Tahiti is the largest, most populous and most politically central island in all of French Polynesia. Tahiti is a volcanic island that has a mountainous center surrounded by coral reefs. Most of the approximately 190,000 Tahitians (2017 estimate) live in the capital city of Papetee, where 70% are Polynesian. The rest are European, Chinese or Tahitians of mixed European/Polynesian descent. The British first "claimed" Tahiti in 1767 and the French arrived soon thereafter.  

In 1788, perhaps in response to the European incursion, King Pomare I, also known as Otou, united the Kingdom of Tahiti. The King and his descendants generally resisted French rule but eventually, in 1946, France made all of French Polynesia an "overseas territory" and granted Tahitians French citizenship. In 2003 French Polynesia became an "overseas collectivity" and in 2004 it transformed into "an overseas country." This fluidity of relationship with the West continues, as Tahiti's main political parties still rally support based upon their followers' desire for autonomy, if not independence, or their favoring a deeper relationship with the French.