Makea Takau Ariki

Makea Takau Ariki
High Chiefess of Rarotonga
Queen of the Cook Islands
Makea Takau Ariki, Auckland visit (1885)
Reign1871–1911
PredecessorMakea Apera Ariki
SuccessorMakea Rangi Ariki
Borncirca 1839
Avarua, Rarotonga
Died1 May 1911 (aged 72)
SpouseNgamaru Rongotini Ariki
Issuenone
HouseHouse of Te Au O Tonga
DynastyMakea Nui Dynasty
FatherPapelna (?–1901) or Tiberio, Pastor of the LMS
MotherMakea Te Vaerua Ariki

Makea Takau Ariki (c. 1839–1911) was a sovereign of the Cook Islands. She was the ariki (queen) of the dynasty Makea Nui (Great Makea), one of the three chiefdoms of the tribe Te Au O Tonga (The mist of the south) on the island of Rarotonga.

She succeeded her uncle Makea Abera Ariki in 1871. Her reign lasted forty years during a crucial time in the history of Rarotonga and the Cook Islands. It was under her reign that the Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888 before being annexed to New Zealand in 1900.