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40,000 BCE
Australia settled
Last part of world, other than the Arctic, or the Polynesia Isles, to be settled. -
Period: 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE
Most of Polynesia Settled
Most of Polynesia, with the exception of Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Marquesas Isles, was settled my the Lapita people -
300
Marquesas and Hawaii settled
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790
First Viking Raids
First evidence of major seafaring on open sea not by Polynesians. -
1200
Tonga occupies Samoa
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1280
New Zealand settled
New Zealand was the last of Polynesia to be settled. -
1500
Beginning of the Maori Classical Period
This period is know as Te Puawaitanga, or 'The Flowering'. -
1513
Europeans find Polynesia
The Portuguese explorers António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão were the first European navigators to make contact with the Polynesian Isles. -
Abel Tasman finds New Zealand
Abel Tasman was the first European to sight New Zealand -
Voyage of the Hōkūle‘a
Voyage of the Hōkūle‘a across the Pacific recreates the voyage made from Hawaii to Tahiti