paper

38

CHAPTER 2

PAPALAGI IN THE PACIFIC: THE LANGUAGEOFGUNS

Polynesians had explored and settled most of the islands in the "vasaloloa" (vast

sacred space) extending from Aotearoa in the South to Hawai'i in the North and to Rapanui

in the East at least 3,000 years from the present, and yet they were often portrayed in

literature and European narratives as people whose ancestors either drifted to the islands or

found them accidentally.

'This chapter examines the arrival of Europeans in the Pacific_aE!d their attempts at

describing or defining the indigenous peoples they met, and explaining how they happened

to be in the Pacific. Their curiosity and initial amazement led to explanations of Polynesian

origins that begana European narrative of Polynesian history in general and Samoan

history in particular, a history that diminished Polynesian achievements as navigators, and,

in the case of Samoans, contested that they were at all deserving of the title the

"Navigators." Samoans were known in the 1700s among Europeans as "great

navigators," but were, by the 1800s referred to as "quite domestic" so that by 1900, when

the "FiUlfita" was formed, they were to be a land-bound unit of landsmen in the United

States Navy.

The US did not send an expedition into the Pacific until the Wilkes Expedition in .

1838. China, Spain, Holland, Portugal, Great Britain and Russia had all sent multiple

expeditions into the Pacific before the US became a nation. France and the US came

relatively late into the Pacific, but they continue to hold on to their "possessions" while the

other countries had lost or given up theirs.

"Explorers": Colonizing the Narrative

Early colonizers who happened by Samoa took back to Europe the first descriptions

of Samoans, starting the European narrative of Samoan history. Europeans projected on to

Samoans their constructions of good and evil, labeling Samoans, on the one hand, impudent,

99

~. ~ .~

; : 7 7 wsr Tn? tm- I 39 I

vicious savages to be avoided or tamed, and on the other hand, as great navigators and a fine

I people: This contradictory narrative reflected both European arritudes and Europeans'

construction of a colonized inferior, a savage other, a noble savage. I Polynesian and other thriving Pacific island civilizations of the 16th century had

extensive sailing routes and systems of infonnation exchange which covered much of the I Pacific. Within this larger network of communication and trade routes were smaller regions

such as the Samoa-Tonga-Fiji triangle. Samoa to the north, Tonga to the south and Fiji to I the west fonned a central nexus of power in the South Pacific: Each of the three island

groups represents trade and kingship systems which incorporated its immediate island

neighbors, so that this triangle of power's influence reached well beyond its geographical • boundaries each with its respective geopolitical domain, traded and exchanged goods, •primarily to support alliances and kinship relations:

The arrival of voyagers, often tired, hungry and without supplies, was a normal part • of island life and integral to maintaining communication among the island groups.

Welcoming ceremonies and rituals clarified the purpose of the visit and the potential for • alliances: Hosts brought out the best for visitors, knowing that when it would be their tum

to travel, the guests would reciprocate: It was an opportunity to learn about the visitors and

places they have been to, catching up on news and information about relatives on other

islands, and sharing sailing insights: One or two members of the traveling party might stay

with their new friends and a few of the hosts may join the traveling party when they

resumed their journey: They exchanged goods and people to memorialized alliances and

friendship. ~ III •

The arrival of Europeans in the Pacific radically changed all this. From the outset,

these new voyagers with guns and diseases left devastation everywhere they went Stories III about these strangers and diseases they brought filtered throughout the extensive network of

sailing routes so that islanders heard about Europeans or died from new diseases long III before any European actually landed on their shores: ,-<

III

• •

100

--

40

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

i I I I I I I I

The first European colonizer in the Pacific was Fernao de Magalhaes (Magellan), a

Portuguese who sailed for Don Carlo, the king of Spain, in 1519 to find a "Southwest

Passage to the Moluccas" (Spice Islands) and according to O.H.K.Spate, with the

additional "possible objective" of wealth in gold from the Ryuku Islands.' Magellan was

convinced that the Mollucas lay within the Spanish side of the Tordesillas line, assuming the

line divided the globe into two hemispheres. 2 "The main provision of the treaty signed in

1494 at Tordesillas, an obscure little town in Valladolid, was the placing of the demarcation

lineat.a position of 370 leagues west of the Cape Verdes."] Undiscovered tenitories and

peoples to'the West of the line were under Spanish jurisdiction, and those to the East were

under Portuguese.

After a year and three months o.f searching for a southwest passage along the

southern end of what is now South America, Magellan found the straight which today bears

his name: entering into the "Pacific Sea" on November 28, 1520.4 Magellan's voyage

across the Pacific was exceptional in that he missed hundreds of inhabited Polynesian

islands between Guam and South America. Given Magellan's penchant for violence and

eagerness to kidnap nati ves to take back to Spain, perhaps it was fortunate for Pacific

Islanders that he sailed to the north of some of the most populous islands in the South "­

Pacific. Antonio Pigafetta, one of three recorders who accompanied Magellan described

their arduous ordeal across the Pacific:

We were three months and twenty days without getting any kind of fresh food. We ate biscuit, which was no longer biscuit, but powder of biscuits swarming with worms, for they had eaten the good. It stank strongly of the urine of rats. We drank yellow water that had been putrid for many days. We also ate some ox hides that covered the top of the mainyard to prevent the yard from chafing the shrouds, and which had become exceedingly hard because of the sun, rain, and wind. We left them in the sea for four or five days, and then placed them for a few moments on top of the embers, and so ate them; and often we ate sawdust from boards. Rats were sold one-haIf ducado apiece, and even then we could not get them. But above all the other misfortunes the following was the worst The gums of both the lower and upper teeth of some of our men swelled, so that they could not eat under any circumstances and therefore died. Nineteen men died

