Kingdom of Tahiti

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Kingdom of Tahiti Basileia no Tahiti (Tahitian) Royaume de Tahiti (French)
1788/91–1880
Top: 1788–1843 Bottom: 1843–1880 Coat of arms
Status	Independent Kingdom (1788/91-1842) French Protectorate (1842–1880)
Capital	Papeete (from 1847)
Common languages	Tahitian French
Religion	Tahitian, Christianity
Government	Absolute monarchy
Monarch
• 1788/91–1803	Pōmare I (first)
• 1877–1880	Pōmare V (last)
History
• Founded by Pōmare I	1788/91
• Consolidated power after Battle of Te Feipī	12 November 1815
• Establishment of the French protectorate	9 September 1842
• French-Tahitian War	1843–1847
• French protectorate	1 January 1847
• Annexation by France and dissolution	29 June 1880
Currency	French franc Pound sterling
Preceded by Succeeded by History of Tahiti French Polynesia
Today part of	French Polynesia

The Kingdom of Tahiti or the Tahitian Kingdom was a Polynesian monarchy founded by paramount chief Pōmare I, who, with the aid of British missionaries and traders, and European weaponry, unified the islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Teti‘aroa, and Mehetiʻa. The kingdom eventually annexed the Tuamotus, and the Austral Islands (Rapa Iti, Rurutu, Rimatara, Tubuai, Raivavae).

Its leaders were Christian following the baptism of Pomare II. Its progressive rise and recognition by Europeans allowed Tahiti to remain free from a planned Spanish colonization as well as other European claims to the islands.

The kingdom was one of a number of independent Polynesian states in Oceania, alongside Ra'iātea, Huahine, Bora Bora, Hawai‘i, Samoa, Tonga, Rarotonga and Niue in the 19th century. The kingdom is known for bringing a period of peace and cultural and economic prosperity to the islands over the reign of the five Tahitian monarchs. Tahiti and its dependencies transformed into French protectorates in 1842 and largely annexed as a colony of France in 1880 after Pomare V was convinced to give Tahiti and its dependencies to France. The monarchy was therefore abolished shortly after the annexation, though there are still pretenders.