Polynesian Summary

The Austronesians, to create a seaworthy craft, had to build something that could withstand winds and conditions in the rough sea or when sailing from island to island. To do this, they used a single canoe and added another hull to it to make a double canoe. Another alternative they used to this was adding a float to one or both sides to create a more stable canoe. This addition to the boat they already had allowed them to sail in the south pacific and to sail to the many islands in Polynesia. When they moved across the south pacific, they sailed east, which caused them to sail against the direction of the trade winds. Because they sailed against them, they learned to wait for periodic westerly wind shifts so they could travel east. To guide themselves from island to island, they used: the stars, the sun, and other natural things. Because of the experience that these sailors had, they knew no matter what direction they sailed, they would find land. This is how these people expanded so easily. It was a great idea for oceanic expansion, and allowed them to discover uninhabited lands. By expanding like this, it allowed the Austronesians to cover more land. They covered area in Hawaii, islands east of the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Remote Oceania. Once the travelers started to inhabit the islands, they had to have a food source. Because they could not live off of fishing alone and have great populations, they also had to be farmers. The sailors also had to create a way to carry a wide variety of plants and other things such as domesticated dogs, chickens, and pigs as well as yams, bananas, and breadfruit.

Because many places that the sailors traveled to were uninhabited, they did not have a great effect there. They instead started their own civilizations on these islands. The travelers kept some indigenous practices. Because of the amount of time these people spend on islands, they tended to have population control. They had various ways of doing it which included infanticide and marital arrangements. This shows that despite building their own society, it remained strong over time, and was a substantial society. Because these islands were closely knit with each other, despite them having different rulings and tribes, they still traded with one another. They traded crops and other things, such as yams. The Polynesians, however did have some outside contact with other civilization. One example of this was getting tuber plants from South America, although it's not sure if they went there. Magellan's voyage gave an end to the isolation of the Polynesians with the outside world. Eventually, various places such as the United States, France, and Britain took over many of the Polynesian islands. Soon, farmers from outside places discovered that the tuber was easy to grow in cooler places, which allowed them to expand the population.