101

'1

I 41

from that sickness, and the giant together with an Indian from

• •

the country of Verzin. Twenty-five or thirty men fell sick [during that time/. in the arms, legs, or another place, so that. but few remained well. 5

Magellan's crew, much like Polynesians who sailed the Pacific vastness, were, after

months at sea, tired and without fresh food or water; however, they were, in addition, dying

or sick with scurvy, a disease unknown to Pacific islanders. As sick and weakened as

Magellan and his crew were, they had enough strength to attack the Chamorros, secure their

missing skiff and steal fresh supplies. 6

Pigafetta's account of Magellan's raid on the

Chamorros suggests an additional reason for the attack may have been to secure human

entrails which the crew believed cured scurvy. Pigafetta wrote that:

The men were about to strike the sails so that we could go ashore, but the nati ves very deftly stole from us the small boat that was fastened to the poop of the flagship. Thereupon, the captain-general in wrath went ashore with forty armed men, who burned some forty or fifty houses together with many boats, killed seven men. He recovered the small boat, and we departed immediately pursuing the same course. Before we landed, some of the sick men begged us if we should kill any man or woman to bring the entrails to them, as they would recover immediately.7

Magellan's galleon reflected the established practice for early colonizing voyages

into the Pacific. Crews were multi-racial, and they used guns against indigenous people

with little provocation. Many of the sick and tired crew jumped ship as soon as they landed

on the islands.8 These multi-racial crews with arms became a permanent part of Pacific

peoples' experience of European colonizers for the next 300 years.

Magellan's crew of 265 had in addition to the Spanish at least 37 Portuguese, 30 or

more Genoese and Italians, 19 French, and the rest made up of "Aemings, Germans,

Sicilians,"English, Corfiotes, Malays, Negroes, Moors, Madeirans, and natives of the Azores

and Canary Islands" and "Biscayans.'19 These"long voyages were very dangerous, as

scurvy and other diseases usually killed up to half the crew. While t.he captain and officers

were rewarded well at the end of a successful voyage, 'seamen, mostly poor and people of

color, soon found themselves in the familiar company of poverty.

102

I 42

Magellan used-an elaborate system of light combinations and canon fire to send

I directions to the other ships in the galleon. "If he showed a greater number of lights. or fired a mortar, it was a signal of land or of shoals. "10 When the galleon discovered what is

I I now the Magellan Strait, they "discharged a number of mortars, and burst into cheers."11

Spain sent at least four major expeditions into the Pacific after Magellan, gradually

I moving southward of the familiar route from South America to Guam and the Philippines

so that Quiros in 1606 visited one of the Tokelau islands, the Swains Island that is now part

I of American Samoa. The Portugese and the Dutch were a minor presence in the Pacific

compared to the Spanish, but it was the Dutch who were the first E~~eans to interact with

people in the central south Pacific. 12

I In 1615, ninety-five years after Magellan. Dutch colonizers William Cornelison Schouten of Hom and Jaques Le Maire left Holland to find a second southwest passage to

I the Pacific, and found one south of Magellan's straight which he labeled as "Le Maire's Straight." They arrived at Tonga in 1616, becoming the first European to make contact

I I within the main Samoa-Tonga-Fiji triangle. Unfortunately for the Tongans, Schouten and

Le Maire were as murderous as Magellan. On meeting a double sailing canoe heading

I towards them in open waters between Samoa and Tonga, they:

fired a gun or two for them to strike; but those in the bark not understanding the language of guns, the Dutch sent their shallop with ten musqueteers to take her: upon which she endevoured to make her escape, but the shallop intercepting

I her, some of her men threw themselves and their goods

I overboard; but when the shallop boarded her, those who were left made not the least resistance, but quietly surrendered to the conquerors, who used them very kindly, dressed their wounds, saved the Jives of those who have leaped into the sea,

I and entertained all of them in the ship...The Dutch did not keep them long on their ship; for after satisfying their curiosity in examining so singular a bark, sent them back to their vessel, where the women expressed their joy, by embracing their husbands. 13

I It is unclear whether the estimated "twenty-three of these people, among whom were eight women and several children"14 were Tongan or Samoan, though they clearly did

I speak the "language of guns." This was n"ot a war party, but a typical voyage between

I I I

103

~ ;~.

-4>;"'i.

'I

-- -------

43

island groupStoVlslt reTaIives or attend special ceremonies. Throwing cargo overboard and • men jumping into the water were ways to lighten the canoe so it could stay afloat when

damaged and allow it to tack faster to avoid capture. Te Rangi Hiroa identified the canoe

from the illustration as of Tongan design, and went on to say that "some of the occupants

of the canoe were recklessly killed and the Dutch, conscious of their brutality, tried to make

amends by giving presents to the people before allowing the canoe to continue on its

way.,,15

The Dutch, likewise, continued on their way arriving two days later at Tafahi and

