Peter Parker

Without Joseph Banks, Cook’s first voyage might have been a failure

Apart from collecting hundreds of valuable species, Banks negotiated crucially with the Tahitians, and even foraged food for the crew

Portrait of Joseph Banks by Joshua Reynolds. Credit: Getty Images 
issue 09 May 2020

When the wealthy young Joseph Banks announced that he intended joining Captain Cook’s expedition to Tahiti to observe the Transit of Venus, friends asked why he didn’t instead do the Grand Tour. ‘Every blockhead does that,’ Banks replied. ‘My Grand Tour shall be one round the whole globe.’

It was a wise decision, and his voyage on HMS Endeavour would be the making of him.

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