Confrontation and Culture: Samoan Warrior Engagement, Published in 1820
€ 250
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
Date
1820
Sheet size
19.5 × 26 cm (7.7 × 10.2 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13599-7
Condition
Good. Light soiling, mostly around the borders, due to age and handling. Plate-marks cut short except at the bottom. Small hole in the middle, only visible when holding up against the light. Study the image carefully.
About this sheet
The engraving is captioned as "Mode of Fighting in the Navigator's Islands" and depicts a scene of conflict among the indigenous people of the Navigator's Islands, now known as the Samoan Islands. The text at the bottom of the engraving indicates that it was published by Alexander Hogg at King’s Arms, No. 16, Paternoster Row, London.1820.
The drama happened during the La Pérouse expedition. The people in the two boats under the command of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, who were killed, were part of a tragic encounter in December 1787. This incident took place in the Samoan Islands at Aasu Bay, Tutuila Island.
The La Pérouse expedition was a significant French exploratory voyage in the Pacific, and the conflict that led to the deaths of members of the crew was one of the unfortunate occurrences during the expedition. The event involved a group from the expedition, led by one of La Pérouse’s officers, Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle, attempting to collect water and having a deadly encounter with local Samoans, resulting in the death of de Langle and at least 12 other members of the crew.
The exact names of all the individuals who lost their lives in this encounter are not commonly recorded in general historical accounts, but Fleuriot de Langle is most frequently noted due to his rank and role in the expedition. The detailed names of the others may be found in the logs and records of the La Pérouse expedition if they have been preserved and made available by historians or archives.
