IN response to an appeal from the British Admiralty, Captain Cook left England to enter upon his third voyage in July, 1776, with the purpose of restoring some natives of the Society Islands to their home; examining islands of the Pacific for good harbours for future English use; and then to pass along the northwest coast of America to find, if possible, a sea passage from the Pacific Ocean to Hudson's or Baffin's Bay. During the year 1777 he felt his way from island group to island group. He recognised the close relationship in language and features, between inhabitants of many of these island worlds.
On January 18, 1778, he discovered Oahu and later Kauai, of the Hawaiian Islands. He named the group "The Sandwich Islands," in honour of Lord Sandwich, the patron of the expedition.
This name has never been accepted among the Hawaiians. The home name, the name used for centuries, could not be supplanted by an English discoverer. The Hawaiians have always called themselves "Ka poe Hawaii"--"the Hawaiian people."
There are four different sources of information concerning the coming to and death of Captain Cook in the Hawaiian Islands. Captain King wrote the account given in "Cook's Voyages."
Ledyard, an American petty officer on one of Captain Cook's ships, wrote a story published in America.
The surgeon on Captain Cook's boat kept a diary which has recently been published.
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