But it doesn’t surprise me, because it was during Wallace’s voyage. At that time, his instructions were clear. He was sailing to find the Terra Australis Incognita, this southern continent that was supposed to counterbalance the weight of the northern continents. So I guess he was not that interested in giving so many details, or being so accurate about that small island, compared to the continent he was looking for.

So we can understand why he didn’t tour the island like Cook, two years later. What’s more, Wallace was sick. He didn’t spend much time on land. Indeed, the most detailed journal we have is George Robertson’s journal. And Wallace’s journal is not so detailed, and actually he picked up a couple of information in his men’s journals, because he was not on land most of the time. And he was so sick that at one point, Queen Oberea even took him in her hands to cross a river. This funny anecdote shows us how strong she was, and how weak he was. So no wonder he had no time or no will to tour the island, and make accurate maps like Cook.

What is also striking is he was not so curious. I mean, there is a striking contrast between Samuel Wallace and James Cook, or with Samuel Wallace and Bougainville, even worse, with Bougainville, or Samuel Wallace and William Bligh. While Captain Cook had instructions when he came to Tahiti in ’69, the main goal of the voyage was to observe the transit of Venus, he also had other instructions when he left, and that was to discover this Terra Australis Incognita. But he went beyond those instructions, because he was curious. He was thirsty for all those new things. And indeed, he was a good cartographer like William Bligh.

It tells us that it takes all sorts to make the British Navy, because it’s very unequal. And there is a parallel that can be drawn between this sketch, the Wallace sketch, and the map drawn by Cook. And it’s so accurate, and you have all the chiefdoms, you have all the own names, and it’s such a beautiful map. So there is a striking contrast between all those navigators, their character, their curiosity, and maybe their skills.

In 1767, Samuel Wallace arrived to Tahiti. And contrary to what was the habit, he did not enter by the heads. He entered the island by the north. The main port of entrance is the south. In those days, the capital district was the south east of the island, on the small peninsula of Tahiti. And this is where the biggest, the most important ari’i, chiefdom, was.

And Wallace didn’t know that. He finally dropped anchor in Matavai, on the north coast, and because he did that, he upset the power. He upset the political balance. He upset everything, actually, because suddenly the chiefdom, which was important, but not as important as the one in the south, got more and more important. And that’s why the ari’i of Papara and more precisely the ari’i’s wife, Purea, the one Wallace calls ‘Queen Oberea’, came from the south to Matavai to meet Wallace, because she felt there was something going on there.

And indeed something was going on there. They were losing power because of all the goods the British were giving to the chiefdom in Matavai. She felt that they had to assert their power in the south. She wanted a big marae, the biggest marae of all, that is to say the biggest temple, built for their son, Teri’irere, a huge marae with 11 storeys. And unfortunately it was not enough to counterbalance the power of the British in Matavai.

There was a prophecy. We call it the prophecy of Vaita. Vaita was a priest from Ra’iatea. And a few years before the first contact in 1767, Vaita had announced that birds would come from afar, and there would be canoes with no outrigger. He said that this would be the beginning of a new era. So maybe they were prepared for what was to happen.

And when it did happen, I guess they viewed the Europeans as important people. Some would say gods; I wouldn’t. But I guess they immediately realised how important they could be. And in Tahiti, it’s just like in Europe, people are fair skinned because they don’t work in the fields. And so when you’re fair skinned, it means that you have a high status. And what’s more, they had all those clothes, shiny uniforms with golden buttons, very solid, solid clothes. And this is also a sign of wealth.

Because making clothes was a long process in Tahiti. To beat tapa and to make clothes with tapa took a long time. And that’s why it was so precious. They could imagine how rich they were, how powerful they were. What’s more, because they were British, they had red on the jackets, and red was really important. This is the colour of power. Also, they had pockets, so they were a little bit like magicians.

So all this can explain why the Tahitians wanted to befriend them, because they were considered as potential allies. They had power, and of course, not only on themselves, but on board the Dolphin since they had cannons, they had muskets, they could make fire, and they could kill people without touching them. All this was very interesting from a warrior’s perspective. So I don’t think they viewed them as gods, but definitely as people you’d better be friends with, for the success of your projects.

The immediate impact, I’d say, is on the religious and social and political levels, because they upset the political balance. So everything was upside down, like Wallace’s sketch. The power was no longer where it used to be. The power was up north, no longer in the south. And so the alliances were different.

And because it was different, it entailed also changes in the gods before the arrival of the London Missionary Society in 1797. Before that, there had been some change. Why? Because in the Tahitian perception, gods need to be efficient. When they are not efficient, your god is fired, and you take another one.

And so that’s how little by little, this first contact paved the way for the arrival of the gospel. So on a political viewpoint, change impact. On the religious point, impact. Of course, on the social level also, because the chiefdoms were different, and the authority was no longer from the people. Because in the old days, for the ari’i, it was just like for the gods, you had to be a good ari’i, or you were fired, or someone would take your place.

Now, the ari’i who were in place in control of the chiefdoms, were the ari’i that were supported by the English. So division slightly differed, in so I’d say more than the diseases, what was brought along was this new conception, new vision of human relations. I guess this is the long-term legacy. And now we have a system which is not so conformed to the old Tahitian way of managing the society.