Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.

to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelais, called Ha‘ava in Marquesan.

According to the Spanish accounts Tahuata had fowls, fish, sugar cane, plantains, nuts and fruits.

A building which the Spaniards supposed to be a religious one stood outside the town, in a space enclosed by palisades, and containing some ill-carved images before which were offerings and provisions.

[3][4] Tahuata was visited by Captain James Cook in 1774[5] who noted in his log book that the name of the island called Santa Christina by Mendaña was known as Ohitahoo.

In 1842 the Admiral returned to the Marquesas, commissioned by the government of King Louis Philippe to find a base in the Pacific for French traders and whalers.

Iotete asked Dupetit-Thouars to leave him a few men, horses and cannons, as he was concerned about American designs on his island.

Dupetit-Thouars took advantage of the situation to make him sign a declaration on May 1, 1842 in which Iotete recognized the sovereignty of France over the entire southeastern group of the Marquesas.

From then on, the only contact with westerners was with whalers, sandalwood ships and passing commercial vessels, which brought with them alcohol, opium, firearms, prostitution and infectious diseases, which decimated the population, as in the rest of the archipelago.

However, the law of June 8, 1850 makes Vaitahau, one of the present-day villages of Tahuata, the intended place of deportation in a fortified enclosure (art.

In 1880, French Rear Admiral Bergasse Dupetit-Thouars restored order in the southeastern Marquesas and placed gendarmes on Vaitahu.

The orography does not allow the construction of an airstrip and communications are by sea from the neighboring island of Hiva Oa, separated by the Bordelais channel 3 km wide and currents of 2 knots.

Tahuata is located just south of Hiva Oa, the main island of the southern group of the Marquesas, from which it is separated only by the Canal du Bordelais (Ha'ava in Marquesan), a channel only three kilometers wide, but with a strong sea current of up to two knots.

It has a central ridge that runs along its entire length, steep slopes cut by deep valleys, high cliffs that end in rocky outcrops as buttresses.

This mountain range, which runs in an arc from east to south, is what remains of the main caldera of the volcano that created the island.

The catastrophic depopulation is believed to be due to changes that have occurred over half a century: intertribal rivalries, commodification of crafts, unequal trade, dwindling local food supplies, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Most of the island's current population is affiliated with Christianity which was brought to the region by missionaries from both Catholic and Protestant groups.

On the east coast there are beautiful white sand beaches, due to the coral formations present on the edge of the island.