Editing French Polynesia (section)

== History ==
Anthropologists and historians believe the Great Polynesian Migration commenced around 1500 BC as [[Austronesian peoples]] went on a journey using [[celestial navigation]] to find islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The first islands of French Polynesia to be settled were the Marquesas Islands in about 200 BC. The [[Polynesians]] later ventured southwest and discovered the Society Islands around AD 300.<ref name=KMLA1797>{{cite web|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolynpre1797.html|title=History of Polynesia, before 1797|first=Alexander|last=Ganse|access-date=20 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230062227/http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolynpre1797.html|archive-date=30 December 2007}}</ref>

European encounters began in 1521 when Portuguese explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]], sailing at the service of the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish Crown]], sighted [[Puka-Puka]] in the [[Îles Tuamotu-Gambier|Tuāmotu-Gambier Archipelago]]. In 1606 another Spanish expedition under [[Pedro Fernandes de Queirós]] sailed through Polynesia sighting an inhabited island on 10 February<ref>James Burney (1803) ''A Chronological History of the Voyages or Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean'', Vol. 5, London, p. 222</ref> which they called Sagitaria (or Sagittaria), probably the island of [[Rekareka]] to the southeast of Tahiti.<ref>{{cite journal |author = Geo. Collingridge |url = http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_12_1903/Volume_12,_No.3,_September_1903/Who_discovered_Tahiti%3F_by_Geo._Collingridge,_p184-186 |journal = Journal of the Polynesian Society |title = Who Discovered Tahiti? |pages = 184–186 |volume = 12 |year = 1903 |issue = 3 |access-date = 18 February 2017 |archive-date = 28 December 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161228100912/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_12_1903/Volume_12%2C_No.3%2C_September_1903/Who_discovered_Tahiti?_by_Geo._Collingridge%2C_p184-186 |url-status = live }}</ref> In 1722, Dutchman [[Jakob Roggeveen]] while on an expedition sponsored by the Dutch West India Company, charted the location of six islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago and two islands in the Society Islands, one of which was [[Bora Bora]].

British explorer [[Samuel Wallis]] became the first European navigator to visit Tahiti in 1767. French explorer [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville]] also visited Tahiti in 1768, while British explorer [[James Cook]] arrived in 1769,<ref name="KMLA1797"/> and [[1769 transit of Venus observed from Tahiti|observed the transit of Venus]]. He would stop in Tahiti again in 1773 during his second voyage to the Pacific, and once more in 1777 during his third and last voyage before being killed in Hawaii.

In 1772, the Spanish [[Viceroyalty of Peru|Viceroy of Peru]] Don [[Manuel de Amat y Junient|Manuel de Amat]] ordered a number of expeditions to Tahiti under the command of [[Domingo de Bonechea]] who was the first European to explore all of the main islands beyond Tahiti.<ref name="Paradise Past book (page 43: The De Boenechea Expedition)">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klglH_7KkxsC&q=manuel+de+amat+tahiti&pg=PA43|title=Paradise Past: The Transformation of the South Pacific, 1520–1920|first=Robert K.|last=Kirk|access-date=5 May 2013|isbn=9780786492985|date=8 November 2012|publisher=McFarland |archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402155910/https://books.google.com/books?id=klglH_7KkxsC&q=manuel+de+amat+tahiti&pg=PA43|url-status=live}}</ref> A short-lived Spanish settlement was created in 1774,<ref name=KMLA1797/> and for a time some maps bore the name ''Isla de Amat'' after Viceroy Amat.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manso Porto |first=Carmen |year=1997 |title=Cartografía histórica de América: catálogo de manuscritos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3q5d62Q4sAC&pg=PA10 |location=Madrid |publisher=Real Academia de la Historia |language=es |page=10 |isbn=9788489512023 |access-date=27 November 2016 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402155910/https://books.google.com/books?id=t3q5d62Q4sAC&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Christian mission]]s began with Spanish priests who stayed in Tahiti for a year. Protestants from the [[London Missionary Society]] settled permanently in Polynesia in 1797.

[[File:Society kingdoms.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|left|Society Island kingdoms]]
King [[Pomare II|Pōmare II]] of Tahiti was forced to flee to [[Moorea|Mo'orea]] in 1803{{why|date=May 2021}}; he and his subjects were converted to Protestantism in 1812. French Catholic missionaries arrived on Tahiti in 1834; their expulsion in 1836 caused France to send a gunboat in 1838. In 1842, Tahiti and [[Tahuata]] were declared a [[protectorate|French protectorate]], to allow Catholic missionaries to work undisturbed. The capital of [[Papeete|Papeetē]] was founded in 1843. In 1880, France annexed Tahiti, changing the status from that of a protectorate to that of a [[French colonial empires|colony]]. The island groups were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889.<ref name=KMLA1889>{{cite web|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolyn17971889.html|title=History of French Polynesia, 1797 to 1889|first=Alexander|last=Ganse|access-date=20 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230062212/http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolyn17971889.html|archive-date=30 December 2007}}</ref>

