Dé Arquement a Middelburgh, l’une des Isles Friendly, (Des Amis).

Title

Dé Arquement a Middelburgh, l’une des Isles Friendly, (Des Amis).

Description

View shows the landing of James Cook on Middleburg Island (now 'Eua) of the Friendship Islands on 2 October 1773. There they were received kindly and with gifts.

ca. 1770

Artist

Webber (1752-1793)

John Webber R.A. (c.1752-1793), the son of a Swiss sculptor, living in London, submitted his work to the Royal Academy Schools, one of the first to admire his paintings was Dr Daniel Solander, the Swedish naturalist who had accompanied Cook and Banks on the first voyage. Knowing that no artist had yet been selected for Cook's voyage, Solander recommended Webber to the Admiralty and Royal Society. His appointment was made just days before the departure. Webber was lucky enough to escape the massacre in Hawaii, where Cook met his death, and returned to London in October 1780.

Historical Description

The Kingdom of Tonga is an island state in the South Pacific that belongs to Polynesia. They used to be called Friendship Islands. There are archaeological theories that the first settlers from the Santa Cruz Islands came to Tonga via Micronesia as part of a migration of peoples from Southeast Asia that began around 3000 BC. In the 12th century, the Tongans and their paramount chief, the Tuʻi Tonga, were known throughout the Pacific region from Niue to Tikopia. Tribal feuds broke out repeatedly in the 15th century and again in the 17th century. The first contacts with Europeans took place at that time: in 1616 with the Dutch explorers Willem Schouten and Jakob Le Maire. In 1643 with Abel Tasman (who traded a little with the natives), and later around 1773 with James Cook, who subsequently visited the islands two more times (1774 and 1777). Francisco Maurelle reached Vavaʻu in 1781. The first missionaries followed twenty years later, with the Methodist Walter Lawry playing an important role, although he did not arrive in Tonga until 1822. In the Samoa Treaty of 1899, the German Empire renounced all rights to Tonga and in May 1900 the islands became a British protectorate. Tonga gained its full independence on June 1970. Tonga is an independent member of the Commonwealth and has been a member of the United Nations since 1999. With the exception of New Zealand, it is still the only (parliamentary) hereditary monarchy in the entire Polynesian Pacific region.