BURKHARD SCHITTNY, Fineart

heroes / james cook

James Cook (1728-1779) Whitby/England

English explorer, cartographer and naval officer of the Royal Navy.

WHO ALSO played a central role in the expansion of British imperial influence in the Pacific. During his voyages he charted large parts of the region and formally claimed territories including New Zealand for the British Crown.

Encounters between Cook’s expeditions and Indigenous communities were often marked by conflict and violence, contributing to processes of colonial occupation that profoundly reshaped societies across the Pacific.