History of the Pacific Islands covers the history of the islands in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
Histories
Easter Island – Rapanui
Easter Island is one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, and for most of the history of Easter Island it was the most isolated inhabited territory on Earth. Its inhabitants, the
Rapanui
The Rapa Nui (Rapa Nui: , Spanish: ) are the Polynesian peoples indigenous to Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and ...
, have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids and colonialism; have seen their population crash on more than one occasion.
Cook Islands
In Cook Islands Māori pre-history, Chieftains from present day
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
and their tribes, along with navigators, took their ships in search of unknown or newly found lands, first arriving in the southern island groups around 800 AD or earlier. Many other tribal migrations from French Polynesia, notably
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
would continue for centuries forming a unique Māori society.
Similarly, the northern islands were also settled from the east, with some of the northern islands possibly having had later interactions with Western Polynesia. The capital
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...
, is known, from various oral histories to have been the launching site of seven
waka
Waka may refer to:
Culture and language
* Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand
** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe
** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe
** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
ship voyagers who settled in New Zealand, becoming the major tribes of the New Zealand
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
. Up until relatively recently there was continuous contact between both lands where back and forth migration and trade took place. The Cook Islands Te Reo Māori language is closely related to the
Te Reo Maori indigenous language of New Zealand. Spanish ships visited the islands in the 16th century; the first written record of contact with the islands came with the sighting of
Pukapuka
Pukapuka, formerly Danger Island, is a coral atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of most remote islands of the Cook Islands, situated about northwest of Rarotonga. On this small island, an ancient ...
by Spanish sailor
Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira
Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (1 October 1542 – 18 October 1595) was a Spanish navigator and discoverer, best known for two of the earliest recorded expeditions across the Pacific in 1567 and 1595. His voyages led to the discovery of ...
in 1595 who called it ''San Bernardo'' (Saint Bernard). A few years later, a Spanish expedition led by
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós ( es, Pedro Fernández de Quirós) (1563–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He is best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595–1 ...
made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on
Rakahanga
Rakahanga is part of the Cook Islands, situated in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. The unspoilt atoll is from the Cook Islands' capital, Rarotonga, and lies south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki which is just away. Rakah ...
in 1606, calling it ''Gente Hermosa'' (Beautiful People). The country is named after British captain Captain James Cook who surveyed and landed on some of the islands between 1774 and 1777.
Fiji
The history of Fiji dates back to ancient times. There are many theories as to how the
Fijian race came into existence. Around 1500 BC
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
was settled by
Austronesian seafarers. Around 900–600 BC
Moturiki Island was settled. By 500 BC,
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
n seafarers had reached Fiji and intermarried with the
Austronesia
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrone ...
n inhabitants, giving rise to the modern
Fijian people
Fijians ( fj, iTaukei, lit=Owners (of the land)) are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and share a common history and culture.
Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in ...
. In 1643 AD,
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...
sighted
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 .
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically ...
Island and northern
Taveuni
Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated to the east of ...
. According to native oral legends Fijians were also descendants of a nomadic tribe from Tanganika (
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
).
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
The history of Guam involves phases including the early arrival of people known today as the ancient
Chamorros
The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, signifi ...
, the development of "pre-contact" society, Spanish colonization, and the present American rule of the island. Archaeologists using carbon-dating have broken Pre-Contact Guam (i.e. Chamorro) history into three periods: "Pre-Latte" (BC 2000? to AD 1) "Transitional Pre-Latte" (AD 1 to AD 1000), and "Latte" (AD 1000 to AD 1521). Archaeological evidence also suggests that Chamorro society was on the verge of another transition phase by 1521, when
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
's expedition arrived, as latte stones became bigger. The original inhabitants of Guam are believed to be descendants of
Indigenous Taiwanese People
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
* Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
* Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...
originating from
the high mountains of Taiwan
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
as early as 4,000 BC, having linguistic and cultural similarities to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
's history of colonialism is the longest among the Pacific islands and Chamorros are considered one of the oldest mixed race in the Pacific. In 1668 the Spanish formally incorporated the islands to the
Spanish East Indies
The Spanish East Indies ( es , Indias orientales españolas ; fil, Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia-Pacific, Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed for the Spanish Crown from Mexico C ...
and founded a colony on
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
as a resting place for the west-bound
Manila galleons
fil, Galyon ng Maynila
, english_name = Manila Galleon
, duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years)
, venue = Between Manila and Acapulco
, location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...
