On 14 November 1768, Captain James Cook and the Endeavour reached Rio de Janeiro (then in the hands of the Portuguese). The Royal Society had organised the voyage (financed by George III), asking Cook to watch the transit of Venus from Tahiti. In Rio de Janeiro Cook wanted to fill their stores with fresh supplies for the next part of their journey and as required went to the Portuguese viceroy to deal with the necessary formalities. To his surprise his hosts were not very welcoming: the crew was forced to remain on board, with Portuguese soldiers rowing around the Endeavour to ensure that no one could leave.
Only Cook – accompanied by an armed Portuguese guard – was permitted to go ashore and buy much needed food and water. He tried to explain that they were on a scientific mission but, Cook wrote in his logbook, the Portuguese viceroy ‘certainly did not believe a word about our being bound to the South ward to observe the transit of Venus.’ It was obvious, the viceroy explained to Cook, that they were either spies, smugglers or merchants. The transit observation was clearly ‘an invented story’ to cover up the real purpose of the voyage. The viceroy was unable to understand the importance of the transit and thought the idea was as absurd as the ‘North Star Passing thro. the South Pole’. The viceroy thought ‘it impossible that the King of England could be such a fool as to fitt out a ship merely to observe the transit of Venus’.
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