Easter Island ship logs: Otto von Kotzebüe, 1816

When Russian admiral Otto von Kotzebüe visited Easter Island in 1816 he expected a warm welcome as when La Pérouse visited the island 30 years earlier. He was met with hostality and was only able to disembark a few people at Anakena beach for a short while.

Admiral Otto von Kotzebüe's journal from his Easter Island visit in 1816

Author: Otto von Kotzebüe
Comments: Marcus Edensky

We had reached this island on the 8th of March, at three o'clock, A.M., within fifteen miles, and, at daybreak, we saw it distinctly before us.

The structure of the canoes, of which we saw several, and which contain only two persons each, correspond exactly with those mentioned by La Pérouse; they are from five to six feet long, and about one foot in breadth, made of narrow boards joined together, and furnished on both sides with an outrigger.

Admiral Otto von Kotzebüe trying to anchor Rurick at Rapa Nui in 1816.

The bottom being very bad in many places in Cook's Bay, I sent Lieutenant Schischmareff to find out, by means of the lead, a more convenient anchoring-place, during which time I kept the Rurick under sail.

On a signal given by our boat, that they had found a good anchoring-place, I made a couple of tacks to reach the point, and cast anchor in twenty-two fathoms, on a fine sandy bottom.

My first business here was to look for the large and remarkable statues on the beach, which were seen there by Cook and La Pérouse; but, notwithstanding all my research, I only found a broken heap of stones, which lay near an uninjured pedestal; of all the others not a trace remained1.

After I had fully convinced myself, that these islanders would not allow us to enter their country, we tried to retreat to our boats, which, besides, were insecure in the surf; but even now we were obliged to protect ourselves from their importunity by several musket-shots; and it was not until they heard the balls hiss about their ears that they left us at peace. We gave them some more iron, and then hastened back to the Rurick, as our stay, under such circumstances, would only be loss of time, and every hour was valuable to me.

1) The moais had been covered with sand.

The inhabitants seem to be all of a middle stature, but well made; mostly of a copper colour, very few being tolerably white.

1) Paper mulberry, lat. Broussonetia papyrifera, locally known as Mahute.

2) Not many years before, women walked bare-breasted, as can be seen in drawings from La Pérouse's visit in 1786 (30 years earlier). The fact that the women were covering themselves up would suggest that women in recent years had been raped or taken as slaves by outside visitors.

A piece of intelligence, which explains the hostile behaviour of the islanders, and which was given me in the sequel at the Sandwich islands, by Alexander Adams, I will now communicate to the reader.

The combat is said to have been bloody, as the brave islanders defended themselves with intrepidity; but they were obliged to yield to the terrible arms of the Europeans; and twelve men, and ten women, fell into the merciless hands of the Americans.

At last the captain left the men to their fate, and brought the women to Massafuero; and is said to have afterwards made many attempts to steal some of the people from Easter Island.