. The territory was ceded by Spain more than two centuries later, when in 1898 the United States took over the islands following the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
. The chamorro culture has evolved much since European contact and has been much influenced by Spanish and American colonization. Although the original culture no longer exists, it is now being revived with contemporary alternatives and similarities in styles with all the other pacific islands. Not one unique, but all combined to form a uniqueness in style, to today's modern interpretation of what their culture might have been. It should also be mentioned that the Chamorros on Guam view their culture & language differently than the Chamorros on the Northern Mariana Islands.
Hawaii
Hawaiian history is inextricably tied into a larger
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
n phenomenon.
Hawaii is the northernmost vertex of the
Polynesian Triangle
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawai‘i, Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia.
Outside the triangle, th ...
, a region of the Pacific Ocean anchored by three island groups: Hawaii, Rapa Nui (
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
), and Aotearoa (New Zealand). The many island cultures within the Polynesian Triangle share similar languages derived from a
proto-Malayo-Polynesian language
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...
used in Southeast Asia 5,000 years ago. Polynesians also share cultural traditions, such as religion, social organization, myths, and material culture. Anthropologists believe that all Polynesians have descended from a South Pacific proto-culture created by an Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) people that had migrated from Southeast Asia. The seven main Polynesian cultures are
Aotearoa
''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Rapa Nui
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...
,
Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...
,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
,
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, and
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
.
The early settlement history of Hawaii is a topic of continuing debate.
Estimates for the date of first settlement of the Hawai'ian islands range from the 3rd century C.E. to between 940 and 1130 C.E.
Indonesia
In the history of Indonesia,
Austronesian people
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrones ...
, who form the majority of the modern population, migrated to South East Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BC, and confined the native
Melanesian peoples
Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from Indonesia's New Guinea to as far East as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language f ...
to the far eastern regions as they expanded.
Dong Son culture
The Dong Son culture or the Lạc Việt culture (named for modern village Đông Sơn, a village in Thanh Hóa, Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centred at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the ...
spread to Indonesia bringing with it techniques of
wet-field rice cultivation, ritual buffalo sacrifice, bronze casting,
megalithic
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
practises, and ''
ikat
''Ikat'' (in Indonesian languages means "bind") is a dyeing technique originating from Indonesia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric.
In ''ikat'', the resist is formed by bi ...
'' weaving methods. Ideal agricultural conditions, and the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the 8th century BCE,
allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the 1st century AD.
Japan
The written history of Japan begins with brief references in the 1st century AD ''
Twenty-Four Histories
The ''Twenty-Four Histories'' (), also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are the Chinese official dynastic histories covering from the earliest dynasty in 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century.
The Han dynasty official Sima Qian ...
'', a collection of Chinese historical texts. However, archaeological evidence indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the
upper paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
period. Following the last
ice-age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
, around 12,000 BC, the rich
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
of the
Japanese Archipelago
The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a archipelago, group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to t ...
fostered human development. The earliest-known pottery belongs to the
Jōmon period
The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...
.
Kiribati
In the history of Kiribati, the islands which now form the Republic of
Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),[Kiribati]
''The Wor ...
have been inhabited for at least seven hundred years, and possibly much longer. The initial
Micronesian population, which remains the overwhelming majority today, was visited by
Polynesian and
Melanesian
Melanesian is the adjectival form of Melanesia. It may refer to:
* Melanesians
* Melanesian mythology
* Melanesian languages In linguistics, Melanesian is an obsolete term referring to the Austronesian languages of Melanesia: that is, the Oceani ...
invaders before the first European sailors "discovered" the islands in the 16th century. For much of the subsequent period, the main island chain, the
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...
, was ruled as part of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. The country gained its independence in 1979 and has since been known as Kiribati.
Malaysia
History of Malaysia is the written past of a country in
South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
whose strategic sea-lane position brought trade and foreign influences that fundamentally influenced its history.
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
India, the
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic Middle East and Christian Europe to its west, and China and Japan to the north-east were major influences brought by shipping routes passing through the region. Malaysian history is also intertwined with that of neighbouring
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
and
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. This trade and foreign cultures brought the area great wealth and diversity, but has also domination and colonialism. The history of Malaysia is one of successive phases of outside influence, followed by the mid-20th century establishment of independence from foreign colonial powers.
