so remarkably accurate that copies of them were still in use in the mid-20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/package/30/links-cook.php |title=Captain James Cook: His voyages of exploration and the men that accompanied him |publisher=[[National Maritime Museum]] |access-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421232853/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/package/30/links-cook.php |archive-date=21 April 2007}}</ref>

Upon his return, Cook was promoted to the rank of [[post-captain]] and given an honorary retirement from the Royal Navy, with a posting as an officer of the [[Greenwich Hospital, London|Greenwich Hospital]]. He reluctantly accepted, insisting that he be allowed to quit the post if an opportunity for active duty should arise.<ref name="Beaglehole">{{harvnb|Beaglehole|1974|p=444}}</ref> His fame extended beyond the Admiralty; he was made a [[Royal Society|Fellow of the Royal Society]] and awarded the [[Copley Medal|Copley Gold Medal]] for completing his second voyage without losing a man to [[scurvy]].<ref name="Rigby79">{{harvnb|Rigby|van der Merwe|p=79|2002}}</ref> [[Nathaniel Dance-Holland]] painted his portrait; he dined with [[James Boswell]]; he was described in the [[House of Lords]] as "the first navigator in Europe".<ref name="G_Williams" /> But he could not be kept away from the sea. A third voyage was planned, and Cook volunteered to find the [[Northwest Passage]]. He travelled to the Pacific and hoped to travel east to the Atlantic, while a simultaneous voyage travelled the opposite route.<ref>{{harvnb|Hough|1994|p=268}}</ref>