William Thomas Pritchard (13 October 1829 – 1 November 1907) was a British consul and adventurer. Pritchard was born in

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, the son of George Pritchard and Eliza Aileen. He was educated in Britain before returning to join his father, the British consul in Samoa. In Samoa, he acquired an exceptional knowledge of the

Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austron ...

and traditions. In 1858 he was appointed the first British consul at

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, and in the same year traveled to England with an offer from

Seru Epenisa Cakobau Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'' or phonetically ''Thakombau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian Ratu and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing ...

to cede Fiji to the British crown. He was dismissed from his post in 1863. He is commemorated in the name of the Polynesian megapode ''Megapodius pritchardii'' and the plant genus

Pritchardia The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii. The generic name ho ...

External links

Pritchard, William Thomas (1829-1907), consul and adventurer
by Andrew E. Robson in

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. *Andrew E. Robson, ''Prelude to Empire. Consuls, Missionary Kingdoms, and the Pre-Colonial South Seas Seen Through the Life of William Thomas Pritchard'',

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

: Lit Verlag, 2004 *Pritchard, William Thomas
Remniscences
or Life in the South Pacific Islands'',

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

: Chapman and Hall, 1866 1829 births 1907 deaths British diplomats British expatriates in French Polynesia British expatriates in Samoa British expatriates in Fiji {{UK-diplomat-stub