New Caledonia
In the
history of New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, the diverse group of people that settled over the
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
n
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
s are known as the
Lapita
The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. They are believed to have originated from the northern Philipp ...
. They arrived in the archipelago now commonly known as New Caledonia and the
Loyalty Islands
The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...
around 1500 BC. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific. From about the 11th century Polynesians also arrived and mixed with the populations of the archipelago. Europeans first sighted New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands in the late 18th century. The British explorer
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
sighted
Grande Terre in 1774 and named it ''New Caledonia'', Caledonia being the Latin name for Scotland. During the same voyage he also named the islands to the north of New Caledonia the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
(now
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
), after the islands north of Scotland.
New Zealand
The History of New Zealand dates back to at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
, who developed a distinct
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
culture centred on kinship links and land. The first European explorer, the Dutch
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...
, came to New Zealand in 1642. From the late 18th century, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries, traders and adventurers. In 1840 the
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
was signed between the
British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
and various Māori chiefs, bringing New Zealand into the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
and giving Māori equal rights with British citizens. There was extensive European and some Asian settlement throughout the rest of the century. War and the imposition of a European economic and legal system led to most of New Zealand's land passing from Māori to European ownership, and most Māori subsequently became impoverished.
From the 1890s the
New Zealand parliament
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
enacted a number of progressive initiatives, including
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and old age pensions. From the 1930s the economy was highly regulated and an extensive welfare state was developed. Meanwhile, Māori culture underwent a renaissance, and from the 1950s Māori began moving to the cities in large numbers. This led to the development of a
Māori protest movement
The Māori protest movement is a broad indigenous-rights movement in New Zealand (). While there were a range of conflicts between Māori and European immigrants prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the signing provided a le ...
which in turn led to greater recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi in the late 20th century. In the 1980s the economy was largely deregulated and a number of socially liberal policies, such as decriminalisation of homosexuality, were put in place. Foreign policy, which had previously consisted mostly of following Britain or the United States, became more independent. Subsequent governments have generally maintained these policies, although tempering the free market ethos somewhat.
Niue Island
The history of the Niue Island can be traced back to a 1,000 years when the Polynesian settles came here. Traces of Pukapulan dialect are still there in the native language which is based on the Samoan and Tongan language. The Polynesian settlers were raters isolated as there was very little inter island trade and the existence of the limestone island was in itself very difficult due to lack of rivers and cultivable soil.
The modern history of Niue can be traced back to 1774 with the arrival of Captain James Cook. Cook described the island as "Savage Island" in his records as the natives were not very welcoming to strangers. This was in complete contrast to the Tongans he described as "The Friendly Islands". Captain Cook tried to set his foot thrice on the island but was repulsed each of the three times. The natives at that time were quite hostile to strangers. Christianity was brought to the island by Peniamina in the year 1846 when he got converted during his stay at Samoa. The islanders were completely converted to Christianity by the end of the 19th century. Colonization took place thereafter and the island was declared as a part of the British Empire.
The island country became independent in 1974 but still have a free association agreement with New Zealand and many of its citizens have become citizens of New Zealand. Now the Island country has a democracy and is governed by a legislative assembly consisting of 20 members. Niue is the smallest democracy in the world.
Papua New Guinea
The History of Papua New Guinea can be traced back to about 60,000 years ago when people first migrated towards the
Australian continent
The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the Australia, country of Australia, is located within the Southern ...
. The written history began when European navigators first sighted
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
in the early part of the 16th century. Portuguese explorers first arrived from the west and later Spanish navigators from the east, after crossing the Pacific. The island was given its name "New Guinea" by Spanish explorer
Yñigo Ortiz de Retez Yñigo Ortiz de Retez ( ''fl.'' 1545) was a 16th-century Spanish maritime explorer of Basque origin, who navigated the northern coastline of the Pacific–Melanesian island of New Guinea, and is credited with bestowing the island's name (''"Nueva G ...
who sailed its coast in 1545. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans arrived on New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago, probably by sea from Southeast Asia during an
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
period when the sea was lower and distances between islands shorter. For an overview of the geological history of the continent of which New Guinea is a part, see
Australia – New Guinea. Although the first arrivals were
hunter-gatherer
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
s, early evidence shows that people managed the forest environment to provide food. The gardens of the New Guinea highlands are ancient, intensive
permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...
s, adapted to high population densities, very high rainfalls (as high as 10,000mm/yr (400in/yr)), earthquakes, hilly land, and occasional frost. There are indications that gardening was being practised at the same time that agriculture was developing in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
Philippines
In the beginning of the history of the Philippines, the arrival of the first humans via
land bridge
In biogeography, a land bridge is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and Colonisation (biology), colonize new lands. A land bridge can be created by marine regre ...
s at least
30,000 years ago.
