Discovering Ideal Violence: A comparison of journals from Captain James Cook’s third Pacific voyage

Abstract

The extant record of Captain James Cook’s third Pacific voyage (1776–80) provides multiple detailed accounts, affording the opportunity to compare how the voyage’s officers portrayed themselves and each other. Using logs and journals written during the voyage, this article focuses on two incidents in which first Cook and then his 3rd Lieutenant John Williamson use violence against Pacific islanders. Analysing the various accounts reveals the officers’ collectively held ideals about how and under what circumstances violence was to be used, as well as how they responded when the ideal was violated.