Depopulating the Tokelaus

The Peruvian blackbirders caused

a catastrophic loss of young men from the islands of Tokelau.
It was a loss that changed forever the character of this Island Group.

John Williams

Olosenga

John Williams Rosa Patricia Rosa Patricia

Fakaofo

Rosa Patricia

Rosa y CarmenMicaelaMiranda Rosa y Carmen

Guillermo Dolores Carolina, Polynesia Honorio

Rosa y CarmenJohn Williams

Nukunonu

Guillermo,Rosa PatriciaRosa y Carmen

Atafu

Rosa Patricia

Sir, all the people of this land are carried off. They have taken the chief Oli, who was in
Samoa, and 34 other men. All that now remain here are women and children and six male
adults...Such, Sir, has been the cruelty of the ship to the people of this land. The good work
which had begun on this island is now destroyed. Had we known the character of this
vessel, no-one would have gone aboard. We are startled that such a thing should be done to
these people. Two men who were returned to the shore by the captain, told us that when the
people reached the ship with their things for sale, one of the crew collected these things
together. Then the captain said to the men, "Go and look at the cloth for your purchases".
But this was the contrivance of the captain: he placed some things in the hold of the vessel
- the best of the cloth, red cloth, and shirts, and trousers, and white and blue calico; and
some things he kept on deck. Then the captain said to the men, "look for the cloth on deck
and that in the hold, and see which to choose". Some of the people were looking at the
cloth in the hold, then all went below. The captain told them to go below, and all went
down. Then one of the crew gave them wrappers and shirts, and trousers and hats to put
on. So the men rejoiced that they had got some clothing to attend worship in. But some of
the crew were hidden in the hold armed with cutlasses. They were hidden so that the people
did not know that they were there. All these things the captain had arranged. None
remained on deck except the chief; he continued on deck. He called down to his people to
return to the deck, and not remain below lest they should injure anything in the vessel. The
chief was standing over the hatchway, when some of the crew seized him and threw him
down into the hold and he fell into the middle of the hold. Then the hatchway was
immediately closed down upon them all. These two men also told me they saw one of the
people struck down by the crew with a sword. They saw the blood flow like water. They do
not know if he was killed for the ship hastened off.

Sir, there is nothing that we do now but mourn and weep for our island is destroyed. But we
think now that they had taken all the strong people of this land, they will return with the
ship to fetch the women and children. This is my enquiry, what shall we do if the ship
comes again? Tell us what to do, lest the vessel quickly returns.

This is the end of my letter.

Through Atolls and Islands

It is most piteous to witness the grief of these women and children. They are weeping night
and day; they do not eat, there is none left to provide food for them or to climb the coconut
trees. They will perish with hunger...Another event occurred to the wife of the chief; in her
misery she prematurely gave birth to a child. She felt no pain from the intensity of her grief
for the loss of her husband, her son and her people.