The 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries were times of great astronomical revolution. Humans decided that since they had "discovered all corners of the earth" and finally come up with the theory that the earth was round, the next step was to conquer outer space. (www.astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu)

They wanted to expand their knowledge and become more familiar with the rest of the universe. The first task for mankind was to adopt a method which helped them measure astronomical distances. Back then they had the Copernican system; this provides a straightforward geometric means to measure planetary distances in terms of the size of the Earth and the Earth’s orbit around the sun and is measured in Astronomical Units (AU). This was fine until people started to realise that they didn’t accurately know how big an AU was. The aim to measure the AU became one of the central pursuits of astronomer’s research in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Every now and then, Mercury and Venus pass across the face of the sun, this is known as a transit. Because Venus is further away from the sun than Mercury, transits of Venus are less frequent i.e. every century or so. Edmund Halley, an English astronomer is one of the unsung heroes and a prime mover of 17^th century astronomical research. It was one of the transits of Mercury that got Halley thinking. He observed the transit at the island of St. Helena. He realised from this experience that since Venus was closer to the Earth than Mercury, that it would have a greater parallax than Mercury and could be used to estimate the distance to the sun. They would be much easier to observe and to obtain an accurate timing than Mercury transits, despite their unfortunate rarity. Halley calculated that the next Venus transits would be in the years 1761 and 1769, he knew that by then he would be long dead. He made a plan so that future astronomers could carry out the Venus transits of 1761 and 1769 properly and accurately. It would be literally, the observation of a lifetime for astronomers of the 18^th century.

Captain Cook was the leader of one expedition that was sent to observe the transit of Venus in 1769. He and his crew on the Endeavour were instructed to circumnavigate the globe and explore the Southern Pacific Ocean. On the way, they stopped at Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus and then at New Zealand to observe the transit of Mercury at Mercury Bay. It was not just astronomical research which interested Cook; he also made detailed notes about social, cultural and political observations of the Maori.

This essay will compare the Maori political and cultural context with the European at the time of Cook’s voyage. At this time, the eighteenth century, Europe was undergoing a huge intellectual revolution and therefore information is plentiful on this. Some hard evidence of the Maori way of life can be found from the observations made by Cook in his diary entries. The aspects of political and cultural context which are compared throughout the essay are Leadership, Economy, Education, Religion and General Living Conditions.

The leadership structures in Europe and the Pacific were very different. In France, in the 1700’s, there was an absolute monarch and in England, a constitutional monarch. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen made all the important decisions, although advised by other government members. A constitutional monarchy was still a form of dictatorship but the monarch had a constitution to guide any decisions he made. The monarch was expected to respect the constitution.

Common people held the king in awe in both countries. However, as Cook observed in New Zealand, the Maori people had something a bit different. In fact, there was little evidence of any form of "leadership". Cook observed that there were certain people with more elaborate looking clothes and tattoos on their faces. He also noticed that when all the tribe would eat together, there were some that would eat their meals separately. They were seen to be given more respect than the rest; these people were usually more elderly. It is hard to know whether they were treated this way because they were chiefs or in a different social group or whether it was just because of the Maori tradition of respecting their elders. Even so, Cook would have found the form of leadership much different in the Pacific than back in Europe.

In Europe, there was a defined social structure. At the top were the nobles; they owned most of the land and occupied most offices of any importance. They stood at the apex of rural society. (Salmond – Pub. 1991). Below them were wealthy financiers in urban society, merchants and other professionals, and then a middling group of less wealthy people, including shopkeepers. Then the rest of the population was divided into skilled workers and unskilled workers; the unskilled labourers made up the bottom of the social hierarchy. The servants were expected to act like servants all the time and any pretensions on their part were frowned upon and in some cases protested. This quote is from a French priest in 1768:

(Salmond – Pub. 1991)

The different levels hardly ever mixed socially. Each level regarded the levels below them as inferior. On the other hand, Cook observed that all the Maori people worked together and everybody was treated equally, although there were certain elderly people, as mentioned before, who were seen to be more respected. They did not come across as though they considered the rest of their tribe inferior and definitely did not treat them with the same condescension as the Europeans treated classes beneath them.

[TOP]

In the 18^th century, European countries were attempting to expand their colonial empires. Land was a symbol of wealth and they wanted to increase their territory to reflect the wealth of their countries. This was one of the reasons why the Endeavour’s expedition was organised. Europe was transforming from an agrarian society into an urban one and developing a more industrial economy. In fact, France and England were the leading industrial powers at that time.

