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Full Description
Cook's great voyages marked the end of an era in world history. As he sailed into Hawaii in January 1778 he made contact with the last of the human civilizations to grow up independently of the rest of the world. But equally for the Polynesians and Melanesians of the Pacific, Cook's arrival in their midst merely marked a further (if disastrous) twist in diverse histories already many centuries old. In this book, Cook's journeys are re-imagined, attempting to leave behind (or master) our later preoccupations to let us see what Cook and his associates experienced and what the societies he encountered experienced - from the Beothuks of Newfoundland to the Tongans of the Friendly Islands. Nicholas Thomas draws on 20 years' research into Pacific art, culture and history to explore the drama of Cook's expeditions. Central to the story is Cook's curiosity. A brilliant map-maker even before he entered the Pacific, Cook would journey emotionally and intellectually into unknown waters and meet people on beaches who were used to voyaging themselves. Tahitians, Maori and Hawaiians would position this enigmatic visitor on their own maps, in ways he could neither understand nor control.Their meetings would be sometimes rewarding, sometimes dangerous, always strangely rich and unpredictable.
Contents
Part 1 England's AtlanticSouth Sea: punished Henry Stephens Seaman; as miserable a set of people as are this day upon Earth; as favourable to our purpose as we could wish; in order to seize upon the people; he was laughed at by the Indians; an alarming and I may say terrible circumstance; the calamitous situation we are at present in; my intentions certainly were not criminal. Part 3 Towards the South Pole: the inhospitable parts I am going to; mingling my tears with hers; we are the innocent cause of this war; the varieties of the human species; the Southern Hemisphere sufficiently explored; now I am going to be confined. Part 4 To the North Pacific: I allow because I cannot prevent it; an act that I cannot account for; they may fear, but never love us; squalls and rain and so dark; a dream that we could not reconcile ourselves to. Epilogue - Cook's afterlives.
