It's surprising how accurate that is. The polynesians likely followed the melanesian and others trade routes. They had an ability to know where land is that is lost to time for the most part now, but most of the islands were inhabited, and the polynesians invaded many a place.
I love Polynesian history, got hooked when I read Captain Cook's first voyage. They're the living proof that humans were meant to find and colonize every inhabitable scrap of land in this earth.
If anybody is interested, you can find first hand accounts of early contacts with the Polynesians for free in project Gutenberg and the internet archive. Rogeveen is the earliest one with readable accounts translated into English (very cool first impressions of Easter Island). Bougainville spent a while I'm Tahiti (months after the first contact) and wrote a lot about in his book.
Finally James Cook was probably the most intelligent and sensitive European man to make early contact with Polynesians.
He simply understood them. He quickly grasped that they were one people, and that their sailing prowess had spread them so far across the Pacific. Not to mention that he took in a man that was possibly the last Tahitian trained in long range navigation as his guest (absorbing a lot of his knowledge during their months together). Anyway read Captain Cook, his stuff is awesome.
Cook was an interesting guy. He explored half of the NorthWest. He also pointed out that the Hawaiian islands were connected because of verneal diseases. He also entered territories the same way Commodore Perry entered Japan to assert dominance.
Liking him while in Hawaii needs to be done quietly BTW.
It's surprising how accurate that is. The polynesians likely followed the melanesian and others trade routes. They had an ability to know where land is that is lost to time for the most part now, but most of the islands were inhabited, and the polynesians invaded many a place.
I love Polynesian history, got hooked when I read Captain Cook's first voyage. They're the living proof that humans were meant to find and colonize every inhabitable scrap of land in this earth.
If anybody is interested, you can find first hand accounts of early contacts with the Polynesians for free in project Gutenberg and the internet archive. Rogeveen is the earliest one with readable accounts translated into English (very cool first impressions of Easter Island). Bougainville spent a while I'm Tahiti (months after the first contact) and wrote a lot about in his book.
Finally James Cook was probably the most intelligent and sensitive European man to make early contact with Polynesians.
He simply understood them. He quickly grasped that they were one people, and that their sailing prowess had spread them so far across the Pacific. Not to mention that he took in a man that was possibly the last Tahitian trained in long range navigation as his guest (absorbing a lot of his knowledge during their months together). Anyway read Captain Cook, his stuff is awesome.
Cook was an interesting guy. He explored half of the NorthWest. He also pointed out that the Hawaiian islands were connected because of verneal diseases. He also entered territories the same way Commodore Perry entered Japan to assert dominance.
Liking him while in Hawaii needs to be done quietly BTW.