1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti search for the alleged southern continent. HMS Bark "Endeavour" was chosen to take the astronomers and other scientists to Tahiti. James Cook was commissioned as Lieutenant and appointed to command the vessel. Cook was the obvious choice as he was an outstanding seaman with navigational qualifications, a capable astronomer and had observed a 1766 annular eclipse in Newfoundland that was communicated to the Royal Society by John Bevis. Once the "Endeavour" arrived on the island, Cook decided to set up the Venus transit observatory on shore. He required a completely stable platform which the ship could not provide and plenty
Tahiti while Mau'a would sail with Lt. Gayangos on "Aguila". Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, serving the Spanish Crown in an expedition to Terra Australis, was perhaps the first European to set eyes on the island of Tahiti. He sighted an inhabited island on 10 February 1606 which he called Sagitaria (or Sagittaria). However, whether the island that he saw was actually Tahiti or not has not been fully ascertained. It has been suggested that he actually saw the island of Rekareka to the south-east of Tahiti. According to other authors the first European to arrive in Tahiti was Spanish