Book 13

On the basis of the archives of the 167 Catholic religious posted to Polynesia from 1834 to 1914, we are introduced to the everyday reality of the nineteenth-century missionary, through his early education, his arrival in the Pacific world, his harsh conditions of existence and his cultural and economic activities.
Part of contemporary Polynesia is also illuminated by this study, since this handful of religious left a legacy of social models which have continued into present-day use.