Jul

French Polynesia - Tahiti

tahiti_water
What image comes to mind when talking about Tahiti ? Crystalline waters, deserted beaches, with native flowers in their hair ... These and other elements of the collective imagination made the island of French Polynesia a kind of paradise on earth.
Tahiti is the name of the largest island of French Polynesia , a territory composed of 118 islands belonging to France . In all, five archipelagos: the Society, Tuamotu, Gambier, Marquesas and Austral. The fame of Tahiti, where he lives approximately 70% of the population of French Polynesia, hid the other islands of the Society - including Moorea, Bora Bora , Huahine and Tetiaroa - and presents itself as a headliner of the whole region.

The native population is of Polynesian descent and it is estimated that they settled on the island between 300 and 800 BC, although there are some studies that say it could have been even before this date.

The fertile soil of the island, combined with fishing are ample supplies of food for the population. The peaceful nature of the entire local population and the characterization of the island as a paradise impressed early European visitors and generated a fascination that has lasted until today.

Although the islands were discovered by a Spanish ship in 1606, the Spanish had no intention of colonization or commerce with the island. Samuel Wallis, an English sea captain, sighted Tahiti on June 18, 1767 and was considered a European who discovered the island.

Wallis was followed by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who completed the first navigation around the island in April 1768. Bougainvill Tahiti became famous in Europe when he published his impressions of travel Vouyage autour du Monde. In this publication, he describes the island as a paradise on earth where men and women lived happily in innocence, away from the corruption of civilization. The description of the island influenced utopian thoughts of philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau before the French Revolution.

In 1774 Captain James Cook visited the island and estimated the population at approximately 200 000 inhabitants at the time. He probably exaggerated, since the same period other estimates say the population was approximately 122,000 inhabitants.

After Cook's visit, several European ships visited the island more frequently. The most famous of these ships was HMS Bounty, whose crew mutinied shortly after leaving Tahiti in 1789. The European influence has broken with the tradition of the society, bringing prostitution, venereal disease and alcohol to the island. Diseases such as typhus and smallpox killed so many Tahitians, consequences outside the decimation of the local population in 1797 was only 16,000 inhabitants. Later, it fell further to 6,000 inhabitants.

In 1842 the kingdom of Tahiti was declared a French province.

In 1880, King Pomare V was forced to acknowledge the sovereignty of Tahiti and its dependencies to France on 29 June. In return he was honored as Officer of the Legion of Honour and Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture of France.

In 1946, Tahiti and throughout French Polynesia became a Territoire d'Outre-Mer (French territory of another continent) and in 2004 moved to his state Pays d'Outre-Mer.

The French painter Paul Gauguin lived on Tahiti in the period 1890 and painted many Tahitian subjects. The city of Papeari has a small museum of the painter work.

The Tahitians are considered French citizens with full civil and political powers. Both Tahitian and French languages are used on the island.

Tahiti hosts a French university: the Universade French Polynesia (Université de la Polynésie Française). It is a small university with about 2000 students and 60 researchers. Physicists Pascal Ortega (optical studies) and Alessio Guarino (nonlinear physics) are among them. In the department of Humanities, there is the sociologist L. Schuft for his study of the integration of French workers in Tahiti.

Tourism is a major industry in Tahiti, especially during the Heiva festival, held in Papeete. This festival celebrates the indigenous culture and the celebration of Bastille in France. Both occur in July.

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