Show how Ws voyages influenced america awall history by t JOHN dickinson SHERMAN ig making tentative plans for an elaborate celebration in 1928 of the one hundred and fiftieth an of the discovery of the islands by capt james cook it Is to be hoped that such an observance of this discovery Is made and on a scale befitting the imbor tance to the united states of the voyaging in the pacific of athla inious english navigator for this importance Is large captain cook set in motion forces which had a much greater influence on the early development of america than a casual read ing of our history reveals here Is a brief chronology of the Ela wallan islands useful in connection with this story the islands were probably known to europeans as early as but were put on the map by cook in 1778 iio wa killed there by natives the next year the natives were a deml clel llred people of malayo polynesian tock ander a feudal system of government ern ment with a king on each of the habitable islands in 1790 king kamehameha of hawaii subdued his rivals and founded a kingdom that lasted until 1894 christianity was introduced trod from america in 1820 by clon aries in 1840 kamehameha III promulgated a constitution establish ing civil rights in 1852 came suffrage and a legislature in 1894 there was a successful revolution against queen and a republic was proclaimed in 1895 the queen abdicated august 12 1898 hawaii was annexed to the united states june it became a territory cooks several voyages capt james cook 1728 79 wa the eon of a yorkshire farm laborer he volunteered in the royal navy in 1755 and four years later was in command of the mercury at halifax the royal selected him to command an expedition to the pacific to observe tha transit of venus this first voyage to the pacific was in 1768 71 on his second 1872 78 he balled CO miles and encircled the antarctic region from new zealand to cape nom on cooks first voyage he had a mortality of 40 per cent on his second he bad made such excellent and radical arrangements for health that be lost only one man out of for this service he vs made captain and the royal society gave alm the copely medal for service to humanity and the maritime world upon the offer of a reward of for the discovery of a northwest passage from the pacific cook volunteered to take command and sailed with the resolution and discovery in 1770 by way of africa in 1778 be als covered an island of the hawaiian group then he surveyed the amerl can coast until stopped by ice in ber ing strait the winter of 1779 found him back in the islands where he als covered hawaii and maul ha named the archipelago sandwich islands after the earl of sandwich cook was killed in a small affair with natives on hawaii over the theft of a boat cook landed february 13 in bay with a lieutenant and nine to seize the king take him aboard and hold him hostage for the return of the stolen boat the obelisk which marks the spot of hla death waa erected in 1874 how we jump from captain cook the officer of the english navy to john ledyard an american soldier of fortune soldier of fortune john ledyard 1751 88 was barn in groton conn studied law went to dartmouth tor missionary training passed several months with the iro quals and in 1773 went to gibraltar as a common sailor enlisted in a british regiment was discharged and as a corporal of marines accompanied cook on his last voyage in 1782 he deserted from a man 0 war at long island thereupon he published from memory his journal of the cook expedition the british having confiscated the original ue tried in vain to in terest american officials and merchants in a trading expedition to the northwest coast of borth america they did not bellee in his journal or in him in 1784 ledyard was arf angland and france vainly endeavoring to organize a similar trading ex in 1780 with the assistance of sir joseph banks he set out on foot from stockholm ostensibly for arctic exploration he arched in st petersburg early in 1787 but at was arrested and deported reaching london with difficulty he died under mysterious circumstances about 1700 at the head of an exploring expedition of the african association the truth was that ledyard had a big thing triangular trader new england to the pacific northwest with trinkets and notions to china with furs back home with silk and tea for cooks last expedition had this experience the sailors bought furs to keep them warm from the natives of the northwest coast they traded trifles for seal skins and sea otter skins touching at china the furs commanded extraordinary prices the chinese having no heating in their homes and no woolen cloth A vermin infested sea otter skin was worth a hundred dollars the bailers bailors were with difficulty restrained from seizing vessels for another trip to the american coast for a full cargo of furs instead of returning to england in 1784 cooks own journals were made public and then the new england merchants who had set ledyard down for a liar sat up and took notice boston salem and new york merchants put in and septem her 80 1787 two vessels sailed from boston the ship columbia capt john kendrick the sloop lady washington capt robert gray in august of 1790 the columbia sailed back into boston she was under captain gray captain kendrick had chosen to trade hips was making canton trips and was trying to buy up all the northwest from the natives halt to the chlell gray was received like a conqueror ho was marched up state street in a procession side by side with prince altol in helmet and cloak of scarlet and yellow feathers atre first hawaiian ever seen in the united states gov john hancock gave a dinner to sixty to whom gray related his adventures yes things were aa led yard bad said and the columbia had been the first american chip at the hawaiian islands and the first american ship to sail around the world and quite as important to the new england merchants the voyage had paid so as john ledyard lay dying in africa bis pacific northwest dream had come true for the columbia was sent right back and thus began this triangular trade that was to enrich the seaboard of the new nation consider now some of the results of captain cook s last voyage and let your imagination run free on the second voyage of the colum bla captain gray discovered the columbia river figure the effect of that on the oregon question of half a century later the americans had a practical monopoly of this triangular traffic the russians were barred by chinese law the english were kept out by the conflicting privileges of two great monopolies the east india company held the exclusive right to trade with china but could not send its ships to the american northwest for furs and would not allow the south sea corn pany to do any trade with china bo the americans combined with the rus and the russians worked south along the coast until the monroe doctrine of 1823 was necessary to atop them john jacob astor a financial and commercial genius attempted to found a city at astorca in 1810 to cut out of this triangular trade the long and dan berous voyage around the horn fig ure the influence of this advance guard on the march of the american people across the continent on the mexican war and the occupation of california on the building of the transcontinental railroad on the dig gang of the panama canal and finally figure what the possession of capt james cooks sandwich islands means to the united state in the pacific as a naval base and protection to the coast of the mainland with it and a fleet we are safe |