Who Made Captain James Cook? (1728-1771) by Jean Eccleston

When I inherited Captain Cook’s boyhood job in the fishing village of Staithes, I had to answer questions about him from thousands of tourists. The standard answers stopped ringing true. Worse – the important questions had not been asked.

Why was Master James Cook given command of the Endeavour for a vital voyage to the Pacific, where he had never been? Was his appointment due to patronage? Was it even political?

By exploring his early life from different angles we place him among those who knew him.