1.
French Polynesia
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It is composed of 118 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over an expanse of more than 2,000 kilometres in the South Pacific Ocean. Its total land area is 4,167 square kilometres, among its 118 islands and atolls,67 are inhabited. Tahiti, which is located within the Society Islands, is the most populous island and it has more than 68% of the population of the islands in 2012. Although not a part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007. Following the Great Polynesian Migration, European explorers visited the islands of French Polynesia on several occasions, traders and whaling ships also visited. In 1842, the French took over the islands and established a French protectorate they called Etablissements des français en Océanie, in 1946, the EFOs became an overseas territory under the constitution of the French Fourth Republic, and Polynesians were granted the right to vote through citizenship. In 1957, the EFOs were renamed French Polynesia, French Polynesia as we know it today was one of the last places on Earth to be settled by humans. Scientists believe the Great Polynesian Migration happened around 1500 BC as Austronesian people went on a journey using celestial navigation to find islands in the South Pacific Ocean, the first islands of French Polynesia to be settled were the Marquesas Islands in about 200 BC. The Polynesians later ventured southwest and discovered the Society Islands around AD300, European encounters began in 1521 when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing at the service of the Spanish Crown, sighted Puka-Puka in the Tuāmotu-Gambier Archipelago. Over a century later, British explorer Samuel Wallis visited Tahiti in 1767, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville also visited Tahiti in 1768, while British explorer James Cook arrived in 1769. A short-lived Spanish settlement was created in 1774, and for a time some maps bore the name Isla de Amat after Viceroy Amat, in 1772, Dutchman Jakob Roggeveen came across Bora Bora in the Society Islands. Christian missions began with Spanish priests who stayed in Tahiti for a year, protestants from the London Missionary Society settled permanently in Polynesia in 1797. King Pōmare II of Tahiti was forced to flee to Moorea in 1803, he, French Catholic missionaries arrived on Tahiti in 1834, their expulsion in 1836 caused France to send a gunboat in 1838. In 1842, Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate, the capital of Papeetē was founded in 1843. In 1880, France annexed Tahiti, changing the status from that of a protectorate to that of a colony, the island groups were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889. In the 1880s, France claimed the Tuamotu Archipelago, which belonged to the Pōmare Dynasty. Having declared a protectorate over Tahuata in 1842, the French regarded the entire Marquesas Islands as French, in 1885, France appointed a governor and established a general council, thus giving it the proper administration for a colony. The islands of Rimatara and Rūrutu unsuccessfully lobbied for British protection in 1888, postage stamps were first issued in the colony in 1892
2.
Gardenia taitensis
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Gardenia taitensis is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is a tropical shrub that grows to 4 m tall and has glossy dark green leaves that are oppositely arranged along the stem. The flower is white and pinwheel-shaped with five-to-nine lobes and fragrant. Native to the shores of the South Pacific, it has the distinction of being one of the few cultivated plants native to Polynesia. It is the flower of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. The name Tahitian Gardenia is somewhat a misnomer because it is neither native nor naturalised in Tahiti, the first acceptable scientific name for the plant was based on Tahitian specimens collected by Jules Dumont dUrville in 1824. Hence the scientific name of Gardenia taitensis, and the English name of Tahitian Gardenia or Tiaré Flower and it was first collected in Tahiti, by the Forsters on Captain Cooks first Pacific voyage, although it was misidentified as Gardenia florida. The plant originates from Melanesia and Western Polynesia and it is an aboriginal introduction to the Cook Islands and French Polynesia and possibly Hawaii. In some Pacific island traditions, wearing a flower indicates relationship status, a flower worn on the left ear means the person is taken and on the right ear means available. The plant is believed to have medicinal properties to treat several ailments, in Tonga a bark infusion is dripped into the nose, eyes and mouth to treat ghost sickness. In Samoa parts of the plant are used to treat inflammation, the flower is used to make Monoi Tiare Tahiti, a perfume-oil made by infusing the blossoms in coconut oil. Tiaré is also used in niche perfumery but its high cost excludes use in commercial perfumery. Notable examples include Tiare by Ormonde Jayne launched in 2009 and Tiare by Chantecaille, the Tiaré flowers are hand picked and then laid unopened in oil for 15 days to obtain the extract. Tiaré is used in a line of Aviva Pure products for natural skin & hair care, the Tiaré Flower USDA Plants Database, Gardenia taitensis - plants. usda. gov The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks 1768-1771, Gardenia taitensis - nzetc. org Tiare. bg - flowers
3.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
4.