Niuotabutabu, islands in Tonga. 16 They were met by "another of the same kind of barks,

which sailed so fast" that Dutch ships could not keep her company. II Tongans extended

them the traditional peaceful welcome indicated by showing strips of white (bare) tapa, what

the Dutch referred to as "white flags" and offerings of coconuts and food. IS This was

usually an exciting time to meet the new visitors and trade before formal welcoming

ceremonies and permission to land and to recruit supplies. When the Dutch launched a

shallop before the official welcome, Tongan warriors attacked the shallop's crew, "but one

of them being shot through the breast, they took care for the future to keep at a greater

distance. ,,19

The king formally welcomed the Dutch the next day. First he sent "the commander

a present of a black hog, charging the messenger to take no reward" then he gave the

welcoming speech. 20 The Dutch responded with .trumpets and drums to which the Tongans

showed their appreciation by bowing and clapping their hands over their heads. The king

then sent the Dutch a present, "which they returned with the gift of an old hatchet, some

rusty nails, glass beads, and a piece of Hnnen cloth, which his majesty received with a low

bow; and seemed much pleased with them. ,,21 This would become the typical kind of

exchange between Polynesians and Europeans. Polynesians hosts gifting the best and most

valuable things they had, and Europeans giving in return things ofJittle value to them. ~ '"""0 •

II 104 I

I

I 44 The next day, the king led an attack against the Dutch, probably to avenge those the

I I Dutch murdered at sea and the man shot the day before, for by then, they would have found

out about the massacre at sea a few days earlier. Tongan stones were no match against

I Dutch arms. The Dutch "discharging their musquets, and three great guns loaded with

musket shot and nails, into the canoes," no doubt killing many, forcing the Tongans to

retreat22 The Dutch called this Tongan island "Traitors Island."23

I Schouten continued west running into Futuna and Alofi, Polynesian islands west of Tonga~northof Fiji. Again, the Dutch used every opportunity to demonstrate the power of

I their guns-. ''The noise of the guns terrified them so extremely•.!~at they fled with the

I

utmost precipitation, whenever they were discharged. The king, however, had a desire to

I hear one of the great guns, and for that purpose was seated under a canopy, with some of his favourites about him in great order; but upon hearing the explosion, he leaped from his

I seat, and ran into the woods with all his courtiers after him, not withstanding all the friendly

signs made by the Dutch. ,,24

I Schouten's description of formal welcoming and the ava could easily have been

descriptions of Samoan ceremonies, including each chief having a dove "sitting by him

upon a stick. ,,25 These early written records show much more similarity between the

I different island groups than often seen today. In 1643, twenty seven years after Schouten, another Dutchman, Abel Janszoon

I Tasman arrived in Tonga after visiting Aotearoa, which he named "Nova Zealand" (Nieuw Zeeland), now New Zealand. 26 The Maories of Aotearoa and Tasman engaged in deadly

I I attacks and counter attacks so that, "Tasman noting that there was nothing to do here, but

risking sailors against these savage people, set sailed, followed by several canoes: against

I which the rear-guns loaded with grape-shot let fly, and hit some: so that the canoes turned

back. ,,27

Tasman and his crew were understandably apprehensive when they eventually

I arrived in Tonga, and Tongans, many of whom remembered Schouten's attacks, would have

II

105

..+)

been guarded, but they extended a peaceful welcome to Tasman nonetheless. Three young ;-.-­

men went out to meet Tasman, and later four warriors with the traditional tatau (tattoo)

extended welcome, "a small canoe with 4 persons sturdy men, their necks hung with Large

leaves came to the ship, bringing a little white flag and a cloth of bark of trees, they put this

said flag on the stem of our boat"28 Fonnal welcoming teremonies and gift presentations

that followed indicate that the Tongans welcomed Tasman as they would a high chief or a

king. One of the chiefs, probably the highest ranking or king, went to the ship and

"inclined his head" to their feet, the traditional welcome between chiefs or kings, except the

other person would also be bowing likewise. The Dutch, however; welcomed him in their

own fashion and showed him a cup of fresh water, "which he -showed us by signs to be

ontainable on shore: we then presented him with a knife, a small looking-glass, and a piece

of dungaree. ,,29 The chief returned to shore and sent a fonnal food gift

Towards evening about 20 prows came close to our ships, which all stationed themselves side by side in regular order. Before coming alongside, they made a good deal of noise, crying out repeatedly "Woo, woo, woo," etc., upon which those in our ship sat down. The said prows then came alongside, bringing a present from the king, consisting of a fine large hog, a number of cocoa-nuts, and some yarns; the bearer of these presents being the same person who brought us the small white flag and the cloth of bark. We presented them in return with a common dish such as we use at meals, and a piece of copper-wire; we also bartered a few cocoa­ nuts, baccovos, yams and a hog, etc. against nails and beads; about nightfall they all left our ship, exce;t one who remained to sleep on board of the Heemskercq.3

The next day, the Dutch continued brisk bartering with TOngans, loading up on

supplies and preparing to land to get fresh water. The chief returned to the ship with two

hogs for which he was given a "silver-mounted knife and 8 or 9 nails" and, more

importantly, treated to a demonstration of Dutch firepower. "We conducted him below, and

went all over the ship with him, and caused one of our great guns to be fired, at which they

were greatly frightened and ran away in amazement, but when they saw that no one was the

worse for it, they were soon s~t at ease again."J' This was perhaps a timely warning to the

Tongans before the Dutch sent out a heavily anned crew to look for fresh water. "We also

106

.......

I I

• • -

• I

4{)

put a mumber of musketeers into our pinnace, for though these natives seem to be good­

natured enough, it is impossible to know what they hide in their hearts, for which reason we

armed our people to be prepared for accidents."J2 The crew was shown two wells which

were too small for their barrels.