New Zealand on the other hand had a very agrarian based economy. Evidence suggests that the South Island Maori used mostly hunting and birding for food because it was too cold for gardens. Most of the South Island Maori, Cook said, were only there after retreating from quarrels in the North Island. Cook observed that most of the North Island; however, was well-developed. This agricultural development was especially occurring in the Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki regions. This was because these areas have rich soil and are ideal for gardening and animal grazing. In contrast to England’s great economy, the Maori had not used every raw material they could to create a market. When Cook arrived at Whitianga, he observed that there were many raw materials, which the English would jump at the chance of using for production, that the Maori had not thought of. This was mainly because the Maori were thinking of their survival rather than their market. Whitianga and other places along the Coromandel Peninsula, according to archaeological record, were among the earliest sites of settlement in New Zealand. This is most likely to be because of the richness in raw materials. Among these were certain types of fish, rocks, trees and, in particular, gold.

In 1769 the rugged, mountainous country of the northern peninsula was covered in a luxuriant rainforest of tawa, rimu, and kauri, with an irregular fringe of shrublands, fernlands and coastal vegetation (Salmond – Pub. 1991). Cook would have taken one look at these and realised that this land would be productive in their main industry: boat building. Cook noticed large groves of Kahikatea in the Hauraki region which he thought could make excellent masts. Ironically, because the timber could not be worked for masts, they ended up being used for export butter boxes, in the nineteen hundreds. Small groves of these trees are still present in the Hauraki region.

When the Endeavour arrived at Whitianga, the Maori people there came to them to barter. Cook found this fascinating as, up till this time, England had thought of the Maori people as ‘savages’ and ‘uncivilized’. They did not think that such savage people could be capable of establishing a trading concept. Although, what went on whilst this bartering occurred changed the Englishman’s mind completely. This is a segment from Cook’s diary entry on the 9^th of November 1769:

Cook was enraged by this incident, as he believed that the English would get a bad reputation and any chance of them forming a friendship with the Maori would be lost. He did not think that the young man had deserved to die and immediately went to the Maori to apologise. Making peace, Cook describes, was easy as the Maori said that they too value honesty in their culture.

A lot of the goods that were on the Endeavour, such as nails, tools, clothes and other possessions of the crew, were found fascinating by the Maori. They had never seen anything like them before.

Cook’s observations showed that the Maori were not developed in terms of trade. They had not established a system of payment for goods but they were keen barterers. The economy that Cook had left in England was a lot different to the one he found in New Zealand.

Parkinson, Sydney 1745-1771 A War Canoe of New Zealand, Publ-0095-3-463 Permission of Alexander Turnball Library,  National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga  O Aotearoa must be obtained before reuse of this image

The eighteenth century was known as an intellectual age in Europe, especially in France and England. There were many philosophers during this time and these people were studying aspects of the world with more enthusiasm than ever. This was a major reason for Cook’s voyage as they were very interested in astronomy and also had colonisation in mind. This is what sent them to observe the transit of Venus. In those days, only the people who could afford schooling would get it. The intellectuals in England were separated into two subjective groups. There was one group who believed that technological expansion was a positive thing and necessary for the future while the other thought that technological expansion was a negative thing and that only bad could come of it. An English philosopher who was against technological and machinery processes had this to say:

The ‘savages’ which he talks about are the Maori in the Pacific. Although the intellectuals thought of the less intelligent people in England as inferior, they thought less of the Maori people. They assumed that since they had not been exposed to a so called "intelligent society" as the rest of England that they were subservient to them. This is part of the instructions given to Cook by the Royal Society to deal with meetings with local natives:

(Salmond – Pub. 1991)

To Cook’s surprise, he later learnt that his and the rest of England’s perception of the Maori was completely wrong. Cook was taken by the intelligence of the Maori people who knew many things that Cook and his men were interested to hear about. Cook wrote that, on his visit to New Zealand, he was impressed by their way of food storage; in general, their agricultural development, canoe construction and pa construction. The Endeavour had had to use compasses and other navigational devices in order to find New Zealand, along with Tupaia, a Tahitian whom they had picked up on their way to help them with navigation and translation. The Maori people; however, managed to find their way, all the way from Polynesia to New Zealand, using only "sea paths" and "navigation by the stars". Cook couldn’t think how they could have possibly done such a difficult thing without being extremely intelligent. He also noticed that they must have had a very effective way of communicating with other tribes miles away. He noticed this when he left Whitianga and went on to explore other places along the Coromandel Peninsula. When he reached a settlement at Waiomu, the Maori there had heard of their arrival in New Zealand already from the Whitianga Maori. They also called Tupaia by name, having heard about him, too.

