History And Geography

History

A migratory population originally inhabited the islands that make up Tahiti. They chose the islands' coastal fringes as their home some three thousand years ago. Who these people were, how they got to the islands and why they choose them is a bit of a mystery with no scientific consensus till date. Some theories suggest that these populations were driven out of South East Asia by famine and warfare, where as another school believes that they came from north and Central America. Regardless of their origin, the single term ‘Polynesian' is used to describe the original settlers of Tahiti. Their monuments and temples are a testament to the island's ancient history.

In 1767, the English became the first European's to reach Tahiti and in the classical colonial attitude, conveniently christened the island ‘King George III's Island'. Of course, the natives were not too pleased with this and they lead various attacks on the British ships and men. With a desire to depict their supremacy, the British fired cannons at the natives' canoes and at the people themselves. Accordingly, the Polynesian's calmed down and helped the British restock and be on their way.

Soon afterward in the beginning of 1768, the French reached Tahiti and like the British before them, declared Tahiti to be a French acquisition. Nonetheless, active French colonization did not commence on the island till the nineteenth century. Due to interaction with European powers, people as well as rulers in Tahiti came to be influenced by western ideals and Christianity in particular. Subsequent generations of rulers added to the ‘Europeanization' of the island, systematically wiping out local beliefs and culture. In the year 1880, more than a century after it was discovered, the last Tahitian sovereign donated his islands to the French.

The French Polynesian Islands of which Tahiti is a part, today has autonomy in all areas except for the judiciary, home, defense and foreign affairs. The French provoked widespread outrage by conducting nuclear weapons testing in the Tahitian water in the year 1995 - 96. These tests have however, since been ceased.

Geography

French Polynesia is made up of five archipelagoes totaling a hundred and fifteen islands. The largest of these is the archipelago of the Society Islands, which are further classified as Windward Islands and Leeward Islands. Tahiti, with an area of 1042 square kilometers, is the largest of the Leeward Islands. It was formed due to centuries of underwater volcanic eruptions in the Pacific Ocean. Volcanic peaks, both live and dormant are still a predominant feature of the islands.

Geographically, Tahiti is located approximately halfway between Australia and South America. It is considered as part of Oceania - a region of archipelagoes that falls between Asia and Australia.

Tahiti is made up of two islands called Big Tahiti (Tahiti-Nui) and Little Tahiti (big Tahiti). The two are connected by the Isthmus of Taravao. The terrain of Tahiti-Nui is largely mountainous and has a number of high peaks, waterfalls and a luxuriant, tropical rainforest. The highest peak is Mt. Orohena that reaches nearly 7,339 ft is the highest peak of French Polynesia. Right next to it is Mt. Aorai at 6,786 ft, also one of the highest in the region. Tahiti-Iti on the other hand, is just a narrow strip of mountainous terrain and is largely rural or uninhabited. Nearly sixty percent of the land-surface in Tahiti is covered by rainforest of soft fern, with rivers, waterfalls and tropical flowers. Besides the mountains, there are the low-lying coastal regions that support a majority of Tahiti's human population. The region is considered to be a rich source of cobalt and is one of the premier hunting grounds in the world.

Tropical hurricanes called cyclones are very common in the region in the winter months of December, January and February.