The Gambier Islands (Îles Gambier in French) are a small group of islands in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They are generally considered a separate island group from Tuamotu both because their culture and language (Mangarevan) are much more closely related to those of the Marquesas Islands, and because, while the Tuamotus are comprised of several chains of coral atolls, the Gambiers, especially the primary island, Mangareva, are of volcanic origin.

Geography

The Gambiers are surrounded by a coral reef, which is broken by only three passages to the open sea. Besides Mangareva, the other notable islands of the group are Akamaru, Angakauitai, Aukena, Kamaka, Kouaku, Makapu, Makaroa, Manui, Mekiro and Taravai. These are, like Mangareva, volcanic in origin. A number of others are actually coral islands, including Kauku, Papuri, Puaumu, Totengengie and the Tokorua group.

The islands are located at 23°09' S, 134°58' W., and are approximately 31 km² (12 mi²) in area. The total population in the 1988 census was 620. The primary town is Rikitea, located on Mangareva. The highest point in the Gambiers is Mt. Duff, on Mangareva, rising to 482 m (1600 ft) along the island's south coast.

History

There was a time (approximately the tenth to the fifteenth centuries) when the Gambiers hosted a population of several thousand people and traded with other island groups including the Marquesas, the Society Islands and Pitcairn Islands. However, excessive logging by the islanders resulted in almost complete deforestation on Mangareva, with disastrous results for the islands' environment and economy. The folklore of the islands records a slide into civil war and even cannibalism as trade links with the outside world broke down, and archaeological studies have confirmed this tragic story. Today, the islands can support a population of only a few hundred.

External links

• Death of a People. A look at the decline of Magreva and the missionary influence on the people of the Gambiers.

References

• Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005), Ch. 3