66 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
The object of the voyage was to discover the great 
Southern Continent if it existed or to disprove its exist- 
ence definitely. The plan was in fact similar to that of 
Kerguelen’s second voyage, different as was the result. 
Cook was instructed to proceed to Madeira, thence to 
the Cape of Good Hope, then a Dutch possession, for it 
must be remembered that at that date there was no British 
territory in the Southern hemisphere and that Cape Town, 
the river Plate, Valparaiso and Batavia were the nearest 
ports to the Antarctic circle where a ship could refit. 
From the Cape he was to proceed southward in search of 
Bouvet’s Cape Circumcision in 54 0 S., ii° 20 ' E., and if it 
were discovered to determine if it were part of a conti- 
nent. In case it should be so he was to explore as much 
of the continent as possible, to land and make such “ob- 
servations of every kind as might be useful either to nav- 
igation or commerce, or tend to the promotion of natural 
knowledge.” His attitude towards the inhabitants, if any, 
was laid down carefully and he was enjoined to invite 
them to trade and show them “ every kind of civility and 
regard.” The continent was to be coasted either east- 
ward or westward and the exploration continued as near 
to the South Pole as possible so long as the state of the 
vessels and the health of the crew permitted, and a 
sufficiency of provisions was in hand to enable the ships 
to reach a port of supply. Should Cape Circumcision be 
found to be on an island it was to be surveyed, and in 
this case, or if Bouvet’s reported land could not be found, 
Cook was instructed to proceed southward as long as he 
considered that there was any likelihood of falling in 
with the continent and then to proceed eastward in a 
high latitude until he had circumnavigated the globe, 
making such discoveries as might be as near the pole as 
