Nicholas Young (sailor)

Nicholas Young was a sailor on Captain James Cook's ship in his first voyage. He was eleven years old when the ship left England on 26 August 1768. However, before he earned the rank of able-bodied seaman, he was a stowaway on the Endeavour. Nicholas Young sighted New Zealand on 7 October 1769. Captain James Cook named the place Young Nick's Head after Nick and rewarded him with five gallons of rum. Nicholas must have been well educated because he once wrote in John Bootie's journal, "Evil communications corrupt good" and signed his name below bravely. In the novel, John Bootie was mean to young Nicholas for being blamed of not knowing Nicholas was on the ship. He was also hidden in the Pinnace.

Later Nick went on another voyage with Joseph Banks, a trip to Iceland in 1772.

References

• Stowaway, a children's novel authored by Karen Hesse, falls into the historical fiction genre and recounts Captain Cook's voyage from Nicholas Young's point of view. It is told via a fictitious diary; however, several of the occurrences are based on genuine evidence and true historical events.