Society Islands (French Polynesia)

The Society Islands (French: Îles de la Société [il də la sɔsjete], officially Archipel de la Société [aʁʃipɛl də la sɔsjete]; Tahitian: Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Moʻorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. Geographically, they form part of Polynesia. The archipelago is believed to have been named by Captain James Cook during his first voyage in 1769, supposedly in honour of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook wrote in his journal that he called the islands Society "as they lay contiguous to one another".