| a group of islands in the S Pacific: a part of French Polynesia; largest island, Tahiti. (Excluding minor islands) 100,270; 453 sq. mi. (1173 sq. km). Capital: Papeete. |
So·ci·e·ty Islands  (sə-sī'ĭ-tē)  An island group of French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean east of Samoa. The group is made up of the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands. First visited by a Portuguese navigator in the early 17th century, the islands were claimed for France by Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1768 and named by Capt. James Cook in 1769. They became a French protectorate in 1843 and a part of the overseas territory of French Polynesia in 1946. |