Grades 9-12 Lesson Plan - Captain Cook and the Enlightenment

Map 3 Main Page

Core Map: William Bligh, "Chart of the Sandwich Islands," from James Cook and James King, A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean…in the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780, 2nd. Ed. 3 vols. London: G. Nicol and T. Cadell, 1785. Newberry call Number: Case fG 13.19 Vol. 3 opp. 2. (Printable PDF version of the Core Map)

Resources related to Map 3.
Curator's Notes for Map 3.

Overview
In this unit students will use the core map and several drawings to explore Captain Cook's journey's in the context of Enlightenment science, politics and commerce. If students have not already studied the Enlightenment, this activity can serve to introduce students to eighteenth-century science and exploration.

Objectives
By the end of this lesson students are expected to:

1. correlate eighteenth-century findings in instrument making, astronomy, and navigation.
2. account for the scientific and economic benefits of Cook's explorations.
3. delineate the basic ideas of eighteenth-century scientific thinking.
4. assess the potential for economic interests in Enlightenment scientific exploration.

Key Terms
Enlightenment, ethnography, foodstuffs, mercantilism

Materials
Computer image or overhead of the core map; modern map of Hawaii; "A Man of the Sandwich Islands, Dancing" (plate 62); "A Young Woman of the Sandwich Islands" (plate 63); "A Man of the Sandwich Islands, with his Helmet" (plate 64); "A Canoe of the Sandwich Islands, the Rowers Masked" (plate 65); "Various Articles, at the Sandwich Islands" (plate 67); library or online research materials or both; Cook's Journal entry for January 19 - 21, 1778; Cook's Journal entry for November 26 - 30, 1778; King's Journal entry for January 19 - 26, 1779; Recreating Cook Handout

Time
Three hours, plus research time

Getting Started

1. Display the core map. Discuss with students who made the map and when it was made.

2. Have students identify all major geographic features and the symbols Bligh used.

3. Identify the cardinal points of the compass.

4. Point out major place names (click on names for modern equivalents).

5. Point out and discuss "foul ground," "no ground" (near the number 160; meaning that the depth is greater than 160 fathoms), and depth indicators.

6. Discuss the purposes of and information given by the non-geographic features and aids on the map (including anchors, numbers and lines along the border); in this context discuss the elements of style that make this map "scientific."

7. Have students briefly compare (for purposes of orientation) the core map to a modern map.

8. Ask students to discuss what is not on the core map.

1. Based on research in a library or elsewhere, students should write a brief paragraph about several journeys of exploration that occurred during the enlightenment. Included should be the explorers' names, who their backers were, the stated purpose of the trip, and something about its findings. This could be done in small groups to speed up the work, and the results should be discussed in class.

2. Based on research in a library or elsewhere, construct a list of and discuss in class the accomplishments of Captain Cook's three Pacific voyages (see Resources for a select bibliography of works on Captain Cook).

3. Distribute the copies of the Recreating Cook handout, plates 62 - 65 and 67, and the journal entries to your students. Assign them to create the documents described in the handout as homework or in class. If necessary, conduct a class discussion about what ought to be included. This project could also be done in small groups.

For 4 points, the student has gone beyond the assignment; i.e. he or she has created documents particularly rich in information, or has simulated eighteenth-century documents particularly effectively (i.e. everything is well within the parameters of what we know about the late eighteenth century).

For 3 points, the student has done all that was asked for in a thorough manner. The documents exhibit sound analysis, contain sufficient specific information, and are clearly organized. The work is correct and neat, and exhibits only few if any spelling or grammatical errors. Verisimilitude has been maintained and "internal evidence" included.

For 2 points, the student has done most of what was asked for in an acceptable manner. The documents exhibit sound analysis, contain some specific information, and are organized well enough so that one is able to follow the presentation. The work is, for the most part, correct and neat, and may exhibit some spelling or grammatical errors. Verisimilitude has, for the most part, been maintained, and some and "internal evidence" included.

For 1 point, the student does not create any documents that include what the assignment asked, or produces work that exhibits major flaws in analysis or data, or that includes little or no specific data, or that is so disorganized as to make it difficult to follow, or that does not maintain verisimilitude, nor includes "internal evidence."

Extension
Based on their work on Captain Cook and his voyages of exploration, students could delineate his system of ethics, and then discuss its strengths and weaknesses. What could we learn from his encounter with Polynesians, for example, for when we meet sentient life with one of our space probes, or with a manned spacecraft?