33.7 The pacific: a.d. 1801 to 1900  (Page 4/6)

Micronesia

The Japanese, feeling population pressure, began to more south in the Pacific, forcing the Chinese out of Okinawa and other Rykyu islands by 1,875. They had already laid claim to the Bonins in 1,861 and made them a part of their empire in 1,876. They then soon took the three volcano islands of which Iwo Jima is one, and after the turn of the century they moved still further south into the true area of Micronesia. Copra and dried fish were about the only products of these tiny islands.

Polynesia

In this 19th century Americans, Russians and Germans joined the Spanish, French and English in Oceania. In the first 50 years, European attention was given chiefly to the eastern islands, all of which, except Fiji, were already inhabited by true Polynesian peoples. The great explorers included the Frenchmen Dumont d'Urville (1,826-1,840), who also explored the Antarctica, the British Captain Frederick Beechey (1,825-1,828), Captain James Cook and above all the American Charles Wilkes, U.S.M. (1,838-1,842). Wilkes had 5 ships at his disposal and his explorations were extensive, from Hawaii to Antartica and the scientific publications arising from the expeditions are voluminous. In the east Pacific as well as the west, white men brought much grief to the islands, including disease and guns for more deadly warfare than had previously been possible between tribes. Dysentery and childhood diseases, along with firearms, started the process of island depopulation. Whalers and missionaries, each in their own very opposite ways, had tremendous effects on the island natives. (Ref. 134 )

In the last module we described the visits of Captain Cook to the Hawaiian Islands. In an effort to secure an agricultural base for Alaska, Georg Schaeffer, a Bavarian in the Russian Service, established forts at two places on Kuaui in 1,816, but was soon run out by Yankee traders. Later in the century the Hawaian Islands functioned under theirown government, first as a constitutional monarchy and then in 1,893, after the deposition of Queen Liliuo Kalani, under a republic with Sanford B. Dole as president. In 1,900 the islands became a United States territory with Dole as governor. (Ref. 199 )

The Marquesas and Tahiti reluctantly became French protectorates in 1,842. At that time the population of the Marquesas was about 20,000, but-European diseases decimated the people, as elsewhere in the Pacific, and today in the 20th century there are only about 3,000 people, with 4 of the islands having no inhabitants at all. The people of those islands used knotted strings to help them memorize lists of their ancestors names, much the same as the Aztecs did. (Ref. 9 )

At the southwest corner of the great Polynesian triangle lies New Zealand, the only island group lying entirely within the temperate zone. Although discovered by Captain Cook in 1,769 it had only temporary, various European settlements in the next half century. By 1,840 the fierce, native Maori had already declined from a previous high population of perhaps 200,000 down to about 100,000 in the North Island, probably chiefly from inter- tribal wars. The South Island probably never had more than 15,000. The Maori were cannibals, but ate only their enemies, and initially, at least, they did not consider the whites in general as enemies. Their priests used notched sticks to help them remember endless chanted verses. They all suffered from the white man's diseases, including venereal ones, changes in diet and clothing and the use of guns on themselves. But they were happy to get iron, the pig and the potato. Soon after 1,840 there were already 19 Church of England missions and 2 Catholic ones, with both trying to keep the Maori tribes from warring on each other, although the church groups had conflicts themselves.