Tahiti
Tahiti is an island-nation, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean at 17°40′S 149°30′W / 17.667°S 149.500°W. The island had a population of 169,677 inhabitants according to the 2002 census. The capital is Papeete, on the northwest coast. Tahiti has also been historically known as Otaheite.
Geography
Tahiti is some 45 km (28 mi) long at the widest point and covers 1,048 km² (404 sq mi), with the highest elevation being at 2,241 m (7,352 ft) above sea level (Mount Orohena). The island consists of two roughly round portions centered on volcanic mountains, connected by a short isthmus named after the small town of Taravao, which sits there. The northwestern part is known as Tahiti Nui ("big Tahiti"), and the southeastern part, much smaller, is known as Tahiti Iti ("small Tahiti") or Taiarapu. Whereas Tahiti Nui is quite heavily populated (especially around Papeete) and benefits from rather good infrastructure such as roads and highways, Tahiti Iti has remained quite isolated, its southeastern half (Te Pari) being accessible only by boat or hiking. A main road winds around the island between the mountains and the sea while an interior road climbs past dairy farms and citrus groves with panoramic views
The vegetation is tremendously lush rain forest.
Some references have mistakenly labeled November through April as Tahiti's wet season. But, according to a 2001 UCLA research study done using years of government cataloged weather data, the islands of Tahiti receive, on average, more hours of sun, and fewer hours of rain, than Hawaii does year round. Graphs demonstrating the results of the study can be found at Tahiti Tourisme North America's website (the official government sanctioned site for the destination).
History
Tahiti is estimated to have been settled by Polynesians between AD 300 and 800 coming from Tonga and Samoa, although some estimates place the date earlier. The fertile island soil combined with fishing provided ample food for the population.
Although the first European sighting of the islands was by a Spanish ship in 1606, Spain made no effort to trade with or colonize the island. Samuel Wallis, an English sea captain, sighted Tahiti on June 18, 1767, and is considered the first European visitor to the island. Anthropologist Hermann Baumann documented male-to-female transsexual priestesses among the native inhabitants of Tahiti.[1] The perceived relaxation and contented nature of the local people and the characterization of the island as a paradise much impressed early European visitors, planting the seed for a romanticization by the West that endures to this day.
Wallis was followed in April 1768 by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville who was completing the first French circumnavigation. Bougainville made Tahiti famous in Europe when he published the account of his travel in Voyage autour du Monde. He described the island as an earthly paradise where men and women live happily in innocence, away from the corruption of civilization. His account of the island powerfully illustrated the concept of the noble savage, and influenced the utopian thoughts of philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau before the advent of the French Revolution.
In 1774 Captain James Cook visited the island, and estimated the population at that time to be some 200,000. This was probably too high; another estimate from the same period was 121,500. After Cook's visit, European ships landed on the island with ever greater frequency. The best-known of these ships was HMS Bounty, whose crew mutinied shortly after leaving Tahiti in 1789. The European influence caused significant disruption to the traditional society, by bringing prostitution, venereal diseases, and alcohol to the island. Introduced diseases including typhus and smallpox killed so many Tahitians that by 1797, the island's population was only about 16,000. Later it was to drop as low as 6,000.
In 1842, a European crisis involving Morocco escalated between France and Great Britain when Admiral Dupetit Thouars, acting independently of the French government, was able to convince Tahiti's Queen Pomare IV to accept a French protectorate. George Pritchard, a Birmingham-born missionary and acting British Consul, had been away at the time of the agreement. However he returned to work towards indoctrinating the locals against the Roman Catholic French. In November 1843, Dupetit-Thouars (again completely on his own initiative) landed sailors on the island, formally annexing it to France. He then proceeded to throw Pritchard into prison, subsequently sending him unceremoniously back to Britain.
