U'uru

U'uru (c. 1735 – c. 1806), also known by the names Veteara'i U'uru or Teri'inavahoroa, was a sovereign or ari'i rahi of the island of Ra'iātea. The European explorer James Cook first encountered him in 1773 during his second voyage to the Pacific. U'uru ruled over Raiatea, before the island was conquered around 1767 by Puni, a warrior from Bora Bora.

Although U'uru retained his title, his authority was confined to his ancestral district of Opoa at the southeastern point of Ra'iātea. In effect, he acted as a viceroy under Puni's suzerainty. Despite this dependency, he became the ancestor of many members of the royal lineages of the Leeward Islands. Through alliances and adoptions, his descendants eventually established themselves as rulers of these islands.

Cook's final encounter with U'uru took place in 1777 on the island of Huahine, where he was received with honors befitting a king. His son, Tamatoa III, was designated as the principal chief (ari'i rahi) of Ra'iātea by Puni before his death, with the approval of the chiefs Ma'i II and Tefa'aora I of Bora Bora. The latter, Ma'i II's nephew, was still a child and under regency. After the death of Puni, traditionally dated to 1786, succession passed to his daughter, Maevarua, who assumed authority over the islands of Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Tupai. Subsequently, leadership was transferred to Puni's great-granddaughter, Teri'imaevarua a Te'aue. Owing to her youth and the political circumstances of the period, her rule was exercised under the regency of Ma'i III and Tefa'aora I, a situation that endured until the end of 1804. During her reign, Puni's nephew, Tapoa I, successfully conquered Ra'iātea, and Taha'a in 1800, and later Bora Bora in December 1804.

In 1802, Tamatoa III resided in Ra'iātea, while the majority of his children lived in Huahine. Tapoa I had conquered Taha'a and resided in Ra'iātea, where he seemed to wield as much power as King Tamatoa himself. He had adopted Tetupai'a, later known as Teremo'emo'e or Teravahine, the second daughter of Tamatoa III, and renamed her Taitaru in memory of his own daughter, who had died young. This adoption further strengthened family ties with the Tamatoa and reinforced the military alliance between the islands of Huahine, Ra'iātea, and Taha'a.

During this period, the island of Bora Bora remained a well-guarded fortress under the rule of chiefs Ma'i III and Tefa'aora I. After an initial failed attempt to subdue Bora Bora in January 1804, Tapoa I finally conquered the island later that year in the battle of Huri'aua. His daughter, Maevarua, was subsequently recognized as a principal chief of Bora Bora and Taha'a until her death on July 14, 1809.

Tamatoa III and Tapoa I were the leading chiefs of the Leeward Islands when the English missionaries landed on Huahine in November 1808. The period between Cook's departure from the Leeward Islands in December 1777 and the year 1791 remains poorly documented, despite brief visits to Huahine by John Watts in 1788 and William Bligh in 1789. However, the writings and testimonies collected by navigators provide some insight into this tumultuous era, characterized by incessant struggles for territory among the islands of Bora Bora, Ra'iātea, Taha'a, and Huahine.

U'uru was last mentioned by the merchant and navigator John Turnbull in October 1802 in Raiatea. He likely died sometime after 1802 but before the arrival of the English missionaries in Huahine in November 1808, by which point he no longer appeared in written records.