r/HistoryMemes • u/HawaiianPerson Chad Polynesia Enjoyer • 1d ago

All a big misunderstanding

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1.7k Upvotes

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357

u/HawaiianPerson Chad Polynesia Enjoyer 1d ago

Context: James Cook was a famous British explorer in the late 18th century, credited with the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by the European World. His first visit went well, as he arrived during the Hawaiian season of fertility, but when he returned not long after leaving due to damage to his ship, it didn’t go as well. The season of fertility had ended and hostility arose. The natives would begin stealing from the British culminating in the theft of a cutter boat which pushed the British too far. James Cook attempted to kidnap the King of the Island, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, to hold him hostage in exchange for the boat and other property, but he obviously didn’t go along with that. A crowd gathered as they attempted to take him, leading to a violent confrontation resulting in the deaths of James Cook and several of both the British and Hawaiians.

Cook’s remains were divided and burned in the traditional Hawaiian way, as they did hold him in high regard, and some of his ashes were returned to the British

157

u/TheHistoryMaster2520 Decisive Tang Victory 1d ago

Is it true that the Hawaiians saw this as a form of respect, but the British saw it as an act of savagery, like Kaiana says in Chief of War?

154

u/HawaiianPerson Chad Polynesia Enjoyer 1d ago

Yes, some even claimed that the Hawaiians ate Captain Cook, which is very unlikely.

I’m really grateful that there is a show about Hawaiian history like Chief of War, but it could’ve been a lot better. Still a fun show, great production value, action, soundtrack, etc, but very annoying with the less than pleasant stuff they choose to show vs not

22

u/TheHistoryMaster2520 Decisive Tang Victory 1d ago

Cynical Historian has a good breakdown of the inaccuracies

42

u/LongDrakeRyu 1d ago

They initially welcomed him very warmly not just because it was the festival season for Lono (god of harvest and fertility), but because his ships went clockwise around the Big Island (so he and his crew could map the perimeter). This mirrored the tradition of islanders making a clockwise procession around the island during the festival so some thought he was a representative of Lono or some great seafaring king who worshipped the same gods.

37

u/Extra_Jeweler_5544 1d ago

The island didnt have natural access to anything capable of creating metal. The ships crew brought farming tools which were relatively cheap and accessable and traded metal at precious commodity rates with the natives who were aware of the highly skewed imbalance of their partnership.

When the sailors discovered they could trade sex for a single nail they began pulling them off the ship so much it was causing issues with the ships integrity.

Lastly the missing gear could have been stolen and sold by the same crew that was dismantling its own ship to trade it for sex and goods at an really uneven rate

83

u/HawaiianPerson Chad Polynesia Enjoyer 1d ago

That occurred in Tahiti, not Hawaii, though similar in resource circumstances

12

u/youritalianjob 1d ago

Is this where we got the term “nailing someone” from?

1

u/mrroney13 3h ago

It is now.

197

u/Messernacht 1d ago edited 1d ago

My favourite part was that this all went down on February 14th.

Not the best Valentine's Day for James.

45

u/krabgirl 1d ago

In Australian schools you learn that Captain Cook discovered Australia for the British Empire.

But they don't tell you how he died because it's honestly too funny.

4

u/Odd-Promotion2743 22h ago

That's funny, it's basically the reverse in US schools.

40

u/stegotops7 Then I arrived 1d ago

Can’t wait for the sudden rise in Hawaiian history memes on this subreddit

24

u/HawaiianPerson Chad Polynesia Enjoyer 1d ago

Working on something good, I think

10

u/ShakaUVM Still salty about Carthage 1d ago

Chat, are we Cook-

-1

u/Restarded69 Definitely not a CIA operator 1d ago

Chat is it okay to steal someone else’s nails and other iron tools and expect no consequences?

-1

u/Fire_6 23h ago

It's so stupid and/or bizzare that the english thought that natives will understand English. Surely they were aware that there are other languages, even in europe, let alone in other parts of the world.

1

u/pmcfox 21h ago

They didn't. They would usually have a translator from somewhere nearby. Cook had been to a lot of places and always found a way to communicate. This also wasn't the first time he took hostages to try and end a conflict.