The Study Of Cook Made A Deep Impression On The King's Mind.
Why, he
asked himself, should not France share in the glory of discovering new
lands, and penetrating untraversed seas?
There was a large amount of
exploratory work still to be done. English navigators were always busy
sailing to unknown parts, but the entire world was by no means revealed
yet. There were, particularly, big blank spaces at the bottom of the
globe. That country called by the Dutch New Holland, the eastern part
of which Cook had found - there was evidently much to be done there.
What were the southern coasts like? Was it one big island-continent, or
was it divided into two by a strait running south from the head of the
Gulf of Carpentaria? Then there was that piece of country discovered by
the Dutchman Tasman, and named Van Diemen's Land. Was it an
island, or did it join on to New Holland? There were also many islands
of the Pacific still to be explored and correctly charted, the map of
Eastern Asia was imperfect, and the whole of the coastline of
North-Western America was not accurately known.
The more Louis turned the matter over in his mind, the more he studied
his globes, maps and books of voyages, the more convinced he was that
France, as a maritime nation and a naval Power, ought to play an
important part in this grand work of unveiling to mankind the full
extent, form, nature and resources of our planet.
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