British James Cook in the second half of the XVIII century managed to three times round the globe, to open a good hundred Islands, repeatedly cross the southern polar circle and taste aboriginal cuisine. There were rumors that he, a lover of delicious food, once he became the main dish in the solemn feast of cannibals.

Biography Of James Cook

Family day laborer from the village of Marton, Yorkshire, interrupted from bread to water, and therefore all the offspring from an early age went to work. James with eight years of experience in the estate, but so responsible approach to their duties that the master not only frequently regaled the boy lamb and pudding, but was sent to school. James barely mastered reading, writing and the four actions of arithmetic, but then twenty years worked on and gained knowledge in the Yorkshire port of Whitby. At the port, he has been serving on several ships, repeatedly for the order was broken harsh Yorkshire boatswain, learned marine science, studied mathematics, astronomy, geography, mastered the maps and climbed the ship's ladder to the top, starting with a sailor and when he reached the captain the three-masted ship "endeavour". It forty cook, whose authority on the ship was above the mainsail, went on a scientific expedition in the Pacific ocean, received instructions from the authorities, seeking to bring England to the Queen of the seas. "You should also observe the temper, spirit and location of the natives, noting their number, and by any means to try to establish friendship and harmony with them, giving them a gift trinkets, which can be in their price, attracting them to trade and treating them with courtesy and dignity," — was listed in one of the points. In General, beads and friendly smiles expedition stocked up to the eyeballs. In addition, unknown lands beckoned, and the fair wind called forward. Ninety-eight people, including a dozen soldiers, scientists and artists, went to the" Endeavour". They had to find and explore new lands for the Motherland. In addition to food supplies on the ship loaded and two dozen guns. Had a meeting with the unknown, and because the beads were hoping for, but do not messes up...

On strange shores...

In Tahiti, where he arrived "endeavour", promotables on the waves for a few months, the expedition received a warm welcome. The Polynesians, grinning, brought the guests with flower garlands. The leaders also not particularly nomadic and did without the execution of the newcomers, although the reasons could be found with a dozen. For example, an ordinary Islander at a meeting with the leader took off clothes, showing respect, or, having got under a hot hand, went to the other world, even if his shadow accidentally fell on the leader. The Tahitians carried bananas, papaya, smoked fruits of the bread tree, generously fried dog meat on hot stones, baked chickens wrapped in banana leaves in earthen ovens, marinated fish in lemon and coconut milk and treated the guests to a pig FAFA stuffed with herbs, which was reserved exclusively for the nobility. And in return, no ulterior motive was assigned kocherezhky and instruments from the endeavour, while hungry fish and marine stingrays guests ate pork and climbed around the island. Darkened cook called for the order of unbelted islanders, conducted astronomical observations, explored the island and went to the new shores, in search of an unknown southern land.

In the previously opened New Zealand cook met tattooed Maori, who joy of the arrival of guests did not Express, hangi — earthen oven — they did not kindle, bread from sweet potatoes kumaru in honor of the arrival of the ship is not baked, and boldly joined with the guests in battle. However several shots pacified inhospitable natives, and those, having lost couple of ethnic kin, reluctantly hid far away from the ship and only scurried in the distance on a canoe. "The bays and rivers of the island abound in a variety of delicious fish, most of which are not known in England. In addition, there are lobster, by all accounts, tastier than they we still have nothing to eat. Oysters and other shellfish are excellent. Waterfowl is diverse, however, it is not so much. There are our European acquaintances: ducks, cormorants, gulls, their meat perfectly. We tasted everything that can be eaten, " cook wrote in his diary. Teeth, of course, Maori on uninvited guests sharpened, but did not go beyond, although sometimes brought to show guests the dried human heads to remind them of the fate that could fall to them, but mostly watched as foreigners hunt birds for hot and catch turtles on the soup favorite by the British. Turtles for him, needed the freshest and have not yet got out of the water, or the smell of spoiled fish was guaranteed. Caught the turtle's head was cut off, gave to drain the blood, opened the shell, removed the fat and the entrails, cut off the legs, cleaned and cut. The shell was cut into small pieces, soaked and boiled. Then laid in a pot, added a bottle of white wine, cooked, removing foam and excess fat, filtered, served with boiled paws and claimed that the meat is one in one pair of veal.

Cook, fulfilling the task set by England, four months cruised along the coast of New Zealand, resulting in the light appeared accurate map.

Opening ways to new Islands, almost giving up the Ghost during storms and collisions with reefs, and repairing the ship's damage, cook all the same he came to a large calm harbour, which he liked as an ideal Parking lot for the endeavour. Sydney was founded on this place many years later. Open coast cook declared British possessions, called New South Wales (now the state of Australia), but deep into the territory did not go, considering the land unfit for life. He had a little war with the Australian aborigines, found a pile of unknown plants, tried kangaroo, crocodile meat, small Australian plums, delicious macadamia nuts, which the aborigines considered sacred, quandong, remotely like a peach, and the hero returned to England from his first expedition.

Sandwich Islands

Long to sit in one place for James cook did not, and with the blessing of the first Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Sandwich, the inveterate gambler, who had no time to break away from the card table for dinner and who is commanded to serve him cooked beef between two slices of bread, again went with a fair wind towards new discoveries. In the second trip he visited with a new expedition to the island of Easter, the Marquesas Islands, looked at Tahiti, along the way, opened New Caledonia, South Georgia and crossed the southern polar circle.

Cook's third voyage was the last. A little earlier he discovered new Islands and gave them a name in honor of the count Sandwich. But the "count's" name did not take root, but Hawaii they are still called. Going in search of the so-called Great passage connecting the two oceans in the North, cook led the ships to the ice, poraskinul brains and decided to wait for the summer on the sandwich Islands. The natives marvelled at the strangers, whose talk was similar to the chirping, and from his mouth erupted a plume of smoke was stealing things from the ship and instead of dragging pigs, fish, sweet potatoes and women. This local shaman came up with such a cunning move: if the guests use the natives, they are not gods, not God knows what, and if they ignore, then it's time to prostrate and praise the strangers with all his strength. Sailors who are at sea already imagined mermaids, of course, from such a generous gift did not refuse, happily infecting the locals with sexually transmitted diseases. And though the attitude of the natives towards the sailors became more than cool, cook, for some their own, native reasons, they took for the Almighty God the Bosom and each time fell to his feet from the excess of respect. "We live in the greatest luxury, and as for the number and choice of women, among us there is hardly anyone who can not compete with the Turkish Sultan himself," wrote cook. However, the peaceful mood of the natives was soon changed, they announced to the guests the war, killed cook and presented the best pieces of the captain of his team.

Whether they regaled other parts-it is thoroughly unknown. However, judging by the smoked human bodies, exhibited sometimes for public viewing, Hawaiians loved to treat themselves like. Not to starve for the sake, but only as a sign of deep respect. And in General, by native standards, to dismember the body, and the head, legs and hands to distribute the leaders and keep them for a long time was a sign of the highest appreciation. Command such veneration is not realized, landed, from sorrow killed many bloodthirsty natives and left for home, lamenting his captain, the famous Explorer James cook.