Pacific Explorers :: essays research papers fc

Andrew Sharp championships in his Ancient Voyagers in the Pacificpromulgated in 1956 that the Pacific Islanders did not possessthe necessary navigational and sailing technology todeliberately navigate the distances between islands of thePacific when colonizing these islands. He claimscolonization was stochastic and accidental. However, morerecent studies from 1972 on of Pacific navigation aimdeliberate navigation and colonization was possible and didtake place. These studies have been supported byreenactments of voyages, information processing system simulations, and newlyacquired information regarding preparation for distantvoyages. Andrew Sharp supports his claim of accidentalcolonization by citing numerous examples of lost voyagerslanding on populated islands, their certification or secondhand information recorded by Captain Cook. Sharp claimsthe only distant voyages were confined to "WesternPolynesia-Fiji and the Tahiti-Tuamotu archipelago" (Sharp19562). He states t hat the longest shoreward voyages madewithout landing on intermediate islands included distancesof up to three one hundred miles, separating Tonga, Fiji,Samoa, Rotuma and the Ellice Islands, and distances up totwo-hundred and thirty miles, separating Tahiti from theTuamotu islands. Sharp refers to an account by CaptainCooks interpreter, Omai, who notice three of his owncountrymen from Tahiti, who landed on Atiu, six hundredmiles away. They were the sole survivors of twenty people,blown off course in a sudden gale enchantment attempting tovoyage from Tahiti to Raiatea, one hundred miles away.Sharp relies on generalizations granted in Cooks logsreferring to colonization of the remote islands of Polynesia.Cook refers to the accidental voyage to Atiu stating "thiswill serve to explain, break in than a thousand conjectures ofspeculative reason, how the detached parts of the earth,and in particular, how the South Seas, may have beenpeopled especially those that lie remote from a ny populatecontinent, or from each other." (Sharp 19564) Sharp usesexamples procured from Cooks log book, citingobservations of Anderson, ship surgeon in charge of naturalhistory observations. "The knowledge they have of otherislands is no doubt, tralatitious and has been communicatedto them by the natives of those islands, driven accidentallyupon their coasts, who besides giving them the names,could soft inform them of the direction in which the placeslie from whence they came, and of the number of days theyhad upon the sea." (Sharp 19567) Sharp discusses thenavigational technology of the Tongans, with most of hisknowledge based on Cooks observations. "The insolate is theirguide by day and the stars at night. When these areobscured, they have recourse to the points from which thewinds and waves come upon the vessel. If during the barrier the winds and waves should shift. .Pacific Explorers essays research papers fc Andrew Sharp claims in his Ancient Voyagers in the Pacificpublished in 1956 that the Pacific Islanders did not possessthe necessary navigational and sailing technology todeliberately navigate the distances between islands of thePacific when colonizing these islands. He claimscolonization was random and accidental. However, morerecent studies from 1972 on of Pacific navigation suggestdeliberate navigation and colonization was possible and didtake place. These studies have been supported byreenactments of voyages, computer simulations, and newlyacquired information regarding preparation for distantvoyages. Andrew Sharp supports his claim of accidentalcolonization by citing numerous examples of lost voyagerslanding on populated islands, their testimony or secondhand information recorded by Captain Cook. Sharp claimsthe only distant voyages were confined to "WesternPolynesia-Fiji and the Tahiti-Tuamotu archipelago" (Sharp19562). He states that the longest offshore voyages madewithout landing on intermediate islands includ ed distancesof up to three hundred miles, separating Tonga, Fiji,Samoa, Rotuma and the Ellice Islands, and distances up totwo-hundred and thirty miles, separating Tahiti from theTuamotu islands. Sharp refers to an account by CaptainCooks interpreter, Omai, who discovered three of his owncountrymen from Tahiti, who landed on Atiu, six hundredmiles away. They were the sole survivors of twenty people,blown off course in a sudden gale while attempting tovoyage from Tahiti to Raiatea, one hundred miles away.Sharp relies on generalizations given in Cooks logsreferring to colonization of the remote islands of Polynesia.Cook refers to the accidental voyage to Atiu stating "thiswill serve to explain, better than a thousand conjectures ofspeculative reason, how the detached parts of the earth,and in particular, how the South Seas, may have beenpeopled especially those that lie remote from any inhabitedcontinent, or from each other." (Sharp 19564) Sharp usesexamples procured from Cooks log book, citingobservations of Anderson, ship surgeon in charge of naturalhistory observations. "The knowledge they have of otherislands is no doubt, traditional and has been communicatedto them by the natives of those islands, driven accidentallyupon their coasts, who besides giving them the names,could easily inform them of the direction in which the placeslie from whence they came, and of the number of days theyhad upon the sea." (Sharp 19567) Sharp discusses thenavigational technology of the Tongans, with most of hisknowledge based on Cooks observations. "The sun is theirguide by day and the stars at night. When these areobscured, they have recourse to the points from which thewinds and waves come upon the vessel. If during theobstruction the winds and waves should shift. .