1. Teuruarii IV entreated the British to place Rurutu under a British protectorate, which the islanders deemed more favorable due to their predominant adherence to Protestantism.
17 Facts About Teuruarii IV
1. 2.
Teuruarii IV was allowed to continue ruling as king until the annexation of the island to the territory of French Oceania in 1900, today part of the overseas country of French Polynesia.
3.
King Teuruarii IV was born Prince Epatiana in around 1879 on the island of Rurutu, in present-day French Polynesia, to King Teuruarii III and his second wife Taarouru a Mootua.
4.
Teuruarii IV's family was originally from a chiefly line in Huahine rather than Rurutu, and it was only through the adoption of his father by King Teuruarii I that his family was eligible to rule.
5.
The body of Teuruarii IV III was repatriated to Rurutu and interred in the royal cemetery.
6.
The young King Teuruarii IV's coronation was celebrated in the traditional fashion.
7.
Teuruarii IV's reign coincided with continuing expansion of European authority in the Pacific islands.
8.
Teuruarii IV anticipated eventual European interests in Rurutu, but viewed the United Kingdom as a friendlier state than France due to the island's adherence to Protestantism.
9.
Teuruarii IV is a large, ignorant-looking boy of about 18 summers, and is one of the worst rowdies on the island, and there is no power to touch him.
10.
Teuruarii IV's costume was composed of a red breech-clout, a red woolen shirt and upon his bare head an old dried up wreath of faded flowers, such as is worn by all rowdies.
11.
Teuruarii IV incurred much debt during these trips, and the need to pay off his creditors along with the restriction on trade prompted him to consider formal annexation to France.
12.
In May 1900, Teuruarii IV journeyed with a few island dignitaries to Papeete on the invitation of Gustave Gallet, the French governor, to discuss the possibility of annexing the island.
13.
Teuruarii IV was given the task of administering over native affairs alongside the French commissioners assigned to the island.
14.
Under French rule, Teuruarii IV was initially allowed to serve as the village chief of Moerai, the main village and former capital in the northeast corner of the island.
15.
In 1923, one of his sons, Rooteatauira a Teuruarii IV, was involved in a controversial embezzlement case that called into question the jurisdiction of French law over native inhabitants of its territories.
16.
Rooteatauira was the father of Toromona Teuruarii IV, who served as mayor of Rurutu in the 1970s.
17.
Many of Teuruarii IV's living descendants still reside in the villages of Moerai and Avera and play major roles in island's affairs.