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Why was Polynesia settled?
Thousands of years ago, the islands of Polynesia were uninhabited. But gradually, from the West to the East, people moved out across the Pacific, settling on the many small islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Some people believe that the islands were accidentally settled, and others that there was planned exploration. Which of these two theories do you think is right?
............................. The "It was an accident" theory
Some scholars believe that new islands were found by fishermen, who were accidentally blown off course by storms. Maybe they were looking for new areas to fish in, or they were chasing a school of fish. If this was the case, and new lands were found by accident, it would have been very dangerous, and a lot of people would have died in the process. (back to top)
Other scholars think that the people who settled Polynesia may have used a deliberate strategy of exploration that allowed them to find islands without too much risk. To understand this you need to know that canoes cannot sail into the wind (the direction the wind is coming from) because they get blown backwards. You also need to know that the wind in the Pacific normally blows from the east, and only sometimes from the west.
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What they did was wait for a reversal in wind direction and sail in the direction that is normally upwind (i.e. eastward in the Pacific) for as far as it was safe to go given the supplies that were carried on the canoe. The return home (westward) would be made easy when the wind shifted back to its normal easterly direction. |
Some people believe that this second theory is supported by the west to east settlement of the Pacific. Archaeologists know that people moved from the islands of southeast Asia and Melanesia to Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, the Society Islands, the Tuamotus, and Hiva (the Marquesas).
There is no way we can be completely sure which theory is right, and the answer may be that both theories are partly right. (back to top)