Tahiti facts & history in
brief
Map of Tahiti
Tahiti, is the largest of the 14 Society Islands
in the South Pacific Ocean and part of French Polynesia,
a French overseas territory made up of five main island
groups.
It is mainly a mountainous tropical islands with palms
and luxuriant flora, including a climbing orchid from
which vanilla is extracted.
A broken coral reef surrounds the island.
The interior of the island is mountainous and almost
entirely uninhabited.
Most of the population lives on a strip of flat, fertile
land that lies along the coast.
Heavy rainfall helps create many fast-flowing streams
and spectacular waterfalls.
The island is covered with tropical vegetation, including
coconut palms and banana, orange, and papaya trees.
About 120,000 people live on Tahiti.
About 80 per cent of them are Polynesians or have mixed
Polynesian and European ancestry, the rest of the population
is made up of Chinese and Europeans.
The earliest inhabitants of Tahiti were Polynesians
who came from Asia hundreds of years ago.
In 1767, the British Samuel Wallis was the first European
to visit the islands and claimed Tahiti for the United
Kingdom.
A year later the French navigator, Louis Antoine de
Bougainville claimed it for France.
In the 19th century mostly French missionaries settled
on the island, converting the Tahitian chief and most
of his people to Christianity.
In 1842, Tahiti became a French protectorate and a colony
of France in 1880.
In 1946 French Polynesia became an overseas territory
of France.
There were several independence movements over the years.
In 1977 French Polynesia was granted considerable powers
of self-government.
In 1995 protests against French nuclear testing in the
nearby area reignited the Tahitian independence movement,
but most people want to remain under French rule.
Tahiti became world famous as a tropical paradise through
the paintings and writings of many artists and writers
who lived there or visited the islands.
Paul Gauguin, the French painter portrayed Tahiti's
lush beauty and peaceful atmosphere in many of his paintings.
Many writers, like the American James Michener, and
the Scottish Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote glowing
descriptions of the island.
Their works of and the islands' exotic beauty and tropical
climate have helped make Tahiti famous and popular with
tourists.
Tahiti's Chinese population is involved in much of the
retail and shipping trade on the island.
People in rural areas farm the land or work in the fishing
industry.
The farmers grow breadfruit, taro, and yams for their
own use and produce small quantities of copra and vanilla
for export.
Tahiti covers about 1,040 square kilometres.
Papeete is the Capital, largest city, largest
settlement and chief port of French Polynesia.
Many Tahitians live in or near Papeete and work in the
tourist industry, which is the base of the island's
economy.
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