News of the events in Tahiti reached Europe in early 1844. The French statesman François Guizot, supported by King Louis-Philippe of France, had strongly denounced the annexation of the island. However, war between the French and the Tahitians continued until 1847. The island remained a French protectorate until June 29, 1880, when King Pomare V (1842–1891) went to war with France in the French-Tahiti War and France denounced their wanted sovereignty of Tahiti.
French painter Paul Gauguin lived on Tahiti in the 1890s and painted many Tahitian subjects. Papeari has a small Gauguin museum.
Politics
Tahitians are Tahitian citizens and have full and political rights. The Tahitian language and the French language are both in use.
Tahiti is a republic that used to be dependent on France til 1946. The island has their own president, Oscar Temaru. Tahiti's enemy, the French Polynesia has a capital of Tai o Hae on Marquesas Island.
Royalty
The current king of Tahiti is Pomare X who inherited the throne at age seven at the death of his father, Pomare IX. The current king is fourteen-years old and the only child monarch in the world who actually has full monarchical power as king. France denies his right to power but the current French Polynesian president, Oscar Temaru states that he does have the birthright to be the king of Tahiti.
Demographics
The population of Tahiti are of vastly Polynesian (Pacific Islander) descent including some Asian groups, and to lesser extent white.
Economy
Tourism is a significant industry, mostly to the islands of Bora Bora and Moorea. In July, the Heiva festival in Papeete celebrates Polynesian culture and the commemoration of the storming of the Bastille in France.
At the cessation of CEP activities, France signed the Progress Pact with Tahiti to compensate the loss of financial resources and assist in education and tourism with an investment of about US$150 Million a year from the beginning of 2006. The main trading partners with Tahiti are France which accounts for about 40% of imports and about 25% of exports, the USA, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Black pearl farming is also a substantial source of revenues, most of the pearls being exported to Japan, Europe and the US. Tahiti also exports vanilla, fruits, flowers, monoi, fish, coprah oil, and noni.
There is no sales tax in Tahiti. However, a special 2% reduced rate Value Added Tax (VAT) applies to all rented accommodations (hotel rooms, pensions and family stays), and room and meal packages for tourists. A 4% VAT rate applies to purchases in shops, stores and boutiques. A 6% VAT rate applies to bars, excursions, car rentals, snacks and restaurants.
Education
Tahiti hosts a French university, Université de la Polynésie Française ("University of French Polynesia"). It is a small growing university, with around 2,000 students and about 60 researchers. Le Collège La Mennais is located in Papeete.
Arts and music
Recently there has been a strong push to revive old ways and rediscover traditional arts. Traditional musical instruments include pahu and toere drums and the curious nose flute called a vivo. Guitars and ukuleles made their way into Polynesia and the locals developed a unique song style that owes much to country & western music in form but has a distinctive South Pacific island groove. Customary dancing (tamure) has slowly made its way back into French Polynesian life, but the art of making tapa (bark paper and cloth) has largely disappeared.
Transport
Faa'a International Airport is the international airport of Tahiti with Air Tahiti Nui being the national airline while Air Tahiti is the main airline for inter-island flights. The Moorea Ferry is also a notable ferry that operates from Papeete.
References
- ^ Feinberg, Leslie: Transgender Warriors, page 40. Beacon Press, 1996.
See also
- Music of Tahiti
- Postage stamps and postal history of French Polynesia
- Tahitian language
- Nuclear-free zone
- Spread of printing
External links
- Official Website (Tahiti Tourism Board)
- Tahiti Travel Guide
- Tahiti Details
- Picture of Bora Bora and Vahine100's of Images
- Map of French Polynesia
- CIA Factbook entry
- Picture gallery
- University of French Polynesia
- Satellite view of Tahiti and Moorea
- Photogallery of Society Islands
- Template:Fr Informations sur Tahiti
- Template:Fr Faufa'a Tupuna, le wiki consacré au patrimoine culturel polynésien
- Cook's Pacific Encounters: Cook-Forster Collection online Images and descriptions of more than 300 artefacts collected during the three Pacific voyages of James Cook, including nearly 100 objects from Tahiti and the Society Islands.
