Vaitahu
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French Polynesia Vaitahu |
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| Coordinates | 9 ° 56 ′ S , 139 ° 7 ′ W | ||
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| Country | France | ||
| Overseas local authority | French Polynesia | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | FR-PF | ||
 Stained glass window in Vaitahu Church.
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Vaitahu (originally: Madre de Dios German Mother of God ) is a town on the island Tahuata in French Polynesia , in the archipelago of the Marquesas . The place is the capital of the smallest inhabited island of the Marquesas and the municipality of Tahuata with the natural harbor Baie de Vaitahu (Vaitahu Bay). It only has a few hundred inhabitants.
geography
The place is on the rugged west coast of the island. There are ferry connections to Aranui (Christchurch) New Zealand .
history
The Spanish conqueror Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira landed on July 21, 1595 and named the place " Madre de Dios ". In 1774, Captain James Cook landed here and in 1842 Admiral Abel Aubert Dupetit-Thouars signed the treaty for the annexation of the Marquesas for France .
religion
The first Christian missionaries to settle in the Marquesas were Protestant missionaries who came to Vaitahu on the ship Duff in 1797 . Later on, Catholic missionaries arrived with the French occupation . The Catholic Church is decorated with gleaming stained glass windows.
Web links
- Vaitahu on www.marquises.pf