The Marquesas Islands

The Marquesa Islands are the most northerly territory of French Polynesia and consist of six large and six small islands.  They are all elevated ranging in height between 1,300 ft and 4,000 feet and are covered with a layer of deep and very fertile soil.  They are mountainous and cut into deep valleys and are not protected by coral barrier reefs.  There are traces of an artistic civilisation seen in the Marquesan archeological remains and contemporary handicrafts.

The four southern islands of the group first became known in the West after being visited in 1595 by the Spaniard Alvaro Mendana de Neira who named the group Marquesas Islands in honour of the sponsor of his expedition, the Marchioness of Mendoza, who was the wife of the Viceroy of Peru.  The remaining islands were sighted by Cook, Ingraham and the Frenchman Marchand from 1774 to 1791.  They became a French protectorate in 1842 after a treaty was signed between Admiral du Petit Thouras and the native chiefs. 

At one time there was a sizable population composing mainly of blacks from Martinique and Chinese who were brought in to work on various types of plantations.  Rainfall  here can be copious but also erratic, and long periods of drought caused the plantations to fail.  Most of the imported labour force returned to their homes and the population was reduced to about 5,200 native Polynesians.

The principal inhabited islands of the Marquesas group are Nuku Hiva (which is where we are heading first), Ua Huka, Ua Pou, Hiva Oa, Tahuata and Fatu Hiva.  We are visiting all of these with the exception of Tahuata.   The best known of the islands is Hiva Oa, which is very fertile and heavily wooded, 23 miles long and 10 miles wide and was reputedly the last stronghold of cannibalism in French Polynesia.  It is also renowned as being the last home and burial site of the French artist Paul Gauguin and the Belgian singer Jacques Brel, a particular favourite of mine back in the 1970’s.

The group contains no indigenous land animals, but many islands contain herds of wild sheep, cattle and pigs.  They are also home to many birds, in particular the ground dove, found nowhere else in the Pacific.  There is obviously plenty of fish and a variety of enormous sharks (that might curtail my snorkelling then – if it’s not seals it’s sharks – give the girl a break!).