French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a French overseas collectivity. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory. Although not an integral part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007.

French Catholic missionaries arrived on Tahiti in 1834; their expulsion in 1836 caused France to send a gunboat in 1838. In 1842, Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate, to allow Catholic missionaries to work undisturbed. In 1880, France annexed Tahiti, changing the status from that of a protectorate to that of a colony.

In the 1880s, France claimed the Tuamotu Archipelago, which formerly belonged to the Pomare Dynasty, without formally annexing it. Having declared a protectorate over Tahuatu in 1842, the French regarded the entire Marquesas Islands as French. In 1885, France appointed a governor and established a general council, thus giving it the proper administration for a colony. The islands of Rimatara and Rurutu unsuccessfully lobbied for British protection in 1888, so in 1889 they were annexed by France. Postage stamps were first issued in the colony in 1892. The first official name for the colony was Settlements in Oceania; in 1903 the general council was changed to an advisory council and the colony's name was changed to French Settlements in Oceania.

In 1940 the administration of French Polynesia recognized the Free French Forces and many Polynesians served in World War II.

In 1946, Polynesians were granted French citizenship and the islands' status was changed to an overseas territory; the islands' name was changed in 1957 to French Polynesia. In 1962, France's early nuclear testing ground of Algeria became independent and the Mururoa Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago was selected as the new testing site; tests were conducted underground after 1974. In 1977, French Polynesia was granted partial internal autonomy; in 1984, the autonomy was extended. French Polynesia became a full overseas collectivity of France in 2004.