Austronesians
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrone ...
actively settled the island from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
from 2500 BCE and displaced
Negritoes
The term Negrito () refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, the Ong ...
from the Coastal areas, forcing them into the mountains. Due to influence from the
Cholas
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
and states they had cultural influence over,
Indianized Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
kingdoms arose in the early Medieval period and the Islamic
Sultanate of Brunei
This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continui ...
extended its rule over parts of
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
by the late 15th century. The first visit from Western explorers is the arrival of a Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
, who arrived on
Homonhon Island
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...
, southeast of
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
on 16 March 1521.
Spanish colonization
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
began with the arrival of
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as '' El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Spain) and, i ...
's expedition and permanent settlement in the island of
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
in 1565, and more settlements continued northward with the Spanish settlers reaching the bay of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
on the island of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
in 1571.
In Manila, they established a new town and thus began an era of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
colonization that lasted for more than three centuries. The Philippines were conquered by the United States in 1898, occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945 and given independence in 1946.
Samoa
In the History of Samoa, contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century but did not intensify until the arrival of the English. In 1722,
Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen
Jacob Roggeveen (1 February 1659 – 31 January 1729) was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis and Davis Land, but instead found Easter Island (called so because he landed there on Easter Sunday). Jacob Roggeveen also found Bora ...
was the first European to sight the islands.
Missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
and traders arrived in the 1830s. Halfway through the 19th century, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States all claimed parts of the kingdom of
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
, and established
trade post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
s. King
Malietoa Leaupepe died in 1898 and was succeeded by Malietoa Tooa Mataafa. The US and British consuls supported
Malietoa Tanu, Leaupepe's son. US and British warships, including the
USS ''Philadelphia'' shelled
Apia
Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...
on 15 March 1899. After World War I, the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
carved up Samoa. Britain and New Zealand took over the western islands which became 'Western Samoa' and USA claimed the eastern half of the country which became
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
. In 1962, Western Samoa became the first Pacific Island nation to gain political independence. In 1997, Samoa officially dropped the 'Western' from its name as it was an appendage from its colonial era.
Solomon Islands
The human history of the Solomon Islands begins with the first settlement at least 30,000 years ago from New Guinea. They represented the furthest expansion of humans into the Pacific Ocean until the expansion of
Austronesian-language speakers through the area around 4000 BCE, bringing new agricultural and maritime technology. Most of the languages spoken today in the Solomon Islands derive from this era, but some thirty languages of the pre-Austronesian settlers survive ''(see
East Papuan languages
The East Papuan languages is a defunct proposal for a family of Papuan languages spoken on the islands to the east of New Guinea, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, and the Santa Cruz Islands. There is no eviden ...
).'' The first European contact was that of Spanish explorer
Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira
Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (1 October 1542 – 18 October 1595) was a Spanish navigator and discoverer, best known for two of the earliest recorded expeditions across the Pacific in 1567 and 1595. His voyages led to the discovery of ...
whose expedition first sighted
Santa Isabel island
Santa Isabel Island (also known as Isabel, Ysabel and Mahaga) is the longest in Solomon Islands, the third largest in terms of surface area, and the largest in the group of islands in Isabel Province.
Location and geographic data
Choiseul lies t ...
on 7 February 1568. Finding signs of alluvial gold on Guadalcanal, Mendaña believed he had found the source of
King Solomon
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
's wealth, and consequently named the islands "The Islands of Solomon". Many of the islands were also named by these explorers, including
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
, the
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...
,
San Cristobal,
Santa Ana and Santa Isabel. In 1595 and 1605 Spain again sent several expeditions to find the islands and establish a colony, though these were unsuccessful. In 1767 Captain
Philip Carteret
Rear-Admiral Philip Carteret, Seigneur of Trinity (22 January 1733, Trinity Manor, Jersey – 21 July 1796, Southampton) was a British naval officer and explorer who participated in two of the Royal Navy's circumnavigation expeditions in 1764 ...
rediscovered
Santa Cruz and
Malaita
Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...
