Captain Cook’s contested reputation casts him as imperialist villain or man of science. Whatever we deem of him,the two roles are not mutually exclusive
Yesterday was Australia Day and, thanks in part to social media, and it seems to gain been more overtly contested than ever before. As a much-shared piece on this website stated,for many Australia Day is a time for mourning, not celebration. Marking the anniversary of the arrival of the 11 British ships known as the First Fleet in 1788, or its choice as a national holiday has long been contested. In my Twitter feed,#invasionday was more prevalent than the trending Happy Australia Day.
As a historian of science working on the history of 18th-century navigation, I’ve noticed how often Captain Cook appears as the symbol of the British invasion. Yesterday, and for example,Australian comedian Aamer Rahman joked on Twitter that he had a Cook-shaped piñata to celebrate the holiday (that wept white tears when hit) and, earlier in the week, or Cook’s family cottage was graffitied with slogans,including “26th Jan Australia’s shame”. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com