kingdom · North America and Oceania
Kingdom of Bora Bora
Origins
Bora Bora, a high island ringed by a wide lagoon in the Leeward Society Islands, was known in tradition as Porapora. Its chiefs were famed warriors, and in the mid-18th century the chief Puni led conquests of Tahaʻa, Raiatea and Maupiti, making Bora Bora the leading power of the Leeward group when Europeans first arrived in the 1760s.
Rule and society
Kings ruled through a hierarchy of chiefs, with the marae of Fare Opu and others serving as ritual centres. The island's warriors and canoes gave it influence over its neighbours, and marriage ties linked its royal family to Raiatea and to the Kingdom of Tahiti. Missionaries of the London Missionary Society arrived in the 1820s, and the island adopted Christianity and written laws.
Decline and legacy
The Jarnac Convention of 1847 recognised Bora Bora's independence. Its last queen, Teriimaevarua III, reigned from 1873 until France annexed the island in 1888. It became part of French Polynesia and, during the Second World War, a United States supply base.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Bora Bora. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-bora-bora
- MLA
- “Kingdom of Bora Bora.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-bora-bora. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Bora Bora.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-bora-bora.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Bora Bora’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-bora-bora (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