. Later, Dutch, French and British navigators visited the islands; their reception was often hostile.
Tahiti
In the
history of Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...
, Tahiti is estimated to have been settled by
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
between CE 300 and 800 coming from
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
and
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
, although some estimates place the date earlier. The fertile island soil combined with
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
provided ample food for the population. Although the first European sighting of the islands was by a Spanish ship in 1606, Spain made no effort to trade with or colonize the island.
Samuel Wallis
Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795 in London) was a British naval officer and explorer of the Pacific Ocean. He made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti.
Biography
Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, n ...
, an English sea captain, sighted Tahiti on 18 June 1767, and is considered the first European visitor to the island. The perceived relaxation and contented nature of the local people and the characterization of the island as a paradise much impressed early European visitors, planting the seed for a romanticization by the West that endures to this day.
Taiwan
In the history of Taiwan, Aboriginal peoples ancestors are believed to have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
immigration began in the 17th century. The Taiwanese Aborigines are
Austronesian people
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrones ...
s, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and Oceania. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were traditionally distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. Today, the bulk of the contemporary Taiwanese Aborigine population reside in the mountains and the cities. The issue of an
ethnic identity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
unconnected to the Asian mainland has become one thread in the discourse regarding the political identity of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. The total population of Aborigines on Taiwan is around 458,000 as of January 2006, which is approximately 2% of Taiwan's population.
Tokelau
Archaeological evidence indicates that
history of Tokelau's atol—
Atafu
Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 52 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. With a land area of , it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau. It is an atoll and su ...
,
Nukunonu
Nukunonu is the largest atoll within Tokelau, a dependency of New Zealand, in the south Pacific Ocean. It comprises 30 islets surrounding a central lagoon, with about of land area and a lagoon surface area of . Motuhaga is the only islet that ...
, and
Fakaofo
Fakaofo, formerly known as Bowditch Island, is a South Pacific Ocean atoll located in the Tokelau Group. The actual land area is only about 3 km2 (1.1 sq mi), consisting of islets on a coral reef surrounding a central lagoon of some 45 k ...
—were settled about 1,000 years ago, probably by voyages from
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
, the
Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
and
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...
. Oral history traces local traditions and genealogies back several hundred years.
Inhabitants followed
Polynesian mythology
The Polynesian narrative or Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian Triangle) together with those of the scattered cul ...
with the local god
Tui Tokelau Tui Tokelau is a god worshipped in Tokelau in the Pacific. Before the arrival of Christianity in the islands, Tui Tokelau was the primary god along with the usual pantheon of Polynesian gods. The marae of the village of Fakaofo on Fakaofo atoll was ...
; and developed forms of music (see
Music of Tokelau 300px, The ''pate'' slit drum is used to make music in Tokelau.
The music of Tokelau occurs in the atolls of Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo. It is dominated by communal choral activity in harmony, with percussive accompaniment including log drums ...
) and art. The three atolls functioned largely independently while maintaining social and linguistic cohesion. Tokelauan society was governed by chiefly
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
s, and there were occasional inter-atoll skirmishes and
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
s as well as inter-marriage. Fakaofo, the "chiefly island," held some dominance over Atafu and Nukunonu. Life on the atolls was subsistence-based, with reliance on
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
and
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
.
Commodore
John Byron
Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...
discovered
Atafu
Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 52 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. With a land area of , it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau. It is an atoll and su ...
on 24 June 1765 and named it "Duke of York's Island." Parties onshore reported that there were no signs of current or previous inhabitants.
[MacGregor, 30]
Tonga
The history of
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
stretches back to around roughly 1000 AD, when the
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
arrived. Tonga became known as the
Tongan Empire Tongan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Tonga
*Tongans, people from Tonga
*Tongan language, the national language of Tonga
*Tong'an District, a district in Xiamen, Fujian, China
See also
*Tonga (disambiguation)
*Ton ...
through extensive trading and its influence and show of strength and domination over parts of the Pacific (e.g. Samoa, Fiji). The Europeans arrived in the 17th century which was followed after a couple hundred years by a single unified Tongan kingdom. Archaeological evidence shows that the first settlers in Tonga sailed from the
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...
, as part of the original Austronesian-speakers' (Lapita) migration which originated out of southeast Asia some 6,000 years before present. Archaeological dating places Tonga as the oldest known site in Polynesia for the distinctive Lapita ceramic ware, at 2800–2750 years before present.
