Page 28 - French Polynesia
P. 28
Key Historical Dates and Events
1880: France changes the status from protectorate to colony.
1884: A great fire burns most of the city of Papeete.
1887: France annexes the Leeward Islands.
1888: Robert Louis Stevenson visits Tahiti.
1891: Paul Gauguin arrives on Tahiti.
1903: Paul Gauguin dies on the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas.
1914: German cruisers shell Papeete during World War I.
1918: An influenza epidemic kills about 20% of the polynesian population.
1942: The U.S. establishes a military base on the island of Bora Bora during WWII.
1945: Tahitians become French citizens.
1946: French Polynesia becomes a French overseas territory with representation in the French Assembly.
1958: Tahitian independence leader Pouvanaa a Oopa is arrested by the French.
