y of the islands
of the Pacific, including New Zealand, where he encountered no little
hostility, so that it was often difficult and sometimes impossible to
establish friendly relations with the natives. But he obtained what he
needed, and proceeded on his voyage. He gave names to islands, bays,
straits, and harbors, some of which seem strange at the present day, but
most of them were suggested by the circumstances of the visit. Of many
of the islands he took possession in the name of his sovereign, leaving
memorials of his landing.

Sailing to the westward, he examined the east coast of New Holland, as
it was then called, Australia, at the present time, charted the coast,
as he had done throughout the voyage, and took possession of the country
in the name of England. The existence of a Southern Continent had long
been a mooted question, and in this and subsequent voyages Captain Cook
searched unsuccessfully for it. He passed through Torres Strait, and
thus proved that New Guinea was not a part of Australia, as some
claimed. Continuing his voyage, he went around the Cape of Good Hope,
and reached England in the middle of 1771. The results of his cruise of
nearly four years were exceedingly important to his country. His
reputation was largely increased, and he was promoted to the rank of
commander in the navy.

So well approved was the conduct of Captain Cook on his first voyage
around the world, that he was appointed to the command of another
similar expedition, consisting of two ships, the Resolution and the
Adventure, and after about a year on shore, he sailed again in 1772. He
went around the Cape of Good Hope, and cruised in the Southern Pacific,
discovering and taking possession of New Caledonia, visiting islands
where he had landed before, and exploring and charting the New Hebrides.
His instructions particularly required him to circumnavigate the earth
in the highest practicable southern latitude in search of the unknown
continent still supposed to be there. He used the southern summer for
this purpose; but he found no land he was willing to call a continent.
Though large bodies of land have since been discovered in that region,
the question is still an open one.

Adapting his operations to the varying climate of the north and the
south, Captain Cook continued his explorations, encountering many
hardships and perils in unknown seas, from hostile savages, and in the
icy realms of the extreme south.

He return