Taiohae, Nuku Hiva

The Marquesas Islands (French: Îles Marquises or Archipel des Marquises or
Marquises; Marquesan: Te Henua (K)enana (North Marquesan) and Te Fenua
`Enata (South Marquesan), both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of
volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in
the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W.
The highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (French: Mont Oave) on Ua Pu
island at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.

The Marquesas Islands form one of the five administrative divisions
(subdivisions administratives) of French Polynesia. The capital of the
Marquesas Islands administrative subdivision is the settlement of Taiohae on
the island of Nuku Hiva. The population of the Marquesas Islands was 8,632
at the August 2007 census.

History

The first recorded settlers of the Marquesas were Polynesians, who, from
archæological evidence, are believed to have arrived before 100 AD.
Ethnological and linguistic evidence suggests that they likely arrived from
the region of Tonga and Samoa.

The islands were given their name by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña
de Neira who reached them on 21 July 1595. He named them after his patron,
García Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Cañete, who was Viceroy of Peru at the
time. Mendaña visited first Fatu Hiva and then Tahuata before continuing on
to the Solomon Islands.

The American navigator Capt. Joseph Ingraham first visited the northern
Marquesas while commanding the brig Hope in 1791, giving them the name
Washington Islands. In 1813, Commodore David Porter claimed Nuku Hiva for
the United States, but the United States Congress never ratified that claim,
and in 1842, France, following a successful military operation on behalf of
a native chief (named Iotete) who claimed to be king of the whole of the
island of Tahuata, took possession of the whole group, establishing a
settlement (abandoned in 1859) on Nuku Hiva. French control over the group
was reestablished in 1870, and later incorporated into the territory of
French Polynesia.

Of all the major island groups of the Pacific, the Marquesas Islands
suffered the greatest population decline as a result of diseases brought by
Western explorers, reducing the estimated sixteenth century population of
over 100,000 inhabitants[citation needed], to about 20,000 by the middle of
the nineteenth century, and to just over 2,000 by the beginning of the 1900s
During the course of the twentieth century, the population increased to 8
712 at the November 2002 census, not including the Marquesan community
residing on Tahiti, but it decreased slightly to 8,632 at the August 2007
census.

The sparsely populated Marquesas Islands, located 1,371 km (852 miles) from
Tahiti, the most populated island and dominant political center of French
Polynesia, often feel neglected by politicians in Tahiti, and some favor a
direct link with Paris instead of depending on Papeete. Several prominent
Marquesan political leaders have repeatedly declared themselves in favor of
separating from French Polynesia and remaining within the French Republic in
case French Polynesian political leaders in Tahiti would proclaim the
independence of French Polynesia. This has generated controversies in Tahiti
where pro-independence Tahitian leaders have accused the French central
government of encouraging the separation of the Marquesas Islands from
French Polynesia.

Geography

The Marquesas Islands group is the second most remote and farthest from any
continent in the world (next to the Hawaiian Islands, which are 3000 km (or
1860 miles) from a continent), lying between 900 and 1,200 km (550 and 725
miles) south of the equator and 1,371 km (852 miles) northeast of Tahiti.
They fall naturally into two geographical divisions: the northern group,
consisting of Eïao, Hatutu (Hatutaa), Motu One, and the islands centered
around the large island of Nuku Hiva: Motu Iti (Hatu Iti), Ua Pu, Motu `Oa
and Ua Huka, and the southern group of Fatu Uku, Tahuata, Moho Tani (Motane)
Terihi, Fatu Hiva and Motu Nao (Thomasset Rock), clustered around the main
island of Hiva `Oa. With a combined land area of 1,049 km² (405 sq. miles),
the Marquesas are among the largest island groups of French Polynesia, Nuku
Hiva being the second largest island in the entire territory, after Tahiti.
With the exception of Motu One, all the islands of the Marquesas are of
volcanic origin.

In contrast to the common perception of lush tropical vegetation that goes
culturally hand-in-hand with the appellation "Polynesia", the Marquesas are
remarkably dry islands. Although the islands lie within the tropics, they
are the first major break in the prevailing easterly winds spawned from the
extraordinarily dry (from an atmospheric perspective) Humboldt Current.
Because of this, the islands are subject to frequent drought conditions, and
only those which reach highest into the clouds (generally, above about 750
m/2,500 ft above sea level) have reliable precipitation. This has led to
historical fluctuations in water supply, which have played a crucial rôle in
the sustainability of human populations in certain sections of the various
islands throughout the archipelago. This is especially evident in the low
historical population of Ua Huka (maximum elevation 857 m/2,812 ft.) and the
intermittent inhabitability of Eiao (maximum elevation 576 m/1,890 ft.). The
Marquesas Islands are thought to have formed by a center of upwelling magma
called the Marquesas hotspot.

Geology

With the exception of Motu One, all of the Marquesas Islands are high
islands. Motu One is a low island, comprising two small sand banks awash on
a coral reef. Unlike the majority of the islands of French Polynesia, the
Marquesas are not surrounded by protective fringing reefs. Except for at
Motu One, and in bays and other protected areas, the only other coral in the
Marquesas is found in a rather strange place: on the top of the island of
Fatu Huku. The South Equatorial Current lashes the islands mercilessly,
which has led to sea-caves dotting the islands' shores. Except for where the
valleys empty into the small bays, the islands are remarkable for their
mountain ridges, which end abruptly as cliffs where they meet the sea. The
islands are estimated to range in age from the youngest, Fatu Hiva (1.3my)
to the oldest, Eiao (6my).

