During the 18th century the Western world underwent what is considered an age of Enlightenment. The changes meant that the world was entering into an age of reason whereby scientific fact played a considerable role in the decisions made by countries, rather than religion. Although obviously religion still played a predominant role in society, the ruling class were now making the distinction between religion and science and commerce. The desire to improve trade, commerce and ultimately wealth increased during this time, sparking a revival in the attempt to find and subsequently exploit the unknown continent of the south. Prior to this, the myth of a ‘Great Southern Land’ was nothing more than the imaginative hopes of individuals that a large Eden-like paradise existed in the Pacific, although it was enticing, there had been no urgency to seek and claim this land. European countries could now see the immense economic benefit in acquiring a large ‘untouched’ land. Despite prior reports from various explorers claiming it was baron and not desirable, this land mass could open up trade routes for many European countries into the Dutch East Indies, a valuable economic asset. Following Captain James Cook and his naturalist Joseph Banks reports on the Eastern coast of Australia, the interest was piqued further as many scientific discoveries of flora and fauna emerged from the expedition, opening up further potential economic ventures for whoever could claim the land. Ultimately, the scientific and enlightenment period resulted in European counties exploring the undiscovered for motivations other than simply to conquer, but looking into the many economic and scientific ventures that could emerge from claiming new territory in the south seas.
Naturalist Joseph Banks made many important scientific discoveries upon his expedition to Australia with Captian James Cook. These discoveries led to increased desire by Britain to claim the land due to it's economic potential.
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