Who discovered French Polynesia?
European contact with the islands of French Polynesia was gradual. The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sighted Pukapuka Atoll in the Tuamotu group in 1521. The southern Marquesas Islands were reached in 1595. The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 discovered Makatea, Bora-Bora, and Maupiti.
Who claimed Tahiti for France?
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville
Wallis named Tahiti “King George III Island” and claimed it for England. Soon after, and unaware of Wallis’ arrival, French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville landed on the opposite side of Tahiti and claimed it for the King of France.
How did Tahiti get its name?
The name “Tahiti”—or, as Bougainville first wrote it in 1768, “Taiti,” and Cook in 1769, Otaheite”—was the name the natives gave their island and which Europeans came to apply to the indigenes.
When was Tahiti founded?
1842
French Polynesia/Founded
What is the main religion in Tahiti?
Religion in The Islands of Tahiti The main religion in French Polynesia is Christianity. Approximately 54% of locals belong to Protestant churches, while 30% are Roman Catholic. Around 50% of the population of the country belongs to the Maoi Protestant Church.
What race are Tahitians?
The Tahitians, (Tahitian: Mā’ohi; French: Tahitiens) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of Tahiti and thirteen other Society Islands in French Polynesia, as well as the modern population of these lands of multiracial, primarily Polynesian-French, ancestry (French: demis).
History of Tahiti. Tahiti was discovered on June 23, 1767 by an Englishmen, Samuel Wallis. Samuel Wallis claimed the Islands of Tahiti as “King George III Island.” He was followed by a Frenchman Louise-Antoine Bougainville on the 6th of April 1768 who claimed the islands for the King of France.
Where was Captain James Cook when he discovered Tahiti?
In 1767, Captain Samuel Wallis discovered Tahiti and anchored in Matavai Bay in the north of the island. In 1769, Captain James Cook disembarked in Matavai in the same place where Samuel Wallis anchored, because Wallis came back to England just before Cook left forTahiti. He called the island : O’Taheite.
Why did Samuel Wallis name the Island Tahiti?
On June 19, 1767, he discovered Tahiti. Wallis decided to name the island of Tahiti after the King George III, who ruled Britain at that moment. After discovering Tahiti and lots of other islands in the Pacific he came back to England in May 1768.
Who was the king of Tahiti in 1768?
Samuel Wallis claimed the Islands of Tahiti as “King George III Island.” He was followed by a Frenchman Louise-Antoine Bougainville on the 6th of April 1768 who claimed the islands for the King of France.