Whatever the methods of exploration and discovery, once the location of an island was known, it became open to settlement. Polynesian explorers were navigating across huge areas of ocean at a time when European explorers believed the earth was flat!

 

When were the islands of Polynesia discovered?

The migrations across the Pacific Ocean began before the birth of Christ. Up in Europe at that time, people were sailing close to the coastlines of continents because they did not have navigational instruments that would allow them to venture onto the open ocean. If they were too far from land, they would not be able to find their way back.

But during this same period of time, voyagers from Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa began to settle islands in an ocean area of over 10 million square miles. The settlement took a thousand years to complete and involved explorers finding and remembering the position of islands, sometimes only a few kilometres across, on which the highest landmark was a coconut tree.

By the time European explorers entered the Pacific Ocean in the 16th century, almost all the habitable islands had been settled for hundreds of years. (back to top)