The following day, Tasman accompanied his crew to shore, and indicated to the

chief that the wells needed to be enlarged to make filling casks easier. The chief had his

people dig the wells, while Tasman and crew were extended Tongan royal hospitality.

We were seated, he had refreshments brought in, such as fresh milk and cream, fresh fish and various kinds of fruit, of which there is great abundance here, and in every way showed us respect and friendship. They then asked us-where we had come from, and where we were going, upon which we told them that we had been at sea for a hundred days and upwards, at which they were greatly astonished; we also told them that we had come there in search of fresh water, hogs, fowls, etc., to which they answered that they had plenty of them, as many as we wished. We then got 8 casks filled with water, and they presented us with four live hogs, and a number of fowls, cocoa-nuts, bananas, etc. In return we offered them one fathom of linen, 6 nails and six strings of beads, for which they cordially thanked us. We then went up to the white flag with the three chiefs, signifying to them we wished to leave the said flag near the platform in sign of peace and amity, at which they expressed great satisfaction, and put the flag on their heads one after the other, thereby giving to understand they desired nothing but our friendship. They next fastened the flag to the baleye, as a sign that they

33had made a covenant with US.

Tasman records here a typical exchange between visitors and Polynesian hosts, the sharing

of information and the forging offriendship and alliance in peace. Tongans were amazed at

how long the Dutch had been at sea, for Tongan and Polynesian ships were much faster and

long voyages were typically no more than a week to a month. Also surprising to Tongans

was the arpount of supplies the Dutch crew needed. In addition to fresh water, Tasman

received from the Tongans "a hundred heads of hogs, 150 fowls and a reasonable quantity

of cocoa-nuts, yams and other fruit,,34 These supplies would have been enough for about

100 Tongan ships on long voyages.

1U7

":---:--i

-+7

II Samoans knew about papalagi long before any European ships actually visited

Samoa. It had been a hundred and six years since Schouten and seventy nine years since

Tasman visited neighboring Tonga before Jacob Roggeveen, commanding the Are:ui and

Thienhoven on a Dutch West India Company expedition visited Manu'a, the easternmost

group of Samoan islands in June, 1722. Samoan reception of Roggeveen's expedition was

significantly different from how the Tongans recei ved Schouten and Tasman, which

suggests that the Samoans had heard about papalagi violence and were rather guarded about

them. Only a few canoes went out from Ta'u to barter with Rogeeveen:

there came two to three canoes --- which were not hollowed­ out trees, but made of planks and inner timbers and very neatly joined together, so that we supposed that they must have some tools of iron, for which they are very eager, to make planks and other timber for use from the trees (the· number of which is countless, as the whole island is filled up to the high crowns of the mountains and as close as grass in luxurian meadows) --- near our ship, which had some coconuts, which we exchanged for 5to 6 large rusty nails.35

Comelis Bouman, captain of the Thienhoven and for whom the Manu'a group was named

the Bouman Islands, noted that when he tried to get some of Samoans onto the ship, "they

would not come aboard. ,,36

Rogeveen deployed "the sloop, well provided with men and weapons, in order to

sound bottoms a.Jong the shore" but they could not find a secure anchor bottom. 37 They

did, however, go close enough to shore to meet Samoans. They offered a description of

order at Manu'a and evidence of Samoan familiarity with papaplagi and bartering items

when a Samoan chief inquired about beads.

Lastly it is still to be noted that the Upper Mate of the said ship Thienhoven rowed in the sloop towards the shore of the beach in order to make soundings, and having come there he says that the King sitting in a canoe, and having by him a young woman of 18 to 19 years, whose neck was encircled by a string of oblong blue beads, asked the Mate by signs if he had any such, pointing to the said string, whereupon the Mate, by nodding his head, said yes, but indicated by his hand towards the ship that the beads were there, and he would bring them to the land. That this was the King he concluded from this, beca~se when the King came near the

II II II II II II II II II I

108

'1

48 I sloop a thousand and more Indians were on the beach, anned

I with spears, bow and arrows, and he gave them a directing sign with his hand they should go away, which was obeyed in the blink of an eye, all retreating into the trees so that none of this crowd could be seen on the beach. 38 .

I I It is unclear if the warriors on the beach were a welcoming party, though they were

likely a war party given what they heard about papalagi visitors. The man in the canoe was

I likely one ofTui Maun'a's talking chiefs (tulafale), and the woman was likely the village

"taupou" (a ceremonial woman warrior). The sacred Tui Manu'a (king of Manu'a) did

not haQdle such lowly matters as welcoming visitors at the beach. The tulafale's ability to

I control' his-warriors with a single wave was an indication of the ma~~ (chiefs') power over the common people in Manu'a. Samoan dealings with Roggeveen showed a guarded

approach, which was likely the result of knowing what Europeans did at Tonga. It is also

possible that the people Schouten and Lemaire massacred at sea near Tonga were Samoans,

which would further explain why the Manuans were cautious about the European visitors.

Rogeveen and Bouman wrote the first European description of Samoans.

According to Rogeveen: "The Indians of this first island are like the Paaschlanders in

sturdiness and r.obustness of body, also in painting themselves, but not so much and

abundantly, as their coloring commences from the thighs downward to the legs.

