S1-E54: Vanuatu: Firelit First Contact

As HMS Resolution anchors off the island of Tanna in the South Pacific, two hundred islanders approach in war canoes, weapons drawn but hesitant. What begins as a cautious exchange—yams for cloth, coconuts for medals—escalates into a fraught performance of strength and restraint. Captain Cook orders warning shots fired; islanders leap into the sea, only to return moments later, laughing at their own fear.

A warning in smoke and thunder: HMS Resolution fires a broadside into the island’s forest as armed islanders gather on the beach—caught between defiance, fear, and the uncertain language of first contact. – Click on the image to listen to this episode on YouTube.

In the days that follow, lines are drawn—literally—between Europeans and locals, as marines secure the beach and a fragile peace flickers into being. At the heart of the encounter stands Pao-vjangom, an elderly islander whose quiet diplomacy contrasts with the ever-present tension of a land braced for invasion.

All the while, a volcano rumbles inland, raining ash over the ship and bathing the jungle in shifting light. This is a meeting shaped not only by language and trade, but by smoke, fire, and the haunting knowledge that peace—like volcanic silence—may not last.