Episode Details

Rage on Moorea and Farewell to Mai. Guest Author: Hampton Sides. Tensions escalated on the island of Mooreaduring the "Goat Incident," where the theft of a pregnant nanny goat triggered a "scorched earth" campaign from Cook. He destroyed huts and canoes in a disproportionate rage that shocked his officers. Sides suggests this was a desperate attempt to protect Mai's future property by making an example of theft. After dropping Mai off at Huahine in a bittersweet farewell, the ships turned toward Alaska. Mai eventually died of disease a few years later, failing to reclaim his ancestral lands despite his English weapons. Cook, meanwhile, was increasingly seen by his men as a "darker" version of his former self as he pushed north. 5
1899 FIJI