Tahiti By ung19_moe.xx_ 300 Polynesians reach the Marquesas Islands 800 Polynesians reach the Society Islands 1767 English explorer Samuel Wallis lands on Tahiti 1769 Captain Cook arrives on Tahiti and observes the transit of Venus 1788 The HMS BOUNTY arrives on Tahiti. 1846 Tahitian War of Independence. 1945 Tahitians become French citizens. 1996 France concludes nuclear testing and begins closing the testing facilities in the Tuamotus.