Tahiti

Largest of the Society Islands, in French Polynesia; area 1,042 sq km/402 sq mi; population (1996) 150,700. Its capital is Papeete. The volcano, Orohena, reaches 2,237 m/7,339 ft, and much of the soil is volcanic, producing coconuts, sugar cane, and vanilla. Tourism is increasingly important as a source of revenue. English explorer Captain James Cook observed the transit of Venus across the sun during a visit to Tahiti in 1769. It came under French control in 1843 and became a colony in 1880. Paul Gauguin, French painter, lived here 1891-93, painting many pictures of local people.

Islanders staged violent protests September 1995 following France's resumption of nuclear testing on nearby Mururoa Atoll.