Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

Cook's Discovery of Kiritimati

When
1777–1781
Where
Kiritimati (Christmas Island), northern Line Islands; Augsburg (publication location not among allowed places)
Episodes
2

During his third Pacific voyage, Captain James Cook reached the Pacific atoll of Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1777. The island was subsequently mapped in 1781 as île des Tortues (Turtles Island) by Tobias Conrad Lotter in Augsburg.

Episodes

  1. 24 December 1777 · Kiritimati (Christmas Island), northern Line IslandsCook's Arrival at Kiritimati

    Captain James Cook visited the Pacific atoll of Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1777, during his third voyage.

  2. 1781 · Augsburg (publication location not among allowed places)Mapping as Île des Tortues

    In 1781, Tobias Conrad Lotter mapped the island in Augsburg as île des Tortues (Turtles Island), following Cook's 1777 visit.

Background and detail

Background. Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. Its name derives from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, in which the combination ti is pronounced /s/.

Cook's Visit. During his third voyage, Captain James Cook visited the island on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1777. Cook noted that rats were already present, apparently introduced by seafarers many centuries before his arrival. The type specimen of the Tuamotu sandpiper was collected on Christmas Island in 1778, probably on 1 or 2 January, during Cook's visit.

Cartographic Record. The island was put on a map in 1781 as île des Tortues (Turtles Island) by Tobias Conrad Lotter in Augsburg, following Cook's discovery of the atoll during his third voyage.

People involved

  • James Cook · English explorer and captain who visited Kiritimati during his third voyage
  • Tobias Conrad Lotter · Cartographer who mapped the island in 1781 in Augsburg

Sources

  1. Kiritimati Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-08

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.