James Cook is an outstanding traveler of the 18th century, explorer of the Antarctic seas and Oceania. But in our country his name became famous thanks to the comic song of V. S. Vysotsky "Why did the natives eat Cook?" Historians, however, have expressed different versions of the death of this British navigator in the Hawaiian Islands.
The first version of the death of James Cook
James Cook was born in 1728 in North Yorkshire in the small village of Marton. Thanks to his dedication, he made a dizzying career in the navy. As the son of a farm laborer, Cook went from cabin boy to rank 1 captain.
In honor of James Cook, bays, bays, the strait between the islands of New Zealand, as well as an archipelago state - the Cook Islands, are named.
The navigator circled the Earth three times, led 3 expeditions. Thanks to James Cook, 11 archipelagos and 27 islands in the Pacific were discovered, including New Caledonia. The brave navigator crossed the Arctic Circle three times and was the first to sail in the Amundsen Sea. Cook was an excellent cartographer, which allowed him to map all the geographical discoveries made.
In 1776, for his outstanding services, Cook became a member of the Royal Society and was assigned to the Greenwich Observatory, but preferred new achievements to a quiet life and decided to participate in the third expedition. During this voyage, James Cook made his main discovery - the Hawaiian Islands, on which he found his death in 1779.
According to the first version-reconstruction of old events, the cause of the death of the British navigator was ordinary ticks, which were stolen from the ship's carpenter by the islanders. He opened fire in pursuit of the thief, the pincers were returned, but the boatswain demanded that the thief be handed over, in response the islanders threw stones at the British. To smooth over the brewing conflict, James Cook went to the king of the island to invite him to the ship.
Everything went smoothly until a rumor spread among the natives that two Hawaiians had been killed by the British on the other side of the island. The rumor was false, but the islanders began to arm themselves with javelins, spears and stones.
On the way back there was a scuffle. The islanders responded to the shooting of the British with a hail of stones. Panic began, as a result of which the sailors rushed to the lifeboats. As befits a captain, Cook was the last to go. Seeing the panic among the British, the natives rushed in pursuit. During a skirmish, James Cook died, pierced by an arrow from a Haitian.
The second version of the death of the captain
The natives allegedly stole the boat from the British; in an attempt to return it, Cook decided to take the king of the island hostage. After negotiations, the British abandoned this venture and, having secured the king's promise to find the thief and return the boat to the British, the team went back to the ship.
When the sailors got into the boat, someone from Cook's team decided to scare the natives and fired. The bullet hit the leader of the islanders, and in response the Haitians began to throw stones at the British. One of them hit Cook, who opened fire in a rage. But the enraged natives responded with a fresh attack. Another stone hit the captain in the head. He lost his balance and fell, immediately the long knives of the Haitians struck down Cook.
Some historians believe that the natives did not intend to eat Cook at all. They dismembered his body and gave it to the shamans, showing special respect for the captain. According to local customs, they did this with the bodies of only the most worthy opponents.
Captain Clark took over the leadership of the expedition and demanded that the natives hand over the body of James Cook. Under the cannon shots, the marines landed on the coast, which drove the islanders into the mountains and completely burned their village. After this, the demand of the British was heard, and the remains of Captain Cook were delivered to the ship - about ten pounds of human flesh and a head without a lower jaw. This allowed historians to assume that the body of the brave captain was eaten by the natives.
