The islands were first settled by migrating Polynesians as early as 500BC. They were later discovered by European explorers during the 16th century and eventually colonized by France. Now officially known as French Polynesia, Tahiti is an autonomous overseas country of the French Republic.
In 1946, the whole of French Polynesia, including Tahiti, became an overseas territory, and citizens of the island were given French citizenship, this was changed to an overseas country in 2004.
Today it is roughly round, and it was roughly round when it first formed as a volcanic shield between 1.4 million and 870,000 years ago. Yet something else besides volcanic activity has shaped Tahiti: rain. Heavy tropical rains have carved deep valleys, some with nearly vertical walls up to 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) tall.
In August 1768, Captain James Cook, naturalist Joseph Banks, and a shipload of sailors set sail from England to Tahiti to observe the Transit of Venus. Camped out on Point Venus, they witnessed the event on June 3, 1769.Though the Transit of Venus was the stated objective of the British expedition, Banks was likely more interested in Tahiti’s plants. Specimens he collected from Tahiti, New Zealand, South America, Australia, and Java accounted for roughly 1,300 new species, and his famed collected is now stored at the Natural History Museum in London.
By 1619, German astronomer Johannes Kepler had figured out the relative distances of all the planets from the Sun. … In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley proposed a method for calculating our distance from the Sun—the astronomical unit—using the transit of Venus. More fascinating information on :
https://www.space.com/15973-venus-transit-pictures-2012-gallery.html
A few more facts about Tahiti
- A typical Las Vegas hotel has more rooms than on all 118 islands of French Polynesia.
- The English word ‘tattoo’ comes from the Tahitian word ‘tatau’.
- More than half of the population of Tahiti is under the age of 20 years old.
And now about the fun we had in Papeete. We had our second World Cruise event, first in San Francisco and now in Papeete
The 240 World Cruise passengers enjoyed being greeted by beautiful Tahitiens. Hearing and watching the dancers while eating our lunch with fish, shrimps and breadfruit.
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family
Breadfruit is most commonly used as a vegetable, and is a staple food in many tropical countries.
Watching the Amman commending the lift of heavy stones, the performances of the singers, dancers such a cultural and colorful event.
Returning to the ship and being welcomed by our Buttlers in different uniforms, just closed this special event with a great touch.
Open the following sites and you will be able to enjoy the videos of the beautiful Polynesian dancers that entertained us, there are 3 videos.
Around the world again 