483 



AUSTRALASIA. 



the gradual annexation of the archipelago by France. Here the French agent 

 exercises absolute control, while till quite recently the Catholic priests governed 

 on theocratic principles in the name of France. In 1880 the Tahiti group was 

 declared a French possession, and is now administered by a Council General elected 

 by all citizens speaking the French language. 



Souih-east of Tuamotu the last inhabited land is Pitcaini Island, where the 

 English crew of the Bounty, after the mutiny of 1789, finally settled with Tâhitian 

 wives. When this little republican " state " was discovered in 1808 it awakened 

 a certain sympathetic curiosity in England. The revolt was forgotten, donations 



Fig. 219. — PoLiTicAii Divisions of Oceania. 

 Scale 1 : 150,000,000. 



flowed in, and the British Government even placed the fertile island of Norfolk at 

 the disposal of the overcrowded community. Most of the islanders accepted this 

 offer, but some have since returned to Pitcairn. 



Easter Island, or Rapa Niii, that is " Great Rapa," famous for its monolithic 

 monuments and hieroglyphic tablets, lies 1,300 miles east of Pitcairn. After its 

 occupation by some Tahitian immigrants, it was regarded as virtually a French 

 possession ; but it has now been assigned to Chili, whose fleet dominates in these 

 waters. 



The o<udno islets lying near and north of the equator are considered as British 

 territory, although their only residents have hitherto been Americans engaged in 

 workino- the guano deposits. The group nearest to Hawaii has even been named 

 America Islands. Christmas, a southern member of this group, is one of the 

 largest islands in Polynesia proper. 



A table of the chief Polynesian groups is given in the Appendix. 



