Leeward Islands (Society Islands)

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Leeward Islands (Society Islands)

The Leeward Islands (; , literally "Islands Under-the-Wind") are part of the Society Islands

Society Islands

The Society Islands are a group of islands in the south Pacific Ocean. They are an administrative part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook states in his journal th...
in French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a France overseas collectivity in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory ....
, an overseas collectivity of France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
in the South Pacific

Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
. The archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Italian language arcipelago , derived ultimately from Greek language arkhon and pelagos ....
comprises an administrative division

Administrative divisions of French Polynesia

There are two levels of administrative divisions of French Polynesia, five administrative subdivisions each of which is further divided into a total of 48 Commune in France, plus Clipperton Island which is administratively attached to French Polynesia....
of French Polynesia. The capital of the Leeward Islands administrative subdivision is Uturoa

Uturoa

Uturoa is a commune in France of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Uturoa is located on the island of Raiatea, in the French Polynesia#Administrative divisions of the Leeward Islands of which Uturoa is the administrative capital....
.

The first European to encounter the archipelago

Archipelago

James Cook

Captain James Cook Royal Society Royal Navy was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy....
on the 12th of April 1769 during the British expedition to observe the transit of Venus

Transit of Venus

A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, obscuring a small portion of the solar disk....
. On this first voyage (he subsequently revisited the islands twice) he named the Leeward group of islands Society in honor of the Royal Society.

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The Leeward Islands (; , literally "Islands Under-the-Wind") are part of the Society Islands

Society Islands

French Polynesia

France

Oceania

Archipelago

Administrative divisions of French Polynesia

Uturoa

Archipelago

James Cook

Transit of Venus

Colony

In politics and in history, a colony is a Territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies....
in 1888 (eight years after the Windward Islands

Windward Islands (Society Islands)

The Windward Islands are the eastern group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean....
) after many troubles lasting until 1897.

The islands are mountainous, and are good examples of volcanic rock. They are formed of trachyte

Trachyte

Trachyte is an igneous, volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. The mineral assemblage consists of essential alkali feldspar; relatively minor plagioclase and quartz or a feldspathoid such as nepheline may also be present....
, dolerite and basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually gray to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet....
. There are raised coral beds high up the mountains, and lava occurs in a variety of forms, even in solid flows. Volcanic activity ceased so long ago that the craters have been almost entirely obliterated by erosion.

Flora includes breadfruit

Breadfruit

Breadfruit is a species of Flowering plant tree in the Morus family, Moraceae, that is native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific Ocean islands....
, pandanus

Pandanus

Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. Plants vary in size from small shrubs less than 1 m tall, up to medium-sized trees 20 m tall, typically with a broad canopy and moderate growth rate....
, and coconut

Coconut

The Coconut Palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaf 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth....
palms. The limited terrestrial fauna includes feral pig

Pig

Pigs, also called hogs or swine, are a genus of even-toed ungulates within the Family Suidae. The name pig, hog, or swine most commonly refers to the Domestic pig in everyday parlance, but technically encompasses several distinct species, including the Wild Boar....
s, rat

Rat

Rats are various medium sized, long-tailed rodents of the Family Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus....
s, and small lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s. There are several species of freshwater fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
inhabiting the small streams on the islands, but the fringing coral reef

Coral reef

Coral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms. In most reefs the predominant organisms are colonial cnidarian that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate....
s around the islands exhibit a dazzling array of fish and other salt water-dwelling species. The major products are copra

Copra

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. The name copra is derived from the Malayalam language word kopra for dried coconut....
, sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, rum

Rûm

R?m, also Roum or Rhum , is a very indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of R?m in Asia Minor, and for Greeks inhabiting Ottoman Empire or modern Turkey territory as well as for Greek Cypriots....
, mother-of-pearl, and vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish language word "", little pod....
. Tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
is extremely important to the economy.

The Leeward Islands (subdivision administrative des Îles Sous-le-vent) are one of French Polynesia

French Polynesia

Administrative divisions of French Polynesia

There are two levels of administrative divisions of French Polynesia, five administrative subdivisions each of which is further divided into a total of 48 Commune in France, plus Clipperton Island which is administratively attached to French Polynesia....
. The administrative subdivision is identical with the electoral district of the Leeward Islands, one of French Polynesia

French Polynesia

Assembly of French Polynesia

The Assembly of French Polynesia is the Unicameralism legislature of French Polynesia, located at the Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It consists of 57 members who are Election by popular vote and by proportional representation in 6 multi-seat Constituency....
(see also Politics of French Polynesia

Politics of French Polynesia

Politics of French Polynesia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary system representative democracy French collectivit? d'outre-mer, whereby the President of French Polynesia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system....
).

The islands include:

Raiatea
Raiatea

Somewhat smaller than Tahiti, Raiatea is the second largest of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. The proper spelling of the name, rarely used though, in the Tahitian language is Ra?iatea, meaning bright sky; Ulieta is an obsolete transcription commonly used in the 19th century....
(largest island of the group); Tahitian names : Hava'i, Ioretea
Huahine
Huahine

Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group ....
which at high tide is divided into two islands, Huahine Nui ("big Huahine") to the north and Huahine Iti ("small Huahine") to the south; Tahitian name : Mata'irea
Tahaa
Tahaa

Tahaa is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Tahaa and neighboring Raiatea are enclosed by the same coral reef, and may once have been a single island....
; Tahitian name : Uporu
Bora Bora
Bora Bora

Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward Islands group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean....
; Tahitian name : Vava'u
Tupai
Tupai

Tupai is a low-lying atoll in Society Islands, French Polynesia. It lies 19 km to the north of Bora Bora and belongs to the Leeward Islands ....
Maupiti
Maupiti

Maupiti is a small coral atoll with a volcanic island in its midst. It is located to the west of the Leeward Islands in French Polynesia. It is the westernmost volcanic high island in the archipelago, 40 km west of Bora Bora....
; Tahitian name : Maurua
Manuae
Manuae (Society Islands)

The atoll of Manuae, also known as Scilly, is located approximately 60 km to the northwest of Maupihaa and 255 km to the west of Maupiti, at ....
(aka Scilly Atoll)
Maupihaa
Maupihaa

Maupihaa, also known as Mopelia, is an atoll in the Leeward Islands of the Society Islands. This atoll is located 72 km southeast of Manuae , its nearest neighbor....
(aka Mopelia)
Motu One
Motu One (Society Islands)

Motu One, also known as Bellinghausen, is an atoll in the Leeward Islands of the Society Islands. Motu One is located 550 km northwest from Tahiti and 72 km northeast of Manuae, its closest neighbor....
(aka Bellinghausen)

Leeward Islands (Society Islands)

The islands include:

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