The voyage of exploration I chose was Captain Cook’s first voyage. I chose this one because it represents a major time in the mapping and exploration of Australia. This voyage extended European understanding of the world and highlighted the important role of mapmaking and navigation during the 18th century. Sara Caputo talks about in the reading that voyages weren’t just about traveling but more about recording the land and understanding the place, even when at times it was hard.

This historical map represents the scope of geographic knowledge while it was in the process of being developed. Cook’s main focus on his journey was recording and observing the land and using the tools he had to discover these new places on the coastline. This connects to our reading in class from Mundy’s article about the process of mapping and the perspective you have on it during hard times, rather than a perfectly exact map of the area. This journey of Cook’s voyage shows the uncertainty they faced in unknown difficult times like traveling through the Great Barrier Reef.

For this being my first time doing something like this; ArcGIS makes it so much easier to understand the route, the name of the event or place, and the information I need to know. It really helped me understand the route Cook took and the distances from place to place to fully understand it more clearly. I liked being able to see it in real time and move along the map in order of the places. I read Carol Pal and Dena Goodman from class readings and they also expressed that the way information is recorded shapes how we as viewers understand the information, so these modern tools can help us learn more about this time but also hide the challenges these people faced.

In my opinion, it doesn’t fully show all the risks and challenges these sailors face along the way. Just as Cook and his crew faced many challenges along their route. While I do agree the digital version is very easy to follow and shows the route clearly, making it easier to understand. Also digital tools for map-making I think have definitely transformed the way we visualize and understand human interaction with the physical world in the same ways as the ‘tracks on the ocean’ described by Sara Caputo. They show the movement as a clear path, making the journey easier to follow and understand, but also leaving out some information.

StoryMap