Vaitahu
View of Vaitahu from Vaitahu Bay.
Image courtesy of Jacques Bayle-Ottenheim
Image courtesy of Jacques Bayle-Ottenheim
Vaitahu is the name of a bay and valley in western Tahuata. It is the site of most important village on that island.
Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira landed here in 1595. In 1774, Captain James Cook landed here, and it was here that Admiral Dupetit-Thouars signed the treaty of annexation of the Marquesas to France, in 1842.
The first Christian missionaries in the Marquesas Islands settled there in 1797, first Protestants and later, Roman Catholics. The Catholic church, decorated with magnificent stained glass windows, is the most imposing structure in the small village.
See Also
Categories: Oceania geography stubs