Hawaii was settled by the Polynesians and "discovered" by the British. A group of Americans "liberated" it and made it an American territory. The U.S. Navy made it the keystone of American naval logistics and the Japanese navy made it a point of pride for Americans by attacking it and thus "respectable" enough for statehood. Cooke DIED there OTL. The naturalist/artist on Cooke's voyage was the same one who went with Darwin on his (I think)! I guarantee the British Admiralty will look very different in ten years if Cooke comes back with Hawaii in his pocket. What if Hawaii becomes the place to send criminals instead of Australia? What does the Pacific look like to Commodore Perry: does he invade British Hawaii? Does Churchill ever become first Lord of the Admiralty? Pretty as Hawaii seems, a lot of cold hard and unforgiving modern history converges on it. What would the 1950's have been without Grandma's pineapple desserts? My guess is this: God loves Hawaii. Don't tamper with it. You'll get some incalculable SAB's (Scary Ass Butterflies).
 
Cooke would need some very, very good luck, like Pizarro-levels of luck if not more, to gain Hawaii. And it's really far away, and probably less suitable than Australia for use as a penal colony--I mean wasn't the main reason Britain wanted Australia so they could keep France out of there?

My guess is this: God loves Hawaii.

Or not when you can easily butterfly Hawaii into a third-world hellhole. Or at least OTL's God loved Hawaii enough.
 
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