European Arrival With the sighting of great white sails on the horizon, the likes of which the Hawaiians had never seen, the islands were forever changed. Captain James Cook, one of the world’s most recognized British navigators, sailed into Waimea Bay on the island of Kaua’i first in 1778, and then onto the Big Island at Kealakekua Bay in early 1779. At the time of Cook’s arrival on the Big Island, some 10,000 or more Hawaiians were in the midst of their makahiki celebration, a celebration that honored the god Lono. Cook arriving on his ship with white sails (similar to that of the god Lono’s flag) was likely mistaken as the god Lono and treated accordingly. During his two week stay on the Big Island, he was honored in ceremony upon ceremony. Cook and the Hawaiians entertained each other mutually with their own inventions before the famous navigator set sail away from the islands. Shortly thereafter, the makahiki celebration ended, and the bay was made kapu (off-limits). Meanwhile, a storm off-shore had damaged one of Cook’s ships. Naturally, he returned to the bay expecting the same hospitality he’d received before. But many of the Hawaiians had grown tired of the sailors’ presence in the bay, and despite the fraternization that took place, one of Cook’s smaller boats was stolen. It should have ended there but Cook instead decided to go ashore and kidnap Chief Kalaniopu’u until his boat was returned. Intentional or not, Cook was stabbed in a skirmish which left him dead at the hands of Hawaiian warriors. Today, a white monument stands erected at the northern end of the bay where Cook met his demise, a solemn reminder of this event. This is the only piece of land in the Hawaiian chain that remains British soil. Today
European Arrival
With the sighting of great white sails on the horizon, the likes of which the Hawaiians had never seen, the islands were forever c[……]