History of Easter Timeline

Professional sailor Policarpo Toro Hurtado arrived with the corvette O'Higgins and was amazed by the culture of the long-suffering Rapa Nui people. In the same year, Chile sent a commission under Captain Luis Ignacio Gana to investigate the island.

Image source: Policarpo Toro

Alexander Salmon Jr., son of an English Jewish merchant and a Rapa Nui woman, arrived in 1878 with fellow Tahitians and returning Rapa Nui and effectively ran the island for a decade, during which real power was exercised by resident non-Rapa Nui at Mataveri.

Thanks to efforts by Bishop of Tahiti Monsignor José María Verdier, the Agreement of Wills (Acuerdo de Voluntades) was signed, in which Atamu Tekena, head of the Council of Rapanui Chiefs, ceded sovereignty of the island to Chile, represented by Captain Policarpo Toro.

A census carried out by the Chilean corvette Abtao found only 101 Rapa Nui alive, of whom just 12 were adult men—the low point of a population devastated by slave raids, disease, and conflict. That same year the Clorinda foundered off the island, stranding survivors for three months.

After the failure of the State's colonization plan following the Civil War of 1891, Enrique Merlet's Compañía Explotadora de Isla de Pascua obtained the concession of the entire island, imposing prohibitions on living outside Hanga Roa and forced labour on the islanders.

The English sheep-farming company Williamson Balfor bought the island from the Merlet company. No longer able to farm for food, the natives were forced to work on the ranches in order to buy food.

In 1914, an uprising of natives inspired by elderly catechist María Angata Veri Veri and led by Daniel Maria Teave aimed to get the State to take charge of the situation generated by the Williamson-Balfour company's exploitation.

Image source: Angata

In 1935, the Ministry of Lands and Colonization declared Easter Island a National Park and a Historic Monument, beginning formal protection of its archaeological heritage.

Image source: Rapa Nui National Park

This era saw archaeological and ethnographic studies: one in 1882 by Germans on the gunboat SMS Hyäne, and again in 1886 by the crew of the American sloop USS Mohican, whose crew excavated Ahu Vinapu with dynamite.

In 1884, Geiseler conducted an archaeological inventory on Easter Island, contributing to early scientific documentation of the island's monuments and cultural heritage.

The Mana Expedition led by Katherine and William Scoresby Routledge landed in March 1914, conducting a 17-month archaeological and ethnographic survey. Katherine excavated and explored Motu Nui, discovering the stone statue 'Te titaahanga o te henua.'

Image source: Patricia Routledge

Ethnologist Alfred Métraux came to Easter Island as part of the Franco-Belgian Expedition (1934–35). He and Henri Lavachery recorded petroglyphs, made surface observations of monuments, explored caves on Motu Nui, documented rock art, and studied human burials. Métraux's books focused world attention on the island.

Image source: Alfred Métraux

Father Sebastian Englert conducted extensive archaeological studies on Easter Island beginning in 1948, becoming one of the most important early scholars of Rapa Nui language, culture, and monuments.

Image source: Sebastian Englert

Thor Heyerdahl led a Norwegian archaeological expedition to Easter Island from 1955 to 1956 with six archaeologists, conducting influential excavations that renewed international interest in the island's past.

Image source: Thor Heyerdahl

Gonzalo Figueroa and William Mulloy led investigations and restoration efforts at Ahu Akivi, including the re-erection of fallen moai statues, one of the first major restoration projects on the island.

Image source: Ahu Akivi

President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo cancelled the Williamson-Balfour contract in 1953 and assigned administration of the island to the Chilean Navy. The Navy managed the island until 1966, when the island was reopened in its entirety and Rapa Nui received Chilean citizenship.

Construction of Mataveri International Airport allowed islanders to travel off the island easily for the first time. Between 1965 and 1970, the United States Air Force settled on the island, radically changing the Rapa Nui way of life; a NASA tracking station operated until 1975.

Image source: Mataveri International Airport

Alfonso Rapu was sworn in as the first mayor of Easter Island in 1966. Two years earlier he had sent a letter to President Eduardo Frei influencing him to create the Pascua Law, which granted islanders citizenship and civil rights.

In April 1967, LAN Chile flights began landing on Easter Island, and the island began to orient itself toward cultural tourism, transforming its economy and connection to the outside world.

Television arrived on January 24, 1975, with the inauguration of a Televisión Nacional de Chile station, which broadcast delayed programming until 1996, when live satellite transmissions to the island began.

Image source: Televisión Nacional de Chile

Following the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power (after which the island was placed under martial law), the Isla de Pascua Province was created in 1976, with Arnt Arentsen Pettersen appointed as the first governor between 1976 and 1979.

Image source: Isla de Pascua Province

Decree Law No. 2885 was enacted in 1979 to grant individual land titles to regular holders, addressing long-standing land disputes between the state, companies, and the Rapa Nui people.

Between 1984 and 1990, the administration of Governor Sergio Rapu Haoa stood out, and since then all governors of the province have been Rapanui, marking growing indigenous self-representation.

Image source: Moai

As a result of a 1985 agreement between Chile and the United States, the runway at Mataveri International Airport was extended by 423 metres to 3,353 metres and reopened in 1987, enabling long-haul jet service.

A constitutional reform gave Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Islands the status of 'special territories' of Chile, recognizing their unique character within the national framework.

A total solar eclipse visible from Easter Island occurred for the first time in over 1,300 years on July 11, 2010, at 18:15:15, drawing thousands of visitors to witness the event.

Image source: Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010

Members of the indigenous Hitorangi clan occupied the Hangaroa Eco Village and Spa, claiming the land had been illegally taken from their ancestors. On December 3, 2010, at least 25 people were injured when police attempted eviction; the UN's James Anaya expressed concern, and the incident ended in February 2011 when armed police removed the final five occupiers.

Local minority group Rapa Nui Parliament took control over large parts of the island, throwing out CONAF park rangers in a non-violent revolution, asserting indigenous claims over ancestral lands and heritage management.