Conflict and cooperation , with
Gable End Foreland in the background, were drawn by
the artist of the first expedition. In his three Pacific voyages, Cook encountered numerous indigenous peoples, many with little or no previous contact with Europeans. Cook's instructions from the Admiralty required him to cultivate friendships with indigenous peoples, treat them with civility, trade with them for provisions, and to report on the natural products of their lands and the "genius, temper, disposition and number" of the people. Before the first voyage, the Royal Society advised Cook that he should avoid violence against indigenous people, use lethal force only as a last resort, andafter tempers had calmedexplain to them that the British considered them the "Lords of the Country". Upon initial contact with an indigenous people, Cook usually sought to establish amicable relations by engaging in local friendship rituals such as gift-giving, exchanging names, presenting green boughs, or
hongi (rubbing noses). He also relied on his Polynesian ship guestsTupaia, Hitihiti, and Maito act as interpreters, advisers, and cultural intermediaries. The anthropologist
Nicholas Thomas argues that despite Cook's peaceful intentions, violence was sometimes inevitable when indigenous people resisted contact by the British. Following a violent encounter in 1774, Cook wrote, "we attempt to land in a peaceable manner, if this succeeds it's well, if not we land nevertheless and maintain the footing we thus got by the Superiority of our fire arms, in what other light can they than at first look upon us but as invaders of their Country". When conflict was likely, Cook implemented measures to minimise harm, such as instructing his crew to first fire warning shots, and to load their firearms with
small shot, which was generally non-lethal. When Cook was not present, his crew sometimes disobeyed his orders and changed their weapons to use more fatal
musket balls. The level of violence fluctuated throughout the three voyages. Many encounters were almost entirely peaceful, while in other cases generally friendly relations were punctuated by sporadic violence. Overall, at least 45 indigenous people were killed by Cook's crew, including two killed by Cook. Fifteen of the crew were killed by indigenous people,
including Cook himself. The worst incidents of deadly violence occurred in New Zealand during the first and second voyages, and in Hawaii during the third voyage. The British often resorted to violence when they felt threatened or believed that indigenous people were engaging in theft or dishonest trade. Cook generally overlooked minor thefts, but punished thefts of official propertyespecially essential equipmentmore severely. To avoid excessive bloodshed he usually responded to thefts with warning shots,
floggings, or the seizure of canoes, or by holding indigenous leaders hostage until the stolen items were returned.
(high chief), and therefore the embodiment of the powers and attributes of certain atua'' (Polynesian gods). Cook's status as an
ariki in much of Polynesia was due to his leadership role when making contact with indigenous people, the deference crew members displayed towards him, the power of the weapons he commanded, and the respect he gained by becoming ceremonial friends with local chiefs. Ceremonial friendships typically involved Cook and a chief exchanging genealogies, names, and symbols of their status (for example, uniforms and weapons), by which their ancestries and
mana (life force) would be merged. In Hawaii, Cook's status as an
akua (the Hawaiian version of
atua) derived partly from the time and manner of his arrival during his second visit in late 1778. Many Hawaiians thought Cook was an embodiment of the Polynesian god
Lono. Some scholars believe that the form of HMS
Resolutionspecifically, the mast formation, sails and riggingresembled certain significant artefacts that formed part of the season of worship. During the second visit, several members of Cook's expedition realised that the Hawaiians thought Cook was a deity. According to historian
Glyndwr Williams, there is still scholarly debate over the extent to which Cook was considered a akiri (high chief) or
akua (god) in Hawaii. In Polynesia the role of akiri carried significant ramifications for relationships and power. It is unlikely that Cook understood the expectations and responsibilities associated with the role.
Anne Salmond writes: "Over the past ten years he had exchanged gifts, including his own clothing, and sometimes his name, with a series of Polynesian leaders. In the course of these exchanges, according to Pacific understandings, something of the life force of those people had entered his being. Such relationships, especially between
ariki, were often turbulent and dangerous. When high chiefs came together, their ancestor gods also met.
