Tamaeva IV (died 1892) was the reigning queen of the Polynesian island of Rimatara who ruled from 1876 until her death in 1892. French sources refer to her as Temaeva, and one Australian newspaper called her Te Maere, while her tombstone in Rimatara gives her name as Tamaeva.

Biography

Her father was King Tamaeva III of Rimatara, an island kingdom which also controlled the neighboring coral atoll of Nororotu (or Îles Maria), a claim it disputes with the neighboring kingdom of

Rurutu Rūrutu is the northernmost island in the Austral archipelago of French Polynesia, and the name of a commune consisting solely of that island. It is situated south of Tahiti. Its land area is .Protestant faith. Sources differ on her actual age and her date of birth, although it is certain that Tamaeva was only a teenager at the time of her death, which would place her birth in the early 1870s. Because of her youth and inexperience, her aunt Heimataura served as regent. She had a close relationship with the neighboring island of

Rurutu Rūrutu is the northernmost island in the Austral archipelago of French Polynesia, and the name of a commune consisting solely of that island. It is situated south of Tahiti. Its land area is .Teuruarii IV Teuruarii IV, born Epatiana a Teuruarii (8 August 1879 – ), was the last King of Rurutu, an island within the larger Austral Islands archipelago, who ruled from around 1886 until the annexation of the island to France in 1900. Proclaimed king ...

. They would also share the same positions as the last independent rulers in the Austral Islands outside the sphere of French colonial control. Hearing reports that the neighboring Cook Islands had been declared a protectorate of the British, a nation considered more friendly than the French due to the islands' adherence to the Protestant faith, the queen decided to ally herself with Great Britain. On 27 November 1888, the monarchs of both islands visited

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

to ask for British protection against further French aggression. They sent a formal petition to Queen Victoria seeking protectorate status for the two kingdoms. The request was ultimately refused.French Polynesia – Britannica Online Encyclopedia The efforts of the two were in vain because the French responded immediately to what they presumed to be a threat to their interests in the Pacific. On 29 March 1889, the French warship ''Dives'' landed on Rimatara with the colonial governor of French Oceania, Étienne Théodore Lacascade, on board, and he had Rimatara and Îles Maria declared a French protectorate. The French version of the story was that the Queen and chiefs had personally petitioned Governor Lacascade to take over the islands, but British sources believed the whole affair to be largely contrary to the desire of the majority of the islanders. As a sign of the newly declared protectorate, the French tricolor was added to the canton of the kingdom's flag in 1891. In 1892, French Protestant missionary Frédéric Vernier of the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society described Queen Tamaeva as "a girl of sixteen or seventeen years". During his stay, he witnessed the restoration and reopening of the church in the capital, Amaru, which was celebrated with much fanfare. She died on 12 November 1892 and was succeeded by her aunt who reigned as Tamaeva V. Her remains were interred in the Royal Sepulchre at the Cemetery of Amaru, outside the settlement facing the sea; she was laid to rest beside other members of the Tamaeva royal line.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamaeva 04 1870s births 1892 deaths 19th-century monarchs in Oceania Child monarchs Protestant monarchs French Polynesian royalty 19th-century women monarchs Queens regnant in Oceania People from the Austral Islands