History of the Marquesas facts for kids
The history of the Marquesas tells the story of these amazing islands. The Marquesas Islands are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia. This area is an overseas part of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas Islands are one of the five main areas of French Polynesia.
Early Settlers of the Marquesas
The first people to live in the Marquesas Islands were Polynesians. For a long time, experts thought they arrived between 100 and 600 A.D. This idea came from old stories and things found by archaeologists. Some evidence also suggested a second group might have come from the Tonga region.
New studies in 2010 used better dating methods. They showed that people might have arrived much later. The first settlers reached the Society Islands around 1025–1120 A.D. Then, after about 70 to 265 years, they quickly spread out. They settled all the other islands between 1190–1290 A.D. This fast spread helps explain why the culture, people, and languages across East Polynesia are so similar. By 2014, the earliest settlement date for the Marquesas was set around 900–1000 A.D.
European Explorers Arrive
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The islands got their name from a Spanish explorer. His name was Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira. He arrived on July 21, 1595. He named them after his supporter, García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete. This person was the leader of Peru at that time. Mendaña first visited Fatu Hiva and then Tahuata. After that, he continued his journey to the Solomon Islands. De Neira also found an old cross on one island. Some historians think it might have marked the grave of a sailor. This sailor could have been from a Spanish ship called San Lesmes. That ship disappeared in a storm in 1526.
The American sailor Capt. Joseph Ingraham visited the northern Marquesas in 1791. He was commanding a ship called Hope. He gave these islands the name Washington Islands. Later, in 1813, Commodore David Porter claimed Nuku Hiva for the United States. However, the United States Congress never officially approved this claim.
On November 20, 1820, a sperm whale attacked a ship. It rammed and sank the American whaler Essex. This happened near the Marquesas Islands. The crew had to escape in three small boats. They avoided the Marquesas because they had heard stories about people eating other people there. Instead, the crew turned east toward South America, which was much farther away. Many crew members died during their long journey. The survivors had to eat each other to stay alive. They finally reached land after three months.
In 1842, France took control of the islands. This happened after a successful military action. It was done to help a local chief named Iotete. He said he was king of the whole island of Tahuata. France set up a settlement on Nuku Hiva, but it was abandoned in 1859. France took control again in 1870. The islands later became part of French Polynesia. Paul Gauguin and other French artists traveled to the Marquesas Islands. They went to live and create art there in the 1800s. Whaling and trading ships from many countries often visited the islands.
The Marquesas Islands suffered a huge population drop. This was because European explorers brought diseases. These diseases included smallpox. The islanders had no natural protection against them. In the 1500s, there were over 100,000 people. By the mid-1800s, this number fell to about 20,000. By the early 1900s, only just over 2,000 people remained. During the 1900s, the population started to grow again. By 2002, it reached about 8,500 people. This number does not include Marquesans living on Tahiti. The population has continued to increase since then.
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