The British explorer Captain James Cook, who sailed the uncharted Pacific Ocean in the 1700s, created detailed maps of places he was the first European to visit, including New Zealand, Australia, the Cook Islands (which still bear his name), and the islands of Hawaii. But Cook’s legacy – initiating a period of colonization that obscured the histories of Native Islanders – is being reexamined today. Correspondent Ben Tracy looks back on Cook’s voyages and imperial ambitions with historian Hampton Sides, author of a new book, “The Wide Wide Sea.” He also visits the Big Island of Hawaii, and talks with native islanders about efforts to teach the history of Pacific island cultures.
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