The English never took an idea by halves. Having made a queen of Purea in 1768, they were determined to regard her as a beggar in 1773. Nevertheless, Teriirere was still Arii rahi; Papara and the Teva districts were no more changed than their neighbors; in May, 1774, Purea appeared on board Cook’s ship at Matavai with the usual presents, and both she and Amo took the same social position they had always held; but the glamour of royalty was gone. "On the 12th [May, 1774]," wrote Cook "old Oberea, the woman, who, when the Dolphin was here in 1767, was thought to be queen of the island, and whom I had not seen since 1769, paid us a visit, and brought a present of hogs and fruit." Forster gave a longer account of this visit. "O-Poorea (Oberea), once the queen of Taheitee, came on board and presented two hogs to Captain Cook. The fame of our red feathers had reached to the plains of Paparra, for she told us she was come to have some of them. She appeared to be between forty and fifty; her per-son was tall, large and fat, and her features, which seemed once to have been more agreeable, were now rather masculine. However, something of her former greatness remained; she had ’an eye to threaten or command,’ and a free and noble deportment. She did not stay long on board, probably because she felt herself of less consequence in our eyes than formerly. After enquiring for her friends of the Endeavor, she went ashore in her canoe. O-Ammo likewise came to the ship about this time, but was still less noticed than his late consort; and, being little known on board, was not permitted to come even into the Captain’s cabin. It was with difficulty that he could dispose of his hogs, as we had now so many on deck that we did not ca

Indigenous Histories