Tahitian Society and Previous Visitors

I have before mentioned that the Island is divided into two districts or kingdoms, which are frequently at war with each other, as hapned about 12 Months ago, and each of these are again divided into smaller districts, Whennuas as they call them. Over each of the kingdoms is an Eare dehi, or head, whom we call a King, and in the Whennuas are Eares, or Chiefs. The King's power seems to be but very little; he may be reverenced as a father, but he is neither fear'd nor respected as a monarch, and the same may be said of the other Chiefs. However, they have a pre-eminence over the rest of the People, who pay them a kind of a Voluntary Obedience. Upon the whole, these people seem to enjoy liberty in its fullest extent--every man seems to be the sole judge of his own actions and to know no punishment but death, and this perhaps is never inflicted but upon a public enemy. There are 3 ranks of Men and Women: first, the Eares, or chiefs; second, the Manahoonas, or Middling sort; and lastly, the Toutous, which comprehend all the lower-class, and are by far the most numerous. These seem to live in some sort dependent on the Eares, who, together with the Manahoonas, own most, if not all the land. This is Hereditary in their families, and the moment the Heir is born he succeeds the Father, both in title and Estate; at least to the name, for its most likely that the latter must have the power during his Son or Daughter's Minority.

Note by Cook. Upon our arrival at Batavia, we were informed the two French Ships, commanded by the Monsieurs Beaugainvile, touched at that place in their way home from the South Seas two years ago. We were here told many circumstances of these two Ships, all tending to prove that they were the same ships that were at George's Island, which we judged were Spaniards; being led into this mistake by the Spanish Iron, etc., we saw among the natives, which is easy accounted for, for we are told that while Beaugainvile in the Frigate was delivering up that part of Falkland Islands possess'd by the French, to the Spaniards, the Store ship was trading with the Spaniards in the River Plate, where it is very probable she disposed of all her European goods, and purchased others to trade with the Islands in the South Seas. To confirm these last circumstances we were told that when they arrived at Batavia, the Frigate had on board a great quantity of Spanish Dollars.