It has been said of Captain Cook that his maps and topographical
observations are characterized by remarkable accuracy. The same may be
said in general of his observations regarding the natives of the
islands he visited more than a century ago. He, too, noted some cases
of strong personal preference among Tahitians, but this did not
mislead him into attributing to them a capacity for true love:
"I have seen several instances where the women have
preferred personal beauty to interest, though I must own
that, even in these cases, they seem scarcely susceptible of
those delicate sentiments that are the result of mutual
affection; and I believe that there is less Platonic love in
Otaheite than in any other country."
Not that Captain Cook was infallible. When he came across the Tonga
group he gave it the name of "Friendly Islands," because of the
apparently amicable disposition of the natives toward him; but, as a
matter of fact, their intention was to massacre him and his crew and
take the two ships--a plan which would have been put in execution if
the chiefs had not had a dispute as to the exact mode and time of
making the assault.[188] Cook was pleased with the appearance and the
ways of these islanders; they seemed kind, and he was struck at seeing
"hundreds of truly European faces" among them. He went so far as to
declare that it was utterly wrong to call them savages, "for a more
civilized people does not exist under the sun." He did not stay with
them long enough to discover that they were morally not far above the
other South Sea Islanders.