Pōmare IV


Pōmare IV, more properly ʻAimata Pōmare IV Vahine-o-Punuateraʻitua, was the Queen of Tahiti between 1827 and 1877. She was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Tahiti.

Family

Pōmare was the daughter of Pōmare II and Teriʻitoʻoterai Tere-moe-moe, his second wife. Her grandfather was Pōmare I.
She succeeded as ruler of Tahiti after the death of her brother Pōmare III when she was only 13 years old.

Biography

In 1843, the French declared Tahiti a French protectorate and installed a governor at Papeete. She fought in vain against French intervention, writing to the King Louis Philippe I of France and Queen Victoria, asking in vain for British intervention, and exiling herself to Raiatea in protest. What followed was the bloody French-Tahitian War which lasted from 1843 to 1847, involving every kingdom of the Society Islands. The Tahitians suffered many casualties, but the French losses were also great. Although the British never assisted the Tahitians, they actively condemned France and war nearly broke between the two powers in the Pacific. These conflicts ended in the defeat of the Tahitian forces at the Fort of Fautaua. The French were victorious, but they weren't able to annex the island due to diplomatic pressure from Great Britain, so Tahiti and Moorea continued to be ruled under the French protectorate. A clause to the war settlement was that Queen Pōmare's allies in Huahine, Raiatea, and Bora Bora would be allowed to remain independent.
Pōmare IV eventually relented and ruled under the French administration from 1847 until 1877. She attempted to install her children in positions of power in Tahiti and the Leeward Islands. Three of her children were to become monarchs in their own right: King Pōmare V of Tahiti, Queen Teriʻimaevarua II of Bora Bora, King Tamatoa V of Raiatea-Tahaa.
Pōmare IV died on 17 September 1877. She is buried in the Royal Mausoleum, Papaʻoa, ʻArue. She was succeeded by Pōmare V, who reigned 1877–1880.

Issue

In December 1822, Pōmare married the future King Tapoa II of Taha'a and Bora Bora; this marriage was childless and ended with the Queen repudiating the marriage on the ground that he was sterile.
She remarried on 5 December 1832, to her first cousin, Tenaniʻa Ariʻifaʻaite a Hiro. By her second husband, she had issue:
  1. A boy, died of dysentery
  2. Henry Pōmare., died of dysentery
  3. Ariʻiaue Pōmare, Crown Prince of Tahiti, Ariʻi of Afaʻahiti.
  4. Pōmare V, succeeded as King of Tahiti.
  5. Teriʻimaevarua II, succeeded as Queen of Bora Bora.
  6. Tamatoa V, succeeded as King of Ra'iātea and Taha'a.
  7. Victoria Pōmare-vahine.
  8. Punuariʻi Teriʻitapunui Pōmare, Ariʻi of Mahina and President of the Tahitian High Court.
  9. Teriʻitua Tuavira Pōmare, Ariʻirahi of Hitiaʻa, called the "Prince of Joinville".
  10. Tevahitua Pōmare.

    Ancestry

Succession