The principal purpose of Captain Cook’s third…
1777 CE
Cook's orders from the Admiralty are driven by a 1745 Act which, when extended in 1775, promises a £20,000 prize for whoever discovered the passage.
Initially the Admiralty had wanted Charles Clerke to lead the expedition, with Cook, who was in retirement following his exploits in the Pacific, acting as a consultant.
However, Cook has researched Bering's expeditions, and the Admiralty ultimately places their faith in the veteran explorer to lead with Clerke accompanying him.
The arrangement is to make a two-pronged attack, Cook moving from the Bering Strait in the north Pacific with Richard Pickersgill in the frigate Lyon taking the Atlantic approach.
They plan to rendezvous in the summer of 1778.
In August 1773 Omai, a young Ra'iatean man, had embarked from Huahine, traveling to Europe on Adventure, commanded by Tobias Furneaux who had touched at Tahiti as part of James Cook's second voyage of discovery in the Pacific.
He had arrived in London in October 1774 and was introduced into society by the naturalist Sir Joseph Banks and has become a favorite curiosity in London.
Ostensibly, the third voyage is planned to return Omai to Tahiti; this is what the general public believes.
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