Late Stage Capitalism

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Should be a national holiday (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I've heard the story told a few different ways. The basics I remember were Cook came during a time of peace, left, encountered a storm, came back, but now it was a time of war which led to him being killed. Wikipedia has some more specifics pointing that Cook probably brought it on himself:

Cook and his crew were initially welcomed and treated with honour,[7] as his arrival coincided with the Makahiki season,[8] an ancient New Year festival in honour of the god Lono of the Hawaiian religion, and a celebration of the yearly harvest.[9]

It is not known for sure if Cook was considered a god (Lono) or not. They may have thought he was Lono due to some coincidental details or they may have just nicknamed him Lono for other reasons.

However, after Cook and the crews of both ships, HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, left the islands, the festival season had ended and the season for battle and war had begun under the worship and rituals for Kūkaʻilimoku, the god of war.[11] Although Cook's sequential visits may have coincided with native traditional seasons, the natives had soured on Cook and his men by the time of Cook's initial departure.

During Cook's initial visit, he attempted to barter with the Hawaiians and ordered his men to remove the wood used to border the natives' sacred "Morai" burial ground, used for high-ranking individuals and depictions of their gods. Ledyard says in his journals that Cook offered some iron hatchets for the wooden border around the Morai and when the dismayed and insulted chiefs refused, Cook proceeded to give orders to ascend the Morai, chop down the fence and load the boats with the wood.[13] John Ledyard also tells of an episode where Captain Charles Clerke accused a native chieftain of stealing the Resolution's jolly boat. However, the boat was soon found and the native chief was incensed by the accusation.

On 6 February Cook's ships left Kealakekua Bay. They were soon met with an unexpected hard gale which wrenched the mainmast of the Resolution. On 11 February, the Resolution returned again to Kealakekua Bay to make repairs.

While the Resolution was anchored in Kealakekua Bay, one of its two longboats was stolen from the ship by the Hawaiians,[15] testing the foreigners' reaction to see how far they could go with such a significant loss. The Hawaiians had begun openly stealing from the foreigners. To try to obtain the return of the stolen longboat from the Hawaiians, Cook attempted to kidnap the aliʻi nui of the island of Hawaii, Kalaniʻōpuʻu.

The ruler did not know he was being abducted (he thought he was being invited onboard their ship) but once he realized it, he stopped cooperating and soon Cook and his men were surrounded by thousands of natives.

[High Chief] Kanaʻina angrily approached Cook, who reacted by striking the chief with the broad (flat) side of his sword. Kanaʻina jumped at Cook and grabbed him. Some accounts state that Kanaʻina did not intend to hit Cook while other descriptions say the chief deliberately struck the navigator across the head with his leiomano [shark-toothed club].[30] Either way, Kanaʻina pushed Cook, who fell to the sand. As Cook attempted to get up, Nuaa [the king's personal attendant] lunged at him and fatally stabbed him in the chest with a metal dagger, obtained by trade from Cook's ship during the same visit. Cook fell with his face in the water.[12] This caused a violent, close-quarters melee between the Hawaiians and Cook's men.[31]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Cook

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Hawaiian perspective:

Capt. James Cook of the British Royal Navy set up a blockade at Kealakekua Bay after the theft of one of his boats. To prove his point, he tries to take hostage the high chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu.

Confusion ensues and a chief is shot by Cook's men for not obeying the blockade.

And in this one tense moment, the chiefs are not having it, they’re not going to let Kalaniʻōpuʻu take another step forward and anybody who tries to move him is going to get it. And that’s when Cook is killed," she continued.

Abad said this was a symbolic moment for Native Hawaiians. Cook's arrival brought with it infectious diseases that devastated the Native Hawaiian population.

"There’s a growing sense that we can no longer tolerate the big and small incursions upon our land and our people and our culture and our language," Abad said. "And James Cook represents some of the worst of what has happened."

She said when Cook's continued behavior ended that day, it was a relief to Native Hawaiians. "It’s something in some areas that might even be a source of pride."

https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2023-02-13/valentines-day-marks-death-of-james-cook-a-significant-day-for-native-hawaiians

I found another perspective that I could not confirm if it is Hawaiian and looks kinda sus but it says:

The Hawaiians, accustomed to visitors leaving their shores after a short stay, began to see the prolonged presence of Cook and his men as a violation of their norms and hospitality.

The situation deteriorated when Cook’s ships returned to Hawaii for repairs after initially leaving, breaking the cultural protocol of the Makahiki season. This unexpected return was seen as an ill omen by the Hawaiians.

In an attempt to regain control, Cook planned to take Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the high chief of Hawaii, hostage. This act was a grave miscalculation, deeply offending the Hawaiians and challenging their sovereignty. The resulting confrontation, fueled by cultural misunderstandings and the Hawaiians’ defense of their dignity and leadership, led to Cook’s death. From the Hawaiian viewpoint, this was not a mere act of violence but a defense of their land, culture, and leaders against what they perceived as an overstepping of boundaries by the foreigners.

For Hawaiians, the death of Cook marked a significant moment in their history, signifying the complexities of early encounters with Europeans. It underscores the impact of foreign intrusion on indigenous cultures and the inevitable clash when cultural norms and values are misunderstood or disregarded. Cook’s death, from the Hawaiian perspective, is a story of resistance against foreign dominance and a poignant reminder of the need for mutual respect in cross-cultural interactions.

https://www.frnwh.com/2024/02/the-hawaiian-perspective-understanding-the-death-of-captain-james-cook/

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

What an ignominious end.