After France declared a protectorate over Tahiti in 1842 and [[Franco-Tahitian War|fought a war with Tahiti (1844–1847)]], the British and French signed the [[Jarnac Convention]] in 1847, declaring that the kingdoms of [[Raiatea]], [[Huahine]] and [[Bora Bora]] were to remain independent from both powers and that no single chief was to be allowed to reign over the entire archipelago. France eventually broke the agreement, and the islands were annexed and became a colony in 1888 (eight years after the Windward Islands) after many native resistances and conflicts called the [[Leewards War]], lasting until 1897.<ref name="Craig">{{cite book |author=Robert D. Craig |volume=39 |edition=2 |title=Historical Dictionary of Polynesia |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2002 |page=107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=01U5DrqoMJgC |isbn=0-8108-4237-8 |access-date=2 November 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402155911/https://books.google.com/books?id=01U5DrqoMJgC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Matsuda">{{cite book |author= Matt K. Matsuda |chapter= Society Islands: Tahitian Archives |title= Empire of Love: Histories of France and the Pacific |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2005 |pages= 91–112 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2_BBr0sZM5kC |isbn= 0-19-516294-3 |access-date= 2 November 2017 |archive-date= 2 April 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230402155916/https://books.google.com/books?id=2_BBr0sZM5kC |url-status= live }}</ref>

In the 1880s, France claimed the [[Tuamotu Archipelago]], which formerly belonged to the [[Pomare Dynasty|Pōmare Dynasty]], without formally annexing it. Having declared a protectorate over Tahuata in 1842, the French regarded the entire Marquesas Islands as French. In 1885, France appointed a governor and established a general council, thus giving it the proper administration for a colony. The islands of [[Rimatara]] and [[Rurutu|Rūrutu]] unsuccessfully lobbied for British protection in 1888, so in 1889 they were annexed by France. Postage stamps were first issued in the colony in 1892. The first official name for the colony was {{lang|fr|Établissements de l'Océanie}} (Establishments in Oceania); in 1903 the general council was changed to an advisory council and the colony's name was changed to {{lang|fr|Établissements Français de l'Océanie}} (French Establishments in Oceania).<ref name=KMLA1918>{{cite web|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolyn18891918.html|title=History of French Polynesia, 1889 to 1918|first=Alexander|last=Ganse|access-date=20 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230062217/http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolyn18891918.html|archive-date=30 December 2007}}</ref>

[[File:FRE-OCE-12-French Oceania-2 francs (1943).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|A two-franc [[World War II]] emergency-issue banknote (1943), printed in [[Papeete]], and depicting the outline of [[Tahiti]] on the reverse]]
In 1940, the administration of French Polynesia recognised the [[Free French Forces]] and many Polynesians served in World War II. Unknown at the time to the French and Polynesians, the [[Fumimaro Konoe|Konoe]] Cabinet in [[Imperial Japan]] on 16 September 1940 included French Polynesia among the many territories which were to become [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere#Japanese-governed|Japanese possessions]], as part of the "[[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere|Eastern Pacific Government-General]]" in the [[Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II|post-war world]].<ref>The Japanese claim to the French Pacific islands, along with many other vast territories, appears in 16 September 1940 "Sphere of survival for the Establishment of a New Order in Greater East Asia by Imperial Japan", published in 1955 by Japan's Foreign Ministry as part of the two-volume "Chronology and major documents of Diplomacy of Japan 1840–1945" – here quoted from "Interview with Tetsuzo Fuwa: Japan's War: History of Expansionism", Japan Press Service, July 2007</ref> However, in the course of the war in the Pacific the Japanese were not able to launch an actual invasion of the French islands.

[[File:Floreal-Bora-Bora.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The French frigate {{ship|French frigate|Floréal||2}} in November 2002, at anchor in [[Bora Bora]] lagoon]]
In 1946, Polynesians were granted French citizenship and the islands' status was changed to an overseas territory; the islands' name was changed in 1957 to {{lang|fr|Polynésie Française}} (French Polynesia). In 1962, France's early [[France and weapons of mass destruction|nuclear testing]] ground in [[Algeria]] was no longer usable when Algeria became independent and the [[Moruroa|Moruroa atoll]] in the Tuamotu Archipelago was selected as the new testing site; tests were conducted underground after 1974.<ref name=KMLA1977>{{cite web|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolyn193977.html|title=History of Polynesia, 1939 to 1977|first=Alexander|last=Ganse|access-date=20 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230062222/http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/pacific/frpolyn193977.html|archive-date=30 December 2007}}</ref> In 1977, French Polynesia was granted partial internal autonomy; in 1984, the autonomy was extended. French Polynesia became a full overseas collectivity of France in 2003.<ref name="cia">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/french-polynesia/ French Polynesia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415181639/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/french-polynesia/ |date=15 April 2021 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].. Retrieved 25 September 2012.</ref>

In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing at [[Fangataufa]] atoll after a three-year moratorium. The last test was on 27 January 1996. On 29 January 1996, France announced that it would accede to the [[Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]], and no longer test nuclear weapons.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=France Ending Nuclear Tests That Caused Broad Protests|first=Craig R|last=Whitney|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4D71639F933A05752C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|date=30 January 1996|access-date=20 October 2007|archive-date=1 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101222208/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4D71639F933A05752C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

French Polynesia was relisted in the [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories]] in 2013, making it eligible for a UN-backed independence referendum. The relisting was made after the indigenous opposition was voiced and supported by the Polynesian Leaders Group, Pacific Conference of Churches, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Non-Aligned Movement, World Council of Churches, and Melanesian Spearhead Group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2012/10/french-polynesia-last-vestiges-of-frances-empire/2/|title=French Polynesia Battles for Independence|work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]|date=10 October 2012|first1=Rachel|last1=Reeves|first2=Luke|last2=Hunt|access-date=30 June 2017|archive-date=28 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628043153/http://thediplomat.com/2012/10/french-polynesia-last-vestiges-of-frances-empire/2/|url-status=live}}</ref>