ABSTRACT
Having established on his second voyage that if there were a southern continent it would be within the Antarctic Circle and thus inaccessible, James Cook's next task was to tackle the unresolved mystery of the Northwest Passage. This expedition was to consist of two ships: the Resolution and the Discovery, under the command of Charles Clerke, who had served on the previous expeditions. Cook solved the mystery of the massacre at Grass Cove. In December Cook sailed from Tahiti to North America, discovering the Hawaiian islands, which he named the Sandwich Islands, during January 1778. On 14 February, a dispute relating to a stolen cutter led to Cook being clubbed to death on the beach at Kealakekua Bay.
