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> Well, I have a real soft spot for Captain Cook. The man who "discovered" all these islands... islands that already had people on them... and then (according

> Well, I have a real soft spot for Captain Cook. The man who "discovered" all these islands... islands that already had people on them... and then (according to the botanist on his ship Georg Forster) engaged in pedophilia, raping the children they found. They often took girls as young as 9 and 10, rationalising that this was acceptable because "Polynesian girls were sooner ripe". > We went for eight weeks all over Polynesia Wow, eight weeks in six or seven nations, and then writing with such authority on the subject. Tourists spend more time in one locality than she did. And the use of "Polynesia" again. There are three groupings in the Pacific. The greatest sailing vessel of all was the Drua, developed in Fiji by Melanesians, not Polynesians. It could carry over 200 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drua https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drua

EdwardDiego 7y ago
> and then (according to the botanist on his ship Georg Forster) engaged in pedophilia, raping the children they found Citation needed for claims Captain Cook raped kids. > And the use of "Polynesia" again. Polynesia is a well established area, google Polynesian triangle to learn more. Yeah, there are three main language and genetic groups in the Pacific - Micronesian, Melanesian, Polynesian, but the Polynesians are the focus of this article because they're far more widely dispersed. > The greatest sailing vessel of all was the Drua, developed in Fiji by Melanesians No doubt. And it was rapidly adopted by the Tongans, Polynesians that had regular contact with the Fijians. Much how the Polynesians rapidly adopted the sweet potato of South America. The fact that they built a big ocean going canoe does nothing to detract from the navigational exploits of the Polynesians.
- markdown 7y ago
  "South Sea Maidens: Western Fantasy and Sexual Politics in the South Pacific" - By Michael Sturma https://www.amazon.com/South-Sea-Maidens-Politics-Contributions/dp/0313316740 https://www.amazon.com/South-Sea-Maidens-Politics-Contributi... IIRC that part is based on the diary of Georg Forster, who was the botanist aboard Cook's 2nd voyage. Cook and his savages wreaked havok on the islands they came into contact with. Abductions, pedophilia and rape, and the diseases they brought decimated the populations.
  - EdwardDiego 7y ago
    Nothing in Forster's diaries about Cook himself indulging yeah?
    - markdown 7y ago
      Not as far as I know, but that's not a distinction worth making. It's not a stretch to assume a man of as few scruples as he had also indulged his base instincts. And even if he didn't, these men were under his direct command and supervision, and performed these crimes with his foreknowledge. Hitler (inb4 Poe's law) didn't personally drag people into gas chambers.

EdwardDiego 7y ago

> and then (according to the botanist on his ship Georg Forster) engaged in pedophilia, raping the children they found Citation needed for claims Captain Cook raped kids. > And the use of "Polynesia" again. Polynesia is a well established area, google Polynesian triangle to learn more. Yeah, there are three main language and genetic groups in the Pacific - Micronesian, Melanesian, Polynesian, but the Polynesians are the focus of this article because they're far more widely dispersed. > The greatest sailing vessel of all was the Drua, developed in Fiji by Melanesians No doubt. And it was rapidly adopted by the Tongans, Polynesians that had regular contact with the Fijians. Much how the Polynesians rapidly adopted the sweet potato of South America. The fact that they built a big ocean going canoe does nothing to detract from the navigational exploits of the Polynesians.

markdown 7y ago
"South Sea Maidens: Western Fantasy and Sexual Politics in the South Pacific" - By Michael Sturma https://www.amazon.com/South-Sea-Maidens-Politics-Contributions/dp/0313316740 https://www.amazon.com/South-Sea-Maidens-Politics-Contributi... IIRC that part is based on the diary of Georg Forster, who was the botanist aboard Cook's 2nd voyage. Cook and his savages wreaked havok on the islands they came into contact with. Abductions, pedophilia and rape, and the diseases they brought decimated the populations.
- EdwardDiego 7y ago
  Nothing in Forster's diaries about Cook himself indulging yeah?
  - markdown 7y ago
    Not as far as I know, but that's not a distinction worth making. It's not a stretch to assume a man of as few scruples as he had also indulged his base instincts. And even if he didn't, these men were under his direct command and supervision, and performed these crimes with his foreknowledge. Hitler (inb4 Poe's law) didn't personally drag people into gas chambers.