Editing Tahiti (section)

=== British influence and the rise of the Pōmare ===

==== Mutineers of the ''Bounty'' ====
{{Main|Mutiny on the Bounty}}

[[File:Thomas Gosse, Transplanting of the bread-fruit trees from Otaheite, 1796, UMKC.jpg|thumb|left|[[William Bligh]] overseeing the transplantation of [[breadfruit]] trees from Tahiti]]

On 26 October 1788, {{HMS|Bounty}}, under the command of Captain [[William Bligh]], landed in Tahiti with the mission of carrying Tahitian [[breadfruit]] trees ([[Tahitian language|Tahitian]]: ''{{okina}}uru'') to the [[Caribbean]]. Sir [[Joseph Banks]], the botanist from [[James Cook]]'s first expedition, had concluded that this plant would be ideal to feed the African slaves working in the Caribbean plantations at very little cost. The crew remained in Tahiti for about five months, the time needed to transplant the seedlings of the trees. Three weeks after leaving Tahiti, on 28 April 1789, the crew mutinied on the initiative of [[Fletcher Christian]]. The mutineers seized the ship and set the captain and most of those members of the crew who remained loyal to him adrift in a ship's boat. A group of mutineers then went back to settle in Tahiti, after which the Bounty, under Christian, sailed to [[Pitcairn Island]].

Although various explorers had refused to get involved in tribal conflicts, the mutineers from the ''Bounty'' offered their services as mercenaries and furnished arms to the family which became the [[Pōmare Dynasty]]. The chief [[Pōmare I|Tū]] knew how to use their presence in the harbours favoured by sailors to his advantage. As a result of his alliance with the mutineers, he succeeded in considerably increasing his supremacy over the island of Tahiti.

In about 1790, the ambitious chief Tū took the title of king and gave himself the name ''Pōmare''. Captain Bligh explains that this name was a homage to his eldest daughter Teri{{okina}}inavahoroa, who had died of [[tuberculosis]], "an illness that made her cough (''mare'') a lot, especially at night (''pō'')". Thus he became [[Pōmare I]], founding the Pōmare Dynasty and his lineage would be the first to unify Tahiti from 1788 to 1791. He and his descendants founded and expanded Tahitian influence to all of the lands that now constitute modern French Polynesia.

In 1791, {{HMS|Pandora|1779|6}} under Captain [[Edward Edwards (Royal Navy officer)|Edward Edwards]] called at Tahiti and took custody of fourteen of the mutineers. Four were drowned in the sinking of ''Pandora'' on her homeward voyage, three were hanged, four were acquitted, and three were pardoned.

==== Landings of the whalers ====

In the 1790s, [[whaler]]s began landing at Tahiti during their hunting expeditions in the southern hemisphere. The arrival of these whalers, who were subsequently joined by merchants coming from the penal colonies in Australia, marked the first major overturning of traditional Tahitian society. The crews introduced [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]], arms and infectious diseases to the island. These commercial interactions with westerners had catastrophic consequences for the Tahitian population, which shrank rapidly, ravaged by diseases and other cultural factors.<ref>{{Cite journal |pmc=2639926|year=1996|last1=Martin|first1=P. M.|title=Emerging infectious diseases and the depopulation of French Polynesia in the 19th century|journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases|volume=2|issue=4|pages=359–361|last2=Combes|first2=C.|pmid=8969256|doi=10.3201/eid0204.960416}}</ref> During the first decade of the 19th century, the Tahitian population dropped from 16,000 to 8,000–9,000; the French census in 1854 counted a population just under 6,000.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KaMEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA158 Introduction to anthropology. Ed., T. Waitz, tr. by J. F. Collingwood. (Anthrop. soc. of London), pp. 158–159] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215073635/https://books.google.com/books?id=KaMEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA158 |date=15 December 2019}}.</ref>

==== Arrival of the missionaries ====

On 5 March 1797, representatives of the [[London Missionary Society]] landed at [[Matavai Bay]] ([[Mahina, French Polynesia|Mahina]]) on board [[Duff (1794 ship)|''Duff'']], with the intention of converting the pagan native populations to Christianity. The arrival of these missionaries marked a new turning point for the island of Tahiti, having a lasting impact on the local culture.

The first years proved hard work for the missionaries, despite their association with the Pōmare, the importance of whom they were aware of thanks to the reports of earlier sailors. In 1803, upon the death of [[Pōmare I]], his son Vaira{{okina}}atoa succeeded him and took the title of Pōmare II. He allied himself more and more with the missionaries, and from 1803 they taught him reading and the Gospels. Furthermore, the missionaries encouraged his wish to conquer his opponents, so that they would only have to deal with a single political contact, enabling them to develop Christianity in a unified country.<ref name="BernardGille" /> The conversion of Pōmare II to Protestantism in 1812 marks moreover the point when Protestantism truly took off on the island.

