Research Catalog

Title

Tupaia : Captain Cook's Polynesian navigator / Joan Druett.

Author

Druett, Joan

Publication

Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, c2011.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 255 p. : ill., maps; 25 cm.

Summary

• A biography of Tupaia, navigator and translator for Captain James Cook, covering brief glimpses into his childhood, focusing on his time on the Endeavor with Cook, and revealing Tupaia's other skill sets during his lifetime.
• "This book offers a biography of the unacknowledged Tahitian navigator who was essential to the success and eventual fame of Captain Cook's historic voyage on the Endeavour. Tupaia was the brilliant Polynesian navigator and translator who sailed with Captain James Cook from Tahiti, piloted the Endeavour across the South Pacific, and interceded on behalf of the European voyagers with the warrior Maori of New Zealand. As a man of high social ranking, Tupaia was also invaluable as an intermediary, interpreting local rituals and ceremonies. Joseph Banks, the botanist with Cook's expedition, is famous for describing the manners and customs of the Polynesian people in detail. Much of the credit for this information rightfully belongs to Tupaia--indeed, he could aptly be called the Pacific's first anthropologist. Despite all this, Tupaia's colorful tale has never been part of the popular Captain Cook legend. This unique book tells the first-contact story with Europeans as seen through the eyes of the Polynesians, and documents how Tupaia's contributions changed the history of the Pacific." -- Publisher's description

Subject

• Tupaia, approximately 1725-1770
• Cook, James, 1728-1779
• Explorers > French Polynesia > Tahiti (Island) > Biography
• Oceania > Discovery and exploration

Genre/Form

Biographies

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

In the beginning -- The dolphin -- The red pennant -- The queen of Tahiti -- The state visit -- Tupaia's pyramid -- The endeavour -- Recognizing Tupaia -- Tupaia's mythology -- Return to Raiatea -- Tupaia's map -- Latitude forty south -- Young Nick's head -- Becoming legend -- The convoluted coast of New Zealand -- Botany Bay -- The Great Barrier Reef -- The last chapter.

ISBN

• 9780313387487 (hard copy : alk. paper)
• 0313387486 (hard copy : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2010034689

OCLC

• 548555579
• SCSB-11365952

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library