Furthennore we did not see anything as covering for their nakedness, except a girdle round

the waist to which a lot of long broad leaves or rushes, or of another plant, was fastened. ,,39

Bouman added that, "The inhabitants are lively fellows, fat and sleek, in colour brownish

red, with long black, rosy hair, in appearance or countenance as I have seen many Indians in

America. ,,40

Ro~eveen and Bouman were describing traditional Samoan attire and manners. The

tattooed men were warriors sent out to check the ships. 'The men had long black or reddish

hair and wore Utiti lau ti," girdle ofti leaves. Though Roggeveen and Bouman's narratives

seem an accurate enough description of the Manu' a islands, Te Rangi Hiroa suggests that

109

I I"information that the people wore large hats and carried bows and arrows is characteristic of

the inaccurate additions to the Roggeveen account. ,,41

IRoggeveen also saw other Samoan islands including Upolu, considered one of the most fertile islands in Polynesia where he could have bartered for all the supplies he needed, I but he was not sure if he would find anchor-bottom and he feared he might miss favorable

winds for the westward journey home. He decided not to land and sailed on homeward. I Fresh greens, fruits and water would have helped his crew, some of whom were dying from

scurvy, two died while they were in Samoa, but he was under the mistaken belief that "not I only must fresh good food be used for nutrient, but in addition to this a fresh and agreeable

land air" were needed to cure scurvy.42 Fresh fruits rich in vitamin C and greens were I enough to cure the scurvy. ,

Roggeven was baffled how Pacific islanders ended up in the remote islands he had

come across given they were distant from any main lands and that European navigation had I not achieved the capacity for such long-distance sailing or colonization until relatively

recent He offered an answer to this puzzle.

Furthermore it must accordingly be agreed that these people must either have been created there or landed and brought by another means, and these thus preserved their race by procreation...Since then the Spaniards or other peoples could not have been induced by these motives to set up colonies of Indians in these distant regions, which are outside the acquaintance of the known world, it is accordingly very easy to conclude that the Indians who inhabit these newly discovered islands were bred there naturally from generation to generation, and are descendants of Adam, although the ability of the human understanding is powerless to comprehend by what means they could have been transported. For of this nature are still many other substantial issues, which must only be believed, without any· so-<:alled expert demonstration having a place here, when this is opposed to and in conflict with the pronouncement of Holy Writ. 43

Rogeveen's expedition, together with the earlier expeditions of Le

Schouten and Tasman, according to Te Rangi Hiroa, "established a good

110

I I I I I I

Maire and

Irecord of I I I

l 50

Polynesian discoveries for the Dutch, and the Dutch seem to have rested content with

I them.'>44

I

Rogeveen's account of their brief encounter with the Samoans was very

t straightforward, reporting and describing what he saw and felt. Unfortunately, some historians embellished and added to the account in aImost fantastical ways. One historian

I altered the story to elevate Rogeveen to a god, and Samoans to weakly simpletons. He

wrote: "Ashore, the Ta' uan were astonished and fearful. The shi ps were larger than any

I they had seen or supposed possible, and they placed offerings of food along the shore to

placate the' Sailing Gods. ,,>45 He went on to describe how the S!'E0ans saw the Dutch

when they boarded their ships: "There they saw creatures who were evidently men of a

I sort, but men who had yellow hair and pink faces, covered with elastic skins which stretched from their backs to their wrists and their toeless feet, and from whose mouths there emerged

I strange words, and at times, clouds of smoke.'>46 It is clear from the Rogeveen' s journal's that Samoans did not board the ships, and the so called Samoan view of papaIagi at contact

I I recycles the European imagining of what the Samoans should have felt, and perpetuates the

myth of the all-white crews. A lot of seamen and servants on these expeditions were people

I of color.

It would be another 46 years after Rogeveen before Louis De Bougainville, the first

French colonizer in the South Pacific, arrived in Samoa on May 3, 1768 after an extended

I visit at Tahiti. He could not land because of rough seas but the Samoans, more skillful navigators in smaIler canoes, carne out to sea and traded with him. He was so impressed by

I this feat that he changed the name he originally gave to the islands from Little Cyclades to the "Navigator Archipelago. ,,47 But unlike the welcoming reception he received at Tahiti,

I the Samoans were "apprehensive of the visitors and traded only a few items, passing the I

coconuts, yams, poorly made fishhooks and unattractively dyed bark cloth up from their

I pirougue. They were little interested in the French iron tools and nails, so prized by the

Tahitians, and so the French continued on without going ashore. ,>48

111

'1

51

Bougainville's account of his visit to Tahiti added French interpretation to the

romanticized descriptions of Polynesian women in general and Tahitian women in

particular. I include it here as we would see the continuatiofl of this particular narrative in

later French captains' journals.

Bougainville and his crew were extended the customary welcome and Tahitian

hospitality. They were given food and supplies, and the beautiful women of Tahiti

welcomed the sex-starved French sailors with invitations for intimacy. "The Tahitians

wanted so little, metal nails especially, in exchange for the terrestrial delights of willing,

beautiful women and the bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables and meat that the French could

hardly believe their good fortune. ,,49 A twenty-three year old journalist with the expedition

recorded the following graphic description of a formal offering of a Tahitian young woman

to a French sailor:

The [the group of natives] made us sit down and brought us coconuts, bananas and invited us to eat; we satisfied them. Then we saw each one take a leafy branch and stand in a circle around us, with one of the onlookers taking a flute from which he blew soft and pleasant sounds, and someone brought a mat which he spread out and on which the girl sat The signs of all the Indians made us to understand what it was all about; however this custom being so contrary to ours and wanting to be reassured, one for our men approached the offered victim, presented her with an artificial pearl which he hung from her ear, and risked a kiss which was returned. A bold hand motivated by love glided over the two burgeoning apples, worthy, like Helen's, to serve as a model for cups, incomparable beauty and comeliness of form. The hand soon slipped lower, and by happy chance, fell· upon the charms still hidden by covering which was soon removed by the girl herself, whom we then saw with the only clothing Eve wore before her sin. She did even more; she layout on the mat, tapped upon the chest of him who was the aggressor, made him to understand that she was giving herself to him and spread apart those two obstacles. impending entry to the temple where so many men sacrifice everyday. The call was most alluring, and the athlete caressing her knew all too well the art of fencing so as to temporize, if the presence of fifty Indians surrounding him hadn't, as an effect of our prejudices, put a brake on his violent desire; but whatever ardor animates you, it is most difficult to discard immediately . the ideas with which you have been brought up.so

112

._." _ •• • __ P_. __ F :: _~

.... ., -." _. .. - . --~. - . '-'-'~~- ,- .- "." " ~ . ,... -:~.. ~-

I I I I I I I I I I

• • • • • • • • •

52

The time spent in Tahiti was not all playas wood, water and fresh supplies had to be

procured and loaded on the ships. The sick had to be taken to shore to be cared back to

health. sl French sailors quickly accustomed themselves to Tahitian hospi~!ity and

overcame their fear of sexual intercourse in public.

Bougainville noted that Tahitian men, "had the physiques of Hercules and the

women beautifully contoured bodies unmarred by the torture garments such as corsets

favored by European women to make their figures attractive."S2 Tahitians were very clean.

''They,.bathed in the streams several times a day and never failed to wash up before and

after eating. u53

The Frenchman observed that the only crime co~~ against the French

was stealing, though Tahitians did not seem to steal from each other.

Bougainville, like other European colonizers before him, was also curious how

Polynesians ended up in their islands. When he raised Hao, an island in the Tuamotu

archipelago, he wondered how the humans could have found such a remote place to live. "I

admire their courage if they live without worry on these strips of sand that a hurricane can at

any time sweep into the sea.,,54

Nineteen years after Bougainville, the shortest period between European expeditions

to Samoa at that time, John Francis GaJaup de la Perouse, another French colonizer, visited

Samoa on December 9, 1787 as part of a two-ship expedition to check on previous French

discoveries throughout the globe.55 Ironically, la Perouse's thorough description of how

the Samoans killed M. de Langle, captain of the Astrolabe, and eleven of his crew labeled

Samoans a "savage" people, but also offered the first substantial written information on

Samoans.

The expedition's arrival atthe island of Tutuila brought the usual excitement "As

soon as day broke, the islanders had come round the two ships in a hundred canoes, laden

with different kinds of provision, which they would exchange for nothing but beads. These

were diamonds of the highest value to them; while they despised our hatchets, cloths, and

other articles of barter."S6 Because of anchoring problems, de la Perouse wanted to get

·113

:\

53

fresh water and sail on as soon as possible. While bartering continued at the ships,

Captains de la Perouse and M. de Langle accompanied the detail to shore to fetch fresh

water, becoming the first European captains to actuaJly step on Samoan soil. M. de Langle

decidedocheckouta secondcovenottoofarfromwherethemaincrewlanded. "The

water was fine, and easily obtained," wrote la Perouse, "and the Indians, of whom there

were about two hundred, including women and children ... Each had with him fowls, hogs;

parrots, pigeons; and they were all for selling them at once, which occasioned a little

confusion. ,,57 The heavily armed crew ,with help from Samoan chiefs, were able to maintain

order at shore for the market, however, la Perouse blamed the Samoan women for some of

. the commotion in language and tone similar to fellow French colonizer BougainviIle's

description of Tahitian women:

The women, some of whom were very pretty, offered, with their fruits and their fowls, their favours to aJl, who had beads to give them. In a very little while they endeavoured to pass through the line of marines, who made too feeble a resistance to repulse them. Their manners were gentle, sprightly, and engaging: against such attacks, an European who has sailed round the globe, a Frenchman in particular, has no weapons of defense. They found no great difficulty in breaking the line: the men then came up, and the confusion increase: but some Indians, whom we took for chiefs, appeared armed with sticks, and re-established order; each returned to his place; and the market recommenced, to the great satisfaction of both buyers and sellers. 58

In this first major contact between European and Samoans, language and cultural

barriers likely led to trouble. De la Perouse admitted in is journal that there were many

misunderstandings between Samoans and the French. "I was informed some private

quarrels had occurred, but they had been quashed by extreme prudence."59 Hedescribed

an incident which foreshadowed the tragic events of the following day. A young Samoan

man, probably offended in some way or other, "seized a maUel" in the long-boat and gave

one of the sailors "several blows on the arms and back" before he was seized and thrown

overboard. "The rest of the islanders appeared to disapprove their countryman's behaviour,

and the quarrel ended there. ,>60 However, la Perouse observed that the Samoans were not in

114

I

I

I I

I I I

• •

• • • • • • •

I I

awe of the French or "sensible of the superiority" of French arms over their personal

strength, "for their stature, being about five ten inches high, their muscular limbs, and

Herculean form, gave them such an idea of their superiority, as rendered 'JS little fcrm.:dable

I in their eyes.'>6\ To demonstrate French power, la Perouse purchased three pigeons, which they "let fly, and shot before the whole assembly" which "appeared to inspire" the.

