Prince Teriʻitua Tuavira Joinville Pōmare (17 December 1847 – 9 April 1875), also known as Prince Joinville, was a member of the royal family of
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
, the
Pōmare dynasty Pōmare or Pomare may refer to:
Tahiti
* Pōmare dynasty, the dynasty of the Tahitian monarchs
* Pōmare I (c. 1742–1803), first king of the Kingdom of Tahiti
* Pōmare II (c. 1774–1821), second king of Tahiti
* Pōmare III (1820–1827), third ...
, who lived in the time of the French protectorate of the
Kingdom of Tahiti
The Kingdom of Tahiti or the Tahitian Kingdom was a Polynesian monarchy founded by paramount chief Pōmare I, who, with the aid of British missionaries and traders, and European weaponry, unified the islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Teti‘aroa, ...
(1842–1880).
Biography
Tuavira Joinville was the youngest son of
Pōmare IV
Pōmare IV (28 February 1813 – 17 September 1877), more properly ʻAimata Pōmare IV Vahine-o-Punuateraʻitua (otherwise known as ʻAimata – "eye-eater", after an old custom of the ruler to eat the eye of the defeated foe), was the Queen of ...
, queen from 1827 to 1877, and of
Ari'ifaite a Hiro, Prince consort, first cousin of the queen, and a chief from
Huahine
Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands (Society Islands), Leeward Islands group ''(Îles sous le V ...
.
At his birth, he was adopted by the childless Teri'itua, the female chief of the
Hitia'a district, who had no children. When she died on 3 June 1849, the infant prince succeeded her and took her title. Because of his age, Teohu, the widower of Teri'itua, ruled as his representative. Matahiapo a Tanoa or Maraetaata later served as his representative in Hitiaa from 1872 to 1875.
At his christening, he was given the name "Joinville" by the French governor, Lavaud, in honor of
Prince François, Prince of Joinville
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...
, one of the sons of French King
Louis Philippe I
Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
. The Tahitians translated the given name of "Joinville" as "Tuavira." At a young age, he was able to speak a little of the French language. French governor Dubouzet took Tuavira on his 1856 visit to the French colony in
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
to show him the tastes and habits of the Europeans.
At the age of 15, at his mother's request and with the agreement of the French governor La Richerie, he was sent with a group of six young Polynesian aristocrats to France to finish his education. The students departed Tahiti on 3 November 1862 and arrived in
Brest on 25 February 1863 after four months of travel. They lived in France from 1863 to 1865 and acquired a good knowledge of the French language. Despite being Protestants, the Tahitian nobles wee educated by the
Brothers of Ploërrnel at the École de Notre Dame de Toutes Aides in
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
.
He also was a student interpreter for indigenous affairs.
He died at Papeete on 9 April 1875.
Marriage and descendants
In June 1868, he married
Isabelle Vahinetua Shaw (1850–1918), the natural daughter of Captain William Shaw, an Englishman living in Papeete, and Teina a Tohi, a Tahitian from a chiefly family in Mo'orea. Considered an unequal marriage, the union was a great embarrassment for Queen Pōmare IV and the nobles but was accepted by the common people. Isabelle later became the mistress of his elder brother Pōmare V.
This marriage produced one son:
*
Teri'ihinoiatua Pōmare, also known as Prince Hinoi (1869–1916), whose descendants still live in
French Polynesia
French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
.
Ancestry
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomare, Teriitua Tuavira
1847 births
1875 deaths
Pōmare dynasty
Sons of queens regnant
People from the Kingdom of Tahiti