Editing Marquesas Islands (section)

==History==
[[File: Kaimoko Family. Headdress (Peue 'Ei), 19th century..jpg|thumb|Kaimoko family. Headdress (Peue{{okina}}ei), 19th century. Porpoise teeth, beads, [[coir]]. This woman's headdress was probably made on the island of Ua Pou, where porpoises abounded. In the Marquesan language, ''ei'' means "treasure". From the collection of the [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
{{main|History of the Marquesas}}
{{See also|Austronesian peoples}}
The first recorded settlers of the Marquesas were [[Polynesians]] who arrived from West Polynesia, descendants of the [[Lapita Culture]]. Early attempts to carbon-date evidence from the site suggested they arrived before 100 AD, with other estimates proposing settlement from 600 AD, but several more recent independent studies suggest that they arrived more recently.

For example, a 2010 study that applied higher-precision radiocarbon dating methods to more reliable samples suggests that the earliest colonisation of eastern Polynesia took place much later, within a shorter time period, and in two waves: The first was a migration into the Society Islands between about 1025 and 1120 AD (four centuries later than had previously been thought); the second, between 70 and 265 years later, was a dispersal of migrants to all the remaining Marquesas islands between about 1190 and 1290 AD.<ref name="fast">[http://www.pnas.org/content/108/5/1815.full Janet M. Wilmshurst, Terry L. Hunt, Carl P. Lipo, and Atholl J. Anderson. "High-precision radiocarbon dating shows recent and rapid initial human colonisation of East Polynesia"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155548/http://www.pnas.org/content/108/5/1815.full |date=24 September 2015 }}, ''PNAS'', vol. 108 no. 5, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1015876108, accessed 26 October 2015</ref> This relatively rapid colonisation is believed to account for the "remarkable uniformity of East Polynesian culture, biology and language".<ref name="fast"/>

===Historical culture===
{{See also|Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia}}
The richness of the natural resources in the islands has historically supported a large population. The inhabitants historically made a living by fishing, collecting shellfish, hunting birds, and gardening. They relied heavily on [[breadfruit]] but raised at least 32 other introduced crops. Hard evidence of significant pre-European interarchipelago trade has been found in basalt from the Marquesan quarry island of Eiao. It is known to have been distributed via sailing canoes over distances of more than 2500&nbsp;km to provide adze heads to Mo'orea (Society Islands), Mangareva (Gambier Islands), Tubuai (Austral Islands), Rarotonga (Cook Islands), and Tabuaeran (Northern Line Islands).<ref name='Marquesan homeland hypothesis'>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263383332 |title=Marquesan colonisation chronologies and post-colonisation interaction: Implications for Hawaiian origins and the "Marquesan Homeland" hypothesis |last=Allen |first=Melinda S. |date=1 June 2014 |journal=Journal of Pacific Archaeology |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.70460/jpa.v5i2.137 |access-date=25 August 2020}}</ref>

===European contact===
[[File:Chef de guerre marquisien-Musée d'histoire naturelle et d'ethnographie de Colmar.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Traditional Marquesan warlord's headgear, ceremonial clothes, insignia, and weapon.]]

The first Europeans to reach the Marquesas may have been the crew members aboard the ''San Lesmes'', a Spanish vessel that disappeared in a storm in June 1526; it was part of an expedition headed by [[García Jofre de Loaísa]].<ref>{{cite book |title= European Voyaging towards Australia |first= Jorge |last= Berguno |editor-last1= Hardy |editor-first1= John |editor-last2= Frost |editor-first2= Alan |year= 1990 |publisher= Australian Academy of the Humanities |page= 25 |isbn= 978-0909897192 }}</ref> The Spanish explorer {{lang|es|[[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira|Álvaro de Mendaña]]|italic=unset}} reached them nearly 70 years later, on 21 July 1595. He named the islands after his patron, [[García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete|{{lang|es|García Hurtado de Mendoza|nocat= y|italic=unset}}, 5th Marquis of {{lang|es|Cañete|nocat=y|italic=unset}}]] ({{langx|es|Marqués de Cañete|italic=unset}}), who served as [[Viceroy of Peru]] from 1590 to 1596. Mendaña visited first [[Fatu Hiva]] and then [[Tahuata]] before continuing on to the [[Solomon Islands]]. His expedition charted the four southernmost Marquesas as ''{{lang|es|Magdalena}}'' (Fatu Hiva), ''{{lang|es|Dominica}}'' ([[Hiva Oa|Hiva {{okina}}Oa]]), ''{{lang|es|San Pedro}}'' ([[Moho Tani]]), and ''{{lang|es|Santa Cristina}}'' (Tahuata).<ref>Sharp, Andrew, ''The Discovery of the Pacific Islands'', Oxford 1960 p.&nbsp;51</ref>

