Try GOLD - Free
VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
The New Yorker
|April 08, 2024
Exploring the fateful expeditions of Captain Cook.
On Valentine's Day, 1779, Captain On King Kalani'ōpu'u to visit his ship, the Resolution. Cook and the King were on friendly terms, but, on this particular day, Cook planned to take Kalani'ōpu'u hostage. Some of the King's subjects had stolen a small boat from Cook's fleet, and the captain intended to hold Kalani'ōpu'u until it was returned. The plan quickly went awry, however, and Cook ended up face down in a tidal pool.
At the time of his death, Cook was Britain's most celebrated explorer. In the course of three epic voyages-the last one, admittedly, unfinished-he had mapped the east coast of Australia, circumnavigated New Zealand, made the first documented crossing of the Antarctic Circle, "discovered" the Hawaiian Islands, paid the first known visit to South Georgia Island, and attached names to places as varied as New Caledonia and Bristol Bay. Wherever Cook went, he claimed land for the Crown.
This story is from the April 08, 2024 edition of The New Yorker.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The New Yorker
The New Yorker
Coconut Flan
Somehow, after the plane landed though before Andrés and Daria reached the taxi stand, Daria's wallet went missing.
22 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
SEASON OF DISCONTENT
Gustavo Dudamel at the New York Philharmonic; \"Kavalier & Clay\" at the Met.
6 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
For someone openly campaigning to get a Nobel Peace Prize, Donald Trump has been going about it in an unusual way. Early last month, the President proclaimed in a press conference that the Department of Defense would thereafter be known as the Department of War. At the same briefing, the presumed new Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, promised that the armed forces will deliver “maximum lethality” that won't be “politically correct.” That was a few days after Trump had ordered the torpedoing of a small boat headed out of Venezuela, which he claimed was piloted by “narco-terrorists,” killing all eleven people on board, rather than, for instance, having it stopped and inspected. After some military-law experts worried online that this seemed uncomfortably close to a war crime, Vice-President J. D. Vance posted, “Don't give a shit.”
4 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
THESE BLACK BOOTS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE BLACK BOOTS
These have an almond toe.
2 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
LOCKED IN
Two murders, a strike, and an explosive year inside New York's prisons.
41 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
DON'T BLAME ME
Taylor Swift's new album eschews vulnerability for revenge.
6 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
CONTINENTAL DREAMS
African independence was a time of high hopes. What happened?
16 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
OUT OF OFFICE
Can a Prime Minister have work-life balance? Sanna Marin tried.
24 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
ALMA MATER
\"After the Hunt.\"
6 mins
October 13, 2025
The New Yorker
THE HAGUE ON TRIAL
Political intrigue—and a lurid scandal—rocks the International Criminal Court.
22 mins
October 13, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size