Memoirs of Captain James Wilson containing An Account of his Enterprises and Sufferings in India his conversion to Christianity his Missionary Voyage to the South Seas and his peaceful and triumphant death. By John Griffin. ...

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London: Printed for Williams and Son n.d. (circa 1816). 8vo. Orig. paper boards as issued (spine defective). (iv 230 2pp.). A particularly fine uncut copy. Ferguson's collation (F. 607) varies from our copy in so far as ours is not 'printed for the Author' and ours has 230 + 2pp of publisher's adverts as opposed to his total of 228pp all up. NOTE: The reports of Cook Wallis and others about the inhabitants of the islands of the South Seas stirred interest among various Christian denominations in converting these natives to Christianity. The London Missionary Society was formed in 1795 to raise funds to send missionaries into the field. The ship Duff was purchased and placed under the command of the deeply religious Captain Wilson a veteran of the battles of Bunker Hill and Long Island who was instructed to transport the missionaries to the Polynesian Islands. This volume largely relates to the voyage to establish a mission at Tahiti in 1796-98. A settlement of twenty-five people was formed in Tahiti but was forced to remove to Australia due to the civil wars. The work contains many valuable details regarding Tahiti Fiji Tonga and the Marquesas.