Otaheite in the Eighteenth Century

English explorers spent long periods on the islands, most importantly James Cook, who observed the transit of Venus on Tahiti. In his third voyage to the Pacific, Cook returned to Tahiti with one of the locals before moving on to Hawaii where he was killed. One of the sailors on that third voyage, John Ledyard, was an impressed American sailor who would eventually flee the British navy to return to the colonies. 

Archives:

Papers of Alexander Home, c. 1738-1823 at the National Library of Australia

William Bligh Log, 1791-1793 at the State Library of Queensland

Media of the Day:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/166622057