For Europeans from the 16th century on, the Pacific was a cornucopia of riches – of spices, people, and land – waiting for them to exploit, if they only had the courage and determination. But the Pacific had already been explored and settled long before by Austronesian and Polynesian people. The competition between and amongst the indigenous Pacifika people and cultures, and the various European imperial powers played out for the next five hundred years, in stories of courage, greed, duplicity, loss and liberation– and we inherit the consequences.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face / Online

COURSE OUTLINE

• Exploration over time: Pre Medieval, Medieval, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
• Colonised Pacific Islands: Austronesian, Polynesian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, British, French, Russian, German

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Outline the timeline of explorers and colonisers in the Pacific
2. Contrast the consequences of colonisation in the Pacific by different empires, with reference to when those lands were settled