Draft:James Cook proposed text 1

Relations with indigenous peoples

Diplomacy and coercion

Interactions with indigenous peoples required Cook to balance competing responsibilities. As a naval commander, he was expected to maintain discipline and authority; yet as a representative of the British Crown, he was required to be diplomatic and accommodating; in his role as an ostensible friend of indigenous leaders, he was expected to show generosity and patience; but as the head of an expedition operating thousands of miles from the nearest resupply points, he needed to safeguard his supplies.

The various demand faced by Cook often led to complex situations that left him vulnerable to both humiliation and danger. When he chose leniency toward Indigenous communities in response to perceived infractions, his crew sometimes viewed him as weak, and indigenous leaders could become emboldened. Conversely, when he responded with excessive force, he risked fostering resentment among his men – at times bordering on mutiny – or provoking violent retaliation from indigenous leaders.

When Cook was confronted by situations that demanded difficult decisions he sometimes relied on diplomacy; other times, he resorted to coercion. For example, in June 1769 when some items were stolen from his crew in Tahiti, the crew demanded vengeance, but Cook ordered the crew to refrain from violence; instead he confiscated some canoes and threatened to destroy them unless the stolen items were returned.

Upon initial contact with an indigenous people, Cook usually sought to establish amicable relations by engaging in local friendship rituals such as gift-giving, exchanging names, and rubbing noses (hongi). Cook planted several gardens in the lands he visited, both to provide indigenous peoples with new foods, and as a potential food source for future European visitors. Cook carried livestock (including pigs, goats, ship, and cattle) on his ships, and placed breeding pairs on various islands. Cook refused to take sides in local political disputes.

Efforts by Cook to establish amicable relations during initial encounters did not always proceed as intended. When he first made contact with the Māori in October 1769, he came ashore with the aim of establishing friendly relations. However, a member of his crew killed a Māori individual. In an attempt to mend relations, Cook captured three Māori and brought them board his ship, where he offered them gifts and food as a gesture of goodwill.

Friendships with local leaders were important to Cook and sometimes played a role in resolving disputes. In Huahine, in September 1773, a ship naturalist – while exploring alone – was attacked, stripped of his clothing and tools, and struck violently on the head. Rather than retaliate – as some of his crew urged – Cook instead engaged in ritual gift exchanges with the local chief, and most of the belongings were returned. When the naturalists insisted that all the belonging be returned, Cook declined to press the matter further, prioritizing good relations over retaliation.

Cook sometimes punished his own crew for injuring indigenous people: during the second voyage, in August 1774, Cook witnessed one of his marines shoot an indigenous man on the island of Tanna. Cook called the ship's surgeon to try to save him, but the injured man died. Cook was furious and had the marine arrested and prepared to have him flogged. Officers intervened to stop the flogging, and Cook instead imprisoned the marine for two months.

On some occasions, Cook ignored the wishes of his crew to retaliate for real or perceived harms. In the third voyage, in February 1777, Cook landed in New Zealand with the knowledge that the Māori had killed eleven members of the Adventure's crew a few years earlier. Despite that, Cook treated the Māori with respect, even inviting them into his cabin. Some members of Cook's crew were confused and angered by their leader's failure to take revenge.

Violence and punishment

When encountering indigenous peoples, Cook's intentions were to act in an enlightened manner and to establish peaceful relations. Instructions given to Cook by the Royal Society insisted that he treat indigenous peoples respectfully and humanely.

In spite of his intentions, violent encounters with indigenous peoples were common. Many violent incidents arose from thievery: sometimes Cook's crew took fish, fruit, turtles, or lumber from indigenous lands and waters without compensation; in other instances, indigenous people took items from the crew or ships. When conflict was likely, Cook implemented measures to minimize harm, such as instructing his crew to load their firearms with small shot, which was generally non-lethal. When Cook was not present, his crew sometimes disobeyed his orders and changed their weapons to use more fatal musket balls.

