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The French Take Over Tahiti and the Marquesas.
Interesting antique two-stone lithograph showing the arrival of Rear Admiral Dupetit Thouars in the harbor of Pape'ete, on Tahiti, now the capital of French Polynesia, on September 9th, 1842. The Rear Admiral imposed a French protectorate over Tahiti and the Marquesas. The official annexation by France would take place November 6th, 1843.
The key below the image notes the locations of the following vessels: Danaé; Uranie; Reine Blanche (Dupetit Thouars's vessel); Tombeau de Pomaré II; Dublin; Boussole; and the whaler Elisabeth. The locations of the pavilion of the protectorate and the British Consulate are also noted.
Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars (3 August 1793 – 16 March 1864) was a French naval officer important in France's annexation of French Polynesia. He became "Capitaine de vaisseau" on 6 January 1834, and accomplished a circumnavigation between 1836 and 1839 on the frigate Vénus. Also on board were the hydrographer Urbain Dortet of Tessan, the doctor-naturalist Adolphe Simon Neboux, and the surgeon Charles René Augustin Léclancher. During this voyage, the Marquesas were explored. He published an account in 1840 with the title Voyage around the world on the frigate Venus during the years 1836-1839 (French: Voyage autour du monde sur la frégate "la Vénus" pendant les anné 1836-1839); the book contained maps of the ports visited.
There are at least two variants of the image, one with the plate number "28." above the title and with the imprint line below the title in the lower-left, as here, and one without.
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