Tahiti, the principal island of a group in the South Pacific; sometimes called the Society Islands, situated 2000 m. NE. of New Zealand; are mountainous, of volcanic origin, beautifully wooded, and girt by coral reefs; a fertile soil grows abundant fruit, cotton, sugar, &c., which, with mother-of-pearl, are the principal exports; capital and chief harbour is Papeete (3); the whole group since 1880 has become a French possession.
Population (circa 1900) given as 11,000.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Tagus * Taillandier, Saint-René