An Overview of the foreigners in the Pacific Islands

Explorers  Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Netherlands were major exploring countries  Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal, James Cook of Britain were some of the major explorers

Beachcombers  Came with the early explorers  Tried to live with the islanders in their culture Whalers  Wanted whale oil for lamps and entertainment in the form of alcohol

Traders  European and American traders came to make money  Wanted goods such as Sandalwood, tortoise shell, mother of pearl shell to sell to the Chinese  Pacific Islanders got firearms, alcohol, tobacco and tools in exchange

Blackbirders  They were labor traders  Would trade island chiefs gifts or money for male workers/laborers  Some islanders were kidnapped and treated like slaves  Some islanders returned after their work well respected by the community

Missionaries  Religious men and women who wanted to “civilize” and Christianize the islanders. They believed the islanders were immoral and savages  British and American Protestants and Spanish Catholics were the main groups  Missionaries were pretty successful in bringing Christianity to the islands

 Europeans wanted to trade with outsiders because they became fascinated with some of the outside items such as spices, silks, and clothing  Europeans wanted to find new lands which could bring wealth and power to the countries  Some Europeans wanted to convert others to Christianity  Some wanted to learn more about Science of the earth

 Pacific Islands were mapped out  New navigation and trade routes  Many diseases were spread such as smallpox, measles, and venereal diseases, killed half the native population  Bars and gambling started  Towns were rough and rowdy  Introduction of Western Based economy= using money and buying things. Economy now based on cash

 Breakdown of family structure. Extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles etc.)turned into nuclear families (only parents and children) because they did not have enough money to support an extended family  Introduced to Western goods such as alcohol, cloth, firearms, tobacco, tools

 Many islander practices such as dances, feasts, way of dressing, tattooing was changed  Islanders learned to read and write