109. The Endeavour: Into the Unknown

This podcast episode features an interview with Peter Moore about his book on Captain Cook's first voyage on the Endeavour. The conversation traces the journey from its start, detailing the crew, ship conditions, and significant encounters in Tahiti, New Zealand (including the controversial interaction with Māori), and Australia. Moore highlights the contrasting relationships between Cook and Banks, and the vastly different perspectives of the voyage's impact on the indigenous populations encountered. A key takeaway is the contrasting views of Cook's voyage: celebrated by some as a moment of exploration, while others view it as a catastrophic event for indigenous populations. The episode concludes with the Endeavour's ultimate fate, scuttled in Newport, Rhode Island, during the American Revolutionary War.