Captain Cook and the Explorer Gods

On February 14th, 1779, while some Britons exchanged love letters and proclamations of affection, bleeding their hearts dry, thousands of miles away, on a sandy beach in Hawaii, another Englishman would find suffering, but not through the arrows of mischievous Cupid, but rather through clubs and knives. The subject of this affliction: Captain James Cook, had supposedly been deified by the local Hawaiians. Blond, blue-eyed, tall, and poised, the English Captain quickly became respected by the Hawaiians, but weeks later this veneration would be lost and he would die on the same beach where he was revered. His body was ritually dissembled, his bones given a similar reverence as great chiefs, and his life and death now became fuel for the continued narrative of explorers as gods. <a href="https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/captain-cook-and-the-explorer-gods-e4503fd8e984">Read More</a>