Kingdom of Bora Bora

The Kingdom of Bora Bora was an independent Polynesian monarchy centered on Bora Bora in the Society Islands. It became a French protectorate in 1847 and was annexed by France in 1888.

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Bora Bora: Bora Bora is an island in the Society Islands of French Polynesia, surrounded by a lagoon and barrier reef. The kingdom’s political center and principal island.
French protectorate of Tahiti: The French protectorate of Tahiti was a political arrangement established in 1842 that placed Tahiti under French protection while retaining its monarchy. The protectorate in Bora Bora followed France’s earlier intervention in Tahiti.
Tapoa II: Tapoa II was a nineteenth-century ruler of Bora Bora who resisted French annexation and defended the island’s independence. His resistance became central to the kingdom’s final decades.
French Polynesia: French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France comprising archipelagos in the South Pacific. Bora Bora’s former kingdom is now part of this French collectivity.
Society Islands: The Society Islands are an archipelago in French Polynesia, divided into the Windward and Leeward groups. Bora Bora’s kingdom emerged within this island chain’s network of polities.
Convention of Jarnac: The Convention of Jarnac was an 1847 agreement in which France and Britain recognized the independence of Raiatea, Huahine, and Bora Bora. It formally protected Bora Bora’s independence from French annexation for several decades.
Pōmare IV: Pōmare IV was Queen of Tahiti from 1827 to 1877 and a leading figure in Tahiti’s resistance to French rule. Her conflict with France influenced the regional diplomacy affecting Bora Bora.
Raiatea: Raiatea is an island in the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia and was a center of resistance to French annexation. Its resistance formed part of the same struggle that ended Bora Bora’s independence.
Polynesian chiefdom: A Polynesian chiefdom is a political society organized around hereditary leadership, kinship, and control of land and resources. Chiefly institutions formed the political foundations from which the kingdom developed.
Franco-Tahitian War: The Franco-Tahitian War was an 1844–1847 conflict between France and forces loyal to Tahiti’s Queen Pōmare IV. The war helped prompt international limits on French expansion in the Society Islands.