In about 1810, [[Pōmare II]] married Teremo{{okina}}emo{{okina}}e daughter of the chief of [[Raiatea]], to ally himself with the chiefdoms of the [[Leeward Islands (Society Islands)|Leeward Islands]]. On 12 November 1815, thanks to these alliances, Pōmare II won a decisive battle at Fe{{okina}}i Pī (Puna{{okina}}auia), notably against Opuhara,<ref>See: [[House of Teururai]].</ref> the chief of the powerful clan of Teva.<ref name=s187 /> This victory allowed Pōmare II to be styled ''Ari{{okina}}i Rahi'', or the king of Tahiti. It was the first time that Tahiti had been united under the control of a single family. This marked the end of Tahitian feudalism and the military aristocracy, which were replaced by an absolute monarchy. At the same time, Protestantism quickly spread, thanks to the support of Pōmare II, and replaced the traditional beliefs. In 1816 the London Missionary Society sent [[John Williams (missionary)|John Williams]] as a missionary and teacher, and starting in 1817, the Gospels were translated into [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] (''Reo Maohi'') and taught in the religious schools. In 1818, the minister [[William Pascoe Crook]] founded the city of [[Papeete|Pape{{okina}}ete]], which became the capital of the island.

[[File:Tahitiennes en robe mission.jpg|thumb|left|Tahitians in missionary robes]]

In 1819, Pōmare II, encouraged by the missionaries, introduced the first Tahitian legal code, known under the name of the Pōmare Legal Code,<ref name="BernardGille" /> which consists of nineteen laws. The missionaries and Pōmare II thus imposed a ban on nudity (obliging them to wear clothes covering their whole body), banned dances and chants (described as immodest), tattoos, and costumes made of flowers.

In the 1820s, the entire population of Tahiti converted to Protestantism. [[Louis Isidore Duperrey|Duperrey]], who berthed in Tahiti in May 1823, attests to the change in Tahitian society in a letter dated 15 May 1823: "The missionaries of the Royal Society of London have totally changed the morals and customs of the inhabitants. Idolatry no longer exists among them, and they generally profess the Christian religion. The women no longer come aboard the vessel, and even when we meet them on land they are extremely reserved. (...) The bloody wars that these people used to carry out and human sacrifices have no longer taken place since 1816."<ref>Etienne Taillemite (1999), ''Marins français à la découvert du monde'', Fayard, {{ISBN|2-213-60114-3}}, p. 498</ref>

When, on 7 December 1821, Pōmare II died, his son Pōmare III was only eighteen months old. His uncle and the religious people therefore supported the regency, until 2 May 1824, the date on which the missionaries conducted his coronation, a ceremony unprecedented in Tahiti. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Pōmare, local chiefs won back some of their power and took the hereditary title of ''Tavana'' (from the English word "governor"). The missionaries also took advantage of the situation to change the way in which powers were arranged, and to make the Tahitian monarchy closer to the English model of a constitutional monarchy. They therefore created the Tahitian Legislative Assembly, which first sat on 23 February 1824.

In 1827, the young [[Pōmare III]] suddenly died, and it was his half-sister, {{okina}}Aimata, aged thirteen, who took the title of [[Pōmare IV]]. The [[Birmingham]]-born missionary [[George Pritchard (missionary)|George Pritchard]], who was the acting British consul, became her main adviser and tried to interest her in the affairs of the kingdom but the authority of the Queen, who was certainly less charismatic than her father, was challenged by the chiefs, who had won back an important part of their prerogatives since the death of Pōmare II. The power of the Pōmare had become more symbolic than real; time and time again Queen Pōmare, Protestant and anglophile, sought in vain the protection of England.<ref name="BernardGille" />

[[File:TahitiDupetitThouars.jpg|thumb|[[Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars]] taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842]]

In November 1835 [[Charles Darwin]] visited Tahiti aboard [[HMS Beagle|HMS ''Beagle'']] on her circumnavigation, captained by [[Robert FitzRoy]]. He was impressed by what he perceived to be the positive influence the missionaries had had on the sobriety and moral character of the population. Darwin praised the scenery, but was not flattering towards Tahiti's Queen Pōmare IV. Captain Fitzroy negotiated payment of compensation for an attack on an English ship by Tahitians, which had taken place in 1833.<ref>Charles Darwin (1839). [https://web.archive.org/web/20010417174821/http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-voyage-of-the-beagle/chapter-18.html "Chapter 18 – Tahiti and New Zealand"] in ''[[The Voyage of the Beagle]]''. literature.org</ref>

[[File:Pomare IV Queen of Tahiti.jpg|thumb|left|Queen [[Pōmare IV]], 1813–1877]]

In Sept. 1839, the island was visited by the [[United States Exploring Expedition]].<ref name=Stanton>{{cite book|last1=Stanton|first1=William|title=The Great United States Exploring Expedition|date=1975|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0520025571|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatunitedstate00will/page/123 123]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/greatunitedstate00will/page/123}}</ref> One of its members, [[Alfred Thomas Agate]], produced a number of sketches of Tahitian life, some of which were later published in the United States.