Aphrodite's Island: The European Discovery of Tahiti

by Anne Salmond

Aphrodite's Island is a bold new account of the European discovery of Tahiti, the Pacific island of mythic status that has figured so powerfully in European imaginings about sexuality, the exotic, and the nobility or bestiality of “savages.” In this groundbreaking book, Anne Salmond takes readers to the center of the shared history to furnish rich insights into Tahitian perceptions of the visitors while illuminating the full extent of European fascination with Tahiti. As she discerns the impact and meaning of the European effect on the islands, she demonstrates how, during the early contact period, the mythologies of Europe and Tahiti intersected and became entwined. Drawing on Tahitian oral histories, European manuscripts and artworks, collections of Tahitian artifacts, and illustrated with contemporary sketches, paintings, and engravings from the voyages, Aphrodite's Island provides a vivid account of the Europeans' Tahitian adventures. At the same time, the book's compelling insights into Tahitian life significantly change the way we view the history of this small island during a period when it became a crossroads for Europe.

Genres: History, Travel, World History, Nonfiction

544 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 2009

About the author

Dame Mary Anne Salmond DBE (née Thorpe, born 16 November 1945) is a New Zealand anthropologist, environmentalist and writer.

Reviews

[Lgordo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was curious about Tahitian culture. I'm stopping about halfway through because I think I've gotten everything I will get on that front. However, that does not detract from the fact that this is, indeed, a very thorough treatise on the European Discovery of Tahiti. There is some dipshit requisite apologetics equivocating in the beginning about Tahitian vs European sexuality, but that passed quickly and without landing any points. Beyond that, it feels pretty factual. It was quite interesting too see how much political turbulence there was on the island; between each European visit, the headman would change and entire villages would be wiped out.

[Roland Van Bommel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating account of the European encounters with the indigenous population. I missed the voice of Anne Salmond , the couple of pages at the end does not do justice to her deep and wide knowledge on the subject

[JEAN-PHILIPPE PEROL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre surprenant, solidement documenté et agréable à lire sur les premiers contacts entre les explorateurs francais, anglais ou espagnols et les habitants de Tahiti et ses iles. Alors que les missionnaires, en particulier lors de la conversion de Pomaré au protestantisme, ont toujours cherché et souvent réussi à effacer la riche culture antérieure à leur arrivée, Anne Salmond en montre les multiples aspects - politiques, religieux, économiques, artistiques, culinaires ou vestimentaires. Les attitudes ambigues des explorateurs, fascinés par un mode de vie apparemment facile et langoureux, témoignant parfois un respect qu'ils n auront pas dans d autres régions du monde, mais aussi maitres en contresens et incompréhensions des moeurs locaux, capables d intolérables cruautés ou chantages, sont remarquablement expliqués dans ce "L'ile de Vénus" qui doit être un ouvrage de référence pour l'Histoire de cette fascinante région du monde.

[Chris Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing descriptions of the tragic (and sometimes comic) events that occurred when Europeans made first contact with Tahiti. The English expeditions were quasi-scientific ones, though with secret diplomatic/imperialist missions, too, so we have a much better and more detailed understanding of what happened. Anne Salmond does a good job of interpreting and giving context to the first person accounts of Captain Cook and the scientists who traveled with him, and the way the Europeans placed Tahiti, and Polynesians in general, into a Greco/Roman-mythological narrative, linked to a shift in cultural and sexual mores that was occurring in Europe at the time as the result of the Enlightenment.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed overview of the 10-15 year period in the 18th century when European explorers "discovered" Tahiti and the Society Islands. Each voyage which landed in the islands is painstakingly described.

A glossary of Tahitian words/names would have been helpful.

[? · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Muse, tell me the things done by golden Aphrodite,
the one from "Tahiti", who arouses sweet desire for gods
and who subdues the populations of mortal humans,"

[David Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best moments of this book are when European and Tahititian experience of the same event are contrasted. Salmond does a good job of illustrating how the Europeans did not arrive in a timeless Eden, but rather in a place that was having its own history, however oblivious to it they were.

The contrast between the French, English, and Spanish agendas is of particular interest, and can be mapped on to the broader histoy of European colonialism.

The book would have benefitted from better supporting materials--a glossary of Tahitian terms, a gazzetteer, and a dramatis personae.

[Doug Rosser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extensive coverage of the first documented European visits to Tahiti - and an attempt to understand the culture they found and subsequently destroyed.

[Madeleine McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic history of the contact between Tahitians and Europeans. Made me feel like I was on the ship with Captain Cook.