Island (pop., 1996: 150,707), Society Islands , French Polynesia .
It is located in the South Pacific Ocean. The largest of the Society Islands, it occupies an area of 402 sq mi (1,042 sq km) in their eastern group. Papeete , the capital of French Polynesia, is on Tahiti. The island's interior is mountainous, rising to 7,339 ft (2,237 m) at Mount Orohena; its towns are located on the coastal plain. Long inhabited by Polynesians, it was visited by British Capt. Samuel Wallis in 1767 and in 1768 by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville , who claimed it for France. The first permanent European settlers were English missionaries who arrived in 1797. It became a French colony in 1880 and is now part of the self-governing overseas territory of French Polynesia. Continued French nuclear testing in the area angered the inhabitants and brought calls for independence in recent years. Tourism is economically important.