Western Nuku Hiva is characterized by a steep but fairly regular coastline, indented occasionally by small bays, leading to deep valleys, which in turn lead into the interior. There are no villages on the western side. The coastline of the eastern part of the island has few places to land by sea and takes the brunt of the ocean swells. The northern side, in contrast, is indented by deep bays, the largest of which are
Anah?
and
Hatihe'u
. A third bay,
'A'akapa
, is smaller and lies next to a village of the same name. The southern side has fewer bays. One is at
Taioha'e
. Three others, at
Taipivai
,
Ho'oumi
, and
Hakaui
, are part of the larger
Baie du Controleur
. Another two, at Hakau'i and Hakatea, are both accessed by the same narrow entrance.
In Vaihi ridge just south of Taipivai, there exists
petroglyphs
that records the introduction of
horses
brought into the island by
Admiral Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars
in 1842.
[1]
The central part of the island is a high plateau called
To'ovi'i
, covered primarily by a tall-grass
prairie
, on which experiments in
cattle
raising are taking place for the first time.
[
citation needed
]
On the western edge of To'ovi'i rises
Tekao
, the island's highest peak, which reaches an elevation of 1,224 metres (4,016?ft). The western and northern edges of To'ovi'i are a mountain ridge, which catches much of the rain that waters the island.
[
citation needed
]
Pine forest plantations covering large areas all around the crater of To'ovi'i give an overall impression of the lower Alps and parts of Germany, Wales and Switzerland. In one place,
Vaip? Waterfall
, the collected water falls off a highland and falls 350 metres (1,150?ft).
[
citation needed
]
The slopes of the north western side of the island are much drier than the rest of the island, and are often described as a
desert
named Te Henua a Taha or "Terre Deserte" in French.
[
citation needed
]
A lithograph from 1846 titled "Cases de naturels a Nouka-Hiva".
[14]
Nuku Hiva was, in historical times, the site of two provinces,
Te I'i
covering somewhat more than the western two thirds of the island, and
Tai P?
, covering the eastern third.
[
citation needed
]
Latest studies indicate that the first people to arrive here came from west Polynesia around 2000 years ago, only later colonizing Tahiti, Hawai'i, The Cook Islands and New Zealand.
The legend has it that 'Ono, the god of creation, promised his wife to build a house in one day, so he gathered together land and created these islands, which are all named after parts of the house, Nuku Hiva being the roof. Everything he had left over he threw to one side and created a dump which is called 'Ua Huka. From these supposed origins the population rose to an untenable size; first European estimates vary from 50,000 to 100,000.
[
citation needed
]
Food became of prime importance. Breadfruit was the staple, but taro, plantain and manioc also played a big part. As for meat, fish was the main source, but even so was limited because of the quantity needed to feed so many mouths. Pigs, chickens and
dogs
were also reared, and hunted when they took to the wild.
[
citation needed
]
The extent to which
cannibalism
was practiced in pre-historic times is debated. Some anthropologists believe that ritualistic cannibalism once existed here, although others claim it is more of a myth. The tales of cannibalism received widespread publicity in 2011 when the burnt remains of a German visitor found on Nuku Hiva led to speculation that the victim may have been partially eaten.
[15]
However, when the murderer was eventually arrested, tried, and convicted, the prosecution presented no evidence that cannibalism was involved.
[16]
European exploration and whaling
edit
On 21 July 1595,
Alvaro de Mendana de Neira
stopped at Fatu Iva and called the islands Los Marquesas after the wife of the Viceroy of Peru.
James Cook
likewise visited the south in 1774, and the
Solide expedition
in 1791. There is little evidence that these visits led to the introduction of diseases, perhaps because slow passages inhibited the diseases aboard the ships. It seems that it was the commercial shipping, taking on sandalwood, and the
whaling ships
that brought the epidemics that killed nine out of ten Polynesians.
[
citation needed
]
The American fleet at Nuka Hiva in 1813.
During the wars between the Te I'i and the Tai P?, on 25 October 25, 1813, the
American
Captain
David Porter
arrived in the
frigate
USS
Essex
, the flagship of his fleet of ten other armed ships. A shore party was landed and they claimed the island for the United States and constructed a small village, named
Madisonville
. A
fortification
, named
Fort Madison
, and a dock were also built, the latter to refit the
Essex
. Almost immediately Porter became involved in the tribal conflict.
[17]
The first expedition into the jungle was led by Lieutenant
John Downes
. He and forty others, with the assistance of several hundred Te I'is, captured a fort held by 3,000 to 4,000
Happah
warriors. The victory forced the Happah to terms and they allied themselves with both the Americans and the Te I'i. Porter himself led a second expedition in which he made an amphibious assault against the Tai P? held coastline. Five thousand Te I'is and Happahs accompanied the fleet in at least 200
war-canoes
.
[17]
The landing was unopposed. Porter's force of thirty men and a cannon led the march inland where they found another, more formidable, enemy fort. The thousands of natives, armed with rocks and spears but positioned in a formidable mountain fortress, were able to fend off their attackers. The victory was short-lived however and Captain Porter followed up his landing with an expedition overland, bypassing the fort, to threaten the Tai P?'s village center in
Typee Valley
, as the Americans named it.
