Kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu by Captain James Cook Kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu by Captain James Cook Captain James Cook's 1779 attempted kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii and the decision to hold him in exchange for a stolen long boat (lifeboat) was the fatal error of Cook's final voyage, ultimately leading to Cook's death. Cook's arrival in Hawaii was followed by mass migrations of Europeans and Americans to the islands that ended with the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the aboriginal monarchy of the islands. James Cook led three separate voyages to chart unknown areas of the globe for the British Empire. It
The Death of Captain James Cook (Zoffany) Uffizi". Zoffany stayed seven years and the resulting painting was not well received. Zoffany had to leave the country and he never again got a royal commission. He had hoped to sail with Captain Cook, but as a second choice he elected to make the long journey to Lucknow where he painted the life in colonial India. Whilst Zoffany was in India he worked with William Hodges. The construction of this painting is said to be based on a sketch by Hodges. Zoffany went to see a play at Covent Garden concerning the death of Captain Cook who had been