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.