Tuvalu
![Tuvalu costume](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Tuvalu_costume.jpg)
The history of Tuvalu dates back to at least 1,000 years to when it was discovered and settled by
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
. the
origins of the people of Tuvalu is addressed in the theories regarding the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, via
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
and across the Pacific islands to create
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
.
During pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the islands as
Polynesian navigation
Polynesian navigation or Polynesian wayfinding was used for thousands of years to enable long voyages across thousands of kilometers of the Pelagic zone, open Pacific Ocean. Polynesians made contact with nearly every island within the vast Poly ...
skills are recognised to have allowed deliberate journeys on double-hull sailing canoes or
outrigger canoe
Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger ...
s.
Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited; thus the name, Tuvalu, means "eight standing together" in
Tuvaluan. The pattern of settlement that is believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from the
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
n Islands into the Tuvaluan atolls, with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone to migration into the
Polynesian Outlier communities in
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
and
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
.
In 1568 Spanish navigator
Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to sail through the islands and sighted
Nui during his expedition in search of
Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
. European explorers did not return until two centuries later. In 1819 the island of
Funafuti
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of la ...
was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer
Alexander George Findlay
Alexander George Findlay (1812–1875) was an English geographer and hydrographer. His services to geography have been compared with those of Aaron Arrowsmith and August Heinrich Petermann.
Life
Findlay was born in London, 6 January 1812, a de ...
(1812–1876). The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
by Captain Gibson R.N., of
HMS ''Curacoa'', between 9 and 16 October 1892.
The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a
Resident Commissioner
Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...
from 1892 to 1916 as part of the
British Western Pacific Territories
The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, of a series of Paci ...
(BWPT), and later as part of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...
colony from 1916 to 1974.
A
referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration.
[Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p. 831, ] As a consequence of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976 and the separate British colonies of
Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),[Kiribati]
''The Wor ...
and Tuvalu came into existence.
[''Tuvalu: A History'', Chapter 20, Secession and Independence, pp. 153–177] Tuvalu became fully independent within the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
on 1 October 1978. On 17 September 2000 Tuvalu became the
189th member of the United Nations.
Vanuatu
In the history of Vanuatu, the commonly held theory of
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
's
prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
from archaeological evidence supports that peoples speaking
Austronesian language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
s first came to the islands some 4,000 to 6,000 years ago.
Pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
fragments have been found dating back to 1300 BC What little is known of the pre-European contact history of Vanuatu has been gleaned from oral histories and legends. One important early king was
Roy Mata
Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a powerful Melanesian chief in what is now Vanuatu. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 16th century, or the beginning of the 17th. ''Chief Roi Mata's domain'' (UNESCO report).
In 2008, three sites ...
, who united several tribes, and was buried in a large mound with several retainers. The first European contact with Vanuatu came in 1606, when a Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese explorer
Pedro Fernández de Quirós
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...
discovered
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
, naming it ''Australia del Espiritu Santo'', believing he had arrived in the southern
continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
. Europeans did not return until 1768, when
Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolution ...
rediscovered the islands.
Other islands
History of American Samoa
The islands of Samoa were originally inhabited by humans as early as 850 BC. After being invaded by European explorers in the 18th century, by the 20th and 21st century, the islands were incorporated into Samoa (Western Samoa, Independent Samoa) ...
begins with inhabitation as early as 1000 BC, Samoa was not reached by European explorers until the 18th century.
The
history of Baker Island began when the United States of America took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun on this island – as well as on nearby
Howland Island
Howland Island () is an uninhabited coral island located just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about southwest of Honolulu. The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unorganized, unincorporated ter ...
– but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Department of the Interior; a
day beacon
A day beacon (sometimes "daybeacon") is an unlighted nautical sea mark. A signboard identifying it is called a day mark. Day beacons typically mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. They may also mark smaller navigable route ...
is situated near the middle of the west coast.
In the
history of Brunei
The history of Brunei concerns the settlements and societies located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, which has been under the influence of Indianised kingdoms and empires for much of its history. Local scholars assume that the Isla ...
, the
Sultanate
This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continui ...
of ''
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
'' was very powerful from the fourteenth to the 16th century AD. Its realm covered the northern part of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
and the southwestern
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. European influence gradually brought an end to this
regional power
In international relations, since the late 20thcentury, the term "regional power" has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within a given geographical region.Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor"The Rise of (New) Regional Powe ...
. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei was victorious. The decline of the
Bruneian Empire
Bruneian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Brunei
* A person from Brunei, or of Bruneian descent. For information about the Bruneian people, see Demographics of Brunei and Culture of Brunei. For specific Bruneians, see List of Bruneians.
...
culminated in the 19th century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the
White Rajahs
The White Rajahs were a dynastic monarchy of the British Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak, located on the north west coast of the island of Borneo, from 1841 to 1946. The first ruler was Briton James Brooke. As a reward f ...
of
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
from 1888 to 1984.
Westerners arrived in
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
in 1525, by the Portuguese
Diogo da Rocha Diogo da Rocha was a captain who sailed for the Portuguese in 1525. He is credited as being the first to encounter the islands "to the Eastwards of Mindanao, and the islands of St. Lazarus" ( possibly Ulithi in the Caroline Islands
The Carol ...
and his pilot
Gomes de Sequeira
Gomes de Sequeira was a Portuguese explorer in the early 16th century. It has been suggested by some historians that Gomes de Sequeira may have sailed to the northeast coast of Australia as part of his explorations, although this is disputed.
See ...
, naming them the ''Sequeira Islands''. At about the same time, in 1526, they were sighted by the Spanish
Toribio Alonso de Salazar
Toribio Alonso de Salazar, (died 5 September 1526) born in Biscay, was a Spanish navigator of Basques, Basque origin, who was the first Westerner to arrive on the Marshall Islands on August 21, 1526.
De Salazar was part of the friar, Fray García ...
, he called them "Carolinas" after the emperor
Carlos I of Spain, and Charles V of Holy Roman Empire.
Though early Spanish navigators in the area (from 1543) called them the ''Nuevas Filipinas'' ("New Philippines"), Admiral
Francisco Lazeano named them the ''Carolinas'' after the Spanish King
Charles II in 1686.
In the
history of French Polynesia
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, the French Polynesian island groups do not share a common history before the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889. The first French Polynesian islands to be settled by
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
were the
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...
in AD 300 and the
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
in AD 800. The Polynesians were organized in petty
chieftainship
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...
s.
European discovery in the
History of the Galapagos Islands occurred when Dominican
Fray Tomás de Berlanga
Fray or Frays or The Fray may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional entities
*Fray, a phenomenon in Terry Pratchett's '' The Carpet People''
*Fray, the main character in the video games:
**''Fray in Magical Adventure''
**''Fray CD' ...
, the fourth Bishop of
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
, sailed to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
to settle a dispute between
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru.
Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...
and his lieutenants. De Berlanga's vessel drifted off course when the winds diminished, and his party reached the islands on 10 March 1535. According to a 1956 study by
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
and Arne Skjølsvold, remains of potsherds and other artifacts from several sites on the islands suggest visitation by South American peoples prior to the arrival of the Spanish. These claims are considered dubious by most academics.
Historical evidence suggests that Howland Island was the site of prehistoric settlement, which may have extended down to
Rawaki,
Canton,
Manra
Manra (previously: ''Sydney Island''), is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It lies at . longitude, and has an area of . and an elevation of approximately six metres. Together with the seven other Phoenix Islands, it for ...
and
Orona
Orona atoll, also known as Hull Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It measures approximately by , and like Kanton, is a narrow ribbon of land surrounding a sizable lagoon with depths of . Numerous passages connec ...
of the
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...
500 to 700 km southeast. This settlement might have taken the form of a single community utilising several adjacent islands, but the hard life on these isolated islands, together with the uncertainty of fresh water supplies, led to an extinction of or dereliction by the settled peoples, in such a way that other islands in the area (such as
Kiritimati
Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, ...
and
Pitcairn
The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...
) were abandoned. Such settlements probably began around 1000 BC, when eastern
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
ns travelled north.
The
history of Jarvis Island begins with the island's first known sighting by Europeans was on 21 August 1821 by the British ship ''Eliza Francis'' (or ''Eliza Frances'') owned by Edward, Thomas and William Jarvis and commanded by Captain Brown. In March 1857 the uninhabited island was claimed for the United States under the
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act (, enacted August 18, 1856, codified at §§ 1411-1419) is a United States federal law passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclaim ...
and formally annexed on 27 February 1858.