Ariki were the living representatives of the gods, and imbued with their power. A man caught between two sets of gods was 'two-sided', and could be torn in contradictory directions". The anthropologist
Anne Salmond theorises that Cook's treatment as a akiri (high chief) gave Cook an elevated sense of power, and may have contributed to his more aggressive behaviour on the third voyage. The perception of Cook could change over time, for example, if the indigenous peoples witnessed behaviour that did not conform to their expectations: such as in New Zealand, were Cook failed to take revenge for the deaths of ten crew members. In Hawaii, during the second visit, Cook was viewed as a
akua (god). Cook departed the islands on 4 February 1779, consistent with the cycle of the
Makahiki season. But a mast on one of the ships broke, and Cook was forced to return to the island, which confused the Hawaiians, because Lono was not supposed to return for another year. The ship received a chilly greeting; the historian Thomas theorised that the Hawaiians viewed the timing of Cook's return as a challenge to king
Kalaniʻōpuʻu. The Hawaiian's perception of Cook further evolved when he died, an event which was consistent with a normal human. In Tahiti, after Cook's death, he was venerated as an
atua with rituals and offeringsbut over time the rituals ceased and the memory of Cook diminished. -->
Trading and commerce Cook's orders instructed him to barter with indigenous peoples to replenish his ship's provisions. When bartering, Cook primarily received food from the indigenous peoples, including fish, pigs, plantains, bananas, coconuts, and breadfruit. In return Cook gave items such as iron nails, beads, copper, knives, and cloth. The crew also bartered individually with indigenous peoples, often to purchase "curiosities", hatchets, and other souvenirs, and also for sex. Cook carried a wide variety of livestock on his ships including pigs, goats, cattle, horses, rabbits, turkeys, and sheep. The ships also carried cats and dogs as pets. The livestock were used for a variety of purposes: for consumption by the crew, to place onto lands they visited to establish breeding pairs, and to give to indigenous individuals as gifts. In 1777, in Tahiti, Cook felt that
Resolution had too many rats, so he pulled the ship close to shore and had the crew rig a large rope from the ship leading to the land, hoping some of the rats would leave the ship. --> Cook also brought plants and seeds on his ships, and planted gardens on several islands. The plants included wheat, carrots, peas, mustard, cabbages, strawberry, parsley, potatoes, oranges, lemons, pomelo, limes, watermelons, turnips, onions, beans, and parsnip. The crops were intended for the benefit of the indigenous peoples, and also to feed future British visitors. and
tatu (
tattoo) entered the English language. Crew members called Cook's fits of anger
"heivas" (the Tahitian word for a public performance), and they called Cook "Toote" (the Tahitian transliteration of his name). Many Polynesians also learnt some English, Tupaia and Mai becoming fairly proficient. "Cookees" became a Tahitian word for Europeans. Polynesians adopted some European foods, and Cook's crew also developed a taste for local foods.
Dog was a common food in Polynesia and Cook's crew came to eat it with enjoyment. The Māori enjoyed the ship's salted meat and Mai tried to produce wine on his island. Cook brought European livestock and crops to the Pacific and brought exotic plants back to England. '' (Māori tattoo), inspired many of Cook's crew to get tattoos. Tahitians extended the meaning of their word
tatau to include European writing. Polynesians admired the work of the crew's artists and Tupaia learnt to draw and paint in the English style. Tahitians, Tongans and Hawaiians staged boxing and wrestling matches in which crew members sometimes participated, and they often exchanged musical performances and dancing. Several Polynesians joined Cook's expeditions as ship guests. Tupaia advised Banks on Polynesian culture and explained Polynesian navigational methods to Cook, helping him make a chart of South Pacific islands. Mai, in his two years in England, became a celebrity and an unofficial cultural ambassador for his homeland. On his return to the Tahitian islands he attempted to spread knowledge of England. Cook and his officers attended Polynesian ceremonies and sacred rituals while Polynesians, in turn, occasionally observed and participated in the British religious services and burials. When one crew member died in Hawaii, the Hawaiian priests agreed that he should be buried in their local shrine, and they turned the funeral into as cross-cultural ritual. After Cook's death, his memory and physical remains were incorporated into Hawaiian rituals for decades. Many Polynesians became friends or lovers with their visitors, and some crew members attempted desertion to be with their Polynesian lovers. Cook entered into ceremonial friendships with Polynesian chiefs for practical reasons but also developed emotional attachments to some of them. European knowledge of the indigenous cultures of the Pacific region increased with the publication of accounts of the voyages. These accounts were popular, but spread some misconceptions about indigenous peoples. The art of the voyages also proved popular, many works being reproduced in cheap editions and as book illustrations. The artists strove for scientific accuracy but sometimes distorted actual events and fostered a particularly European vision of the Pacific and its cultures.
