The achievements of Captain Cook's first voyage of 1768-71, in which he literally put New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia on the map.

Born in 1728, son of a farm labourer in Yorkshire, it's extraordinary that James Cook rose to become the leader of this first voyage of discovery, sponsored by the Admiralty and the Royal Society.

In the first of three programmes, Dr Nigel Rigby of the National Maritime Museum reassesses the life of this complex man.

Reader: Bill Wallis

Music composed and performed by John Metcalfe.

Producer: Mark Smalley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2002. Show less