Life on the HMS Endeavour
Captain James Cook Captained the HMS Endeavour. He was a
respected sailor and a talented cartographer. The HMS Endeavour
was to travel to Tahiti so that the planet Venus could be observed
passing between the Earth and the Sun. Secret instructions were
also given to Captain Cook before he left. These instructions were to
travel further south searching for the great undiscovered southern
continent; New Holland, known today as Australia.
The journey was a well-known success, but what was
life like for sailors on the HMS Endeavour?
Who was onboard?
There were 95 men on board the Endeavour. They all played different but vital roles to
the success of the expedition. The top-ranking crew members were the master of the
ship – Captain Cook, and his lieutenants. The majority of the crew were known as
able seamen. They worked running and maintaining the ship. Other roles included
a surgeon, cook, carpenters to maintain the woodwork on the ship, sailmakers to
repair and maintain the sails, a botanist to study local plants and animals,
an artist who painted pictures of the scenes they discovered and gunners who
were in charge of defending the ship. There were also 12 marines to keep law and
order on the ship in case arguments broke out between crew members.
What did they eat?
As the boat was sailing for weeks at a time without landing, food had to be stored on the
ship. Food was rationed out among the crew. On the menu were biscuits, oatmeal, beef, pork
and beer. Captain Cook also managed to stop his crew catching scurvy
by insisting they all ate sauerkraut, which contained vitamin C. He
received a medal on his return to England for managing to protect
his crew from this disease. The meat had to be heavily salted to
preserve it. The cook usually served the meat in a salty stew. The
crew ate about 5,000 calories per day, each! This was to ensure
they had enough energy for the difficult jobs they faced each day
on the ship.
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Life on the HMS Endeavour Questions
1 Who was the Captain on the HMS Endeavour? Why was he chosen as Captain?
2 What was the purpose of HMS Endeavour’s voyage to the Pacific?
3 How many crew were on board the Endeavour?
4 Name four different roles crew played on the ship.
1. 3.
2. 4.
5 Pick one role and describe it. Come up with at least three duties somebody in this role
would have had to do.
6 Who enforced law and order on the ship?
7 What was on the menu on HMS Endeavour?
8 Why did the crew eat sauerkraut?
9 How did the cooks preserve the meat?
10 Imagine you are a crew member on HMS Endeavour. Write a diary entry as this person. Describe
your day to day duties, what you like most and what you like least about your life on the ship.
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Life on the HMS Endeavour Answers
1 Who was the Captain on the HMS Endeavour? Why was he chosen as Captain?
Captain James Cook was Captain of HMS Endeavour. He was chosen for his skills as
a sailor as well as his talent as a cartographer.
2 What was the purpose of HMS Endeavour’s voyage to the Pacific?
The purpose of the voyage was to observe Venus passing between the Earth and the
Sun from Tahiti. Secret instructions were also given to Captain Cook to sail further
south and explore New Holland.
3 How many crew were on board the Endeavour?
There were 95 crew members on HMS Endeavour.
4 Name four different roles crew played on the ship.
Varied Answers.
5 Pick one role and describe it. Come up with at least three duties somebody in this role
would have had to do.
Varied Answers.
6 Who enforced law and order on the ship?
The marines enforced law and order on the ship.
7 What was on the menu on HMS Endeavour?
Biscuits, oatmeal, beef, pork and beer were all on the menu on the ship.
8 Why did the crew eat sauerkraut?
The crew ate sauerkraut to avoid getting scurvy.
9 How did the cooks preserve the meat?
Cooks preserved the meat by coating it in salt.
10 Imagine you are a crew member on HMS Endeavour. Write a diary entry as this person.
Describe your day to day duties, what you like most and what you like least about your
life on the ship.
Varied Answers.
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