Gift Exchange and Interpretations of Captain Cook in the Hawaiian Islands

The relationship between the kanaka maoli people of the traditional kingdoms of the Hawaiian Islands and Captain James Cook and his crew is interpreted in the context of a theory of gift exchange. It is argued that interpretations of kanaka maoli behavior based on an implicit assumption that social relations were structured primarily by property rights leads to error. Instead, sense can be made of kanaka maoli behavior only if a logic based on rights of person is taken into account.

Download PDF View HTML