[17]
A warrior of Nuku Hiva with a spear and a hand fan
by
Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau
, 1813.
The column arrived at their destination on 30 November 1813. The first shots fired occurred after the Tai P?'s attempted to ambush the column; the attack was beaten off. Porter issued a message warning that if the Tai P? did not cease their resistance at once, he would destroy the villages. After a little while of waiting, the hostiles seemed to ignore the demands so the expedition advanced. An engagement ensued as the villages were burned.
[17]
In the end, the Americans and their Te I'i and Happah allies had won at severe cost to the enemy, who sued for peace soon after. The next few months were peaceful until May 1814. The
War of 1812
between the United States and the
United Kingdom
was in its third year and most of the American fleet was captured British
privateers
. At least six British prisoners were at Nuku Hiva during the American operations against the natives, not including a number who volunteered to fight for Captain Porter.
[17]
In December 1813, Porter left Nuku Hiva to continue raiding British
whalers
. He left behind only nineteen navy sailors and six prisoners under two
midshipmen
and
United States Marine Corps
Lieutenant
John M. Gamble
. On 7 May 1814, a group of the British sailors mutinied, released the six prisoners, and attacked the fort. Gamble was wounded in the foot and taken captive with his remaining men on the converted
whaler
Seringapatam
, though the Americans were set adrift later that day.
[17]
Another version, told in the book "The Washington Islands" and given by the head archeologist of French Polynesia, is that Porter and his fleet of three ships (including two captured British ships) came to Taioha'e and made a prison there. Porter sent some of his cannons overland, and took three days to get to Taipivai. He also then had his ships go into Taipivai harbor.
Porter called it a great victory even though the villagers simply left; the chief thought Porter was insane. Porter went back to Taioha'e where he had a prison set up for the British sailors. Porter's men became lax because they were more interested in the village women, enabling the British sailors to break out and make the Americans prisoners. Soon, the British in turn became lax, and the Americans broke out of the prison and made the British prisoners. The chief had had enough of this behavior and told Porter to get out. Porter complied with this demand and left.
The Americans used an Englishman named Wilson, who lived on the island, as an interpreter; on 9 May he convinced the Te I'i that Porter would not return from his raid, which the natives were not happy about. Wilson eventually persuaded the Te I'is to cancel the alliance and attack. Six American sailors were on the beach at Madisonville at the time, four of the men were killed and one other man escaped wounded with a second survivor. Gamble was alone on
Sir Andrew Hammond
, one of the captured British ships. While he was still recovering from the wound to his foot, two Te I'i war-canoes attacked the ship. The ship's cannon were already loaded, so Lieutenant Gamble stumbled from one gun to another, firing them as fast as he could. Ultimately, Gamble beat off the enemy attack single-handedly. However, after the deaths of four of his men in town, there was no choice but to abandon the colony with the remaining seven men - all of whom were either wounded or ill. After that, the base was never again occupied by American forces. Captain Porter, who intended to sail back to Nuka Hiva, was captured at the
Battle of Valparaiso
on 28 March.
Meanwhile, unknown to Porter on 28 August 1814, a Royal Navy flotilla with
HMS
Briton
anchored off Nuku Hiva.
[18]
They found that Porter had built
Fort Madison, Nuku Hiva
and a villa on the island, which the natives destroyed after his ship left. Before his departure,
Thomas Staines
, with the consent of the local tribes excepting the "Typees" from the
Tai Pi Valley
, took possession of Nuku Hiva on behalf of the British Crown.
[19]
When Porter got back to the US, he went in front of the
United States Congress
and proudly told Congress that he claimed the Washington Islands as American. Congress was aghast that American sailors would cohabitate with the islanders, leading Congress to decline Porter's claim. Congress didn't want the shame that American sailors would act like that. Some years later, Porter became chief of Mexico's navy.
In 1842,
France
took possession of the whole group and established a settlement, which was abandoned in 1859.
[17]
[20]
19th and 20th centuries
edit
A ship from Peru captured people from 'Ua Pou and took them back as slaves (see
Blackbirding
), but as the Catholic Church had converted the islands to Christianity by then, there was a protest and those captives who were still alive were sent back. However, this was a mixed blessing because they brought
typhoid fever
. A population in excess of 100,000 in 1820 fell to 6,000 in 1872, to 3,000 in 1911 and to a low point of 2,200 in 1927. It seemed that there was no way the Marquesans would survive, but two French doctors toured the islands giving vaccinations and medical care and halted the heavy death toll.
Leprosy
, however, was still a problem only 20 years ago and
elephantiasis
is only now almost gone.
[
when?
]
An aircraft carrying the then-mayor of Nuku Hiva,
Lucien Kimitete
, along with MP
Boris Leontieff
, Mayor of
Arue
and two other politicians, disappeared in May 2002.
[21]
Kimitete promoted separation of the Marquesas Islands from
French Polynesia
within the French Republic, and there was speculation that the disappearances were due to foul play.
[22]
Many locals still believe this crash was not properly investigated. Since the death of Kimitete, 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.
[23]