A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World Volume 2

In Short

This second volume of James Cook's journal details the conclusion of his historic second expedition aboard HMS Resolution. Driven by the Royal Society and the Admiralty, Cook navigates through Oceania to the sub-Antarctic, methodically surveying unknown territories, encountering indigenous island societies, and testing new methods to safeguard his crew's health. The journal concludes with Cook's triumph in dispelling the myth of a massive, habitable southern continent, accompanied by detailed nautical logs, indigenous glossaries, and medical essays on maritime health. It remains a cornerstone of oceanic exploration and eighteenth-century scientific recording.

The Story

The journal picks up during the passage through Oceania, where Cook meticulously charts the islands of the South Pacific. Navigating through the Friendly Isles, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and Norfolk Island, Cook documents coastal geographies, treacherous coral reefs, and soundings with exacting precision. At every landfall, the crew establishes contact with indigenous inhabitants. These interactions alternate between peaceful trading—exchanging nails and red cloth for fresh yams and fish—and tense, unpredictable misunderstandings marked by petty thefts and armed skirmishes. Cook continuously records local customs, languages, toolmaking, and architecture, observing the distinct physical traits, health conditions, and social habits of each group he encounters.

From the tropical warmth of Oceania, the Resolution turns southward toward the icy expanse of the high southern latitudes. Cook ranges along the rugged, frozen coasts of Terra del Fuego, Staten Land, and Georgia, navigating brutal squalls, thick fogs, and towering icebergs. His primary mission is to answer a long-standing geographical mystery: whether a fertile, inhabited Terra Australis Incognita exists in the deep south. Navigating through showers of freezing mire, gale-force winds, and icy barriers, he meticulously charts islands like Pickersgill, Cooper's Isle, and Cape Disappointment, continually proving that supposed continental landmasses are merely isolated, ice-bound islands.

Upon reaching Queen Charlotte's Sound in New Zealand, the journal integrates the harrowing narrative of Captain Furneaux of HMS Adventure. Separated from Cook, Furneaux's crew suffered a tragic encounter in a cove, where a boat party under Mr. Rowe was ambushed and killed by local Maori. Despite such losses and the constant hazards of deep-sea navigation, Cook manages to complete a full circumnavigation of the southern ocean in high latitudes.

He proves conclusively that no habitable southern continent exists above the polar ice, successfully answering the central geographical question of his era. The narrative closes with Cook's return passage toward Europe via the Cape of Good Hope and the Azores, supplemented by linguistic glossaries of Tahitian words and scientific discourses on defeating scurvy.

How It Unfolds

Surveying the Pacific Isles Cook charts the Friendly Isles, New Hebrides, and New Caledonia, taking careful bearings and soundings while making cautious contact with native islanders to trade for fresh provisions.

Exploring Volcanic Landscapes At Tanna, the ship encounters an active volcano emitting ash and steam, while Cook's officers attempt to explore the interior despite the firm, polite resistance of local guides.

Facing the Southern Latitudes The crew turns toward the icy sub-Antarctic, navigating freezing winds and rocky shores around Terra del Fuego and Staten Land, where they hunt sea lions and penguins for food and fuel oil.

Charting Frozen Islands Cook methodically investigates remote landmasses like Georgia and Pickersgill Island, proving through rigorous survey that these snow-covered peaks are islands rather than a hidden continent.

Tragedy in New Zealand The text includes Captain Furneaux's report detailing the tragic loss of ten crewmen in Queen Charlotte's Sound, illustrating the volatile risks of shore parties in unfamiliar territory.

Reaching Home and Scientific Victory Cook completes the circuit to the Cape of Good Hope and Fayal, submitting his final geographical findings along with groundbreaking medical reports on maintaining shipboard health.

The People

Captain James Cook Driven by an unyielding commitment to geographical truth and maritime efficiency, Cook serves as commander, chief navigator, and primary observer. What stands in his way are unpredictable weather, dangerous reefs, and the limits of existing navigational charts. Through methodical record-keeping and strict health regulations, he emerges victorious, having disproved the existence of a temperate southern continent and preserved his crew.

Captain Tobias Furneaux Commander of HMS Adventure, Furneaux seeks to complete the expedition alongside Cook but faces separation, harsh conditions, and severe conflict with local inhabitants in New Zealand. Struggling against the sudden breakdown of peace onshore, he ends his portion of the voyage burdened by the loss of his men and forced to make a solitary journey home.

Mr. William Wales The expedition's astronomer, Wales wants to precisely measure longitude, timekeeper rates, and magnetic variations. He contends with overcast skies, rolling ships, and difficult shore conditions, yet successfully gathers the empirical data needed to fix the exact locations of remote islands on the global map.

Paowang A native leader from Tanna who interacts with Cook on board the Resolution. Paowang desires to maintain peace while keeping the European visitors from encroaching too far into his island's interior. Despite Cook's efforts to impress him with European goods, Paowang remains indifferent to their technology, seeking only to protect his people's territory.

In Its Own Voice

"The intolerable stench which came from his putrid face was alone sufficient to keep me out, had the entrance been ever so wide."

Cook describes encountering an islander suffering from a severe facial affliction while exploring a walled dwelling in the Pacific.

"I had now made the circuit of the southern ocean in a high latitude, and traversed it in such a manner as to leave not the least room for the possibility of there being a continent, unless near the Pole..."

Cook reflects proudly on completing his primary objective, effectively closing a two-century-old geographical debate.

"The chief town is called Villa de Horta. It is situated in the bottom of the bay, close to the edge of the sea, and is defended by two castles..."

Cook records his observations of the port of Fayal during his return journey through the Azores.

What It's Really About

Beneath its matter-of-fact navigational entries, the journal is a testament to Enlightenment empiricism and the demystification of the globe. Cook approaches the ocean not as a realm of myth, but as a measurable physical space defined by latitudes, longitudes, water depths, and wind vectors. The work systematically tests human endurance against extreme nature while attempting to categorize foreign cultures through an 18th-century scientific lens. It examines the tensions inherent in initial cross-cultural encounters, where curiosity, trade, and suspicion constantly balance on a razor's edge. Ultimately, the book is about replacing long-held theoretical assumptions with unyielding, observed reality.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers an unvarnished, firsthand window into one of history's greatest voyages of discovery. Readers who enjoy nautical history, anthropology, and scientific exploration will find Cook’s prose remarkably direct, precise, and devoid of sensationalism. The reading experience feels like sitting alongside a master navigator at his desk, observing raw history as it is mapped in real time.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the formal, eighteenth-century style and the dense technical logs filled with compass bearings, nautical miles, and soundings. Period attitudes toward indigenous peoples and harsh military discipline are presented without filter. Yet, what stays with you is the sheer scale of the undertaking: a wooden ship sailing into dark, icy, uncharted seas, forever changing how humanity viewed the bottom of the world.