Death of Captain James Cook
- When
- 1779
- Where
- Kealakekua Bay area, Hawaii; Kealakekua Bay, island of Hawaii; Kealakekua Bay
- Episodes
- 3
Captain James Cook was killed on 14 February 1779 on the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) during his third Pacific voyage, after a dispute with Native Hawaiians escalated as he attempted to take the ruling chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu hostage.
Episodes
- Theft of a cutter
Hawaiians stole one of Cook's cutters on 13 February 1779, precipitating the fatal confrontation.
- Killing of Captain Cook
Cook was killed on 14 February 1779 while attempting to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu as hostage for a stolen cutter.
- Expedition departs Hawaii
Under Clerke's leadership, the ships left Kealakekua Bay on 23 February 1779, following Cook's charting plan.
Background and detail
Background. Cook, a British Royal Navy officer and explorer, led three Pacific voyages between 1768 and 1779. He had first sighted the Hawaiian Islands on 18 January 1778, and returned to the island chain in late November 1778 to resupply, anchoring in Kealakekua Bay on 17 January 1779.
The Killing. On 13 February 1779 Hawaiians stole one of Cook's cutters. The next day, Cook attempted to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii, to hold him hostage for the cutter's return; the dispute turned violent and Cook was killed.
Aftermath. Clerke assumed leadership of the expedition, and the ships left Kealakekua Bay on 23 February 1779, charting the coasts according to a plan Cook had set before his death. The episode was later depicted in John Webber's influential painting The Death of Captain Cook (1781–1783).
People involved
- James Cook · British explorer and captain, killed in the incident
- Kalaniʻōpuʻu · Ruling chief (aliʻi nui) of the island of Hawaii, target of the attempted kidnapping
- Charles Clerke · Officer who assumed leadership of the expedition after Cook's death
Sources
- James Cook Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-22
- Death of James Cook Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-12
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.