Polynesian Expansion - Tahiti By Indi Andersen 800 Polynesians migrate to the Society Islands 1769 Captain James Cook arrives on Tahiti and observes the transit of Venus 1787 The HMS bounty arrives on Tahiti 1797 First protestant missionaries arrive in Tahiti 1836 French Catholic priests are expelled from Tahiti by the Polynesians 1837 France sends a gunboat to Tahiti and demands compensation for the expulsion. 1842 France declares Tahiti and the Marquesas as a protectorate 1847 Tahitian War of Independence 1880 France changes the status from protectorate to colony 1945 Tahitians are declared French citizens 1958 Tahitian independence leader Pouvanaa a Oopa is arrested by the French. 1958 France changes the status from colony to overseas territory.