Landing of Protestant Missionaries in Tahiti
- When
- 1796–1797
- Where
- Woolwich docks, London; Tahiti
- Episodes
- 2
In 1797 the London Missionary Society, formed in England in 1795, sent its first missionaries to the Pacific. Sailing from Woolwich in late 1796, the ship Duff reached Tahiti after seven months, where seventeen missionaries landed. The arrival is commemorated in French Polynesia as Missionary Day.
Episodes
- Departure from Woolwich
The missionaries sailed from the Woolwich docks in late 1796, beginning a seven-month Pacific voyage.
- Landing of the Missionaries in Tahiti
Seventeen missionaries from the Duff landed in Tahiti in 1797, an arrival now marked by Missionary Day.
Background and detail
Background. The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical body formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of the Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. Proposals began in 1794 after the Baptist minister John Ryland received word from William Carey in Calcutta about the need to spread Christianity.
Preparation and Departure. In July 1796 Edward Williams gave the charge to the first missionaries sent out by the Society. The crew left port from the Woolwich docks in late 1796, beginning the voyage that would carry the mission party to the Pacific.
Arrival in Tahiti. Seven months after leaving Woolwich, the ship reached Tahiti in 1797, where seventeen missionaries departed. The arrival of the Duff is celebrated in French Polynesia as Missionary Day, a holiday marking the event.
People involved
- Edward Williams · Welsh Congregationalist minister who instigated the Society and gave the charge to its first missionaries
- John Ryland · Baptist minister whose correspondence with William Carey prompted the founding proposals
- William Carey · Pioneer British Baptist missionary in Calcutta whose report of the need to spread Christianity inspired the Society
Sources
- London Missionary Society Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-10
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.