A Draught Plan & Section of an Amsterdam Canoe, seen in the South Seas...

This engraving, after a drawing by artist William Hodges, is in John Hawkesworth's account (1773) of the voyages of Captain James Cook, Joseph Banks and Captain John Byron.

Captain James Cook (1728-1779) made three separate voyages to the Pacific (with the ships Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure, and Discovery) and did more than any other voyager to explore the Pacific and Southern Ocean. Cook not only encountered Pacific cultures for the first time, but also assembled the first large-scale collections of Pacific objects to be brought back to Europe. He was killed in Hawaii in 1779.

The Isle of Amsterdam lies in the southern Indian Ocean. Cook landed on Amsterdam Island (also known as Tongatapu) on October, 4th 1773 and stayed until October 7th, 1773. On his second visit he stayed from June 26-29, 1774.

As recorded in Hawkesworth's account, these two short visits resulted in many fine drawings of Tongan canoes. Everyone was greatly impressed by the size and quality of the canoes: 'No canoes that we have seen in these seas can bear the least Comparison with these in point of neatness and workmanship.'

Mounted on page with PAI4047, and in album with PAI3938-PAI4045, PAI4047-PAI4076.; Page 96.; Plate No. XVI.

Object Details

ID: PAI4046
Type: Print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Cadell, Thomas; Palmer, William I. Strahan, William
Date made: 1 Feb 1777
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Measurements: Primary support: 269 mm x 577 mm; Mount: 483 mm x 635 mm
Parts: Atlas to Cook's Voyages Vol I 1773-1777. (Illustrations are from Hawkesworth's 'Voyages to the Southern Hemisphere', all volumes, and Cook [ed. Douglas] 'A Voyage towards the South Pole... ' [1773-75], page 70 onwards) (Album)