Polity Tahiti (French Protectorate)

This article is about the specific polity Tahiti (French Protectorate) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here: All Statistics

The Kingdom of Tahiti became a French protectorate in 1842, and a colony in 1843.

Establishment

  • September 1842: French naval commander Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars responded to French complaints of mistreatment and forced the queen and the Tahitian chiefs to sign over Tahiti as a protectorate.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Franco-Tahitian War

Was a conflict between the Kingdom of the French and the Kingdom of Tahiti and its allies in the South Pacific archipelago of the Society Islands in modern-day French Polynesia.

  • September 1842: French naval commander Abel Aubert Dupetit Thouars responded to French complaints of mistreatment and forced the queen and the Tahitian chiefs to sign over Tahiti as a protectorate.
  • November 1843: Encouraged by Pritchard, Queen Pōmare resisted in vain against French intervention, writing to Queen Victoria, asking for British intervention, and to King Louis Philippe I of France. She refused to fly the flag of the protectorate with the French tricolour at its canton and continued to fly the Tahitian flag at her residence. In November 1843, Dupetit Thouars deposed the queen for her continued resistance and formally annexed the islands.

2. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

  • January 1843: In 1842, Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate.

Disestablishment

  • January 1843: In 1842, Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate.
  • November 1843: Encouraged by Pritchard, Queen Pōmare resisted in vain against French intervention, writing to Queen Victoria, asking for British intervention, and to King Louis Philippe I of France. She refused to fly the flag of the protectorate with the French tricolour at its canton and continued to fly the Tahitian flag at her residence. In November 1843, Dupetit Thouars deposed the queen for her continued resistance and formally annexed the islands.