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Gambier Islands

• Gambier Islands (French: Îles Gambier)
• other name: Mangareva Islands
• possession of France
• part of the French possession of French Polynesia
• own name: Subdivision administrative des Archipel des Îles Gambier

Contents

• Flags

• unofficial Flag

• Meaning/Origin of the Flag

• Map

• Numbers and Facts

• History

• Origin of the Country's Name

Flags

Flag of France,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Corel Draw 4





since 1984,
Flag of French Polynesia,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

unofficial Flag

unofficial flag,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The Gambier Islands – as a part of French Polynesia – have officially no own flag. It must be hoisted the French tricolor or additionally, the flag of French Polynesia. However, there exists for local purposes an unofficial flag. It shows three horizontal stripes in white, blue and white (ratio: 1:3:1), in every corner one blue five-pointed star, and in the middle of the blue stipe one white five-pointed star. The colour blue is defined as Pantone 286c. In 1837, a sailor named Armand Mauruc wanted to trade necessarily under a flag of the Gambier Islands (Kingdom of Mangareva), and he convinced King Maputeoa to adopt this flag as national flag. The four blue stars in the corners represent the islands of Mangareva, Taravai, Aukena and Akamaru, and the white star in the center represents Temoe. The color blue stands for the sea and white stands for christianity.

Source: Wikipedia (D), FOTW

Map

Location:

Source: CIA World Factbook

Map of French Polynesia:

Source: CIA World Factbook

Map of the Country:

Landkarte/map, Source: Flickr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons,
click to enlarge

Gliederungen von Französisch-Polynesien – Subdivisions of French Polynesia:

Landkarte/map, Source: By L. Claudel (Sardon - fr:Sardon)
[GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons,
click to enlarge

Numbers and Facts

Area: 12 square miles

Inhabitants: 1.310 (2012)

Density of Population: 109 inh./sq.mi.

Hauptort: Rikitea (on Mangareva), ca. 800 inh.

official Language: French

Currency: CFP-Franc (CFPF) = 100 Centimes,
CFPF = "Franc des Colonies Françaises du Pacifique"

Time Zone: GMT – 9 h

Source: Wikipedia (D)

History

ca. 1200 A.D. · beginning polynesian settlement

1797 · the British seafarer John Wilson discovers the islands and names them after Captain James Gambier, a descendant of French Huguenots who had supported his expedition

1825 · the British seafarer Frederick William Beechey visits the Gambier Islands

1834 · the Fathers Honoré Laval and François d'Assise Caret begin the christianizing of the islands and establish a kind of Christian theocracy, which could only be terminated in 1871 by the direction of the Bishop of Tahiti

1836 · King Maputeoa is baptized (Gregorio I. Maputeoa)

1857 · death of King Gregorio I., succeeded by his eldest son Gregorio II. Maputeoa

1868 · death of King Gregorio II., he had no heir, the dynasty extinguishes

1871 · France declares the Gambier Islands to a French Protectorate

1881 · France annexes the Gambier Islands, they become a French colony

1903 · establishing of a unified French colonial administration for the Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Gambier Islands and Austral Islands under the name "French Polynesia"

Source: Wikipedia (D), FOTW

Origin of the Country's Name

The British seafarer John Wilson discovered the islands in 1797 and named them after Captain James Gambier, a descendant of French Huguenots, who had supported his expedition.

Source: Wikipedia (D)