Jiang Zemin
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Jiang has been described as the core of the third generation of Communist Party leaders since 1989. With the waning influence of Eight Elders due to old age and with the death of Deng Xiaoping, Jiang consolidated his hold on power, Jiang has been criticized for being too concerned about his personal image at home, and too conciliatory towards Russia and the United States abroad. His contributions to party doctrine, known as the Three Represents, were written into the constitution in 2002. Jiang vacated the post of party General Secretary in 2002, but did not relinquish all of his titles until 2005. Jiang was born in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu and his ancestral home was the Jiang Village, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi. This was also the hometown of a number of prominent figures in Chinese academic, Jiang grew up during the years of Japanese occupation. His uncle, also his father, Jiang Shangqing, died fighting the Japanese in World War II and is considered in Jiang Zemins time to be a national hero. He graduated there in 1947 with a degree in electrical engineering. Jiang married Wang Yeping in 1949, also a native of Yangzhou and she graduated from Shanghai International Studies University. They have two sons, Jiang Mianheng and Jiang Miankang and he claims that he joined the Communist Party of China when he was in college. After the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, Jiang received his training at the Stalin Automobile Works in Moscow in the 1950s and he also worked for Changchuns First Automobile Works. In 1985 he became Mayor of Shanghai, and subsequently the Party Secretary of Shanghai, Jiang received mixed reviews as mayor. Many of his critics dismissed him as a pot, a Chinese term for someone who only seems useful. Many credited Shanghais growth during the period to Zhu Rongji, Jiang was an ardent believer, during this period, in Deng Xiaopings economic reforms. In an attempt to curb student discontent in 1986, Jiang recited the Gettysburg Address in English in front of a group of student protesters, Jiang was described as having a passable command of several foreign languages, including Romanian, Russian, and English. One of his activities was to engage foreign visitors in small talk on arts and literature in their native language. He became friends with Allen Broussard, the African-American judge who visited Shanghai in 1987, in 1989, China was in crisis over the Tiananmen Square protest, and the central government was in conflict on how to handle the protesters. In June, Deng Xiaoping dismissed liberal Zhao Ziyang, who was considered to be too conciliatory toward the student protestors, at the time, Jiang was the Shanghai Party secretary, the top figure in Chinas new economic center
5.
Orders, decorations, and medals of France
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This is a list of some of the modern orders, decorations and medals of France. Some like the Legion of Honour are awarded to both the forces and civilians. Others are decorations of a civilian or military character. Only four of the 19 Ministerial orders have survived the reform of the French system of decorations in 1963, the others were replaced by the Ordre national du Mérite. The ministerial honours include French military decorations, the existing ministerial orders, ministerial awards for acts of courage and honor medals, ribbons of the French military and civil awards
6.
Legion of Honour
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The Legion of Honour, full name National Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction, Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier and Grand-Croix. The orders motto is Honneur et Patrie and its seat is the Palais de la Légion dHonneur next to the Musée dOrsay, in the French Revolution, all French orders of chivalry were abolished, and replaced with Weapons of Honour. The Légion however did use the organization of old French orders of chivalry, the badges of the legion also bear a resemblance to the Ordre de Saint-Louis, which also used a red ribbon. Napoleon originally created this to ensure political loyalty, the organization would be used as a facade to give political favours, gifts, and concessions. The Légion was loosely patterned after a Roman legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional cohorts, the highest rank was not a grand cross but a Grand Aigle, a rank that wore all the insignia common to grand crosses. The members were paid, the highest of them extremely generously,5,000 francs to an officier,2,000 francs to a commandeur,1,000 francs to an officier,250 francs to a légionnaire. Napoleon famously declared, You call these baubles, well, it is with baubles that men are led, do you think that you would be able to make men fight by reasoning. That is good only for the scholar in his study, the soldier needs glory, distinctions, rewards. This has been quoted as It is with such baubles that men are led. The order was the first modern order of merit, under the monarchy, such orders were often limited to Roman Catholics, and all knights had to be noblemen. The military decorations were the perks of the officers, the Légion, however, was open to men of all ranks and professions—only merit or bravery counted. The new legionnaire had to be sworn in the Légion and it is noteworthy that all previous orders were crosses or shared a clear Christian background, whereas the Légion is a secular institution. The jewel of the Légion has five arms, in a decree issued on the 10 Pluviôse XIII, a grand decoration was instituted. This decoration, a cross on a sash and a silver star with an eagle, symbol of the Napoleonic Empire, became known as the Grand Aigle. After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804 and established the Napoleonic nobility in 1808, the title was made hereditary after three generations of grantees. Napoleon had dispensed 15 golden collars of the legion among his family and this collar was abolished in 1815. The Légion dhonneur was prominent and visible in the French Empire, the Emperor always wore it and the fashion of the time allowed for decorations to be worn most of the time
7.
