Captain Cook’s Chart of the Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1774)
"The chart that introduced Sandy Island and mapped New Caledonia and the New Hebrides"
Constructed during Cook's second Pacific voyage on HMS Resolution, this chart mapped New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and the Coral Sea, while inserting 'Sandy I.' at 19°15'S—initiating a 236-year cartographic phantom.
- First charting of Sandy Island (Île de Sable)
- Detailed track of HMS Resolution with sounding depth notations
- Accurate longitude measurements made using the Larcum Kendall K1 chronometer
Image credit and reuse
Captain Cook’s Chart of the Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean (1774)
Captain James Cook; Palmer, W; Strahan & Cadell; via Wikimedia Commons
Public domain under the individual source record. Metadata added; image pixels unchanged. Display crop may vary by viewport. Retain source credit and terms. Historical mapmaking context is separate from this image reproduction.
The Rhetorical & Ideological Argument
"A declaration of British hydrographic supremacy in the Pacific, charting safe channels for naval and commercial expansion."
- First charting of Sandy Island (Île de Sable)
- Detailed track of HMS Resolution with sounding depth notations
- Accurate longitude measurements made using the Larcum Kendall K1 chronometer
- The Great Barrier Reef's full labyrinthine complexity