The Unfortunate End of Captain Cook
Travel Blog • Pam Mandel • 02.16.09 | 9:57 AM ET
Photo by The story of Captain Cook’s death—the anniversary of this unfortunate event just passed—is an object lesson in cultural misunderstandings.
Cook and his crew first blew into Kaleakakua Bay while the Pleadies were rising, during the festival of Makahiki. Hawaiian custom deemed that during this time, there was to be no fighting, no conflict of any kind.
It was a time when all wars and battles were ceased, tributes and taxes paid by each district to the ruling chief, sporting competitions and contests between villages were organized, and festive events were commenced. Several of the rigid kapu (regulating religious and social laws) were eased or temporarily set aside to allow more freedom of activity and easy celebration. It was a time of rest and renewal in preparation for the next growing season.—Uncle Charlie, Hawaiian Storyteller
Some stories say Cook was mistaken for the god Lono, the god of peace associated with Makahiki. Mistaken identity or no, Cook’s people were greeted with kindness, generosity and a willingness to overlook their transgressions. After a brief stay, the ship departed, returning some time later to make repairs in the bay which had received them so hospitably the first time.
Someone should have checked the festival calendar. The season of peace was over. The formerly placid Hawaiians stole a canoe. Cook’s crew attempted to take the King of Hawaii hostage as incentive for the Hawaiians to give it back. No longer passive, the Hawaiians put up a fight, and Cook was killed in a skirmish on the beach on Feb. 14, 1779.
It’s simplistic, but I can’t help but wonder if someone—anyone—had bothered to ask, “Hey, anything going on now that we should know about?” Maybe, with a few well-placed questions, the inelegant end of the great explorer could have been avoided.