Old personal reports from early visitors to Easter Island are truly an interesting read since they are written by the hand of a first-hand whitness. Though, it should also be remembered that the authors were often not very scientific, but rather wrote how they personally perceived the situation.
Click the name of the voyager/author to view the journal.
| Year | Name | Country | Time at island | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1687 | Edward Davis | Great Britain | none | Possibly the first European to spot Easter Island. |
| 1722 | Jacob Roggeveen | Netherlands | 5 days | First European to disembark at the island. He named the island Easter Island. |
| 1770 | Don Felipe González | Spain | 7 days | He claimed the island for the current Spanish king under the name Isla de San Carlos, but Spain soon forgot about its conquest for the remoteness and lack of value. |
| 1774 | James Cook | Great Britain | 3 days | |
| 1816 | Otto von Kotzebüe | Russia | 1 day | They were met with unexpected hostility, which after a short visit to Anakena forced them to leave the island. They did not see a single woman. |
| 1864 | Eugenio Eyraud | France | 9 months | He was a missionary who arrived to Rapa Nui a year after the devastating Peruvian slave raids. He was the first foreigner to ever live among the Rapa Nui people. |