Health and sexual relations during the first voyage. The
tapa cloth used in Polynesian clothing was made from the
inner bark of certain trees. Many European explorersincluding members of Cook's crewscarried communicable diseases such as
syphilis,
gonorrhea,
tuberculosis,
malaria,
dysentery,
smallpox,
influenza, and
hepatitis. These diseases caused a significant decline in some local populations, who often had no natural resistance. Cook's crews transmitted some of these diseases to indigenous peoples in Tahiti, Hawaii, British Columbia, and New Zealand. In Hawaii, Cook's crews were the first Europeans to introduce some diseases to the local population. Sexual mores differed greatly between Britain and the places visited by Cook. Of Hawaii, the anthropologist
Marshall Sahlins writes: "We can see why Hawaiians are so interested in sex. Sex was everything: rank, power, wealth, land, and the security of all these." Most sexual encounters were consensual, but they often involved payment in the form of trinkets, feathers, or iron nails. In Hawaii, some women believed that sex with white men would increase their
mana (spiritual power). In New Zealand during the second voyage, Māori men forced women to have sex with the crewmen. Cook took measures to mitigate the spread of
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including issuing orders that prohibited women from boarding his ships and instructing his crew to refrain from sexual relations with indigenous women. In Hawaii he specifically ordered that "no woman was to board either of the ships" and that any crew member known to have an STD was forbidden from engaging in sexual activity, stating these directives were intended "to prevent as much as possible the communicating [of] this fatal disease to a set of innocent people". However, Cook's orders were frequently disregarded by members of his crew.
Cook's observations : "they are far more happier than we Europeans; being wholy unacquainted not only with the superfluous but the necessary conveniences so much sought after in Europe, they are happy in not knowing the use of them. They live in a Tranquility which is not disturbed by the Inequality of Condition..." Cook's instructions required him to report on the indigenous peoples he encountered. Over time he developed an interest in their cultures and his observations became more sophisticated as he attempted to understand cultural differences and describe them in a detached manner. Cook described the Māori as brave, noble, open, benevolent, devoid of treachery, and having few vices. He believed that Aboriginal Australians were happier than Europeans because they enjoyed social equality in a warm climate and were provided with all the necessities of life, and therefore had no need of trade with Britain (see the
manuscript page). While such views partly reflected Enlightenment ideas of the
noble savage living in a
state of nature, they were contrary to the popular notion in Britain and among Cook's crew members that indigenous people were savages living in societies inferior to British civilisation. Cook sometimes questioned the idea that contact with Europeans would benefit indigenous people. In 1773 he wrote: "we debauch their Morals already too prone to vice and we introduce among them wants and perhaps diseases which they never before knew and which serves only to disturb that happy tranquility they and their fore Fathers had enjoyed. If any one denies the truth of this assertion let him tell me what the Natives of the whole extent of America have gained by the commerce they have had with Europeans." Whereas his crew saw the cannibalism of the Māori as a sign of their savagery, Cook viewed it as merely a custom that they would discard when they became more united and less prone to internal wars. He reported that the Polynesian peoples shared a common ancestry and a tradition of long sea voyages, and had developed into different nations over time. According to Thomas, his comments reflect a more historical and less idealised approach to understanding indigenous cultures than was common in this period. Cook sought to refute misconceptions about indigenous peoples. His comments on Aboriginal Australians were a rebuttal of
William Dampier's disparaging account. He corrected
Bougainville's implication that all property on Tahiti was communally owned, noting that fruit trees belonged to individuals. He countered the British belief in the promiscuity of Tahitian women, arguing that while they had a different attitude to sex, married women and many unmarried women did not provide sex for gifts. Nevertheless, Cook himself sometimes used derogatory terms for indigenous people and made adverse judgements without observing their cultures closely and questioning them on their practices and beliefs. ==Personal life and character==