Britain expresses ‘regret’ over killing of Maori when Captain Cook first landed

October 02, 2019

Speaking days before the 250th anniversary of the landing of Captain James Cook and the crew of the Endeavor in New Zealand, British High Commissioner Laura Clarke on Wednesday delivered a “statement of regret” over killings carried out by the crew.

Clarke, who spoke near the spot where the Endeavor landed on October 8, 1769, told those gathered in the city of Gisborne: “Here on behalf of the four countries of the United Kingdom, on behalf of the people of those four countries … I acknowledge the pain of those first encounters.”

Her remarks were delivered at a monument for Te Maro, a Maori tribal leader who was shot dead by members of Cook’s crew within minutes of their arrival. Eight more Maori were killed over the next few days. The killing only ended after a Tahitian priest was able to mediate between the two groups.

‘Pain does not diminish with time’

High Commissioner Clarke said: “I acknowledge the deaths of nine of your ancestors including Te Maro, who were killed by the crew of the Endeavor. That was greatly regretted by the crew of the Endeavor at the time … and it is regretted here today. It is deeply sad that the first encounter happened in the way that it did, and to you, as the descendants of those killed, I offer my every sympathy. For I understand that pain does not diminish with time.”

Historians now say that it is likely Cook and his crew mistook a ceremonial Maori challenge directed at them as an attack.

Clarke was careful to point out that the statement of regret was delivered on behalf of the British government and not Queen Elizabeth II.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

James Cook

The British explorer and cartographer was born in 1728 in Yorkshire and learned the essential skills for his later voyages during his time serving in the Seven Years’ War. His three voyages to the Pacific are considered the starting point of European trade with and colonization of the region. In 1799, on his third voyage, Cook was killed in Hawaii after a dispute broke into violence.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Kangaroo by Sydney Parkinson

The name for the Australian marsupial, kangaroo, comes from the Guugu Yimithirr word “gangurru.” The Guugu Yimithirr people lived in northern Queensland, where the ship Endeavour landed in June 1770. Sydney Parkinson, an artist on the voyage, compiled a vocabulary of the Aboriginal peoples’ language.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Three paddles from New Zealand by Sydney Parkinson

The Endeavour landed in New Zealand in October 1769. The indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, had lived there since about 1250-1300 AD. Violence erupted between the British and the Maori people on the first day, the British firing their muskets with fatal consequences. British sovereignty over New Zealand was not established until 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Cook’s chart of New Zealand

Cook was a skilled cartographer, and some of his charts were still used by sailors in the 1950’s. Joseph Banks, a wealthy botanist, accompanied Cook on his first voyage. Banks and the party of artists and scientists he brought with him are credited with providing a glimpse into the cultural lives of the people they encountered through their collections and illustrations.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Tahitian musicians by Tupaia

During his first voyage onboard the Endeavour, Captain Cook landed in Tahiti in April 1769. The official mission was to chart the passage of the planet Venus between the Earth and the sun, but Cook was also following secret orders to search for the mythical lands thought to lie in the south. The British fort in Tahiti became a meeting point and trade center for the British and the islanders.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Inhabitants of the Island of Tierra del Feugo in their hut by Alexander Buchan

Tierra del Fuego, off the southern tip of South America, was one of the first stops Cook made on his Endeavour voyage. During this time the artist Alexander Buchan drew pictures of the Haush people, the land’s inhabitants.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Entertainments at Lifuka on the reception of Captain Cook by John Webber

Cook first landed on the Tongan islands during his second voyage in October 1773. Taken with the warm welcome he received from locals, he named Tonga the “Friendly islands.” Many scholars now believe that the Tongan chiefs had actually planned to attack Cook and his crew and seize his ships before the plot was called off.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

Banks and a Maori man by Tupaia

During his stay in Tahiti in April 1769, Cook became friends with Tupaia, a priest and navigator from a nearby island. Tupaia joined the voyage and sailed on the Endeavour to New Zealand and Australia. Similarities between the Tahitian langauge and the language of the Maori people in New Zealand meant that Tupaia could act as an interpreter.

