The Tuamotu Islands and Tahiti

Abstract

The final volume in the quartet of books on the naval, scientific and social activities of the Imperial Russian Navy in the South Pacific, this book focuses on the expeditions to Tahiti and the dangerous atoll chains to the east, known as the Tuamotus. Under the command of Captains Otto von Kotzebue and F.F. Bellingshausen, expedition members were the first to chart several of the Tuamotu islands. They also theorized correctly about coral reef and atoll formation, studied botany and collected ethnographica in a systematic way. On Tahiti, the Russians came into contact with King Pomare II, Queen Pomare Vahine, and members of the London Missionary Society. Having arrived there in 1797, the missionaries had effectively destroyed the underpinnings of the ancient Tahitian social and material culture. This led von Kotzebue to criticize publicly the Society, stating that, in his view, the religious practices being enforced in Tahiti by 1824 were a travesty of true Christianity. Barratt has made full use of Russian primary material housed in St Petersburg in describing the sites and individuals the visitors encountered. Contemporary aquarelles and drawings by the expedition artists Ludovik Choris and Pavel N. Mikhailov provide pictorial evidence. These are complemented by descriptions and photographs of many of the artifacts gathered by the Russian officers and now available to scholars in Russian and Estonian archives. In this book, as in the previous volumes in the set, Barratt dispels the myth that the Russians were landlubbers. He points out that highly educated and perceptive Russian scientists and naval officers made contact with aboriginal people in many parts of Oceania. Unlike their counterparts from other European nations, the Russians never made any territorial claims and they took pains not to provoke hostility with the islanders. Petersburg in describing the sites and individuals the visitors encountered. Contemporary aquarelles and drawings by the expedition artists Ludovik Choris and Pavel N. Mikhailov provide pictorial evidence. These are complemented by descriptions and photographs of many of the artifacts gathered by the Russian officers and now available to scholars in Russian and Estonian archives. In this book, as in the previous volumes in the series, Barratt dispels the myth that the Russians were landlubbers. He points out that highly educated and perceptive Russian scientists and naval officers made contact with aboriginal people in many parts of Oceania. Unlike their counterparts from other European nations, the Russians never made any territorial claims and they took pains not to provoke hostility with the islanders. Glynn Barratt is a Professor in the Department of Russian at Carleton University..