250th anniversary of the arrival of the Spanish in 1772-1775 in Tahiti, on board the Aquile

[aukepalmhof]

Fare Rata, the Polynesia Post Office, celebrates the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Spanish
in 1772-1775 in Tahiti, by issuing two stamps illustrating their first contacts in Tahiti at the end of the 18th century.

On the orders of the viceroy of Peru, Manuel de Amat y Junyent, two e x p e d i t i o n s
(1772 and 1774) were led by Captain Don Domingo Bonechea, aboard the frigate AQUILA. They first
had to verify the English presence on the island of Tahiti, following Cook’s first voyage; they then collected information on the topography of the Polynesian islands and the lifestyles of the indigenous population in order to evangelize the Tahitians. But it was during the second voyage, on his return from the recognition of island Raiatea, that Bonechea died on January 26, 1775, at the age of 62 and was buried in Tautira.

Of these brief Spanish stopovers, there remain various logbooks written by the officers and missionaries and especially by Maximo Rodriguez, a bilingual soldier-interpreter, who, during his ten-month stay in Tautira and during reconnaissance around the island of Tahiti, was able to establish
privileged relations with the Tu (Pomare 1er) and Vehiatua chiefs of the area Tai'arapu; he tells in
particularly how Pomare 1er offered him this vessel or “‘Ūmete” in black dolerite, made in the island of
Maurua (now Maupiti), which was in the marae of Taputapuatea in the district of Atehuru (now Paea
and Punaauia) and how he managed to get it on board in November 1775 for Lima; this object is
now in the Anthropological Museum of Madrid.

It is also the existence of this unique ethnographic
piece preserved by Spain that Fare Rata, the Polynesia Post Office, celebrates today.

https://www.tahitiphilatelie.pf/details ... annee=2022
French Polynesia 2022 100F and 130F sg?, Scott?


AGUILA: The Spanish frigate was built as a 5th Rate in Cadiz for the Spanish Navy as the SANTA MARIA MAGDALENA later renamed in AGUILA.
02 May 1752 ordered,
16 May 1752 laid down.
15 August 1753 launched as the SANTA MARIA MAGDALENA, one of the Aguila class.
Displacement 500 ton, dim. 60.2ft, (length of keel 50ft), beam 17.8 ft, depth 7.1ft, draught 5.12ft.
Armament: In 1753 22 – 8pdr guns, in 1767 22 – 6 pdr guns.
Crew 178 men.
1754 In service.
December 1754 ready to sail together with the frigate HERMIQNA bound for America.
1767 Arrived at Montevideo, joined there by ESMERALDA, VENUS and LIBRE.
She left the same year with LIBRE for the Malvinas Islands with supplies.
1768 assigned to the El-Calleo naval forces.
September 1772 sailed from El-Callao to explore San Carlos (Easter Islands) & Tahiti with paquebote SAN MIQUEL.
First voyage (1772–1773) to Tahiti.
On September 26, 1772, de Bonechea went on an exploratory expedition to Tahiti. He sailed with Tomás Gayangos as his lieutenant on the AQUILA, SANTA MARIA MAGDALENA, from Callao harbour, Peru, and reached Tahiti on 7 Nov. He anchored in Vaiuru's Bay, which de Bonechea christened "Puerto Santa Maria Magdalena". De Bonechea forbade himself and his crew any sexual relations with local women, which surprised the Tahitians greatly. He left Tahiti on December 20 and reached Valparaíso on February 21, 1773.
Georg Forster, who accompanied Cook on his Second Voyage, refers to him as "Domingo Buenechea".
Second Voyage (1774–1775) to Tahiti.
The aim of this expedition was the annexation of Tahiti to the Spanish crown, with the approval and encouragement of King Carlos III, and to convert its inhabitants. Two ships, the AQUILA and the JUPITER left Callao on September 20, 1774. Bonechea and Tu decided a place within 150 yards of the Vaitepiha River, in Vaitepiha Bay, was the best place for a mission. This area is now known as Tautira Bay, but referred to by the Spanish as 'La Santissima Cruz de Ohatutira'.
However, de Bonechea died on 26 January 1775, in Tahiti, and was buried near the Holy Cross marking Spain's dominion over the island, near the mission house. The mission was abandoned on 12 November, however.  
The cross, with the inscription Christus Vincit Carolus III imperat 1774, was taken down by the British in 1777.
His grave was rediscovered in the 20th century in the village of Tautira.
28 January 1775 sailed from Tahiti with JUPITER to El Callao.
08 April 1775 both ships arrived in El Callao.
27 September 1775 AQUILA sailed from El Callao to Tautira, Tahiti, where she arrived on 03 November 1775.
12 November 1775 sailed Tahiti bound for El Callao and arrived there together with Jupiter on 17 February 1776.
1778 Sold to Francisco Fragua in El Callao for 36,000 pesos.
Fate is not known.

http://3decks.pbworks.com/w/page/914861 ... %281753%29 and Wikipedia.
French Polynesia 2022 100F and 130F sg?, Scott?