As the tourists on any of the Rhapsody of the Seas cruises sail contentedly into far-off and exotic ports, they should thank the man who made it all possible, Captain James Cook.
Cook's three adventurous voyages helped to complete the map of the world.
When he set out on his first journey, back in 1768, more than one third of the globe remained unexplored and therefore uncharted territory.
Mapmakers had filled in the unknown regions with dreamed-up continents, and fantasized sea creatures.
The daring Cook sailed bravely towards the very locations where the mapmakers had placed those fantasized sea monsters.
Cook's ship was far different from the beautiful liner that is enjoyed by tourists on any of the Rhapsody of the Seas cruises.
He had a small wooden vessel.
Despite the size of that vessel, the ship's Captain directed it towards the unexplored regions of the world.
Once in the waters of such a region, the Captain kept excellent records and made detailed charts.
In fact, some of Cook's charts were so precise that they remained in use up until the middle of the last decade in the 20th Century.
While few parts of the world were named after James Cook, one well-respected public official did recognize the significance of his exploits.
Cook set out on his third and final voyage in 1776, at the time of the Revolutionary War.
Although he sailed from Great Britain, the American sailors did not view his boat as an enemy ship.
They followed an unusual order, one issued by Benjamin Franklin.
He had ordered the American sailors to treat Cook and his men as friends, rather than foes.
Today, when any literature published by Rhapsody of the Sea cruises uses phrases such as "rhythms of the south seas," they build on the foundation laid by James Cook.
He and his men visited many South Sea Islands, including Tahiti, Maori and Huahine.
During the course of his explorations, he sailed into a number of tiny inlets, and traveled up a few unmapped passageways.
Some of those previously unnamed locations now bear Cook's name.
Ironically, Captain Cook sailed right past some harbors where cruise liners often stop today, harbors like those at Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Vancouver and Honolulu.
Because he did not linger at those locations, he managed to trace the entire eastern coast of Australia, a coastline visited by many of our present-day cruise lines.
Cook's three adventurous voyages helped to complete the map of the world.
When he set out on his first journey, back in 1768, more than one third of the globe remained unexplored and therefore uncharted territory.
Mapmakers had filled in the unknown regions with dreamed-up continents, and fantasized sea creatures.
The daring Cook sailed bravely towards the very locations where the mapmakers had placed those fantasized sea monsters.
Cook's ship was far different from the beautiful liner that is enjoyed by tourists on any of the Rhapsody of the Seas cruises.
He had a small wooden vessel.
Despite the size of that vessel, the ship's Captain directed it towards the unexplored regions of the world.
Once in the waters of such a region, the Captain kept excellent records and made detailed charts.
In fact, some of Cook's charts were so precise that they remained in use up until the middle of the last decade in the 20th Century.
While few parts of the world were named after James Cook, one well-respected public official did recognize the significance of his exploits.
Cook set out on his third and final voyage in 1776, at the time of the Revolutionary War.
Although he sailed from Great Britain, the American sailors did not view his boat as an enemy ship.
They followed an unusual order, one issued by Benjamin Franklin.
He had ordered the American sailors to treat Cook and his men as friends, rather than foes.
Today, when any literature published by Rhapsody of the Sea cruises uses phrases such as "rhythms of the south seas," they build on the foundation laid by James Cook.
He and his men visited many South Sea Islands, including Tahiti, Maori and Huahine.
During the course of his explorations, he sailed into a number of tiny inlets, and traveled up a few unmapped passageways.
Some of those previously unnamed locations now bear Cook's name.
Ironically, Captain Cook sailed right past some harbors where cruise liners often stop today, harbors like those at Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Vancouver and Honolulu.
Because he did not linger at those locations, he managed to trace the entire eastern coast of Australia, a coastline visited by many of our present-day cruise lines.
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