Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ravage the native population. The highlights of the first meeting included mutual interest
in each other, a few of the sailors' items being stolen, the trading of sex and venereal dis-
ease.
It wouldn't be until a year later that Cook returned, and his impact would become much
more significant. Cook had named Hawai'i the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his
patrons, John Montague, the Earl of Sandwich. On his return voyage he spotted Maui on
November 26, 1778. After eight weeks of seeking a suitable harbor the ships bypassed the
island and finally found safe anchorage at Kealakekua Bay on the Kona coast of the Big
Island. It is lucky for history that on board was Mr. Anderson, ship's chronicler, who left a
handwritten record of the strange and tragic events that followed.
Coincidentally, when Cook landed on the Big Island, it was the time of the
makahiki,
a
celebration dedicated to the beloved god Lono. For a few days, as Cook circled the island,
the Hawaiians circled it too, parading a structure held overhead of a cross beam with two
flowing white sheets of tapa which resembled a ship's mast. On January 16, 1779, as the
Hawaiians reached Kealakekua Bay, Lono's sacred harbor, Cook's ship came into the port.
Because of the timing with the
makahiki,
the Hawaiians believed Cook to be a god and
welcomed him to shore with respect.
In the following weeks the Englishmen overstayed their welcome, but when they left,
the
Resolution
broke down at sea. Cook returned to Kealakekua but was no longer well re-
ceived. As the Hawaiians stole random items from the sailboat, the sailors became violent.
Cook lost control after the Hawaiians stole a cutter which had been moored to a nearby
buoy, and it would be a change in temper that would ultimately cost him his life. He went
ashore with backup, intending to take Chief Kalaniopu'u hostage for ransom. When the vi-
olence escalated, Cook was killed. A bitter, protracted argument ensued over the return of
Cook's bones (he was ceremoniously roasted to have the bones removed from the flesh),
and upon finally receiving the bones of their leader, Cook's men sailed back to England.
At the time of Cook's visit, Hawai'i was in a state of political turmoil. In the 1780s
the islands were divided into three kingdoms: Kalaniopu'u ruled the Big Island and the
Hana district of Maui; Kahekili ruled the rest of Maui, Kaho'olawe, Lana'i, and eventually
O'ahu; and Kaeo ruled Kaua'i. Soon after, the great warrior Kamehameha conquered all
of the islands under one rule, and this dynasty would last for 100 years until the Hawaiian
monarchy fell forever.
With regard to Western explorers, however, it became known that Hawai'i was a con-
venient stop on routes to the Pacific Northwest and China, leading to an influx of western-
ers and increased foreign trade. Hawai'i, it seemed, was no longer a secret.
