Actually, he was thought to have been eaten. The tradition says so, but if I recall well, now the belief is that the historical truth might have been different.
I like the overall story that they were thought to be gods and then left but had to come back due to a storm which made island´s inhabitants skeptic enough to angrily kill them all(eaten or not). But even that story seems to be not entirely true.
I have the remembrance of another explorer getting married with a princess from a pacific island… and then he was eaten by her. Is that a fake memory? Maybe you can help me? Do you remember something like that?
I probably messed with characters.
There was a prince, who was the chief of the island of Rarotonga.
There was an explorer who discovered the island with its prince on it.
There was a wife of an explorer, but she came with the ship, and then stayed as the prince’s meal.
Sorry, that story is mentioned in the italian Wiki page only, and not in the English one. But I’ve found a very exhaustive description of the events here:
I’m too tired to read all of this now, but I find somehow funny that the Captain’s name was “Goodenough”, his wife’s name was “Butcher” and they were eaten in “Cook” islands.
I hope this could be of some interest for anybody.