Post #136405 by christiki295 on Wed, Jan 19, 2005 8:41 PM

More on the death of Cpt. Cook:

Leaving Hawai'i, Cook's ships ran into bad weather and one lost her foremast, forcing the crew to return to Kealakekua Bay. The bay was deserted because the area was under kapu, although Cook persuaded the natives to begin repairs and reestablish the observatory. Trading resumed, and the relationship between the islanders and the English appeared unchanged. However, before long several disquieting events occurred. First, sailors aboard the Discovery opened fire on natives escaping from the ship with stolen goods. Then, intending to teach the Hawaiians a lesson, the sailing master of the Resolution seized a canoe belonging to an important ali'i, who was injured in the conflict. The natives retaliated for these attacks, smashing the boats and equipment and beating several sailors. Deciding to put an end to the problem, Cook armed his men, blockaded the bay, and fired upon one of the canoes, killing an important chief. Meanwhile, Cook led an armed party ashore to seize Chief Kalani'opu'u as a hostage. But he and a small group of sailors were surrounded at the beach, and Cook was clubbed to death in the ensuing conflict. A day and night of retaliation by both sides ended with complete destruction of the village despite continued pleas for peace by the native priests. [11]

There are a number of possible reasons why the Hawaiians turned on Cook, a mortal whom they had elevated to god-like status. The Europeans had desecrated the nearby heiau and its images of Lono and had used the structure to house their sick and as a burial place for their dead. Also, the tremendous amounts of food, fuel, and water taken aboard the ships had been a heavy drain on Hawaiian resources. The refusal to fully share their prized iron goods with the Hawaiians may also have caused animosity. Cook also seemed to expect subservience, intending finally to force submission of the Hawaiians by taking their high chief Kalani'opu'u hostage. By encouraging the natives to break the kapu on Kealakekua Bay, Cook had directly challenged the authority of the chiefs. One author suggests that when the women began to visit the ships in great numbers, their husbands grew jealous "and began to distrust these new divinities." [12] Others suggest that the fact that the sailors slept with the women of the islands proved they were foreigners (haoles). [13] The return of the English ships to Kealakekua Bay to repair a broken mast shortly after their triumphant exit only served to illustrate their fallibility; Cook's death in battle finally proved to the Hawaiians that they were mere mortals. Cook's ignorance of Hawaiian customs probably contributed in large part to his death, he and his men failing to grasp the intricate relationship between politics and religion in the Hawaiian culture. Even though Cook recognized the extraordinary homage and honor accorded him, he failed to correct the Hawaiians "misimpression of his identity, allowing himself to be addressed and treated as their god." [14]

Eventually a fragile truce took place between the Hawaiians and the English. Parts of Cook's body (which had been partially dismembered and burned) were recovered, along with some of his belongings, and his bones were interred in the bay. It should be noted that the priests had treated Cook's body and personal effects in the same manner and with the same reverence they accorded their own chiefs. [15] The Englishmen quickly took on water and supplies and completed the repairs to their ship. On the evening of February 22,1779, eight days after Cook's death, the Disco very and the Resolution sailed out of Kealakekua Bay, leaving behind the lovely islands that had claimed the life of their captain. Despite Cook's death, these voyages successfully explored great reaches of the Pacific and opened the door for future expeditions from England, France, Spain, and Russia. For years after Cook's death, Hawaiians held ambivalent feelings about him, inquiring of other sea captains whether Cook would ever return and questioning whether Cook had, in revenge, sent the Spaniards to make them slaves and take their country. The natives were especially concerned about how long Cook would stay hostile towards them, blaming his anger for volcanic eruptions in Hawai'i.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/kona/history2.htm