Tahiti

Tahiti, largest (400 sq mi/1,036 sq km) of the Society Islands in the South Pacific, the center of French Polynesia. The island is mountainous and rich in tropical vegetation. The people are mostly Polynesians, with some French and Chinese. Papeete is the capital. Tahiti, claimed for France by Bougainville in 1768, was visited by James Cook and William Bligh. Its beauty inspired the painter Paul Gauguin.