Survivor Cook Islands Background
Commentary by VikingBear
On the Survivor Panama: Exile Island live reunion show, we learned that our next stop is somewhere in the Cook Islands. Here is the official Cook Islands web site:
The Cook Islands, The Best Kept Secret in the Pacific Ocean
The Cook Islands are a net 15 islands in the heart of the South Pacific spread over an area the size of India with a population no bigger than a small New Zealand country town, 14,000 souls. These unique and friendly Polynesians have their own language and government and enjoy a vigorous and diverse culture with significant differences between each island.
I’ll be studying up on the history and culture myself… it’s fascinating!
The Cook Islands are mid way between Australia and upper South America, straight south of Hawaii. Again quoting the official web site:
THE NATION of the Cook Islands comprises 15 islands spread over 850,000 square miles (2.2 million square kilometres) of ocean smack in the middle of the South Pacific between Tonga to the west and the Society Islands to the east. The Cook Islands consists of two main groups, one in the north and one in the south. The southern group is nine “high” islands mainly of volcanic origin although some are virtually atolls. The majority of the population lives in the southern group. The northern group comprises six true atolls.
Between 1773 and 1779 Captain James Cook sighted and landed on many of the southern group but never came within eyeshot of Rarotonga. The infamous Captain William Bligh of the Bounty landed on Aitutaki in 1789 - he is credited with importing paw paw trees to the Cooks - and in April of that year the mutineers of the Bounty appeared off Rarotonga but, contrary to popular belief, probably did not land. Cook named the islands the Hervey Islands. In fact, he gave this name to the first island he discovered - Manuae. The name “Cook Islands” was given to the group by the Russians in honor of the great English navigator when it appeared for the first time on a Russian naval chart in the early 1800s.
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