National Order of Merit (France)
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The National Order of Merit is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. It comprises about 187,000 members worldwide, the President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the order and appoints all its members by convention on the advice of the Government of France. The order has a common Chancellor and Chancery with the Legion of Honour, every Prime Minister of France is made a Grand cross of the order after 24 months of service. The medal of the order is a six-armed Maltese asterisk in gilt enamelled blue, the obverse central disc features the head of Marianne, surrounded by the legend République française. The reverse central disc has a set of crossed tricolores, surrounded by the name of the order, the badge is suspended by a laurel wreath. The star is worn by Grand-Croix and Grand Officier respectively, it is a twelve-armed sunburst, the central disc features the head of Marianne, surrounded by the legend République française and the name of the Order, and in turn surrounded by a wreath of laurel. The ribbon for the medal is a blue field. For the grade of Officier and above, a rosette is centered in the field, for the grades of Commandeur, Grand Officier, and Grand-Croix, the rosette is centered bar of silver, silver and gold, and a solid gold respectively
8.
Order of Agricultural Merit
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The Order of Agricultural Merit is an order bestowed by the French Republic for outstanding contribution to agriculture. It was second in only to the Legion of honour within the French order of precedence when it was created. The original 1883 decree created a single order, only knights were thus decorated. The decree of 18 June 1887 added the grade of Officer and a third grade, the present form and statute of the Order of Agricultural Merit were outlined in decree 59-729 of 15 June 1959. The Order of Agricultural Merit rewards people who rendered services to agriculture whether in public duties or in the very practice of agriculture. It also rewards people who distinguished themselves in research or in related publications. There are two annual ceremonies, the first on 1 January and the second on the 14th of July. The annual contingent has been limited to 60 commanders,800 officers and 3,200 knights, a 5% contingency is allowed for people gaining direct entry into the order as officers or commanders for exceptional reasons. Foreigners receiving the order are not subject to the seniority clause, members of the Order of the Legion of Honour may be admitted to the Order of Agricultural Merit at the same rank they hold in the first. An award certificate always accompanies the order, on the reverse, the gilt medallion bears the relief inscription on three lines MÉRITE AGRICOLE1883, it is surrounded by a plain blue enamelled band. The officers and commanders badges also bear a gilt wreath, half vine and half olive branch, the members insignia is made of silver, the officers is made of silver-gilt, the commanders is made of silver-gilt or gold. The order hangs from a 37mm wide silk moiré green ribbon with 5mm amaranth vertical stripes located 1mm from the edges, the commanders insignia is worn on a cravat around the neck. Museum of the Legion of Honour
9.
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
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Its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields. Its origin is attributed to the Order of Saint-Michel as acknowledged by French government sources, membership is not, however, limited to French nationals, recipients include numerous foreign luminaries. Foreign recipients are admitted into the Order, without condition of age, the Order has three grades, Commandeur — medallion worn on necklet, up to twenty recipients a year. Officier — medallion worn on ribbon with rosette on left breast, chevalier — medallion worn on ribbon on left breast, up to 200 recipients a year. The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne on a golden background, the Commanders badge is topped by a gilt twisted ring. The ribbon of the Order is green with four white stripes, however, in the statutes there is a clause saying Les Officiers et les Commandeurs de la Légion dhonneur peuvent être directement promus à un grade équivalent dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres. Ribbons of the French military and civil awards Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec, a Quebec order based in part on the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Nominations dans lOrdre des Arts et Lettres
10.
Honour medal for courage and devotion
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The Honour medal for courage and devotion is a French decoration than can be bestowed to individuals and whole units. It is awarded for acts of courage during a rescue, the Honour medal for courage and devotion was created on 2 March 1820 by King Louis XVIII. It has gone through several designs during its long history, the award was given its present name by a decree of 16 November 1901. Any person who risks his or her life to come to the rescue of one or many persons in danger, silver grades 1st and 2nd class, awarded only if previously awarded the bronze grade following a new act of courage during a rescue. The two grades are awarded for acts of courage. Silver-gilt grade, awarded only for the most intrepid acts to the bearer of two silver grade medals, gold grade, awarded as an outstanding testimony to a person having distinguished himself or herself through exceptional acts towards his or her fellow citizens. The Honour medal for courage and devotion may also be awarded to emergency. The design of the Honour medal for courage and devotion changed many times through the decades and it is now a 27mm in diameter circular medal struck in bronze, silver, silver-gilt or gold. Its obverse bears the image of a standing woman holding palms. The medal hangs from a 3cm wide silk moiré tricolour ribbon of equal width blue, white, the 3cm wide and 22mm high ribbon suspension loop is cast as an integral part of the medal in the form of oak leaves
French Polynesia
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