French Polynesia island of Rekareka to the southeast of Tahiti. Over a century later, British explorer Samuel Wallis visited Tahiti in 1767. French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville also visited Tahiti in 1768, while British explorer James Cook arrived in 1769. In 1772, the Spanish Viceroy of Peru Don Manuel de Amat ordered a number of expeditions to Tahiti under the command of Domingo de Bonechea who was the first European to explore all of the main islands beyond Tahiti. A short-lived Spanish settlement was created in 1774, and for a time some maps bore the name "Isla de Amat" after Viceroy
Dutch frigate Mars (1769) arrived at Whampoa on 11 December. She crossed the Second Bar on 22 March 1787, and was at Mew Bay (some two miles east of Tanjung Layar), by 11 May. She arrived at Mauritius on 15 June, and left on 4 August. By 21 September she was at St Helena, which she left on 2 October. "Mars" arrived at The Downs on 8 December, but was lost on the Margate Sands the next day. The pilot made an error that resulted in her stranding. The cost of the loss was £70,000. Notes Citations References Dutch frigate Mars (1769) John May