The ship
Resolution, commanded by Captain James Cook during his second and third voyages (1772–1775, 1776–1780), played a crucial role in the systematic, long-distance transportation of exotic plant specimens and living plants, facilitating the expansion of botanical knowledge and economic botany in the 18th century.
Accommodation for Science: The Resolution was, like its predecessor the Endeavour, heavily adapted for scientific pursuits. It allowed naturalists, specifically Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg on the second voyage, to collect, study, and store thousands of specimens.
Live Plant Transport: The ship was used to transport living plants back to Europe, which were often housed in specially constructed, ventilated boxes or casks on deck to survive the long sea voyage.
Support for Botanical Collectors: The ship provided the base for onboard artists like William Hodges and scientists to document plants immediately after collection, ensuring scientific accuracy before specimens deteriorated.
Facilitating Global Exchange: The Resolution carried European garden seeds to be planted in Pacific islands, acting as a vector for introducing foreign flora into new environments to improve local agriculture and supply future ships.
Legacy of Collection: The botanical materials, including seeds and specimens gathered on the Resolution, were essential for the growing collections at Kew Gardens and other European centers, driven by the botanical expertise of Joseph Banks, who, though on the Endeavour, directed the botanical agendas of these later voyages.
Note: While many of the most famous botanical collections (1,000+ species) were made on the Endeavour (1768-1771), the Resolution continued this tradition of intense botanical, zoological, and ethnographic collection.