I Samoan with some fear. 62 While the crew filled the casks and continued with the market, la Perouse visited a

I I nearbi-village. He offered the first detailed description of a Samoan village with houses

"placed in a circle, about three hundred yards in diameter, the center of which formed a

I beautiful green, while the trees, with which it was shaded, kept it delightfully cool. ,>63

Samoans invited him into their houses, considered the best in Polynesia, and brought out the

I finest mats for him. "The most skilful architect could not have given a more elegant curve

to the extremities of the ellipsis" which forms the oval roof of the Samoan fale. 64 He

noticed the abundance of produce and domesticated animals such as fowls, hogs and dogs

I and concluded that the Samoans "were wealthy, and had so few wants, that they despised our cloths and instruments of iron, and would accept only beads: abundantly supplied with

I articles of real utility, they desired nothing but superfl uities. ,>65 La Perouse was very impressed with the Samoans. "What imagination would not

I I conceive this delightful place to be the abode of felicity! These islanders, we wer:=

continually saying, must be the happiest people upon earth: surrounded with their wives and

I children, they pass their days serene and tranquil in the bosom of repose: they have no other

care, but that of bringing up birds, and, like the first man, of gathering without labour the

fruits that hang over their heads.'>66

I When La Perouse and the water detail returned to their ships around noon, Samoans in canoes were still surrounding both ships and continuing the market. About eight

I Samoans were on the quarterdeck including one that was introduced as a chief. M. Boutin, the officer in charge, told La Perouse, "that he could not have prevented their entering the

I I

115 I I

!1

55

I ship, unless by firing upon them: that, when they compared their bodily strength with ours,

they laughed at our threats, and ridiculed our sentries: that, knowing the moderation of my I principles, he was unwilling to employ violent means, by which alone they could be

restrained.'067 M. Bountin added, "that since the chief had come on board, the islanders I who were there before him had been much quieter and less insolent'068

ILa Perouse gave the chief some presents and took the opportunity to "impress him with a high opinion" of French strength. He wrote, "I ordered different trials of the use of I our arms to be exhibited before him; but their effect made little impression on him; and he

appeared to me, to think them fit only for killings birds.'069 I At the end of this first day of contact with Samoans, the French had enough fresh

water and supplies to continue on their journey. La Perouse noted that "no island could be I compared to this for abundance of provision: the two ships had already procured upwardS

of five hundred hogs, with large quantity of fowls, pigeons, and fruits; and all this had cost

us only a few beads. ,,70 ­ The French decided to stay around Tutuila that night because M. de Langle insisted

on going back to the cove he reconnoitered to get more fresh water the following morning.

According to La Perouse, "However strongly I insisted that we had not the least need of it,

he could not be induced to give up his point; for he had embraced the system of Cook, and

thought fresh water a hundred times preferable to what had been some time in the hold; and

as some of his crew had slight symptoms of scurvy, he thought, with justice, that we owed

them every means of alleviating them in our power.'o7J

In a final attempt at convincing M. de Langle that they did not need more water, La

Perouse shped with him how he felt about the Samoans. "I represented to M. de Langle, .

that I found these islanders too turbulent to risk sending boats ashore, when we could not

support them by our cannon from the ships; and that our forbe~rance had served only to .

increase the boldness of these Indians, who considered only personal strength, in which we

were much inferior to them; but nothing could shake his reso! uti on. ,,72

11S

...... ~ .. "--~"':.

'I

56

I I The following day at about noon, M. de Langle led a crew of sixty to the cove,

armed with muskets and cutlasses, and with six swivels mounted on two long-boats and two

barges. Some Samoans went out to the ships to continue the market, and more waited at

•

shore for de Langle. When de Langle's crew got to the cove, it was low tide so the long­

boats were grounded. The barges remained afloat but off from the shore at some distance..

M. de Langle had reconnoitered the cove at high tide the day before when the water was at

least six feet deeper.

_Again, French marines maintained a double line to allow the watering to progress

smoothly and had filled their casks within an hour or so. Howev!!i they were unable to .-.

leave because of the low tide. Meanwhile, many of the canoes who had been trading at the

ships returned so that there were thousands of people in the cove. It is not clear from La

Perouse's journals how the fight started, though M. Vaujuas who accompanied M. de

Langle to shore surmised in his report that the confusion started after they gave some chiefs

gifts of beads. ''These presents, distributed among five or six individuals, excited the

discontent of all the rest; a general glamour then arose, and we were no longer able to check

it. ,,73 Apparently, Samoans surrounded M. de Langle's long-boats, and stones were flying

around. Things seemed to have happened quickly. A shower of stones, "thrown from a

very short distance with as much force as if they had come from a sling, struck almost every

person in the long-boat. M. de Langle had only time to discharge the two barrels of his

piece before he was knocked down. ,,74 The French crew opened fire on the Samoans. "I t

is obvious that every shot must have killed an Indian at a distance of four or five paces; but

they had no time to reload."75 Forty-nine out of sixty-one, most of whom all injured,

escaped by swimming to the barges afloat off from the beach where they "continued firing

on the islanders, and had killed several. ,,76 They rowed the barges through the reef

entrance and exhausted what ammunition they had left on Samoans waiting for them

there. 77 Of the twelve French sailors killed, one was simply listed as "A Chinese.,,78

117

:j

6::)

Navigators' Islands are the most beautiful in the Southern Ocean, and consequently in the

whole world. "129 It was the people that Kotzebue found disagreeable. To him, the

Samoans were impudent savages, though admittedly, there were some good ones. But even

the good ones were like children. The land, the islands, it would seem, were the more

important part of situation. Embedded in this narrative was the suggestion that the people

were expendable. It was the richness of the islands that was of value. It would be 15 years

after Kotzebue left before the US sent its firs expedition to the Pacific and to Samoa.

