The Jarnac Convention was a bilateral agreement between the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

and the United Kingdom in 1847 at the end of the Franco-Tahitian War. Its purpose was to end Franco-British diplomatic tension by guaranteeing the independence of the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. It was abrogated with the agreement of both parties in 1887.

Background

In 1839, a British Protestant missionary, George Pritchard, was sent to Polynesia to convert its people. He became the British consul in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

and persuaded the queen, Pomare IV, to expel Catholic missionaries from the islands. This prompted France to take control of the islands and to establish a protectorate over them in 1843 leading to the Franco-Tahitian War. Pritchard was expelled, leading to diplomatic tension between France and Britain.

Agreement

To bring this tension to an end, King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

agreed to the Jarmac Convention, under which both countries recognised the independence of the Leeward Islands and agreed not to place them under a protectorate. It was signed in London on 19 June 1847 by

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

, the British Foreign Secretary and the comte de Jarnac, French Minister Plenipotentiary in London.

Abrogation

The convention was to have effect for forty years. However, in 1880 France placed the islands of Raiatea and Tahaa under a provisional protectorate at their own request, to prevent their being annexed by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In October 1887 Britain and France agreed to formally abrogate the convention. This led to a rebellion on the islands that lasted for a decade and their eventual annexation by military force. Together with all the remaining Leeward Islands, Raiatea and Tahaa became part of

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

on 19 March 1898.

Background

Agreement

Abrogation

References

See also