Maputeoa

Te Maputeoa Gregorio I
Drawing of Mapou-Teoa by Jacques Marescot du Thilleul, 1838.
King of Mangareva
Reign	c. 1830 – 20 June 1857
Predecessor	Te Mateoa
Successor	Joseph Gregorio II
Born	c. 1814 Te Kehika marae, Rikitea, Mangareva
Died	20 June 1857 Rikitea, Mangareva
Burial	23 June 1857 Mausolée du Roi Maputeoa, Chapelle St-Pierre
Spouse	Maria Eutokia Toaputeitou, and an earlier wife
Issue	Joseph Gregorio II Jean Népomucène Agnès Tepairu Philomèle Catherine
Full name Gregorio Stanislas Maputeoa Kerekorio Tanirae Maputeoa
Father	Te Ikatohara
Mother	Puteoa
Religion	Mangarevan Roman Catholicism
Signature

Te Maputeoa (baptized Gregorio Stanislas; reigned as Gregorio I; born c. 1814 – 20 June 1857) was a monarch of the Polynesian island of Mangareva and the other Gambier Islands. He was the King or ʻAkariki (paramount chief), as well as the penultimate king of the island of Mangareva, and other Gambier Islands including Akamaru, Aukena, Taravai and Temoe. He reigned from 1830 until his death in 1857.

During Maputeoa's reign, the country, which was deeply rooted in idolatry and even cannibalism, became a Roman Catholic community. This was accomplished by removing all vestiges of idolatry, such as destroying the traditional wooden images of their indigenous faith deified in maraes and replacing them with churches. The king was baptized into Catholicism on 25 August 1836. He learned about Christianity from the island's missionaries, headed by the French Picpus priests, Honoré Laval and François Caret. His uncle Matua, the High Priest of the local temple, also played a pivotal role in this activity.

Maputeoa was the grandson of Mapurure (also known as Te Mateoa), who was known to be alive in 1825 and said to have died in 1830 or 1832. As Mapurure's son Te Ikatohara was killed by sharks in about 1824, Maputeoa, the grandson, became king after Mapurure's death. Because he was a minor, Maputeoa's uncle, Matua, the High Priest (taura tupua), became the regent; Matua enjoyed the full trust of his people and may have had intentions of usurping power. Maputeoa had complete authority over the kingdom, excepting his four uncles, who jointly owned the land with the king; the uncles' allegiance to the king was only formal. Mangareva also had nominal control over the other Gambier Islands including Akamaru, Aukena, and Taravai, which had their own kings who were vassals to the monarch at Rikitea.