Rikitea is a small town on Mangareva, which is part of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. A majority of the islanders live in Rikitea. The island was a protectorate of France in 1871 and was annexed in 1881. History The town's history dates to the era when the island was first settled with people from the Marquesas Islands in 1100 AD. Captain James Wilson of the London Missionary Society arrived in 1797 on Duff, naming the islands after the English Admiral James Gambier who had facilitated his expedition. Before the Catholic missionaries' arrival, cannibalism was practiced under the rule of the local kings. French Picpus priests Father François Caret and Father Honoré Laval, of the Congregation for the Sacred Hearts, landed here in 1834. They arrived from Chile. Father Hippolyte Roussel, who had arrived at Rikitea with more than 100 Rapa Nui people on 4 July 1871, assumed charge of Laval's Rikitea mission, and served there till he died in 1898. The figure of 9,000, mentioned by some, when Laval arrived is regarded as being hugely exaggerated. In 1825, the population was estimated at 1500. When the missionaries arrived in 1834 they counted 2,124 souls. Increasing contact with the outside world brought contagious diseases to Mangareva savagely decimating the population. There had already been several major epidemics before 1863, including one which is said have killed half the population. The story about Laval driving the population to their deaths was spread by a French judge, Louis Jacolliot, who dabbled in the occult and had a grudge against Laval and wanted to discredit him. For 9,000 people to have lived on the islands, many would have to live on the hillsides due to the small amount of flat ground, but there is no evidence of houses ever being built there. Also, if 8,500 people died because of Laval, there would be that number of graves, or at least mass graves, but there is not. Geography Rikitea is a port town and tourist center situated on Mangareva Lagoon, which contains a number of motu. It is about southeast of Tahiti, to the North of the Tropic of Capricorn. The average elevation of the town is . The total population of the island was 1100 and most of them lived in Rikitea. Two mountains, Mt. Duff () and Mt. Mokoto (), which are approachable by trails, are north of the town. The