William Hodges（1744–1797），随库克第二次航行写生 · Public domain
1753–1803
Pōmare I, full name Tū-nui-ʻēʻa-i-te-atua-i-Tarahoi Vairaʻatoa Taina Pōmare I, also known as Tū
Pōmare I · 法属波利尼西亚
c. 1753–1803, unifier of Tahiti and first king (reigned 1788–1791, regent after abdication until 1803), founder of the Pōmare dynasty.
Born in Pare (birth year has two accounts, c. 1753 and c. 1743, uncertain), son of the chief of Pare–Arue; in 1788 he unified Tahiti's chiefdoms, establishing a kingdom including Tahiti, Moorea, Mehetia, and the Tetiaroa group; in 1789 he received the crew of HMS Bounty, and after the Bounty mutiny some mutineers were sheltered by him; in 1791 he abdicated, serving as regent until his death on 3 September 1803 at Matavai.
People & stories
Places in their life
Born in Pare; place of activity and death Tahiti (around Papeete and Matavai); burial place the Pōmare royal cemetery at Papaʻoa, Arue.
People
Cultural significance
The beginning of Polynesia's passage from dispersed chiefdoms to a unified kingdom; his dynasty continued until France's annexation in 1880 and is the main line of French Polynesia's pre-colonial history.