Administration

The Marquesas Islands do not have a provincial or regional assembly.
Administratively, they form a deconcentrated subdivision of both the French
central State and the government of French Polynesia. As a deconcentrated
subdivision of the French central State, the Marquesas Islands form the
administrative subdivision of the Marquesas (French: subdivision
administrative des Marquises), one of French Polynesia's five administrative
subdivisions. The head of the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas is
the administrateur d'Etat ("State administrator"), generally simply known as
administrateur, also sometimes called chef de la subdivision administrative
("head of the administrative subdivision"). The administrateur is a civil
servant under the authority of the High Commissioner of the French Republic
in French Polynesia in Papeete. The administrateur and his staff sit in
Taiohae, on the island of Nuku Hiva, which has become the administrative
capital of the Marquesas Islands, having replaced Atuona on the island of
Hiva Oa which was previously the capital.
Hanavave

Acting as the representative of the French central State and delegate of
Papeete's High Commissioner, the administrateur of the Marquesas is notably
in charge of:

* offering legal advice to the communes (municipalities) of the Marquesas
and verifying the legality of decisions made by the communes
* issuing official documents (ID cards, driving licences, etc.),
applying immigration rules, organizing elections
* managing security (coordination of gendarmerie forces, handling of
major crises such as natural disasters, etc.)
* overseeing the public services of the French central State which are
present in the Marquesas Islands (such as the correctional facility on Nuku
Hiva)

As a deconcentrated subdivision of the government of French Polynesia, the
Marquesas Islands form the circonscription des Marquises ("district of the
Marquesas"), one of French Polynesia's four circonscriptions ("districts")
created in 2000 by the Assembly of French Polynesia to serve as
deconcentrated subdivisions of the government of French Polynesia in the
islands away from Tahiti and Moorea. The head of the circonscription des
Marquises is the tavana hau, known as administrateur territorial in French
(English: "territorial administrator"), but the Tahitian title tavana hau is
most often used. The tavana hau is the direct representative of the
president of French Polynesia's government who appoints him. The tavana hau
and his staff sit in Taiohae on Nuku Hiva, same as the State administrator.

The tavana hau is notably in charge of:

* coordinating the work of French Polynesian administrations which are
present in the Marquesas Islands (such as the French Polynesian
administrations in charge of roads, fisheries, etc.)
* ensuring the enforcement of acts passed by the Assembly of French
Polynesia and decisions taken by the government of French Polynesia
* evaluating the performance of French Polynesian civil servants and
sending the evaluations to the responsible ministries in Papeete
* acting as a liaison between the local population and the government of
French Polynesia in Papeete

The Marquesas Islands also form the electoral district of the Marquesas
Islands, one of French Polynesia's six electoral districts for the Assembly
of French Polynesia (see also Politics of French Polynesia).

The Marquesas Islands are subdivided in six communes (municipalities). In
each of the six communes the local residents elect a municipal council and a
mayor in charge of managing local affairs within the commune. Three communes
(Nuku-Hiva, Ua-Pou, and Hiva-Oa) are further subdivided into associated
communes due to their larger population. The communes and associated
communes are the only elected councils in the Marquesas since there does not
exist a provincial or regional assembly for the entire archipelago.
Municipal elections are held every six years on the same day as municipal
elections in the rest of France (see French municipal elections, 2008 for
the last municipal elections).

Here are the six communes in the Marquesas Islands (the associated communes
are not shown):
Communes of the Marquesas Islands

1. Nuku-Hiva
2. Ua-Huka
3. Ua-Pou
4. Hiva-Oa
5. Tahuata
6. Fatu-Hiva

Language

Although French and Tahitian are the only official languages of French
Polynesia, and therefore of the Marquesas Islands as well, the Marquesan
languages, in their various forms, remain the primary means of communication
within the archipelago.

Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the
Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. They
are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan,
roughly along geographic lines.

The North Marquesan dialects are spoken on the islands of Ua Pu and Nuku
Hiva, and South Marquesan dialects on the islands of Hiva `Oa, Tahuata and
Fatu Hiva. The dialects of Ua Huka are often incorrectly classified as North
Marquesan; they are instead transitional. While the island is in the
northern Marquesas group, the dialects show more morphological and
phonological affinities with South Marquesan. The North Marquesan dialects
are sometimes considered two separate languages: North Marquesan and Tai Pi
Marquesan, the latter being spoken in the valleys of the eastern third of
the island of Nuku Hiva, in the ancient province of Tai Pi.

The most striking feature of the Marquesan languages is their almost
universal replacement of the /r/ or /l/ of other Polynesian languages by a
/ʔ/ (glottal stop).

Like other Polynesian languages, the phonology of Marquesan languages is
characterized by a paucity of consonants and a comparative abundance of
vowels.

Demographics

The population of the Marquesas Islands at the August 2007 census was 8,632,
which is 80 people less than at the November 2002 census, and far lower than
16th century estimates which put the population at over 100,000.[citation
needed] Much of the population was wiped out by smallpox between 1600 and
1900, when the population was counted at just under 2,000.

Airports

There are four airports in the Marquesas, one each on the islands of Nuku
Hiva, Ua Pu, Ua Huka, and Hiva Oa. The terrain of Tahuata is too irregular
to allow for the construction of a landing strip without significant
investment, and while the upland plateau of central Fatu Hiva is large
enough to permit the construction of an airstrip, the island's minuscule
population makes such an exercise of dubious benefit.

Telecommunications

The Marquesas are served by telephone as well as by radio and television
mainly from Tahiti. Recent additions include the "Vini" a mobile phone
service that, in about 6 years has expanded to cover most of the populated
islands. "Mana" An internet server with DSL Broadband that is expanding with
Wifi stations too.

Extracted from Wikipedia.