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 Hotel dated 1877 by N. J. Caire confirms all the above points and shows the lower section of the building. The building reportedly became known as the Captain Cook Hotel in 1876, but from the above early photo it is clear that it was trading by this name as early as the late 1860s. Percy Dove’s Directory Map of 1880 lists the site as the “Liverpool Arms Hotel” and apportions the name “Captain Cook Hotel” to a site on the corner of Clyde Street and Millers Road. Given the photographic evidence it can only be concluded that Dove made an error