Text commentary on extract from James Cook's journal

1979

Banks in 1962: a rich lode which other scholars immediately began to mine. He started drafting the life of Cook in 1967, the year in which he retired from Victoria University of Wellington, and, at this point, one can sympathize with his regret at any interruption. J.C. Beaglehole died on 26 March 1971, and his masterly and almost universally acclaimed Life of Captain James Cook appeared in 1974.4 Beaglehole's Cook offers as complete a study as one could expect a single scholar to produce. It is to be admired not just for its thorough ness but also for its erudition, style, and scholarly integrity. Having read Beaglehole, one might ask if there is anything else to say. The answer, as these papers show, is that Beaglehole's editions of the journals make possible a reassessment not only of Cook but, to some extent, of Beagle hole. He has paved the way, not closed it off. It is a measure of the power of his contribution that in the past few years much valuable scholarship has come to maturity. Like any biographer, Beaglehole focussed on his subject. The lens of his scholarship threw an intense light on Cook, but sometimes cast a shadow on those who surrounded him. In his paper on "Cook's Post humous Reputation," Bernard Smith has pointed out how the eulogists of the late eighteenth century excluded other individuals from their orations lest mention of their achievements diminish those of the hero. To some extent, perhaps, Beaglehole shared this tendency. Cook was his hero, and other men were sometimes judged harshly. David Mackay, Howard T. Fry, and to some extent Michael E. Hoare all assert the im portance of men who were Cook's contemporaries. Joseph Banks, Alex ander Dalrymple, and the two Forsters5 made fundamental contribu tions to Cook's voyages. Clearly their careers were profoundly influ enced by their association with Cook. But it is also true that Cook's stature was enhanced, not diminished, by the men that surrounded him. As the old Maori saying, which Beaglehole uses to sum up Cook, has it, "a veritable man is not hid among many."6 Perhaps surprisingly, given Beaglehole's exhaustive work, there are even some new perspectives emerging on Cook the man. Research prompted by bicentennial celebrations is producing new insights into Cook's early life in Yorkshire and the extent to which local connections explain his otherwise curious decision to join the Royal Navy in 1755. The last few years of Cook's life also bear re-examination, and Sir James Watt provides intriguing new evidence on the state of Cook's health on ROBIN FISHER & HUGH JOHNSTON Williams shows how he contributed to the emergence of a definite coast line out of the clouds and fogs of cartographers' imaginings. As in the south, Cook's influence did not end with his departure, and Christon I. Archer explains how the appearance of his account of the third voyage taught the Spanish the importance of publicizing their own efforts to ex plore the northwest coast of America. By then, however, it was too late, for Cook's presence on the coast resulted in the development of the seaotter trade and the influx of British and American traders. Another aspect of Cook's explorations that demands attention, in both the north and south Pacific, is their consequences for the indigenous people. Here, in the tradition of Beaglehole's "Note on Polynesian History," 10 the methods of historians and anthropologists need to be brought together in an effort to achieve some understanding of both sides of the relationship that developed between Cook's men and the people of the Pacific. Hitherto, European writing has been dominated to a considerable extent by the "fatal impact" view, 11 which tends to obscure any reciprocity that may have existed in the contact situation. The extension of this line of thought, sometimes expressed at the con ference, is the notion that there are two points of view on Cook's pres ence in the Pacific-that of the European and that of the Pacific people-and that these views are necessarily distinct and different. In his paper, Robin Fisher tries to show that a reciprocal relationship, which neither group dominated and both benefitted from, developed between Cook's men and the Indians of Nootka Sound. If nothing else, both cul tures also have in common the subsequent manipulation of Cook's memory to suit current social and political concerns. As the prefaces and footnotes of his volumes indicate, J.C. Beaglehole, like all scholars, drew on the knowledge of others. Yet he dominated the field of Cook studies in a way that no individual now can or, perhaps, ought to do. To carry the task further, to better understand the full scope of Cook's explorations and their impact, it is necessary to bring together people from many disciplines, individuals with different ex pertise but with a common interest. Those who participated in Simon Fraser's Cook conference demonstrated that, like the voyages them selves, Cook studies are now very much a cooperative enterprise.

Journal18, 2020

Modern Language Review, 70, 137-8, 1975

Annals of Science, 2019

JOHN COOK, whose distinguished career included nine years (1946-54) as Director of the British School at Athens, was a scholar of great industry, insight, and originality, and a teacher and colleague of exceptional warmth and generosity. This bibliography is intended partly as a tribute to the man and his work, partly as an aid to others whose interests are contingent on his own. The publications are listed under headings which represent his main areas of scholarly activity and, within these, are divided by format (books, articles, reviews), each category being arranged chronologically (although some publications, such as his contributions to Archaeological Reports, are grouped together for convenience). The changing focuses of his activity can be identified by scrutinizing the chronology of the works listed in each major category. The bibliography was initially compiled by RLNB and revised, categorized, and prepared for publication by KAS, who also traced some additional entries. We have tried to ensure that it is complete. We are very grateful for the interest and assistance of Mrs Nancy Cook. The system of abbreviations