History of the Pacific Islands

Many other tribal migrations from French Polynesia, notably Tahiti would continue for centuries forming a unique Māori society.

A few years later, a Spanish expedition led by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People).

Its inhabitants, the Rapa Nui, have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids, and colonialism; have seen their population crash on more than one occasion.

By 500 BC, Melanesian seafarers had reached Fiji and intermarried with the Austronesian inhabitants, giving rise to the modern Fijian people.

The history of Guam involves phases including the early arrival of people known today as the ancient Chamorros, the development of "pre-contact" society, Spanish colonization, and the present American rule of the island.

Archaeological evidence also suggests that Chamorro society was on the verge of another transition phase by 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan's expedition arrived, as latte stones became bigger.

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.

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, Hawaiʻi, Rapa Nui, Marquesas, Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga.

The initial Micronesian population, which remains the overwhelming majority today, was visited by Polynesian and Melanesian invaders before the first European sailors "discovered" the islands in the 16th century.

The History of New Zealand dates back to at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship links and land.

From the 1890s the New Zealand parliament enacted a number of progressive initiatives, including women's suffrage and old age pensions.

In the 1980s the economy was largely deregulated and a number of socially liberal policies, such as decriminalisation of homosexuality, were put in place.

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 island was given its name "New Guinea" by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez who sailed its coast in 1545.

Although the first arrivals were hunter-gatherers, early evidence shows that people managed the forest environment to provide food.

Samuel Wallis, 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.

Archaeological evidence indicates that history of Tokelau's atol—Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo—were settled about 1,000 years ago, probably by voyages from Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tuvalu.

Tonga became known as the Tongan Empire through extensive trading and its influence and show of strength and domination over parts of the Pacific (e.g. Samoa, Fiji).

Archaeological dating places Tonga as the oldest known site in Polynesia for the distinctive Lapita ceramic ware, at 2800–2750 years before present.

the origins of the people of Tuvalu is addressed in the theories regarding the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands to create Polynesia.

[16][17][18] 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.

One important early king was Roy Mata, who united several tribes, and was buried in a large mound with several retainers.

Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the U.S. Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle of the west coast.

At about the same time, in 1526, they were sighted by the Spanish Toribio Alonso de Salazar, he called them "Carolinas" after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Though early Spanish navigators in the area (from 1543) called them the Nuevas Filipinas ("New Philippines"), Admiral Francisco Lazeano named them the Carolinas after King Charles II of Spain in 1686.

He named them after his patron, García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, who was Viceroy of Peru at the time.

A decentralized chieftain-based system eventually evolved into a more centralized economic and religious empire centred on Yap.

European explorers – first the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and then the Spaniards – reached the Carolines in the 16th century, with Spain establishing sovereignty.

The islands' pearls penetrated the European market in the late 19th century, making them a coveted possession.