10 INTRODUCTION TO 



four other islands ; afterwards fell in with Maitea ; 

 Otaheite ; Isles of Navigators ; and Forlorn 

 Hope ; which to him were new discoveries. He 

 then passed through between the Hebrides ; dis- 

 covered the Shoal of Diana ; and some others ; the 

 land of Cape Deliverance ; several islands more to 

 the north ; passed to the north of New Ireland ; 

 touched at Batavia ; and arrived in France in March, 



1769. 



This year w T as rendered remarkable by the transit 

 of the planet Venus over the sun's disc ; a pheno- 

 menon of great importance to astronomy ; and which 

 every where engaged the attention of the learned in 

 that science. 



In the beginning of the year 1768, the Royal So- 

 ciety presented a memorial to his Majesty, setting 

 forth the advantages to be derived from accurate 

 observations of this transit in different parts of the 

 world ; particularly from a set of such observations 

 made in a southern latitude, between the 140th and 

 180th degrees of longitude, west from the Royal 

 Observatory at Greenwich ; and that vessels, properly 

 equipped, would be necessary to convey the observers 

 to their destined stations ; but that the Society were 

 in no condition to defray the expence of such an 

 undertaking. 



In consequence of this memorial, the Admiralty 

 were directed by his Majesty to provide proper ves- 

 sels for this purpose. Accordingly, the Endeavour 

 bark, which had been built for the coal-trade, was 

 purchased and fitted out for the southern voyage ; 

 and I was honoured with the command of her. The 

 Royal Society, soon after appointed me, in conjunc- 

 tion with Mr. Charles Green the astronomer, to make 

 the requisite observations on the transit. 



It was at first intended to perform this great 

 and now a principal business of our voyage, either at 

 the Marquesas, or else at one of those islands which 

 Tasman had called Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and 



