History of Aotearoa New Zealand

Cook finally does the thing he came halfway around the world to do: Observe the Transit of Venus.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's that time of year again! BOTY is back! As is tradition, I've picked a bird to tell you all about and hopefully pick up your vote. This year we are discussing the ngutu pare, the wrybill!birdoftheyear.org.nzCheck out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We return to May 1769 where the quadrant, a vital piece of equipment for observing the Transit of Venus, was stolen and then recovered. In the course of this, Tutaha had been arrested against Cook’s orders, being handled rather roughly and in such a way to cause great insult. Today we see how this affected the pair's relationship.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tupaia is trying to navigate his way through the ever changing and deadly world of Tahitan politics as the two major leaders of the island clash. Can he come out the other side unscathed?Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tupaia has escaped to Tahiti and soon realises that if he wants to survive he needs to make himself useful. The island is going through a rather chaotic time politically and Tupaia is known to be a smooth operator, in more ways than one, so he hitches his wagon to Purea.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Cook has now met Tupaia, high priest of Tahiti and advisor to the chief Purea. He is going to become very important to our story so it is worth going back a few years in the timeline to talk about his early life as well as the culture and history of the Society Islands through his eyes. This will set us up nicely for the next episode where we will explain the backstory of the conflict that the Europeans had found themselves in the middle of!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Final preparations are underway for the Transit of Venus as the equipment is calibrated only to find shock a vital instrument is missing! Where did it go?! We also meet the other power player that Tutaha is competing against for control of the island of Tahiti; the supposed queen herself, Purea.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now that they had made contact, Cook quickly sets to work establishing friendly relations with the Tahitians while also trying to assess who the movers and shakers are in their society.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Endeavour crosses the Pacific and arrives at her destination, Tahiti. However, pretty quickly Cook is concerned that his crew will run amok so he puts procedures in place to ensure everything goes smoothly between them and the local Polynesians.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cook's expedition finally gets underway as they sail across the Atlantic bound for the South Pacific. But not before they get into a spot of bother in Rio along the way...Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.