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
Captain Cook Memorial Museum arms round the great man, she cried "Oh honey James! How glad I is to see thee!" Investigations carried out in 2001 revealed: The acquisition of Walker’s House by the Cook Museum Trust enabled the Trust to establish a museum in Whitby dedicated to the celebration of the life of Captain Cook and the scientists, artists and crews who sailed with him. The collections comprise original letters about the Voyages including correspondence of Cook, Lord Sandwich, Sir Joseph Banks and the Forsters, paintings and drawings by the artists who went with Cook to the Pacific, including Parkinson, Hodges, and Webber,