The First US Expedition to the Pacific, 1838-1842.

United States interest in Samoa began officially with "an expronng expedition which

visited the islands under the leadership of Lt. John Wilkes in 1839.'1130 Wilkes' extensive

survey of the islands revealed great potential for a US port for ships, especially the beautiful

Pagopago harbor at Tutuila. 131 Pagopago harbor was an ideal place for coaling station to

service US vessels engaged in "whale fishery and general commerce. ,,132

Whaling, trading and other commercial interests lobbied for diplomatic

representation and a show of American naval strength not only in the Atlantic but also in the

Pacific to improve the conditions for business and to attain some measure of parity with the

English and the French as early as 1790s. 133 "Inevitably, when Americans first entered the

Pacific Ocean, demands arose for naval protection. Ship owners and their captains backed

suggestions for official exploring expeditions to lower the hazards of navigating unknown

or inadequately charted waters. ,,134 Johnson and Best, however, argued against identifying

the American "business community" as "the moving force in Pacific and Asian policy" as

they either "waited at home for someone to come for their goods or capital or waged their

own diplomacy in dealing with counterparts abroad," and they acknowledged that "U.S.

relations with the people of the Samoan islands presented a remarkable exception to the

general rule of official lack of concern with Pacific islands, especially those south of the

equator, that followed during the 1870s and 1880s."135

• 129

, ~ . , .. ~, ... ~..

---"":~-

:1

69 I In 1823, President Monroe's annual message to congress outlined what has become .~

" . I known as the "Monroe Doctrine" and confirmed that "usual force has been maintained in

the Mediterranean Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and along the Atlantic coast, and has afforded the I necessary protection to our commerce in those areas. ,,136 The unofficial ext~nsion of the

"Monroe Doctrine" westward and continued demand for the US to assert itself in the I Pacific led Congress in May 1836, to authorize the Wilkes Expedition to explore and survey

the Pacific Ocean "in the interests of our commerce embarked in the whale-fisheries, and I other adventures in the great Southern Ocean ... as well as to detennine the existence of all

doubtful islands and shoals."137 I The Wilkes Expedition left Norfolk, Virginia in August 1838 and spent three years

Iin the Pacific. They crossed "the Pacific three times" ~nd "created 180 charts, surveyed 280 islands, discovered the Antarctic continent, negotiated treaties with nine Pacific I chiefdoms, and appointed two consuls to represent American interests in the Pacific.,,'38

The scientific, geographic, navigational and commercial achievements of the Wilkes I Expedition were comparable to those of the British expeditions, establishing the US as a

scientific authority on the Pacific. I The expedition was expected to arrive at Samoa in June, 1839, and was instructed to

"survey this group, and its harbours, with all due care and attention."139 Samoa was one of

the expeditions key areas of focus, and the thoroughness with which the Wilkes Expedition

surveyed and charted the Samoan islands has been reflected in the continued reliance of the

US and American Samoan governments on Wilke's data. Commander John M. Poyer,

Governor of American Samoa, noted in his 1919 annual report the exceptional value of

Wilkes' surveys of 1839:

The Surveys then made ... are the basis of our cnarts today, and no general survey of the islands of American Samoa has since been made. The data obtained by the surveyors and scientists were published, and were for many years the only authentic information to be found anywhere relative to these islands ... Naval officers had long recognized ... Pa90 Pago ... would be of inestimable value to the United States. 40

70

I

I I I I I I I , ~

The Wilkes Expedition, like European expeditions of earlier times, had explicit

scientific goals, but it also had a military and political agenda. Roberta A. Sprague

eloquently captures the ex.pe.dition's contributions to US policies and its muitipurpose aims:

The scientific accomplishments of the expedition, valuable as they were, obscured the expedition's more .political purpose. Just as the specimens gathered became the foundation of many Smithsonian collections, so its strategic assessments and detailed information became the fou ndation of subsequent American stratagems in the Pacific. It was one of the early moves in the geopolitical ad mercantile expansion which dominated American policy in the nineteenth century. Control of the continent's west coast and the Pacific ocean were vital to these aspirations, and information was indispensable to achieve these objectives. The eX,Eeditions was both a manifestation of these ambitions, and, through the extensive data if provided, a means to realize them. Though this purpose was never officially recognized, it was understood by the men of the expedition, and probably by the public of the era. 141

Wilkes' comprehensive survey of Samoa demonstrated his belief that the islands

would be of great value to the US. In a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, date November 9.

1839, Wilkes wrote:

It is surprising that a group of islands so central, fertile and producing so many advantages as this group should have been overlooked by previous navigators, and I deemed it therefore more necessary to make as minute a survey as possible ... Among the harbors of Tutuila that of Pago Pago is the safest 142

The Wilkes Expedition and US military expansion into the Pacific demonstrated US

official willingness to protect its citizens and interests in the region, establishing a general

justification for, at times, very brutal "punitive expeditions" against Pacific Islanders,

paving the way for "manifest destiny"'43 and the eventual annexation of what is now

American S-amoa.

131

'1 l