In the late 18th century, European explorers estimated that the population was 80,000 to 100,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.hokulea.com/holokai/geography/hiva/isles_of_hiva.html |title=Isles of Hiva (Marquesas Islands) |author=Dennis Kawaharada |publisher=Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions |access-date=25 June 2022}}</ref> Europeans and Americans were impressed with how easy life appeared to be in the islands, which had a rich habitat and environment. In 1791, the American [[maritime fur trade]]r [[Joseph Ingraham]] first visited the northern Marquesas while commanding the [[brig]] {{ship||Hope|1764 ship|2}}. He named them the Washington Islands.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url= http://www.wdl.org/en/item/436/ |title= Papers of Joseph Ingraham, 1790–1792: Journal of the Voyage of the Brigantine ''Hope'' from Boston to the North-West Coast of America |website= [[World Digital Library]] |date= 1790–1800 |access-date= 2013-06-08 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130608090317/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/436/ |archive-date= 8 June 2013 }}</ref> In 1813, [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[David Porter (naval officer)|David Porter]] claimed [[Nuku Hiva]] for the United States, but the [[United States Congress]] never ratified that claim.<ref>{{Cite web|title=French Polynesia – History {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Polynesia/History|access-date=2021-12-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> For a brief period the islands exported [[sandalwood]], but the resource was depleted within four years.<ref name="Villiers1994">{{cite journal |last1=Villiers |first1=John |title=The Vanishing Sandalwood of Portuguese Timor |journal=Itinerario |date=July 1994 |volume=18 |issue=2 |doi=10.1017/S0165115300022518 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/itinerario/article/abs/vanishing-sandalwood-of-portuguese-timor/29971F19F8EDC85DF7D8F866EA3DEA13 |page=90|s2cid=162012899 }}</ref> 

The islands were a popular port of call for whaling ships in the [[Age of Sail]]. The first on record to visit was the ''Hope'', in April 1791.<ref>Langdon, Robert (1984), ''Where the whalers went: An index to the Pacific ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century'', Canberra, Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, p.168 & 171. {{ISBN|086784471X}}</ref> The last known such visitor was the American whaler ''Alaska'' in February 1907.<ref>Langdon, p.175</ref>
[[File:Pareu haka.jpg|thumb|Marquesans dressed in [[pareu]] demonstrating traditional dance, 1909]]

In 1842, France conducted a successful military operation in support of the native chief [[Iotete]]'s claim that he was king of the whole island of Tahuata. The French government then laid claim to the whole island group and established a settlement on Nuku Hiva. That settlement was abandoned in 1857, but France re-established control over the group in 1870. It later incorporated the Marquesas into [[French Polynesia]].

The indigenous people of the Marquesas suffered high death rates from [[Infectious disease|disease]]s carried by Western explorers, such as [[smallpox]] and [[measles]], because none of them had any [[immunity (medical)|immunity]] to them.

The Marquesas lost more people to death from these diseases than any other island group in Polynesia. The population shrank from over 78,000 inhabitants in the 18th century to about 20,000 by the middle of the 19th century, and to just over 4,000 by the beginning of the 20th century,<ref name="history">{{cite book |title= De la conquête à l'exode : histoire des Océaniens et de leurs migrations dans le Pacifique |last1= Gille |first1= Bernard |last2= Toullelan |first2= Pierre-Yves |editor= Au Vent des Iles |year= 1999 |page= 118 |publisher= Au Vent des Iles |isbn= 978-2909790596 }}</ref> reaching an all-time low of 2,255 in 1926. After that, the population started to increase, reaching 8,548 by the time of the November 2002 census<ref name=RP71_02>{{cite web |url= http://www.ispf.pf/Libraries/RP2002/retro1_2.sflb.ashx |title= Population statistique des communes et communes associées aux recensements de 1971 à 2002 |publisher= ISPF |access-date= 2013-10-13 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121113151337/http://www.ispf.pf/Libraries/RP2002/retro1_2.sflb.ashx |archive-date= 13 November 2012 }}</ref> (not including the Marquesan community residing in [[Tahiti]]), and 9,346 by the time of the August 2017 census.<ref name="census"/>

===Contemporary history===
In 2024, the Marquesas Islands were listed as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] under "[[Te Henua Enata]]" ({{Literal translation|The Land of Men}}), as part of the [[World Heritage Committee|committee]]'s commitment to conservation efforts protecting indigenous populations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marcus |first1=Lilit |title=This island paradise only gets a few thousand visitors a year. It just scored a huge international recognition |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/31/travel/marquesas-islands-french-polynesia-unesco-intl-hnk/index.html |website=CNN |language=en |date=31 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1 August 2024 |title=UNESCO World Heritage: 26 new sites inscribed - UNESCO World Heritage Centre |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2706/ |website=whc.unesco.org }}</ref>