Overview
The new presence of Europeans in the Pacific prompted travels by island peoples in the opposite direction – to Europe. Some travelled back with explorers in the late 1700s. Others accompanied missionaries there in the early 1800s. Through this cross-cultural exchange, each group formed broader impressions of the other.
The Pacific visitors were well received by the elite in England. Observers remarked with surprise on their ‘gentlemanly appearance and manners’. But some Pacific visitors had their own agenda, taking Europe’s offerings on their own terms. At least one used his trip to acquire guns. A Pacific presence in Europe was also apparent in the accounts that the voyagers published and in the indigenous items they took home. They received some as gifts and acquired others through trade, their choices influenced by the interests of their European audience. Some of these objects – having travelled to the other side of the world – have since made the long journey home.