On January 17, 1779, the small fleet of British explorer Captain James Cook anchored in Kealakekua Bay in front of the so-called "Sandwich Islands" (Hawaii) ...:




Cook is on his third trip around the world; his fleet consists of the two ships HMS "Resolution" ...



...and HMS "Dicovery"...:




Cook himself is in command of the "Resolution" ...



... the "Discovery" is under the command of Captain Charles Clerke ...:




Incidentally, a man on the "Resolution" is serving as a "Sail Master" who is to become world famous himself - William Bligh, the future captain of the "Bounty"!



When Cook's people go ashore, they're incredibly lucky:



The landing site is actually a sanctified "Kèpu" (or "taboo"), consequently untouchable - and anyone who violates it, death!

At the time of the landing, however, the residents happen to be celebrating a festival in honor of their god Lono, and the "taboo" has been lifted for the duration of this.

Nevertheless, the - at first friendly - inhabitants of the islands get fed up with the strangers pretty soon, because - let's say it openly - Cooks sailors behave like "the ax in the forest", take whatever food they want, take the food Women and disturb the general peace.

When a deceased sailor is buried in a place that, according to the ancient customs of the islanders, is only entitled to chiefs, the Hawaiians' attitude to open hostility changes.

Cook, who has not missed the change in mood, immediately orders the expedition to start before there are violent acts or worse.

On February 4, 1779, "Resolution" and Discovery set sail.

But Cook is unlucky, the two ships are caught in a tropical storm and a mast from HMS "Resolution" is badly damaged by hurricane gusts.

Cook then orders his ships back to Hawaii ...



... to find and cut a suitable tree to replace the mast.

The ships are back in Kealakekua Bay on February 11th.

The inhabitants of the island, who are already incensed by the return of the strangers, are now extremely irritated by the Cooks team's landfall, since the "taboo" for the landing site is now back.

The British set up a small camp in the middle of the taboo zone - and the island's inhabitants show what they think of them by stealing what is not riveted and nail-proof.

On February 14, 1779, Cook had an armed commando of sailors and marine infantry put together on the ships, took himself a rifle (a double-barreled shotgun with one shotgun barrel and one bullet barrel) and had himself rowed ashore.

The goal is to take the "king" (or chief) of the hostage hostage, on the one hand to extort the stolen items - and on the other hand to force a "peace" (or at least a ceasefire) until one as a mast for the "resolution "A suitable tree has been found, felled and removed.

Things are going terribly wrong!

British and angry - and armed - islanders meet on the beach ...



... and it is Cook himself who fires the first shot!

However, he opted for grist; the scrap items remain ineffectively stuck in a resident's shield.

Cook shoots a second time - this time with a bullet - and kills an islander.

When he turns back to his men to give them an order ...



... he is stabbed from behind ...





... falls face down into the water, is dragged out and cut down by the Hawaiians ...:







Four marines and some Hawaiians also die in the fight on the beach ...:



The surviving British flee with their boats ...:





Now Captain Charles Clerke takes command of the expedition and on HMS "Resolution", he hands HMS "Discovery" to Lieutenant at See John Gore (the following picture shows Gore later as "Sir" and Admiral) ...:



Clerke is smart enough to refrain from reprisals, instead he negotiates.

Through the mediation of the priest and a son of the king, the British are given some parts of Cook's body and the dead sea soldiers, which lasts until February 20, since the corpses have been dismembered, distributed to several families and have yet to be collected.

Cook is identified by a burn on his right hand that had occurred in New Zealand years earlier. On February 21, he will undergo a burial at sea in the bay.

The next day the ships set off.

The second captain of the expedition will not see his homeland again: on the return trip to Petropavlovsk (Alaska), Captain Charles Clerke dies at the age of 38.

Lieutenant Gore, who had already participated in Cook's first trip to the Pacific, leads the expedition back to England, where it arrives on October 6, 1780.

Only then is Cook's death known in England ...:




Cheers

Nautical history.....It doesn't get much better for me.....Thanks...……….

Wayne

Martin - thank you so much again. I love these!