In the
history of Marquesas Islands, the first recorded settlers of the
Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...
were
Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
, who, from archеological evidence, are believed to have arrived before 100 AD. Ethnological and linguistic evidence suggests that they likely arrived from the region of
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
and
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
. The islands were given their name by the Spanish explorer
Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira
Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (1 October 1542 – 18 October 1595) was a Spanish navigator and discoverer, best known for two of the earliest recorded expeditions across the Pacific in 1567 and 1595. His voyages led to the discovery of ...
who reached them on 21 July 1595. He named them after his patron,
García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete
García Hurtado de Mendoza y Manrique, 5th Marquis of Cañete (July 21, 1535 – May 19, 1609) was a Spanish Governor of Chile, and later Viceroy of Peru (from January 8, 1590 to July 24, 1596). He is often known simply as "Marquis of Cañete". Be ...
, who was
Viceroy of Peru
The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Brazi ...
at the time. Mendaña visited first
Fatu Hiva
Fatu-Hiva (the "H" is not pronounced, see name section below) is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbor, it is also the m ...
and then
Tahuata
Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi.) to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelai ...
before continuing on to the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
.
In the
history of Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's Western New Guinea, New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent cou ...
, the original inhabitants of the islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present day Papuan-speaking people. These people are thought to have occupied New Guinea tens of millennia ago and reached the islands 35,000 years ago (according to radiocarbon dating). They appear to have occupied these islands as far east as the main islands in the Solomon Islands (i.e., including
San Cristobal) and perhaps even to the smaller islands farther to the east.
The ancestors of the so-called "
Micronesians
The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan.
Ethno ...
" in the
history of Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
settled there over 4,000 years ago. A decentralized chieftain-based system eventually evolved into a more centralized economic and religious empire centered on
Yap
Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micro ...
. European explorers – first the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
in search of the
Spice Islands
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices ar ...
(
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
) and then the Spanish – reached the Carolines in the 16th century, with the Spanish establishing sovereignty.
Researchers of the
History of the Marshall Islands agree on little more than that successive waves of
migratory peoples from Southeast Asia spread across the Western Pacific about 3,000 years ago, and that some of them landed on and remained on these islands. The Spanish explorer
Alonso de Salazar
Toribio Alonso de Salazar, (died 5 September 1526) born in Biscay, was a Spanish navigator of Basque origin, who was the first Westerner to arrive on the Marshall Islands on August 21, 1526.
De Salazar was part of the Fray García Jofre de Loa ...
landed there in 1529. They were named for English
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
, who visited them in 1799. The Marshall Islands were claimed by Spain in 1874. Following papal mediation and German compensation of $4.5 million, Spain recognized Germany's claim in 1885, which established a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
and set up trading stations on the islands of Jaluit and Ebon Atoll, Ebon to carry out the flourishing copra (dried
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
meat) trade. Marshallese Iroij (high chiefs) continued to rule under indirect colonial German administration.
In the History of the Society Islands, the archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
in honor of the Royal Society, sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook states in his journal that he called the islands Society "as they lay contiguous to one another".
[Tony Horwitz, Horwitz, Tony. Oct. 2003, ''Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before'', Bloomsbury, ]
In the history of Tuamotu, the Tuamotus were first discovered by a Spanish expedition led by
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
in 1521. From the Inca Empire, Tupac Inca Yupanqui is also credited with leading a nearly 10-month voyage of exploration into the Pacific around 1480. None of these visits were of political consequence, the islands being in the sphere of influence of the Pomare dynasty of Tahiti. At the beginning 18th century the first Christian missionaries arrived. The islands' pearls penetrated the European market in the late 19th century, making them a coveted possession. Following the forced abdication of Pomare V, King Pomare V of Tahiti, the islands were annexed as an overseas territory of France.
See also
* Europeans in Oceania
* Exploration of the Pacific
* List of countries and islands by first human settlement
* Pacific Islands
References
27. "Reconstructing History: Literature, History, and Anthropology in the Pacific". Ed. Cynthia Klekar. Special Issue of ''The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation'' 49, no. 3 (Fall, 2008). Introduction, 193-96.
{{DEFAULTSORT:History of the Pacific Islands
History of the Pacific Ocean
History of Oceania
Prehistory of Oceania
History by region
History by islands, Pacific Islands
Islands of the Pacific Ocean, *History