On this date in 1788, HMS Bounty landed in Tahiti. Their mission? To take Tahitan breadfruit trees to the Caribbean as cheap food for plantation workers. The crew remained in Tahiti for about five months, the time needed to transplant the seedlings of the trees. Three weeks after they left, the famous mutiny happened. A group of mutineers went back to settle in Tahiti. 10 things you might not know about Tahiti:
It’s the largest of the Îles du Vent (Windward Islands) in French Polynesia, situated in the central South Pacific Ocean. Its nearest neighbour is Moorea, 12 miles (20 km) away. The nearest major landmass is Australia, which is 5,700 km (3,078 nautical miles) away.
The area is 403 square miles (1,043 square km) and it’s 33 miles (53 km) long. Tahiti consists of two ancient eroded volcanic cones, Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti (the Taiarapu Peninsula), connected by the narrow Isthmus of Taravao.
The island was part of the Kingdom of Tahiti until it was annexed by France in 1880, and made a colony of France. The inhabitants, therefore, became French citizens. As part of France, the Tahitian village of Teahupo’o was the site of the Surfing competition in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Papeete, on Tahiti’s northwestern coast, is the capital of French Polynesia.
The Tahitian alphabet consists only of 13 letters: the vowels a, e, i, o, u and the consonants f, h, m, n, p, r, t and v.
The Tahitan language gave us the word “tattoo”, from the Tahitian word “tatau”. However, there is no word for “please” because traditionally everything was shared.
Archery was a sacred sport in ancient times. Only the nobility could participate, and bows and arrows were never used in war. Today, however, Tahiti’s national sport is outrigger Canoe racing.
The national symbol is the Tiare flower, which is worn by both men and women on Tahiti. It’s used as a way to tell if a person is in a relationship or not. Worn behind the right ear, it means you’re free, and behind the left means you’re spoken for.
The French painter Paul Gauguin lived on Tahiti in the 1890s. Papeari has a small Gauguin museum.
As a holiday destination, it’s quite exclusive. Hawaii receives more tourists in a day than Tahiti does in a year.
NEW!!
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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