Belonging to the so-called « southern group » of the archipelago, hiva oa is one of the twelve islands that makeup the marquesas islands, quite literally at the « end of the earth ». it is, in fact, the most isolated archipelago in the Paciic : the largest neighboring island, tahiti, is 1 600 km away ; Hawaii 3 800 km due North, on across the equator ; Easter Island lies 3 000 km East. To get to the nearest continent you sail towards the rising sun until you strike land- in california 4 800 km distant, or 6 000 km to the coast of ecuador, in south America. From the very dawn of their existence, these islands were totally unknown to man, formedas they were by midocean volcanic activity, between 5.5 and 2.5 million years before the present. it was sometime between the third andeighth century ad (according to the most widely accepted theories) that they were discovered and colonized by Polynesians, arriving from the West. Part of a vast human migration, extending over several thousand years, and spanning the Paciic ocean, passing through melanesia, micronesia and western Polynesia, before inally reaching the societies and marquesas islands. once there, they developed their own distinctive and highly complex civilization, characterized by the intricacy of their art, speciically sculpture and tattooing. today, hiva oa is one of the best places to discover this rich heritage, through its many archeological sites, but also through the living legacy, the crafts produced by the resident artist-creators, maintaining the traditions of their ancient marquesan society. a society Hiva Oa at a glance atuona, reconstitution de « la maison du Jouir », dans laquelle a vécu le Peintre Paul gauguin/ATuoNA, reCoNsTruCTioN oF The iNFAmous « lA mAisoN du Jouir » (house oF pleAsure), iNhABiTed By The pAiNTer pAul gAuguiN. 22 that was able adept at exploiting the potential of its natural resources, supporting a population of 50 000 people, prior to European contact. By comparison, in the 1900s just 3 500 people survived in the whole archipelago, resulting from the population crash that occurred in 19th century, a direct result of the violent collision of the two diferent civilizations. contact with europeans, slow though it was in coming, brought with it new illnesses, alcohol, irearms and christianity, all elements that devastated the population and traditional culture. In 1595 the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña dropped anchor in vaitahu bay, on the island of tahuata, separated from hiva oa by just a 4 km stretch of water, the Canal du Bordelais. Mendaña only stayed foreight days, as his true objective was to establish a colony in the solomon islands, melanesia, 6 500 km further away….. nevertheless, he took the time to name the archipelago, he had « discovered » the marquesas de mendoza, namedin honor of the viceroy of Peru, his primary benefactor. it is a name that has weathered the centuries. this irst contact was a bad omen, the spaniards opened ire on the islanders, killing between 25 and 70 of them. However, there was an intervening period of 179 years, before another European set foot on the islands. The hiatus ended on April 7th, 1774, with the arrival of the english navigator James cook, who dropped anchor in the same bay as his spanish predecessor. Like Mendaña, he stopped only briely, more preoccupied with seeking a great southern continent, terra australis.