Captain Cook in Polynesia

The Death of Captain Cook

The death of Captain Cook on a Hawaiian beach haunted how Europeans imagined Polynesia.  In the artistic representations below (all painted or etched within a decade or two after the event), Cook appears, alternatively, as attempting to flee savages with murderous intent, defending himself with masculine heroism, or attempting to forestall a violent conflict and maintain a posture of reconciliation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books about Captain Cook

Ed. A. Grenfell Price et. al., The Explorations of Captain James Cook in the Pacific, as Told by Selections of His Own Journals, 1768-1779 (New York: Dover, 1971) 

 

Captain Cook on the Web

James Cook link page  

Cap Cook-"The...Greatest Explorer"  

Views of Hawaii-Cap. Cook's Voyages  

Captain james cook voyages exhibit