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After many months at sea, Captain James Cook arrived in Tahiti in 1769. The sailors were delighted to see dry land and semi-naked women. They found that metal objects fascinated the Tahitians, from naval instruments, to swords, to the nails that held the ship together and the natives would do almost anything to possess a nail. The first ship to visit Tahiti, HMS Dolphin, nearly fell apart on its departure because the sailors had been removing nails from the body of the ship to present to local women. Captain Cook knew this and had hidden extra barrels of nails in the hold. He even issued an order to his crew stating 'No iron tools, nails large or small, shall be given to the natives in exchange for anything bur provisions and refreshments, as it has been found that these are the most valuable articles in their eyes'.