Cook responded to acts of theft by Indigenous individuals through a range of punitive measures, including the seizure or destruction of canoes, kidnapping indigenous leaders to hold for ransom until some act was performed, shaving heads, cropping ears, burning homes, and flogging. Floggings were especially numerous in Tonga during the second voyage. Cook also imposed disciplinary measures on members of his crew who stole from or inflicted harm upon Indigenous people.

Throughout the three voyages, violent encounters resulted numerous deaths: at least 45 indigenous individuals were killed by Cook's crew, including one killed by Cook. Sixteen of the crew were killed by indigenous people, including Cook himself.

Sexually transmitted diseases

Many European explorers – including members of Cook's crews – carried communicable diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis, malaria, dysentery, smallpox, influenza, and hepatitis. These diseases caused a significant decline in some local populations, who often had no natural resistance. Cook's crews transmitted some of these diseases to indigenous peoples in Tahiti, Hawaii, British Columbia, and New Zealand. In Hawaii, Cook's crews were the first Europeans to introduce some diseases to the local population.

Cook took measures to mitigate the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including issuing orders that prohibited women from boarding his ships and instructing his crew to refrain from sexual relations with indigenous women. In Hawaii, he specifically ordered that "no woman was to board either of the ships" and that any crew member known to have an STD was strictly forbidden from engaging in sexual activity, stating these directives were intended "to prevent as much as possible the communicating [of] this fatal disease to a set of innocent people". Despite these efforts, Cook's orders were frequently disregarded by members of his crew. Based on the journals of Cook and his crew, Cook never engaged in sexual relations with indigenous women during his voyages.

Perceptions of Cook by indigenous communities

The perception of Cook varied widely over the places he visited. In some places, he was venerated as an ancestral chief. Cook Islands, which became an independent nation in 1965, considered changing the name of their country, but ultimately decided to retain its current name.

The Māori of New Zealand generally consider Cook a hostile, invader, and – during the celebration of the bicentenary of Cook's voyages – demanded an acknowledgement of the Māori Cook's crew had killed. Many Hawaiians condemn Cook's impact on their culture, and blame him for introducing STDs to their islands. The opinions of Hawaiians may have been influenced in the 1800s by American missionaries in Hawaii, who attempted to induce dislike of Britain by promulgating falsehoods about Cook, such that he intentionally decimated the Hawaiians and wantonly fired ship's guns into crowds.

Many Australian Aborigines view Cook negatively, viewing him as responsible for violence and subsequent colonization. Cook is included in stories and legends even in parts of Australia far from where he landed. Some Nuu-chah-nulth people in British Columbia view Cook as an invader who took provisions without compensating the local people.

Shipboard leadership

Discipline aboard Cook's ships adhered to the standard practices of the Royal Navy during that period, with infractions frequently resulting in flogging. Over the course of his voyages, Cook ordered 28 floggings on the first expedition, 33 on the second, and 66 on the third. Midshipmen who were punished were often "sent before the mast," requiring them to eat and sleep alongside the enlisted crew.

Cook's ships employed a three-watch system, where crew members were divided into three groups; and each group alternated four hours on and eight hours off.

The health of his crew was of utmost importance to Cook. He promoted hygiene by having the crew wash themselves frequently and air-out their bedding, clothes, and quarters. Cook also promoted a good diet, stocking his ships with foods, such as sauerkraut, that he felt would prevent scurvy. His ships carried a variety of livestock during his expeditions: goats, pigs, cattle, sheep, horses, and turkeys. These were given to indigenous leaders as gifts, and eaten by the crew.

Cook encouraged dancing and merry-making on his ships. Instruments such as fifes, drums, fiddles, and bagpipes were carried by the crew and played on board, sometimes for the pleasure of indigenous guests they were hosting.

His ships conducted crossing the line ceremonies when they crossed the equator. In these ceremonies, the crew drew up a list of everyone on board, including cats and dogs, and interrogated them as to whether they had crossed the equator. If they had not, they had to choose between giving up grog for four days, or be ducked three times into the ocean. According to Joseph Banks, some of those ducked were "grinning and exulting in their hardiness", but others "were almost suffocated".