was founded in 1843. In 1880, France annexed Tahiti, changing the status from that of a protectorate to that of a colony. The island groups were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889.
In 1946, Polynesians were granted French citizenship and the islands’ status was changed to an overseas territory. French Polynesia became a full overseas collectivity of France in 2003.
French Polynesia, as is true of many island nations, is heavily dependent on tourism as a source of external income. Tourism is most heavily concentrated on the islands of Moorea and Bora Bora, while the main island of Tahiti itself is more of an urban administrative and transport hub rather than a tourist destination itself. Many of the outer islands are connected by air to Tahiti and other islands through an extensive network of flights operated by Air Tahiti
reaching all 53 airports which gives tourists the option of exploring very far flung and isolated bits of paradise. The only international port of entry however remains Fa’a’ā International Airport
on Tahiti, mostly used by tourists as a transit point instead of as a final destination.
Other valuable economic items include high quality vanilla
and black pearls.
While French Polynesia has one of the largest economies among the nations of Oceania, its total exports amount to only 10% of the value of its total exports. As is true of the much of Overseas France, without generous subsidies from Metropolitan France, the economy and standard of living would quickly collapse. It is my theory that knowledge of this reality is widespread and helps to squash any meaningful desire for independence.
As much as French Polynesia is alluring to travelers today, so it has been ever since it was discovered. The men who mutinied on board the Bounty, perhaps the most famous mutiny in the history of the world, did so, in part, because they didn’t want to leave Tahiti. Paul Gauguin
fell in love with the islands, the culture, and the women and spent the rest of his life there. To this day approximately 10% of the total population consists of expatriates who have come to the islands from Metropolitan France.
It can be misleading in some respects to speak and think of French Polynesia as a single entity because the political entity known as French Polynesia is readily divided into at least six distinct island groupings, some of which are quite different geologically and culturally from each other. The main divisions are:
- Marquesas Islands – 12 high islands and 1 atoll
- Society Islands – 5 high islands and 5 atolls
- Tuamotu Archipelago – 80 atolls, grouping over 3,100 islands or islets
- Gambier Islands – 2 atolls
- Austral Islands – 5 atolls
- Bass Islands – 2 atolls (Rapa Iti and Marotiri)
The flag which represents these distinct groups as an entire entity was recently adopted, in 1984.