This 18th century Italian map is notable for its decorative and fanciful cartouche depicting the “Death of Cook” in a highly unusual scene showing native who seem to be dressed as American Indians stabbing him

An early Italian Map of the islands: Fanciful but Pretty

Published in 1798, one of the first decorative maps of early Hawai‘i is “Le Isole di Sandwich,” by Giovanni Cassini.  The map is based on Cook’s chart however, Cassini, inspired by John Webber’s engraving, added his version of the Death of Cook to the cartouche. 

Because the artist had little knowledge of Polynesians or English officers’ uniforms, he used his imagination and placed Cook’s men in Italian officers’ uniforms and depicted a warlike band of Indians (who appear to be much like Native Americans) in feathered headdress. They are shown stabbing the good captain in the back. 

This map clearly shows the phonetic spelling used by Captain Cook when attempting to spell the names of the islands.