Tamaeva V or Temaeva V, formally Heimataura Tamatoa Tamaeva V (c. 1830 – 1923), was the ''Arii vahine no Rimatara'' or queen of the island kingdom of

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is .Austral Islands The Austral Islands ( officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France, overseas country of the France, French Republic in the Oceania, South Pacific. Geographicall ...

archipelago, from 1892 to 1901. She served as regent for her predecessor Queen Tamaeva IV. Tamaeva V's reign was disrupted by ongoing French expansionism in the Pacific. She and her predecessor Tamaeva IV had previously attempted in vain to request a British protectorate to hold off French colonial pressure. This action resulted in the declaration of a French protectorate over Rimatara on 29 March 1889. In 1900, the neighboring kingdom of

Rurutu Rūrutu is the northernmost island in the Austral archipelago of French Polynesia, and the name of a commune consisting solely of that island. It is situated south of Tahiti. Its land area is .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 ...

. As the last monarch in the Austral Island group, Tamaeva V ceded Rimatara to the French on 6 June 1901 and the island was formally annexed on 2 September 1901 and incorporated into the territory of French Oceania, today part of the overseas country 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 ...

. Tamaeva V was responsible for saving the Rimatara lorikeet (''Vini kuhlii'') from extinction during the early 20th century. The species was threaten by overhunting and the introduction of

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

. In 1900, she declared a '' tapu'' or

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

which forbade any Rimataran from exporting, exploiting, or harming the bird. Surviving population of the birds were reintroduced to

Atiu Ātiu, also known as ʻEnuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The population of the island has ...

in the Cook Islands in 2007. Tamaeva V died in 1923 and her remains were interred in the Royal Sepulchre at the Cemetery of Amaru.

Early life

Born on the

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 ...

n island of

Rimatara Rimatara is the westernmost inhabited island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. It is located south of Tahiti and west of Rurutu. The land area of Rimatara is , and that of the Maria islets is .Tamaeva II, Ari'i of Rimatara. She lived in a world influenced by the changes brought on by the westernization of the island. Rimatara had been the last of the

Austral Islands The Austral Islands ( officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France, overseas country of the France, French Republic in the Oceania, South Pacific. Geographicall ...

to be discovered by Western explorers in 1811.

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

was introduced by Tahitian missionaries from the

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

and became the dominant religion on the island. A church at the capital of Amaru, constructed in 1857 and renovated in 1892, housed the entire island's population of 300 people under its roof. The small kingdom had fashioned its own sovereign flag by 1856. The first law code was introduced in 1877.*

Rule as regent

Famille royale et chefs de Rimatara en 1889

Rimatara and its neighbor

to the north, fell to the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

. Tamaeva II died in 1865. It is assumed that a brother or a male relative of Heimataura succeeded to the throne as Tamaeva III. Tamatoa III was later succeeded by his daughter Queen Tamaeva IV. Heimataura served as regent for the teenage Tamaeva IV. In 1892, French Protestant missionary

Frédéric Vernier Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impr ...

, of the

Paris Evangelical Missionary Society The Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (in French, ''Société des missions évangéliques de Paris''), also known as the ''SMEP'' or ''Mission de Paris'', was a Protestant missionary association created in 1822. As with other Christian societie ...

, visited Rimatara at the invitation of the adolescent queen and queen regent. During his stay, Vernier witnessed the restoration and reopening of the church in the capital, Amaru, which was celebrated with much fanfare. Rimatara and Rurutu attempted in vain to request a British protectorate to hold off French colonial aggression. The French responded immediately to what they presumed to be a threat to their interests in the Pacific. On 29 March 1889, the French warship ''Dives'' landed on Rimatara with the colonial governor of French Oceania, Étienne Théodore Lacascade, on board, and he had Rimatara and its dependency

Îles Maria Îles Maria or simply Maria, also known as Hull Island, is a small coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Its original name is Nororotu. The nearest island is Rimatara situated to the ESE. The atoll consists of four islets (''îles''), with a dense ...

declared a French protectorate. The French sources state that the queen, regent and chiefs had personally petitioned Governor Lacascade to take over the islands, but British sources believed the whole affair to be largely contrary to the desire of the majority of the islanders. The protectorate treaty was signed by Lascarde and five French officials and countersigned by the queen, Heimataura, and seven other chiefs or councilors. As a sign of the newly declared protectorate, the

French tricolor The national flag of France () is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped red ...

was added to the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

of the kingdom's flag in 1891.

Reign

After the early death of Tamaeva IV on 12 November 1892, Heimataura succeeded as Queen of Rimatara in her own right as Tamaeva V. Under the French protectorate she was allowed to reign with much of the intact native government and laws of the past. In 1900, the neighboring King Teuruarii IV of Rurutu had his kingdom formally annexed to France in order to bring it closer economically to the colonial seat of

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...

. Tamaeva, the last independent monarch in the Austral Islands, ceded Rimatara to France the following year, in a declaration dated to 6 June 1901. On 2 September 1901, Rimatara was formally annexed to France in a ceremony officiated by Governor Édouard Georges Théophile Petit. The Queen was represented by her three children: Narii, Tairiata, and Tamatoa. At the end of the transfer, the flag of the protectorate was replaced by the French tricolor with cries of "Vive la République Française" from the populace. The island was incorporated into the territory of French Oceania, today part of the overseas country of

. Tamaeva V died in 1923. Her remains were interred in the Royal Sepulchre at the Cemetery of Amaru, outside the settlement facing the sea; she was laid to rest beside other members of the Tamaeva royal line.

Saving the Rimatara lorikeet

According to local tradition, the Rimatara lorikeet (''Vini kuhlii''; also known as the 'Ura or Kuhl's lorikeet) was saved from extinction by a royal declaration issued by Queen Tamaeva V in 1900. The species was endemic to the southern

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

and Rimatara but had been decimated in the former group after the introduction of the

and overhunting by local people. She declared a '' tapu'' or

which forbade any Rimataran from exporting, exploiting, or harming the bird. In 2007, a population was reintroduced to the black-rat-free island of

in the Cook Islands by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

, the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust and numerous conservation bodies, including the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...

Institute for Conservation Research. In 2008, the introduced population was found to be reproducing.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamaeva 05 1830s births 1923 deaths 19th-century monarchs in Oceania Protestant monarchs French Polynesian royalty 19th-century queens regnant 19th-century women regents 19th-century regents Queens regnant in Oceania 20th-century monarchs in Oceania People from the Austral Islands 20th-century queens regnant