Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas

Ho hum---another Captain Cook book, I thought at first and it was puzzling as to quite why an anthropologist as competent as Anne Salmond would , besides as a "money spinner", bother to write yet ANOTHER book on a topic of which there seemed little else to say...a topic which had been so completely "done". HOWEVER...a few pages into "The Trial of the Cannibal Dog", the answer became very apparent. This book is a masterful synthesis of history and anthropology, quietly, jargonlessly and in flowing prose incorporating all the most recent anthropological theoretical debate as to how "history" is made through subjective social and cultural interaction within historical and cultural structures combined with the latest historical scholarship on the events leading up to the death of Captain Cook in Hawaii. As such, this book is an exceedingly "readable" exposition of the life, times, cultural contexts and social interactive processes which resulted in an iconic "event".

The Trial of the Cannibal Dog is a very useful study of Captain Cook's voyages of exploration, but it should not the primary source of either Cook's biography or the story of his voyages. What Anne Salmond has done is provide us with a perspective of Cook's voyages, as it had been from the point of view of the various native populations he was the first, or almost the first European to visit. This is hugely useful as one goes on to read that Everest of Cook studies which is Beaglehole's magisterial biography, or to read any of the lesser works about the great explorer, or indeed, the journals of Banks, Forster, Elliot, Pickersgill, Burney, etc. Salmond's shortcomings are a sometimes uncertain understanding of Georgian society, social customs and mores, a more obvious lack of knowledge of the 18th century sailor's world - these men were, after all, living in the confines of a relatively small ship for periods of three and four years - and a subtle lack of understanding of a unrelieved, all-male society. All three of these inform the decisions, longings, and foibles of Cook and his officer and men and the gentlemen who sailed with them. As well, and here we must believe that Beaglehole had it right, Cook was at the end a very tired man, and Salmond does not seem to take this into sufficient consideration But what Samond has done, and it is very valuable indeed, is make us aware first of how Cook and his ships' companies must have appeared in the eyes of the natives of the various places they touched, and how the cultures of the various Pacific peoples must, if subtly, have altered Cook's reactions to, and way of dealing with the cultures and people with which he interacted. A most valuable perspective then, and a book which everyone interested in Cook or in Pacific exploration in general should read, but not a book which should be considered - nor was it intended to be - a definitive biography of the great explorer.

When an anthropologist writes history one expects a differant perspective. Still, I was stunned by the insight Ms. Salmond exhibited. Most surprising is how densely this book is filled with small, "throwaway" insights that reveal the nature of Georgian England, the impact of the Enlightenment and even the impact of a society, like our own, where the division of wealth has become so radical. Most important though, is that this book reveals how the nation of New Zealand has remained a Polynesian country despite its population being overwhelmingly of European descent.

Salmond's superb account of Cook's Pacific exploration tells the story from the perspectives of both Europeans and Polynesians. It places Cook as a 'player' in the islands' internal intrigues and power struggles, especially of the Maori and the Taihitians, while beautifully delineating the various and changing responses of their 'discoverers' to the Pacific 'paradise'. Cook's portrayal is highly convincing, and the book assembles a brilliant argument for its conclusions about his violent end. Salmond's work is informed by an impressive anthropological knowledge, but it reads also as a sensitive exploration of personality and as a compelling adventure narrative. I have read a good many historical treatments of this material, and Salmond's work is among the best.