A journey to the ends of the Earth

A Canoe of Tongatapu by William Hodges

William Hodges was appointed the official artist of Cook’s second voyage. The goal was to discover a Great Southern Continent, which the British thought encircled the South Pole. The voyage proved that this great land mass was non-existent, and caused the voyagers to cross the Antarctic Circle three times.

Author: Miriam Webber

‘Not the end of the story’

Meng Foon, New Zealand’s race relations commissioner and the former mayor of Gisborne, noted that the statement was only the beginning of a reconciliation process. He also said that he had extended an invitation to the British royal family to attend the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing — undertaken at the behest of Queen Elizabeth II’s great-great grandmother Queen Victoria — but says he never received a response.

Foon said: “It’s not the end of the story. I believe future generations will demand an apology.”

High Commissioner Clarke also delivered further remarks later in the day when she met with tribal leaders in a separate ceremony commemorating the ‘hara,’ as the atrocities are known. The exact wording of that statement will not be published.

A spokesman for one of the tribes, Nick Tupara, reacted positively to Clarke’s statement, praising her for bravely taking on such a sensitive subject: “I think it’s better than an apology. An apology suggests to me that you make a statement and leave it at that. Whereas a statement of regret suggests there is an opening for some dialogue going forward.”

A contentious legacy

Although Britain has begun to return historical artifacts brought back to England by Cook, Maori tribes remain locked in a decades-long legal battle with the UK to redress wrongs codified in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document.

Like many colonial explorers, especially those from the British Empire, Cook’s legacy is extremely mixed: he is lauded by some as the adventurer who filled in the last major gaps on the world’s map, and seen as little more than a thief and a murderer by some indigenous peoples affected by his actions.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

The record-setting monarch

Queen Elizabeth became Britain’s monarch on February 6, 1952, the day her father, King George VI, died. Since then she has ruled over the United Kingdom, and has been head of the Commonwealth and the Church of England. Sixty-five years later, the 90-year-old queen makes history by becoming the first British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

Victoria’s heyday

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) had previously held the record for the longest time on the throne. She became Queen in 1837 and held the office until her death: 63 years and seven months. Spanning several generations, her reign impacted an entire epoch, which was named after her. During the Victorian Era, Britain experienced economic growth and its empire reached the climax of its power.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

The world’s oldest monarch

Queen Elizabeth has already been the oldest monarch in British history since December 20, 2007. This was the first of Victoria’s records broken by Elizabeth. Victoria was 81 years, seven months and 29 days old when she died. Queen Elizabeth turned 90 on April 21, 2016. She also became the oldest monarch in the world when Abdullah of Saudi Arabia passed away on January 23, 2015.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

Only one Empress of India

Queen Victoria still has one up on Elizabeth, however. On January 1, 1877, she became the first British monarch to hold the title Empress of India, which incorporated India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar at the time. In 1947, India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

The royal couple

Queen Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. They had nine children together. When Albert died in December 1861 at the young age of 42, Victoria fell into depression and largely withdrew from public life.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

The Queen in Germany

Queen Elizabeth has visited Germany seven times during her reign. She came for the first time in May 1965. She is pictured here in Bonn with Heinrich Lübke, who was Germany’s 70-year-old president at the time. During that first visit, the Queen spent 11 days touring Germany, including stops in the capital, Bonn, divided Berlin, and 16 additional cities.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

Elizabeth and the Germans

In June 2015, the Queen visited Germany once again. She’s pictured here with her husband, Prince Philip, German President Joachim Gauck and his wife, Daniela Schadt, in front of the presidential residence in Berlin. Queen Elizabeth also went to Frankfurt and paid a visit to the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which was liberated by British soldiers at the end of World War II.

Queen Elizabeth reaches Sapphire Jubilee

Another record awaits

Queen Elizabeth is currently the oldest monarch in the world and now the longest reigning in Britain. But she’s not the longest reigning royal in recorded history. That title is held by former King of Swaziland Sobhuza II, who spent 82 years on the throne, from December 10, 1899 to August 21, 1982.

Author: Nikolas Fischer (kbm, eg)