Tahiti

(tähē`tē), island (2002 pop. 169.674), South Pacific, in the Windward group of the Society IslandsSociety Islands,
island group (2002 pop. 214,445), South Pacific, a part of French Polynesia. The group comprises the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands (total land area c.650 sq mi/1,680 sq km), two clusters of volcanic and coral islands lying in a 450-mi (724-km) chain.
..... Click the link for more information. , French PolynesiaFrench Polynesia,
officially Overseas Lands of French Polynesia, internally self-governing dependency (2015 est. pop. 278,000) of France, consisting of 118 islands in the South Pacific. The capital is Papeete, on Tahiti.
..... Click the link for more information. . The capital is PapeetePapeete
, town (2007 pop. 26,017), capital of Tahiti and of French Polynesia, South Pacific. A port on the NW coast of Tahiti, Papeete ships copra, vanilla, and mother-of-pearl. The town has an important French nuclear laboratory and an international airport.
..... Click the link for more information. . Tahiti is the largest (402 sq mi/1,041 sq km) and most important of the French Pacific islands. The peninsula of Taiarapu, which forms E Tahiti, is joined to the western part of the island by the Isthmus of Taravao. Tahiti is mountainous, with four prominent peaks, the highest of which is Mt. Orohena (7,618 ft/2,322 m). The chief products are tropical fruits, copra, vanilla, and sugarcane; there are pearl fisheries off the coast. Tourism is easily the most important industry on the island. The inhabitants of Tahiti are mostly Polynesian, but there is a large Chinese minority.

The island was settled by Polynesians in the 14th cent.; the first European to visit Tahiti was the English navigator Samuel Wallis, and later visits were made by Capt. James CookCook, James,
1728–79, English explorer and navigator. The son of a Yorkshire agricultural laborer, he had little formal education. After an apprenticeship to a firm of shipowners at Whitby, he joined (1755) the royal navy and surveyed the St.
..... Click the link for more information. (1769, 1773, 1777), and by the Bounty under Lt. William BlighBligh, William
, 1754–1817, British admiral. He is chiefly remembered for the mutiny (1789) on his ship, the Bounty, but he had a long and notable career. He was sailing master on Capt. James Cook's last voyage (1776–79).
..... Click the link for more information. (1788). English missionaries arrived in the 1797, and French missionaries by the late 1830s. In 1843 the Tahitian queen Pomare IV was forced to agree to the establishment of a French protectorate. After her death (1877) and the subsequent abdication (1880) of her son Pomare V, France made Tahiti a colony. During World War II the Tahitians voted (1940) to support the Free French; in 1946 all the indigenous inhabitants became French citizens. In 1995, French nuclear testing at two atolls about 750 miles away sparked protests on Tahiti. Paul GauguinGauguin, Paul
, 1848–1903, French painter and woodcut artist, b. Paris; son of a journalist and a French-Peruvian mother. Early Life

Gauguin was first a sailor, then a successful stockbroker in Paris. In 1874 he began to paint on weekends.
..... Click the link for more information. did many of his paintings in Tahiti, and Robert Louis StevensonStevenson, Robert Louis,
1850–94, Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist, b. Edinburgh. Handicapped from youth by delicate health, he struggled all his life against tuberculosis. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1875, but he never practiced.
..... Click the link for more information. spent some time there. Tahiti was formerly called Otaheite and King George III Island.

Tahiti

a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, the largest island of the Society group. A French possession. Area, 1,042 sq km. Population, 84,500 (1970). The city of Papeete is the capital and main port. Tahitians constitute the majority of the population; other nationalities include the Chinese, who account for more than one-fifth of the population, the French, and the demis, people of French-Tahitian extraction, who are culturally close to the French. The majority of the inhabitants are Christians, primarily Calvinists but some Roman Catholics. French is the official language.

Tahiti consists of two mountain massifs, with a maximum elevation of 2,241 m, connected by a narrow isthmus up to 2 km wide. The island is composed of basalts and is surrounded by a coral reef. It has a tropical maritime climate, with an annual precipitation of 1,400 mm. Tropical rain forests cover most of the island, and in the coastal lowland there are coconut, banana, sugar, vanilla, and pineapple plantations. Taro, yams, and sweet potatoes are also cultivated. The population also engages in fishing and pearl diving. Exports include copra, vanilla, and mother-of-pearl. Tahiti is popular with tourists.

Tahiti

an island in the S Pacific, in the Windward group of the Society Islands: the largest and most important island in French Polynesia; became a French protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880. Capital: Papeete. Pop.: 169 674 (2002). Area: 1005 sq. km (388 sq. miles)

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noun an island in the south Pacific

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