A striking image showing Captain James Wilson accepting the island of Matavai (Tahiti) for the use of the London Missionary Society, as a result of their missionary expedition to the Island. In 1795 the LMS was established, plans to send an expedition to Tahiti were shortly put to action and as a result, 18 missionaries under Captain Wilson sailed towards the Pacific; in 1797 King Pomare (c. 1742 – 1803), first king of Tahiti and founder of the Pomare dynasty, granted the travellers the use of Matavai, however tensions soon appeared. As consequence to this, the mission lived until 1809, when the last of the missionaries left for Sidney. Wilson (1760 – 1814) brought the first missionaries aboard the Duff; he became the first to establish a mission in the South Seas. “He took notice of the London Missionary Society and offered his services to captain its ship, the Duff, on a voyage to deliver missionaries to South Pacific Islands” (Hill).
The plate is not common; we haven’t been able to locate any having sold at auction (AE).
