Trade & Social Change
I. Polynesia
A.
Overview
1.
violence & bloodshed
a)
militaristic societies
b)
dispute over property
2.
trade transactions
a)
hospitality & refreshment
b)
metal & military goods
B.
Tahiti
1.
Trade
a)
breadfruit (1789 & 1792)
--
BountyÓs
captain = William Bligh
--
mutiny --> settled on Pitcairn Island
b)
pork (1801-1831)
--
New South Wales
2.
Changes = dependent on imported goods
C.
Extractive Trade
1.
sandalwood
a)
Fiji (1804-1816)
--
Bua district of Vanua Levu
b)
Marquesas (1815-1820)
c)
Hawaii (1819-1829)
--
unified by Kamehameha (1810)
--
government monopoly (until 1819)
2.
beche-de-mer
a)
Fiji (1828-1850)
b)
collection process
3.
role of beachcombers
a)
intermediaries
b)
dependent on host
D.
Whaling (1820-1860)
1.
pattern of voyages
a)
via Cape Horn
--
south-east Pacific
--
north Pacific
b)
via Cape of Good Hope
--
south-west Pacific
2.
Changes to society
a)
presence of whalers
b)
internal pattern of distribution
c)
structures of authority
II. Melanesia
A.
Overview
1.
contrast with Polynesia
2.
violence & danger
B.
Sandalwood
1.
New Hebrides (1825)
a)
Erromanga
--
BokiÕs 1829 voyage
b)
Aneityum
--
James Paddon (est. in 1844)
2.
methods used
a)
islanders
--
ships attacked
--
village activities
b)
shipÕs crew harvest
--
theft & costly
c)
shore station
--
Melanesian labor
3.
sustained commerce --> change native demands
C.
ÒBlackbirdingÓ
1.
ÒPeruvian slave tradeÓ (1862-1863)
2.
Melanesian labor traffic
a)
for plantations in Queensland
b)
unpleasant reputation
--
e.g. Carl (1871)
c)
government regulation
--
Polynesian Labourers Act (1868)
--
Pacific Islanders Protection Act (1872)
d)
an institution of Melanesian life
--
attitude of islanders
--
source of labor changes
--
indigenous entrepreneurs
e.g.
Kwaisulia of Malaita
3.
changes to society
a)
personal experience abroad
b)
availability of goods
c)
development of Òpidgin-EnglishÓ
III.
Micronesia
A.
Luxury trade with China
1.
British East India Company (late 1700s)
a)
Palau (1783)
b)
Gilbert & Marshall (1791)
2.
North American Fur Trade (early 1800s)
B.
Whaling (1830s & 1840s)
1.
two resorts: Kosrae & Pohnpei
2.
changes: contact vices & disease
Think/Write
Question
Do you think
the Pacific islanders were exploited by foreign traders or were they willing
participants in commerce?