Compared to the education that Cook knew, in England at that time, he found no evidence of any formal education. However, the "savages" were highly intelligent and educated in what they needed to know.                                                     

The English people and the Maori people were both very ‘religious’; however, their perception of religion was very different. The English religion was materialistic, based on outward and material considerations. They had big churches, statues and monuments. The priests and clergy were wealthy and high up in the social structure. They believed in the Christian God who created heaven and earth and in the authority of the Bible. The Maori people, on the other hand, were not materialistic about religion; in fact, Cook observed no evidence of any material things to do with their religion whatsoever. Rather, they were very spiritual in their beliefs. They believed that there were gods that protected all natural things on Earth, even the Earth and Sky themselves. They prized contact with the gods and believed that many ordinary, everyday things were tapu (sacred). For example, as Cook passed by Mount Moehau at the top of the Coromandel Peninsula, his ship was under the threat of attack as the Maori considered Mount Moehau to be tapu. They had a lot of rituals and there were many things that the Maori people were to obey. The Maori believed that creation involved the separation of the Earth mother, Papatuanuku, and Rangi, the Sky father.

[TOP]

At the start of the eighteenth century, 75% of English people lived in the rural part of the country and worked in the agricultural industry. During this century, the country experienced urbanisation and industrialisation. London’s population doubled in size during this time. Increase in population in the cities compounded the problems that were already there. Drinking, street riots, poverty and disease were some of these. The levels of wealth differed greatly as there were extremely wealthy people and then the extreme poverty stricken. In contrast, the Maori people lived an agrarian lifestyle, which was well developed. There were no contrasts of rich and poor. Cook observed that they were all well housed, fed and clothed the same, apart from some elderly people who were obviously respected throughout the tribes, were more elaborately adorned and had finer clothes. The Maori would change living situations depending on seasonal activities, between iwi (tribe), hapu (sub-tribe), whanau (extended family) and smaller family units.

In Europe, the people would move to areas which had the most work. This was one of the reasons for the urbanisation. Where they went, they seemed to stay, the population was usually fixed. In contrast, the Maori people would move around places depending on seasons, their food rations and relationships with neighbouring tribes. Many Maori settlements were in danger of being attacked by feuding enemies. Because of this, the Maori people were very paranoid of strangers. This was shown when the Endeavour entered the Whitianga Bay.

(Salmond - Pub. 1991)

Cook and his men realised that they were preparing for a fight. They must have been attacked regularly by neighbouring tribes, as it was a piece of land well worth fighting over, with rich soil and raw materials.

In England, there was a legal system and people were punished for their wrong doings. The Maori did not have a comparable system.

The Europeans were told that women and children from Mercury Bay (Whitianga) were taken as slaves by raiders from the North. (Oliver - Pub. 1981). In England, this would never be allowed, unless the people taken were servants in the first place, working off their living.

[TOP]

[TOP]

Beaglehole, J.C., 1934, Exploration of the Pacific, Great Britain: W. & J. Mackay & Co. Ltd, Chatham, Kent.

Boon, Kevin, 1998, James Cook and other European Explorers, Auckland, New Zealand: Waiatarua Publishing.

Divine, David, 1954, 6 Great Explorers, Great Britain: Hamish Hamilton Ltd.

MacLean, Alistair, 1972, CAPTAIN COOK, Great Britain: Fletcher and Son Ltd.

Oliver, W.H., 1981, The Oxford History of New Zealand, Oxford: The Clarendon Press.

Reed, A.W., 1979, Two hundred years of New Zealand History, Wellington: Reed Trust Publication.

Salmond, Anne, 1991, Two Worlds, England: Penguin Books Ltd.

Sinclair, Keith & Wendy Harrex, 1978, LOOKING BACK, New Zealand: Oxford Uni. Press.

www.astronomynz.org.nz

www.knowledge-basket.co.nz

www.hawaiiantrading.com

www.astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu