As soon as we booked this
vacation October 1st rolled around, I threw myself into
learning about the French Polynesian islands we'd be
visiting. I analyzed the impact of colonization looked up the current prices of Tahitian black pearls, pored
over the journals of Captains Wallis, Cook and Bouganville emailed boat captains for information on snorkel trips, revisited the writings of Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson and James Michener watched South Pacific on Netflix and sang Bali Hai in the shower, and studied the life and art of Paul Gauguin Googled "French Polynesian art" and clicked on Images (ooh la la!).
It was, right from the start, challenging
taxing
to my mouse clicking finger. As a normal American, I didn't fully appreciate have a clue that the history of French Polynesia anywhere pre-dates
Columbus sailing the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92, and, in
fact, begins with the Great Polynesian Migration beginning around 1500 B.C. (What is this,
China?)
So, I reapplied myself backburnered the whole idea until October 12th, and spent months weeks days halftime during an NFL game on a Sunday afternoon gaining an exhaustive significant as much knowledge of all the
geological, migratory, political and cultural forces that have shaped present-day French Polynesia as 15 minutes would allow (with one eye on the TV for updates from other games).
Every research effort requires developing a careful outline, taking copious notes, and documenting facts with detailed footnotes and bibliographical summaries, and I completed
But, in the interest of practicing proper research techniques keeping the Internet lawyers off my back, before I posted a single word about French Polynesian culture and history I had to dig my way through these links:
Riveting reading. ;-). If I've done this right, I won't be met by federal officials when I land back at LAX after this trip.
But what follows really is good stuff, and provides a wonderful overview of how man first came to these islands and what has happened since (what appears in RED is the extent of my efforts. Don't blink or you'll miss it!).
and for that I actually had to pause the game for a few minutes ('cause it all made my head hurt!!).
Riveting reading. ;-). If I've done this right, I won't be met by federal officials when I land back at LAX after this trip.
But what follows really is good stuff, and provides a wonderful overview of how man first came to these islands and what has happened since (what appears in RED is the extent of my efforts. Don't blink or you'll miss it!).
I. French Polynesia See Wikipedia - French Polynesia for footnotes
A. The Society Islands
The Great Polynesian Migration[edit]
French Polynesia as we know it today was one of the last places on Earth to be settled by humans. Scientists believe the Great Polynesian Migration happened around 1500 BC as Taiwanese or Southeast Asian people went on a journey using celestial navigation to find islands in the South Pacific ocean. The first islands of French Polynesia to be settled were the Marquesas Islands in about 200 BC. Indigenous Polynesians later ventured southwest and discovered the Society Islands around AD 300.[6]
First European Sighting of the Islands[edit]
European communication began in 1521 when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing in the service of the Spanish Crown, sighted Puka-Puka in the Tuāmotu-Gambier Archipelago. In 1772, Dutchman Jakob Roggeveen came across Bora Bora in the Society Islands.
First European Settlements[edit]
British explorer Samuel Wallis visited Tahiti in 1767. The French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainvillevisited Tahiti in 1768, while the British explorer James Cook visited in 1769.[6] In 1772 The SpanishViceroy of Peru Don Manuel de Amat ordered a number of expeditions to Tahiti under the command ofDomingo de Bonechea who was the first European to explore all of the main islands beyond Tahiti.[7] A short-lived Spanish settlement was created in 1774.[6] and for a time some maps bore the name Isla de Amat after Viceroy Amat.[citation needed] Christian missions began with Spanish priests who stayed in Tahiti for a year. Protestants from the London Missionary Society settled permanently in Polynesia in 1797.
The French Takeover[edit]
King Pōmare II of Tahiti was forced to flee to Mo'orea in 1803; he and his subjects were converted to Protestantism in 1812. French Catholic missionaries arrived on Tahiti in 1834; their expulsion in 1836 caused France to send a gunboat in 1838. In 1842, Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate, to allow Catholic missionaries to work undisturbed. The capital of Papeetē was founded in 1843. In 1880, France annexed Tahiti, changing the status from that of a protectorate to that of a colony. The island groups were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889.[8]
In the 1880s, France claimed the Tuamotu Archipelago, which formerly belonged to the Pōmare Dynasty, without formally annexing it. Having declared a protectorate over Tahuata in 1842, the French regarded the entire Marquesas Islands as French. In 1885, France appointed a governor and established a general council, thus giving it the proper administration for a colony. The islands of Rimatara and Rūrutuunsuccessfully lobbied for British protection in 1888, so in 1889 they were annexed by France. Postage stamps were first issued in the colony in 1892. The first official name for the colony was Établissements de l'Océanie(Establishments in Oceania); in 1903 the general council was changed to an advisory council and the colony's name was changed to Établissements Français de l'Océanie (French Establishments in Oceania).[9]
In 1940, the administration of French Polynesia recognised the Free French Forces and many Polynesians served inWorld War II. Unknown at the time to the French and Polynesians, the Konoe Cabinet in Imperial Japan on 16 September 1940 included French Polynesia among the many territories which were to become Japanese possessions in the post-war world.[10] However in the course of the war in the Pacific the Japanese were not able to launch an actual invasion of the French islands.
In 1946, Polynesians were granted French citizenship and the islands' status was changed to an overseas territory; the islands' name was changed in 1957 to Polynésie Française (French Polynesia). In 1962, France's early nuclear testing ground of Algeria became independent and the Moruroa atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago was selected as the new testing site; tests were conducted underground after 1974.[11] In 1977, French Polynesia was granted partial internal autonomy; in 1984, the autonomy was extended. French Polynesia became a full overseas collectivity of France in 2003.[12]
A. The Society Islands
1. The Windward Society Islands
a. Tahiti See Wikipedia - Tahiti for footnotes
Prehistoric colonization of Tahiti[edit]
The first Tahitians arrived in about 200 BCE,[7] after a long migration from South East Asia or Indonesia, via the Fijian, Samoan and Tongan Archipelagos. This hypothesis of an emigration from South East Asia is supported by a number of linguistic, biological and archaeological proofs. For example, the languages of Fiji and Polynesia all belong to the same Oceanic sub-group, Fijian-Polynesian, which itself forms part of the great family of the Austronesian Languages.
This emigration, across several hundred kilometres of ocean, was made possible by using outrigger canoes that were up to twenty or thirty meters long and could transport families and domestic animals. In 1769, for instance, James Cook mentions a great traditional ship (va'a) in Tahiti that was 33 m (108 ft) long, and could be propelled by sail or paddles.[8] In 2010, an expedition on a simple outrigger canoe with a sail retraced the route back from Tahiti to Asia.[9]
Tahitian society was composed of chiefdoms and territories based on kinship and military power among various clans. A clan was led by a chief (Ali'i rahi), nobles (Ari'i) and lesser chiefs. The Ari'i were believed to be descendants of Polynesian gods and invested with supernatural power (mana). A symbol of their status were belts made of red feathers.
However, clan leaders did not hold absolute power, and their role included consulting with general assemblies or councils, especially in times of war. The marae was a sacred place of worship constructed of raised stone platforms in open ground, performing a cultural function similar to such structures in other Polynesian societies. The marae were at the centre of the spiritual and social life of the clan. Here, gods were invoked and leaders enthroned. It was also a place for ceremonies such as preparation for war, birth celebrations as well as burial rituals. Types of marae ranged from simple family platforms to larger edifices for leaders of high status, although all were considered tapu. Early European contact saw the arrival of the London Missionary Society in 1797 who introduced Christianity and documented the Tahitian language (Reo Maohi).
Civilization before the arrival of the Europeans[edit]
Before the arrival of the Europeans the island was divided into different chiefdoms, very precise territories dominated by a single clan. These chiefdoms were linked to each other by allegiances based on the blood ties of their leaders and on their power in war. The most important clan on the island was the Teva,[10] whose territory extended from the peninsula in the south of Tahiti Nui. The Teva Clan was composed of the Teva i Uta (Teva of the Interior) and the Teva i Tai (Teva of the Sea), and was led by Amo and Purea.[11]
A clan was composed of a chief (ari’i rahi), nobles (ari’i) and under-chiefs ( 'Īato'ai). The ari’i, considered descendants of the Polynesian gods, were full of mana (spiritual power). They traditionally wore belts of red feathers, symbols of their power. The chief of the clan did not have absolute power. Councils or general assemblies had to be called composed of the ari’i and the 'Īato'ai, especially in case of war.[10] The more unrelated the ari’i were to the chief of the clan, the more autonomous they were, forming a counterweight to his authority.
The clans were organized around marae, open air cultic sites. These marae were at the heart of the religious and social life of the clans: that is where the gods were invoked, where the chiefs were enthroned, and where war and fishing expeditions were prepared, and where births and deaths were celebrated. There was a hierarchy of marae, progressing from simple family marae to royal marae. The size of any marae is proportional to the influence of the family. One of the royal marae of Tahiti is Farepu’a, built on the accession of Tetuana’e Nui. The marae were protected by tapu, an absolute and sacred ban, transgressing which would bring on a curse. The term passed into western languages as taboo.
First European visits[edit]
Navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, serving the Spanish Crown in an expedition to Terra Australis, was perhaps the first European to set eyes on the island of Tahiti. He sighted an inhabited island on 10 February 1606[12] which he called Sagitaria (or Sagittaria). However, whether the island that he saw was actually Tahiti or not has not been fully ascertained. It has been suggested that he actually saw the island of Rekareka to the south-east of Tahiti.[13] According to other authors the first European to arrive in Tahiti was Spanish explorer Juan Fernández in his expedition of 1576–1577.[14]
The first European to have visited Tahiti according to existing records was lieutenant Samuel Wallis, who was circumnavigating the globe in HMS Dolphin,[15] and landed on 17 June 1767[16] in Matavai Bay, situated on the territory of the chiefdom of Pare (Arue/Mahina), governed by the female chieftain "Oberea" (Purea). Wallis named the island King George Island. The first contacts were difficult, since on the 24 and the 26 June 1767,[17] the canoes tried to take the ship and beach it, maybe because they were afraid the English had intentions of staying permanently, or maybe to take possession of the metallic objects from the ship. In retaliation, the English sailors opened fire on the canoes and on the crowds on the hills. In reaction to this powerful counter-attack, the inhabitants of the bay laid down offerings for the English, showing their wish for peace or to submit.[17] Following this episode, Samuel Wallis was able to establish cordial relations with the female chieftain “Oberea “ (Purea) and remained on the island until 27 July 1767.
On 2 April 1768,[18] it was the turn of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, completing the first French circumnavigation, to land in the Bay of Matavai. He only stayed about ten days on the island, which he called “Nouvelle-Cythère “, or "New Cythera", because of the warm welcome he had received and the sweetness of the Tahitian customs. The account he gave of his port of call would contribute to the creation of the myth of a Polynesian paradise and nourished the theme of the good savage, so dear to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which was very much in fashion. Between this date right until the end of the 18th century, the name of the island was spelled phonetically “Taïti”. Beginning in the 19th century, the Tahitian orthography “Tahiti” became normal usage in French and English.[19]
In July 1768, Captain James Cook was commissioned by the Royal Society and on orders from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to observe the transit of Venus across the sun, a phenomenon that would be visible from Tahiti on 3 June 1769.[20] He arrived in Tahiti on board HMS Endeavour in April 1769 and remained on the island until August.[21] He set up camp at Matavai Bay along withCharles Green and Daniel Solander.The length of stay enabled them to undertake for the first time real ethnographic and scientific observations of the island. Assisted by the botanist Joseph Banks, and by the artistSydney Parkinson, Cook gathered valuable information on the fauna and flora, as well as the native society, language and customs. Cook estimated the population to be 200,000 including all the nearby islands in the chain.[22] This estimate was later lowered to 35,000 by anthropologist Douglas L. Oliver, the foremost modern authority on Tahiti, at the time of first European contact in 1767.[23] His crew moreover maintained friendly relations with the cheftainess "Oberea" (Purea), whom they mistakenly took to be the Queen of Tahiti. These exchanges created favorable conditions for the rise of the Pōmare Dynasty.
The Viceroy of Peru, Manuel de Amat y Juniet, following the instructions of the Spanish Crown, organized an expedition to settle and colonize the island in 1772, largely to prevent other powers from gaining a base in the Pacific from which to attack the coast of Peru, but also to evangelize. He sent two expeditions under the command of navigator Domingo de Bonechea in 1772 and in 1774. Bonechea died on 20 January 1775 in Tahiti, where his grave was rediscovered in the 20th century. The Spanish mission on Tahiti was abandoned on 12 November that year after Charles III of Spain cancelled the mission as a consequence of his secular policy.[24] Some maps still bear the name Isla de Amat for Tahiti, named after Viceroy Amat who ordered the expedition.[25] A most notable result of these voyages was the drafting of a diary by a soldier of the Spanish Navy named Maximo Rodriguez, covering a period of 12 months, which contains valuable ethnological information about the Tahitians of the 18th century.
Cook later returned to Tahiti between 15 August and 1 September 1773, and for the last time between 13 August and 8 December 1777. On these visits Cook made harbour at Tautira Bay, which is sometimes known as Cook's Anchorage. During his final stay he accompanied the chief Tū (nephew of the female chieftain "Oberea" (Purea)) on a warring expedition to Mo'orea ('Aimeo). Cook, however, refused to offer him military support and was content with just visiting the island.
British influence and the rise of the Pōmare[edit]
Mutineers of the Bounty[edit]
Main article: Mutiny on the Bounty
On 26 October 1788, HMS Bounty, led by Captain William Bligh, landed in Tahiti with the mission of carrying Tahitian breadfruit trees ('Uru) to the Caribbean. Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist from Cook’s first expedition, had come to the conclusion essentially that this plant would be ideal to feed the African slaves working on the Caribbean plantations at very little cost. The crew remained in Tahiti for about five months, the time needed to transplant the seedlings of the trees. Three weeks after leaving Tahiti on 28 April 1789, the crew mutinied on the initiative of Fletcher Christian. The mutineers seized the ship and set the captain and most of those members of the crew who remained loyal to him adrift in a ship's boat. A group of mutineers then went back to settle in Tahiti.
Although various explorers had refused to get involved in tribal conflicts, the mutineers from the Bounty offered their services as mercenaries and furnished arms to the family which became the Pōmare Dynasty. The chief Tūknew how to use their presence in the harbors favoured by sailors to his advantage. As a result of his alliance with the mutineers, he succeeded in considerably increasing his supremacy over the island of Tahiti.
In about 1790, the ambitious chief Tū took the title of king and gave himself the name Pōmare. Captain Bligh explains that this name was an homage to his eldest daughter Teriinavahoroa, who had died of tuberculosis, “an illness that made her cough (mare) a lot, especially at night (pō) “. Thus he becamePōmare I, founding the Pōmare Dynasty and his lineage would be the first to unify Tahiti from 1788–1791. He and his descendants founded and expanded Tahitian influence to all of the lands that now constitute modern French Polynesia.
In 1791, HMS Pandora under captain Edward Edwards called at Tahiti and took custody of fourteen of the mutineers. Four were drowned in the sinking of the Pandora on her homeward voyage, three were hanged, four were acquitted, and three were pardoned.
Landings of the whalers[edit]
In the 1790s, whalers began landing at Tahiti during their fishing expeditions in the southern hemisphere. The arrival of these whalers, who were subsequently joined by merchants coming from the penal colonies in Australia, marked the first major overturning of traditional Tahitian society. The crews introduced alcohol, arms and illnesses into the island, and encouraged prostitution, which brought with it venereal disease, and the creation of distilleries. These first exchanges with westerners had catastrophic consequences for the Tahitian population, which shrank rapidly, ravaged by diseases. So many Tahitians were killed by disease in fact that by 1797, the population was only 16,000. Later it was to drop as low as 6,000.[26]
Arrival of the missionaries[edit]
On 5 March 1797, representatives of the London Missionary Society landed at Point Venus (Mahina) on board HMS Duff, with the intention of saving the native populations from paganism. The arrival of these missionaries marked a new turning point for the island of Tahiti, having a lasting impact on the local culture.
The first years proved hard work for the missionaries, despite their association with the Pōmare, the importance of whom they were aware of thanks to the reports of earlier sailors. In 1803, upon the death of Pōmare I, his son Vaira'atoa succeeded him and took the title of Pomare II. He allied himself more and more with the missionaries, and from 1803 they taught him reading and the Gospels. Furthermore the missionaries encouraged his wish to conquer his opponents, so that they would only have to deal with a single political contact, enabling them to develop Christianity in a unified country.[10] The conversion of Pōmare II to Protestantism in 1812 marks moreover the point when Protestantism truly took off on the island.
In about 1810, Pōmare II married Teremo'emo'e daughter of the chief of Raiatea, in order to ally himself with the chiefdoms of the Leeward Islands. On 12 November 1815, thanks to these alliances, Pōmare II won a decisive battle at Fe’i Pī (Punaauia), notably against Opuhara,[27] the chief of the powerful clan of Teva.[11] This victory allowed Pōmare II to be styled Ari’i Rahi, or the king of Tahiti. It was the first time that Tahiti had been united under the control of a single family. It was the end of Tahitian feudalism and the military aristocracy, which were replaced by an absolute monarchy. At the same time, Protestantism quickly spread, thanks to the support of Pōmare II, and replaced the traditional beliefs. In 1816 the London Missionary Society sent John Williams as a missionary and teacher, and starting in 1817, the Gospels were translated into Tahitian (Reo Maohi) and taught in the religious schools. In 1818, the minister William Pascoe Crook founded the city of Papeete, which became the capital of the island.
In 1819, Pōmare II, encouraged by the missionaries, introduced the first Tahitian legal code, known under the name of the Pōmare Legal Code,[10] which consists of nineteen laws. The missionaries and Pōmare II thus imposed a ban on nudity (obliging them to wear clothes covering their whole body), banned dances and chants, described as immodest, tattoos and costumes made of flowers.
In the 1820s, the entire population of Tahiti converted to Protestantism. Duperrey, who berthed in Tahiti in May 1823, attests to the change in Tahitian society in a letter dated 15 May 1823: “The missionaries of the Royal Society of London have totally changed the morals and customs of the inhabitants. Idolatry no longer exists among them, and they generally profess the Christian religion. The women no longer come aboard the vessel, and even when we meet them on land they are extremely reserved. (...) The bloody wars that these people used to carry out and human sacrifices have no longer taken place since 1816."[28]
When, on 7 December 1821, Pōmare II died, his son Pōmare III was only eighteen months old. His uncle and the religious people therefore supported the regency, until 2 May 1824, the date on which the missionaries conducted his coronation, a ceremony unprecedented in Tahiti. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Pōmare, local chiefs won back some of their power and took the hereditary title of Tavana (from the English word ‘governor’). The missionaries also took advantage of the situation in order to change the way in which powers were arranged, and to make the Tahitian monarchy closer to the English model of a constitutional monarchy. They therefore created the Tahitian Legislative Assembly, which first sat on the 23 February 1824.
In 1827, the young Pōmare III suddenly died, and it was his half-sister, 'Aimata, aged thirteen, who took the title of Pōmare IV. The Birmingham born missionary George Pritchard, who was the acting British consul, became her main adviser and tried to interest her in the affairs of the kingdom. But the authority of the Queen, who was certainly less charismatic than her father, was challenged by the chiefs, who had won back an important part of their prerogatives since the death of Pōmare II. The power of the Pōmare had become more symbolic than real, time and time again Queen Pōmare, Protestant and anglophile, sought in vain the protection of England.[10]
In November 1835 Charles Darwin visited Tahiti aboard HMS Beagle on her circumnavigation, captained byRobert FitzRoy. He was impressed by what he perceived to be the positive influence the missionaries had had on the sobriety and moral character of the population. Darwin praised the scenery, but was not flattering towards Tahiti's Queen Pōmare IV. Captain Fitzroy negotiated payment of compensation for an attack on an English ship by Tahitians, which had taken place in 1833.[29]
In 1839 the island was visited by the United States Exploring Expedition; one of its members, Alfred Thomas Agate, produced a number of sketches of Tahitian life, some of which were later published in the United States.
French protectorate and the end of the Pōmare kingdom[edit]
In 1836, the Queen’s advisor Pritchard had two French catholic priests expelled, Caret and Laval. As a result, in 1838 France sent Admiral Abel Aubert Dupetit-Thouars to get reparation. Once his mission had been completed, Admiral Du Petit-Thouars sailed towards the Marquesas Islands, which he annexed in 1842. Also in 1842, a European crisis involving Morocco escalated between France and Great Britain, souring their relations. In August 1842, Admiral Du Petit-Thouars returned and landed in Tahiti. He then made friends with Tahitian chiefs who were hostile to the Pōmare family and favorable to a French protectorate. He had them sign a request for protection in the absence of their Queen, before then approaching her and obliging her to ratify the terms of the treaty of protectorate. The treaty had not even been ratified by France itself when Jacques-Antoine Moerenhout was named royal commissaire alongside Queen Pōmare.
Within the framework of this treaty, France recognized the sovereignty of the Tahitian state. The Queen was responsible for internal affairs, while France would deal with foreign relations and assure the defence of Tahiti, as well as maintain order on the island. Once the treaty had been signed there began a struggle for influence between the English Protestants and the Catholic representatives of France. During the first years of the Protectorate, the Protestants managed to retain a considerable hold over Tahitian society, thanks to their knowledge of the country and its language. George Pritchard had been away at the time. He returned however to work towards indoctrinating the locals against the Roman Catholic French.
Tahitian War of independence (1844–7)[edit]
In 1843, the Queen's Protestant advisor, Pritchard, convinced her to display the Tahitian flag in place of the flag of the Protectorate.[30] By way of reprisal, Admiral Dupetit-Thouars announced the annexation of the Kingdom of Pōmare on the 6 November 1843 and set up the governor Armand Joseph Bruatthere as the chief of the new colony. He threw Pritchard into prison, and later sent him back to Britain. The annexation caused the Queen to be exiled to the Leeward Islands, and after a period of troubles, a real Franco-Tahitian war began in March 1844. News of Tahiti reached Europe in early 1844. The French statesman François Guizot, supported by King Louis-Philippe of France, had denounced annexation of the island.
The war ended in December 1846 in favour of the French. The Queen returned from exile in 1847 and agreed to sign a new covenant, considerably reducing her powers, while increasing those of the commissaire. The French nevertheless still reigned over the Kingdom of Tahiti as masters. In 1863, they put an end to the British influence and replaced the British Protestant Missions with the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris (Society of Evangelical Missions of Paris).
During the same period about a thousand Chinese, mainly Cantonese, were recruited at the request of a plantation owner in Tahiti, William Stewart, to work on the great cotton plantation at Atimaono. When the enterprise resulted in bankruptcy in 1873, a few Chinese workers returned to their country, but a large number stayed in Tahiti and mixed with the population.
In 1866 the district councils were formed, elected, which were given the powers of the traditional hereditary chiefs. In the context of the republican assimilation, these councils tried their best to protect the traditional way of life of the local people. In general terms though Tahitian traditional society had entered a crisis that would last, the ancient social structures had been stolen piece by piece, first under the influence of the missionaries and then by Republicans.
In 1877, Queen Pōmare died after ruling for fifty years. Her son, Pōmare V, then succeeded her on the throne. The new king seemed little concerned with the affairs of the kingdom, and when in 1880 the governor Henri Isidore Chessé, supported by the Tahitian chiefs, pushed him to abdicate in favor of France, he accepted. On the 29 June 1880, he ceded Tahiti to France along with the islands that were its dependencies. He was given the titular position of Officer of the Orders of the Legion of Honour and Agricultural Merit of France. Having become a colony, Tahiti thus lost all sovereignty. Tahiti was nevertheless a special colony, since all the subjects of the Kingdom of Pōmare would be given French citizenship.[31] On the 14 July 1881, among cries of “Vive la République!” the crowds celebrated the fact that Polynesia now belonged to France; this was the first celebration of the Tiurai (national and popular festival). In 1890, Papeete became a commune of the Republic of France.
The French painter Paul Gauguin lived on Tahiti in the 1890s and painted many Tahitian subjects. Papeari has a small Gauguin museum.
In 1891 Matthew Turner, an American shipbuilder from San Francisco, who had been looking for a fast passage between the city and Tahiti built the Papeete. The Papeete, a two-masted schooner, made the trip in seventeen days.
Twentieth century to present[edit]
In 1903, the Établissements Français d’Océanie (French Establishments in Oceania) were created, which collected together Tahiti, the other Society Islands, the Austral Islands, the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu Archipelago.
In 1946, Tahiti and the whole of French Polynesia became an overseas territory (Territoire d'outre-mer). Tahitians were granted French citizenship, a right that had been campaigned for by nationalist leader Pouvanaa a Oopa for many years.[32] In 2003, French Polynesia's status was changed to that of an overseas collectivity (Collectivité d'outre-mer) and in 2004 it was declared an overseas country (pays d'outre-mer or POM).
During the First World War, the Papeete region of the island was attacked by two German warships. A Frenchgunboat as well as a captured German freighter were sunk in the harbour and the two German warshipsbombarded the colony. Between 1966 and 1996 the French Government conducted 193 nuclear bomb tests above and below the atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa. The last test was conducted on 27 January 1996.[33]
In 2009, Tauatomo Mairau claimed the Tahitian throne, and has attempted to re-assert the status of the monarchy in court.
b. Moorea See Wikipedia - Moorea for footnotes
Like many of the other islands, Mo'orea was first settled by Polynesians from the islands west of Mo'orea. They arrived on canoes coming down from South Asia looking for islands to settle. It is estimated that they arrived on Mo'orea roughly 1000 years ago. There are some ancient landmarks on Mo'orea known as marae, which consists of ancient stone rocks shaped like pyramids. On the rocks are carvings that tell when sacrifices occasionally took place. The oldest marae is the 'Āfareaitu Marae, located in the island's main village. It was made by the early Polynesians in the year 900.
The first European that recorded its sight was Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606.[5] The first settlers who were Europeans arrived during the 18th century. The first European to arrive on the island were Englishman Samuel Wallis and James Cook. Captain James Cook first settled on Tahiti and then he took his ship with Samuel Wallis and went onward to Mo'orea. The bay he first settled in was later named Cook's Bay in his honor. Spanish sailor Domingo de Bonechea visited it in 1774 and named it Santo Domingo.[6]
The island was among those visited by the United States Exploring Expedition on its tour of the South Pacific in 1839.
Charles Darwin found inspiration for his theory regarding the formation of coral atolls when looking down upon Mo'orea while standing on a peak on Tahiti. He described it as a "picture in a frame", referring to the barrier reef encircling the island.[7]
Don the Beachcomber lived here briefly in the 1920s until his houseboat was destroyed by tropical cyclones.[7]
On October 7, 1967, construction was completed on the Mo'orea Airport, which opened the following month.[8]
2. The Leeward Society Islands See Wikipedia - The Leeward Society Islands for footnotes
The first European to encounter the archipelago was James Cook on 12 April 1769 during the British expedition to observe the transit of Venus. On this first voyage (he subsequently revisited the islands twice), he named the Leeward group of islands Society in honor of the Royal Society. After France declared a protectorate over Tahiti in 1840, the British and French signed the Jarnac Convention, in 1847, declaring that the kingdoms of Raiatea, Huahine and Bora Bora were to remain independent from either powers and that no single chief was to be allowed to reign over the entire archipelago. France eventually broke the agreement, and the islands were annexed and became a colony in 1888 (eight years after the Windward Islands) after many native resistances and conflicts called the Leewards War, lasting until 1897.[2][3]
a. Bora Bora See Wikipedia - Bora Bora for footnotes
Main article: Kingdom of Bora Bora
The island was first inhabited by Polynesian settlers around the 4th century AD. The first European sighting was made byJakob Roggeveen in 1722. James Cook sighted the island in 1770 and landed that same year. The London Missionary Society arrived in 1820 and founded a Protestant church in 1890. Bora Bora was an independent kingdom until 1888 when its last queen Teriimaevarua III was forced to abdicate by the French who annexed the island as a colony.
World War II[edit]
In World War II the United States chose Bora Bora as a South Pacific military supply base, and an oil depot, airstrip,seaplane base, and defensive fortifications were constructed. Known as "Operation Bobcat", it maintained a supply force of nine ships, 20,000 tons of equipment and nearly 7,000 men. Seven artillery guns were set up at strategic points around the island to protect it against potential military attack.
However, the island saw no combat as the American presence on Bora Bora went uncontested over the course of the war. The base was officially closed on June 2, 1946. Only one former US serviceman, Fred Giles, returned to the island.[2]The World War II airstrip, which was never able to accommodate large aircraft, was French Polynesia's only international airport until Faa'a International Airport was opened in Papeete, Tahiti, in 1960.[3]
These next three islands either have no history detailed in Wikipedia, or the history is so short that I'll just leave it to you to click on the following hot links if you're interested (if you've made it this far).
b. Huahine Click for Wikipedia - Huahine
c. Raiatea Click for Wikipedia - Raiatea
d. Tahaa Click for Wikipedia - Tahaa
B. The Tuamotu Archipelago See Wikipedia - The Tuamoto Archipelago for footnotes
The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally shrouded in mystery. Archaeological findings lead to the conclusion that the western Tuamotus were settled from the Society Islands by c. 700. On the islands of Rangiroa, Manihi and Mataiva, there are flat ceremonial platforms (called marae) made of coral blocks, although their exact age is unknown.
European encounters with the Tuamotus began with that of Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan, during his circumglobal voyage in 1521 sailing in the service of the Spanish Crown. His visit was followed by:
- Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606, sailing in the service of the Spanish Crown;
- Dutch mariners Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire in 1616;
- Jacob Roggeveen (who also first sighted Easter Island) in 1722;
- John Byron in 1765;
- Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1768;
- James Cook during his first voyage in 1769;
- Spanish navigator Domingo de Bonechea in 1774 and
- Russian expedition of Otto von Kotzebue in 1815.
None of these visits was of political consequence, as the islands were in the sphere of influence of the Pōmare Dynasty of Tahiti.
It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that the first Christian missionaries arrived. Traders took the islands' pearls to the European markets by the late 19th century, making them coveted possessions. France forced the abdication of King Pōmare V of Tahiti and claimed the islands without ever having formally annexed them.
Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Stevenson travelled among the Paumotus on the Yacht Casco in 1888; an account of their journey was published as In the South Seas.[3] Jack London wrote a story, "The Seed of McCoy", based on an incident in 1900 when a burning ship, the Pyrenees, was safely beached on Mangareva. In the story, London has the ship sail past Mangareva and all through the Tuamotus before beaching on Fakarava.[4]
The Tuamotus made headlines around the world in 1947, when archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl, sailing from South America, reached Raroia on his raft Kon-Tiki. More recently the islands have been the subject of headlines as the site of French nuclear weapons testing on the atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa.
It's easy for me to make the following confession because no one will likely ever see this, but when I was 12 years old or so, I read The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas. My photo may appear next to "nerd" in the dictionary, but I was fascinated by history and travel to faraway places even back then.
1. Rangiroa Click for Wikipedia - Rangiroa
Not much history on Wiki, so I'm just providing a hot link.
C. The Marquesas Islands See Wikipedia - The Marquesas Islands for footnotes
The first recorded settlers of the Marquesas were Polynesians, who, from archeological evidence, are believed to have arrived before 100 AD. Ethnological and linguistic evidence suggests that they likely arrived from the region of Tongaand Samoa.
The first Europeans to reach the Marquesas may have been the crew ofSan Lesmes, a Spanish vessel which disappeared in a storm while passing through the region as part of an expedition headed by García Jofre de Loaísa in June 1526.[4] The islands were given their name by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña who reached them seventy years later on 21 July 1595. He named them after his patron, García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete (Spanish: Marqués de Cañete) who wasViceroy of Peru at the time. Mendaña visited first Fatu Hiva and thenTahuata before continuing on to the Solomon Islands. They charted the four southernmost Marquesas as Magdalena (Fatu Hiva), Dominica (Hiva Oa), San Pedro (Moho Tani), and Santa Cristina (Tahuata).[5]
The American Maritime Fur Trader Joseph Ingraham first visited the northern Marquesas while commanding the brig Hope in 1791, giving them the name Washington Islands.[6] In 1813, Commodore David Porterclaimed Nuku Hiva for the United States, but the United States Congressnever ratified that claim. In 1842, France—following a successful military operation on behalf of a native chief (named Iotete) who claimed he was king of the whole island of Tahuata—took possession of the whole group and established a settlement (abandoned in 1859) on Nuku Hiva. France reestablished control over the group in 1870, and later incorporated it into French Polynesia.
Of all major island groups in the Pacific, the Marquesas suffered the greatest population decline from diseases brought by Western explorers. Imported diseases reduced the eighteenth century population of over 78,000 inhabitants, to about 20,000 by the middle of the nineteenth century, and to just over 4,000 by the beginning of the 1900s.[7] During the course of the twentieth century, the population increased to 8,548 at the November 2002 census,[8] not including the Marquesan community residing on Tahiti, and it has continued to increase since then, reaching 9,264 inhabitants at the August 2012 census.[2]
The sparsely populated Marquesas Islands, located 1,371 km (852 mi) from Tahiti, the most populous island and dominant political center of French Polynesia, often feels neglected by politicians in Tahiti, and some favor a direct link with Paris instead of depending on Papeete. Several prominent Marquesan political leaders have repeatedly declared themselves in favor of separating from French Polynesia and remaining within the French Republic in case French Polynesian political leaders inTahiti proclaim independence from France.[9] This has generated controversies in Tahiti where pro-independence Tahitian leaders have accused the French central government of encouraging the separation of the Marquesas Islands from French Polynesia.[9]
1. Nuku Hiva See Wikipedia - Nuku Hiva for footnotes
Ancient Period[edit]
Nuku Hiva was, in ancient times, the site of two provinces, Te I'i covering somewhat more than the western two thirds of the island, and Tai Pī, covering the eastern third.
Latest studies indicate that the first people to arrive here came from Sāmoa around 2000 years ago, only later colonizing Tahiti, Hawai'i, The Cook Islands and New Zealand. The legend has it that 'Ono, the god of creation, promised his wife to build a house in one day, so he gathered together land and created these islands, which are all named after parts of the house, Nuku Hiva being the roof. Everything he had left over he threw to one side and created a dump which is called 'Ua Huka. From these supposed origins the population rose to an untenable size; first European estimates vary from 50,000 to 100,000.
Food became of prime importance. Breadfruit was the staple, but taro, plaintain and manioc also played a big part. As for meat, fish was the main source, but even so was limited because of the quantity needed to feed so many mouths. Pigs, chickens and dogs were also cultivated, and hunted when they took to the wilds.
It is still debated why many Polynesian tribes or nations practiced cannibalism. Indeed a large number of Pacific Islands residents did so in pre-historic times. One theory is that cannibalism was more for food than ritual, although ritual played a big part. An offering to the gods was called Ika, which means fish, and a sacrifice was caught and, just like a fish, was hung by a fishhook in the sacred place.
Those to be eaten were tied and hung up in trees until needed, then had their brains bashed out on execution blocks with a club. Women and children seem to have been cannibalized just for food, whereas warriors killed in battle were offerings to the gods and were eaten by their conquerors to absorb their power; their skulls were kept by their slayers for the same reason.
Colonial Period[edit]
On July 21, 1595 Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira stopped at Fatu Iva and called the islands Los Marquesas after the wife of the Viceroy of Peru. James Cook likewise visited the south in 1774, and the Solide expedition in 1791. There is little evidence that these visits led to the introduction of diseases, perhaps because slow passages inhibited the diseases aboard the ships. It seems that it was the commercial shipping, taking on sandalwood, and the whaling ships that brought the epidemics that killed nine out of ten Polynesians.
The Marquesas was a whaling station, even though there were no whales nearby. This happened because the females were so friendly, they would swim out to meet the ships. There is no known case of rape against any Marquesan female, though the opposite was never reported. The great decline in population was after the doctors left because whaling declined. There was nobody to treat the infected natives.
Nuku Hiva Campaign[edit]
Main article: Nuku Hiva Campaign
During the wars between the Te I'i and the Tai Pī, on October 25, 1813, the American navy Captain David Porter arrived in the frigate USS Essex, the flagship of his fleet of ten other armed ships. A shore party was landed and they claimed the island for the United States and constructed a small village, named Madisonville. A fortification, named Fort Madison, and a dock were also built, the latter to refit the Essex. Almost immediately Porter became involved in the tribal conflict.[3]
The first expedition into the jungle was led by Lieutenant John Downes. He and forty others captured a fort held by 3,000 to 4,000 Happah warriors with the assistance of several hundred Te I'is. The victory forced the Happah to terms and they allied themselves with both the Americans and the Te I'i. A second expedition was led by Porter himself and he made an amphibious assault against the Tai Pī held coastline. 5,000 Te I'is and Happahs accompanied the fleet in at least 200 war-canoes.[3]
Though the landing was unopposed, Porter's force of thirty men and a cannon led the march inland where they found another, more formidable, enemy fort. Thousands of natives armed with rocks and spears, positioned in a formidable mountain fortress, were able to fend off their enemies. The victory was short-lived however and Captain Porter followed up his landing with an expedition overland, bypassing the fort, to threaten the Tai Pī's village center in Typee Valley as the Americans named it.[3]
When the column arrived at their destination it was November 30 of 1813. The first shots fired occurred after the Tai Pī's attempted to ambush the column, the attack was beaten off Porter issued a message warning that if the Tai Pī did not cease their resistance at once, he would destroy the villages. After a little while of waiting, the hostiles seemed to ignore the demands so the expedition advanced. An engagement ensued as the villages were burned.[3]
In the end, the Americans and their Te I'i and Happah allies had won at severe cost to the enemy, who sued for peace soon after. The next few months were peaceful until May 1814. The War of 1812 between the United States and theUnited Kingdom was in its third year and most of the American fleet was captured British privateers. At least six British prisoners were at Nuku Hiva during the American operations against the natives, not including a number who volunteered to fight for Captain Porter.[3]
In December 1813, Porter left Nuka Hiva to continue raiding British whalers. He left behind only nineteen navy sailors and six prisoners under two midshipmen and United States Marine Corps Lieutenant John M. Gamble. On May 7, 1814, a group of the British sailors mutinied, released the six prisoners and attacked the fort. Gamble was wounded in the foot and taken captive with his remaining men on the converted whaler Seringapatam though the Americans were set adrift later that day.[3]
Another version told in the book "The Washington Islands" and given by the head archeologist of French Polynesia is that Porter and his fleet of 3 ships (2 captured British ships) came to Taioha'e and made a prison there (the lava flow in the harbor can be seen today). Porter sent some of his cannons overland, and took 3 days to get to Taipivai. He also then had his ships go into Taipivai harbor.
Porter called it a great victory because the villagers just left. The chief thought Porter was nuts. Porter went back to Taioha'e where he had a prison set up for the British sailors. Porter's men became very lax because they were more interested in the village women, so the British sailors broke out and made the Americans prisoners. Soon the British became very lax and relaxed, and the Americans broke out of the prison and made the British prisoners.
The chief had had enough of this "civilized" behavior and told Porter to "Get out". Porter left. When Porter got back to the US, he went in front of congress and proudly told congress that he claimed the Washington Islands as American. Congress was aghast that American sailors would habitate with the islanders so that congress negated Porters claim. Congress didn't want the "shame" that American sailors would act like that. Some years later Porter became chief of Mexico's navy.
An Englishman, named Wilson, on the island was used as an interpreter by the American navy and on May 9 he convinced the Te I'i that Porter would not return from his raid which the natives were not happy about. Wilson eventually persuaded the Te I'is to cancel the alliance and attack. Six American sailors were on the beach at Madisonville at the time, four of the men were killed and one other man escaped wounded with a second survivor. Gamble was alone on the Sir Andrew Hammond, one of the captured British ships. While still recovering from his wound to the foot, two Te I'i war-canoes attacked the ship. The ship's cannon were already loaded so Lieutenant Gamble stumbled from one gun to another, firing them as fast as he could. Ultimately Gamble beat off the enemy attack single handedly but after the deaths of four of his men in town, there was no choice but to abandon the colony with the remaining seven, all of whom were either wounded or ill. After that the base was never again occupied by American forces. Captain Porter, who intended to sail back to Nuka Hiva, was captured at the Battle of Valparaiso on March 28, his claim on Nuku Hiva was never ratified by the United States Congress and in 1842 France took possession of the whole group, establishing a settlement which was abandoned in 1859.[3][4]
Modern Period[edit]
A ship from Peru captured people from 'Ua Pou and took them back as slaves, but as the Catholic Church had converted the islands to Christianity by then, there was a protest and those captives who were still alive were sent back. However, this was a mixed blessing because they brought typhoid fever. A population in excess of 100,000 in 1820 fell to 6,000 in 1872, to 3,000 in 1911 and to a low point of 2,200 in 1927. It seemed that there was no way the Marquesans would survive, but two French doctors toured the islands giving vaccinations and medical care and halted the heavy death toll. Leprosy, however, was still a problem only 20 years ago andelephantiasis is only now almost gone.
Due to its isolation from Tahiti and the will of most of the population, it has been spared the fate of its capital and remains a mysterious undeveloped archipelago.
In 2002, France successfully requested that a 20-year moratorium be applied to French Polynesia to stop it from being incorporated into the European Union. One of the driving factors was to stop non-French investment in property for the time being.[citation needed]
The then-mayor of Nuku Hiva, Lucien Kimitete, who promoted separation of the Marquesas Islands from French Polynesia within the French Republic, was killed in an airplane accident in May 2002, along with MP Boris Leontieff, Mayor of Arue in Tahiti. Many locals still believe this crash was not properly investigated. There is a considerable amount of latent resentment and hostility about this.[citation needed] Since the death of Lucien Kimitete, Marquesan political leaders have repeatedly declared themselves in favor of separating from French Polynesia and remaining within the French Republic in case French Polynesian political leaders in Tahiti would proclaim the independence of French Polynesia.[5]
I wrote none of it (Wikipedia), and haven't changed so much as a punctuation mark, but am secretly hoping you're impressed with my outlining and hot linking skills. However, I did read all of it, and actually enjoyed it very much (except for those re-using content links, which reaffirms my choice not to be an attorney!).
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Bibligraphy: Wikipedia ;-)