National Geographic Education

Europeans visited and colonized remote islands beginning in the 1500s. They sometimes caused harm. For example, they brought devastating diseases unknown to islanders, who had no resistance to them. Many island people perished from diseases such as measles.
On their ships, Europeans also brought animals—including cats, dogs, rats, snakes, and goats. These invasive species preyed on native island plants and animals. They also took over native species’ niches and destroyed the natural ecological balance of the islands.
Since the days of the early explorers, islands have been important as places for ships to take on supplies and for their crews to rest. Later, islands became part of ocean trade routes, linking distant parts of the world. Islands became particularly important to seafaring thieves known as pirates.
Like stepping stones, islands have helped people migrate over vast expanses of ocean from one continent to another.
Today, millions of people live on islands all over the world. Some even own them—islands are available for purchase just like any other piece of real estate.

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  1. shinichi Post author

    Island

    National Geographic Society

    http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/island/?ar_a=1

    Islands and People


    
How the world’s most remote islands were first discovered and settled is one of the most fascinating stories in human history. The vast Pacific Ocean is sprinkled with many small islands, such as the Marquesas, Easter Island, and the Hawaiian Islands. These islands are far from the coasts of the Americas, Asia, and Australia. When Europeans began exploring the Pacific islands in the 1500s, they found people already living there. We now know these people as Polynesians. Where did these people come from?


    
Most scientists say the ancestors of these Pacific island inhabitants originally came from Southeast Asia, probably around Taiwan. (The famous scientist Thor Heyerdahl disagreed. He said Polynesians migrated to the Pacific islands from the west coasts of North and South America. Heyerdahl successfully sailed a wooden raft, the Kon-Tiki, from Peru to Raroia, French Polynesia, in 1947. Although this proved the migration was possible, linguistic and genetic evidence suggest it is unlikely.)


    
Beginning around 3,000-4,000 years ago, groups of early Polynesians set out in great oceangoing canoes on voyages over thousands of kilometers of ocean. Sailing without compasses or maps, they discovered islands they could not have known existed. Their most famous expeditions took them east, as far as the Hawaiian Islands and Easter Island. Recent evidence suggests these early people also sailed west, across the Indian Ocean. They were probably the first people to inhabit the African island of Madagascar.


    
Archaeologists who study Polynesian culture say the ancient Pacific people were excellent sailors who navigated by the stars. Many sailors still use celestial navigation. Ancient Polynesians also knew how to interpret winds and ocean waves. Some of their voyages were probably accidental, and occurred when storms blew canoes traveling to nearby islands off course. Other voyages were almost certainly intentional.

    Europeans visited and colonized remote islands beginning in the 1500s. They sometimes caused harm. For example, they brought devastating diseases unknown to islanders, who had no resistance to them. Many island people perished from diseases such as measles. Island populations such the Taino (in the Caribbean, probably the first Native Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus) shrunk to near-extinction.



    On their ships, Europeans also brought animals—including cats, dogs, rats, snakes, and goats. These invasive species preyed on native island plants and animals. They also took over native species’ niches and destroyed the natural ecological balance of the islands. The so-called Jamaican monkey, for example, was native to the Caribbean but went extinct after Europeans colonized the area.



    Since the days of the early explorers, islands have been important as places for ships to take on supplies and for their crews to rest. Later, islands became part of ocean trade routes, linking distant parts of the world. Islands became particularly important to seafaring thieves known as pirates. Islands from the Bahamas (in the Atlantic Ocean) to Madagascar (in the Indian Ocean) became notorious as pirate bases. The rule of law did not always reach these remote places, and the rugged terrain made finding pirate hideouts difficult for law enforcement.



    Like stepping stones, islands have helped people migrate over vast expanses of ocean from one continent to another. During World War II, Asian battles were fought in the “Pacific theater” of the war. Instead of attacking Japan directly, Allied powers (led by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union) chose a strategy of “island hopping.” Allied forces “hopped” from one small Pacific island to the next, establishing military bases and air control. The battles of Guadalcanal and Tarawa were important battles in the island-hopping campaign.



    Today, millions of people live on islands all over the world. Some even own them—islands are available for purchase just like any other piece of real estate. There are many island nations. Island nations can be part of an island (such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola), one island (such as Madagascar), or many islands (such as the Philippines).


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