"The truest picture of an Arcadia" – HMB Endeavour at Tahiti

Captain James Cook's bark HMB Endeavour anchors off Tahiti in April 1769 during her first voyage of discovery, as local Tahitian canoes paddle out to greet the arrival.

Naturalist Joseph Banks recorded the scene in his journal:

"As soon as the anchors were well down the boats were hoisted out and we all went ashore where we were met by some hundreds of the inhabitants whose faces at least gave evident signs that we were not unwelcome guests, tho they at first hardly dare aproach us, after a little time they became very familiar (...) in short the scene we saw was the truest picture of an arcadia of which we were going to be kings that the imagination can form."