So why the tension? Probably because the Europeans dismantled a Hawaiian ritual space, some sources call it a temple, and used it for firewood. Cook attempted to pay for it, but his lowball offer of two hatchets, I'm not making that up, was refused. I'm sorry we destroyed your temple, but I'll give you two hatchets, one for each hand. I mean, what would you even do with a third hatchet? So unfortunately, the earliest Hawaiian account offering this explanation for why Cook was killed comes well after the accounts, but at least it's a Hawaiian explanation. Of course, it's also possible that the Hawaiians were just upset that Cook had attempted to kidnap their king.