Authors: Anne Salmond
ISBN-13: 9780300100921, ISBN-10: 0300100922
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Yale University Press
Date Published: January 2004
Edition: 1st Edition
This vivid book retells the story of Captain Cook's great voyages in the South Seas, focusing on the encounters between the explorers and the island peoples they "discovered." While Cook and his men were initially confounded by the Polynesians, they were also curious. Cook and his crew soon formed friendships-and often more intimate relationships-with the islanders. The islanders, who initially were not certain if the Englishmen were even human, came to experiment with Western customs and in some cases joined the voyagers on their expeditions.
But familiarity quickly bred contempt. Shipboard discipline was threatened by these new relationships, and the culture of the islands was also changed forever. Captain Cook, initially determined to act as an enlightened leader, saw his resolve falter during the third voyage. Amicable relations turned hostile, culminating in Cook's violent death on the shores of Hawaii.
In this masterful account of Cook's voyages, Anne Salmond-a preeminent authority on the history of the south seas-reimagines two worlds that collided in the eighteenth century, and the enduring impact of that collision.
List of Illustrations | ||
List of Maps | ||
Acknowledgements | ||
Preface: Imperial histories and the trap of Cyclops. Cross-cultural dynamics over Cook's three Pacific voyages | ||
1 | How Englishmen Came to Eat Dogs | 1 |
2 | Rule Britannia! | 10 |
3 | The Wooden World of the Endeavour | 22 |
4 | High Priest of 'Oro | 34 |
5 | Tupaia's Paintbox | 56 |
6 | Cook's Tour of Tahiti | 85 |
7 | Travellers from Hawaiki | 108 |
8 | The Owner of These Bones | 140 |
9 | Penguins on Wimbledon Common | 165 |
10 | Cannibals and Kings | 191 |
11 | A Feast at Grass Cove | 220 |
12 | The Return of the Native | 245 |
13 | Monboddo's Monkeys | 264 |
14 | A Tahitian at the Opera | 293 |
15 | The Glorious Children of Te Tumu | 318 |
16 | Farewell to Elysium | 351 |
17 | Killing Kuki | 386 |
Conclusion: Our Ancestor Captain Cook | 417 | |
App | Calendar of Punishments during Captain Cook's Three Pacific Voyages | 433 |
Selected Bibliography | 438 | |
Notes | 443 | |
Index | 493 |