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Polynesia
(Encyclopedia)Polynesia pŏlĭnēˈzhə, –shə [key] [Gr.,=many islands], one of the three main divisions of Oceania, in the central and S Pacific Ocean. The larger islands are volcanic; the smaller ones are gene...French Polynesia
(Encyclopedia)French Polynesia, officially Overseas Lands of French Polynesia, internally self-governing dependency (2015 est. pop. 278,000) of France, consisting of 118 islands in the South Pacific. The capital is...Ellis, William
(Encyclopedia)Ellis, William, 1794–1872, English missionary, pioneer of printing in the Pacific. Sent in 1816 to Polynesia as a nonconformist missionary, he set up at Tahiti the first printing press in the South ...Papeete
(Encyclopedia)Papeete päpā-āˈtā [key], town (2007 pop. 26,017), capital of Tahiti and of French Polynesia, South Pacific. A port on the NW coast of Tahiti, Papeete ships copra, vanilla, and mother-of-pearl. Th...Williams, John, English missionary
(Encyclopedia)Williams, John, 1796–1839, English missionary, called the Apostle of Polynesia. Under the London Missionary Society he went (1817) to the Society Islands. He discovered Rarotonga in 1823 and founded...Heyerdahl, Thor
(Encyclopedia)Heyerdahl, Thor hāˈərdälˌ, hīˈ– [key], 1914–2002, Norwegian explorer and anthropologist, b. Larvik. He carried out research in the Marquesas Islands in 1937–38 and studied the indigenous ...Clipperton Island
(Encyclopedia)Clipperton Island, uninhabited atoll, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), in the Pacific Ocean, c.800 mi (1,290 km) SW of Mexico. It was used as a base by John Clipperton, an English pirate. The French claimed it ...Society Islands
(Encyclopedia)Society Islands, island group (2002 pop. 214,445), South Pacific, a part of French Polynesia. The group comprises the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands (total land area c.650 sq mi/1,680 sq km)...Hiva Oa
(Encyclopedia)Hiva Oa hēˈvä ōˈä [key], volcanic island, 154 sq mi (399 sq km), South Pacific, second largest and the most important of the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. Hiva Oa is the seat of Atuona, f...Bora-Bora
(Encyclopedia)Bora-Bora bōˈrä-bōˈrä [key], volcanic island, 15 sq mi (39 sq km), South Pacific, in the Leeward group of the Society Islands, French Polynesia. It is a mountainous island, with Mt. Otemanu (2,3...Browse by Subject
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