Opening up of the Pacific

 

This lecture was about European exploration of the Pacific and its impact.

 

Beginnings

The first European to see the Pacific was Vasco Nunez de Balboa in 1513. Ferdinand Magellan entered Pacific in November 1520, but his first contact with Pacific peoples came in Guam, where 7 were killed and 40 houses were burnt, signalling the beginning of a string of encounters fraught with misunderstanding and violence. The Pacific Ocean was a very unhappy experience for Ferdinand Magellan, marked by a lack of wind (hence "Pacific"), and a lack of food and water. His expedition sailed onto the Philippines (where he was to die), meaning that a new path to Asia had been opened, before returning to Europe. In 1571 Manila was established. Manila was central in creating trans-Pacific trading network and the emergence of the "Spanish lake" - The Pacific was dominated in the east and the west by Spain. The Dutch emerged as other key player during the 17th century. They viewed the Pacific as an extension of their trading activities in South-East Asia. The Pacific was conceived of as an extension of Asia (e.g. "Australasia"). The Dutch played a key role in establishing early outlines of Australasia: Abel Tasman in NZ 1642. Tasman was to inscribe this area on the European imagination.

 

The lure of the Pacific

This period was one of intense intereuropean rivalry. The pacific had potential imperial advantages but was hampered by the fact that European knowledge of the Pacific remained limited until the mid 18th century. European activity was hampered by poor navigation and limited cartographic knowledge and until 1750, only 450 European ships entered the Pacific and over 70% of these were Spanish ships carrying silver across the Pacific from America to Asia, travelling along known routes and not stopping anywhere. Europeans remained convinced of the region's wealth and strategic importance, however. The idea of Terra Australis Incognita was dominant in Europe until 1760s: supposedly a great continent full of minerals, spices and other riches. While Terra Australis gained significant scientific support, it reflected the imperial and commercial dreams of early modern European culture. It was this notion that drove growing French and British activity in the region during the early 18th century.

 

The age of Cook

The middle 18th century marked a rapid escalation of European activity in the region, reflecting international power rivalry between British and France. Britain gained the upper hand in 1767 when Samuel Wallis "discovered" Tahiti; but Louis de Antoine de Bougainville's published account of Tahiti was hugely influential in Europe. It escalated the debate over the nature of man especially over the nature of Tahitian society. The British thought Tahiti was a vindication of their investment in the Pacific, part of the reason for Cooks voyages. Cook had 3 Pacific voyages (1768-1771, 1772-1775, 1776-1779). These mark a crucial turning-point, they greatly extend European knowledge of the Pacific and its resources, but were punctuated by violence and ended with his death in Hawaii. In his first voyage, Cook circumnavigated New Zealand and drew a very detailed and pretty accurate map, which was of great value to future explorers. The second voyage disproved the theory of the existance of Terra Australis (whilst ostensibly viewing the transit of Venus), and the third voyage disproved the existance of the North-West Passage. He greatly extended the knowledge of the Pacific and collected plenty of information, materials and resources about Maori culture. After his death in Hawaii, Cook was mythologised as great hero. He had provided the framework for European imperial activity.

 

The Consequences

Trading relationships were established and the Pacific integrated into European and Asian trade networks. Between 1780-1850, the Pacific was treated as an Asian economic frontier, where Euroamerican merchants and indigenous labourers extracted and processed raw materials for Asian markets. Sealing was a major extractive resource from NZ. Complex commodity chains linking Asia/Pacific/America and Europe were established where key commodities were extracted and traded especially with Calcutta and Canton. These were new worlds of possibilities.

 

The 'Cookian Exchange'

There was rapid environmental change as a result of the prior isolation from European and Asian plants and animals. New, introduced animals and plants caused widespread and long-term environmental degradation. There was also devastating depopulation of the area. Due to a lack of immunity, Pacific Island populations were undermined by new disease and there was a 65 - 90% decline within the first century of contact. This opened up the region to European colonization (Australia 1788) and Protestant missionary activity (from 1797). Also, the Pacific assumes a central role in Enlightenment debates over "natural man" and human variation.