istoryworld
Events relating to the pacific islands
Seafarers reach and colonize Fiji, lying between Melanesia and Polynesia
Seafarers reach and colonize the Pacific island of Samoa
The huge stone heads standing on Easter Island are carved and erected at some time between the sixth and seventeenth century AD
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan crosses the Pacific in ninety-nine days and reaches Guam
Discovery of the Solomon Islands by a Spanish ship prompts interest in a possible Terra Australis Incognita ('unknown southern land')
Abel Tasman reaches yet more islands previously unknown to Europeans – Tonga and Fiji
Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, is discovered on a Pacific island where he has survived alone for nearly five years
Easter Island is reached by the Dutch, beginning a spate of European discovery in the islands of the Pacific
Captain James Cook sails from Plymouth, in England, heading for Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus
Captain Cook's distinguished passengers, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, collect valuable specimens of Pacific flora
Captain Cook observes in Tahiti the transit of Venus, the primary purpose of his voyage to the Pacific
Captain Cook sets off, in HMS Resolution, on his second voyage to the southern hemisphere
British explorer Captain James Cook is killed in a skirmish with natives in Hawaii over a stolen boat
An outbreak of measles in Fiji, brought to the islands by British visitors, kills a quarter of the population
French artist Paul Gauguin travels to Tahiti and stays in the Pacific islands for most of the rest of his life
US anthropologist Margaret Mead makes much of trouble-free sex among natives, in Coming of Age in Samoa, but her findings are subsequently disputed
Without warning, 400 Japanese planes attack and destroy US warships at anchor in Pearl Harbor
The Japanese invasion of Papua signals the start of the three-year New Guinea campaign
US planes sink four Japanese aircraft carriers in the battle of Midway, halting for the first time Japan's aggressive expansion
US and Japanese forces begin a violent six-month struggle for Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands
After a six-month battle, US troops win the Pacific base of Guadalcanal from the Japanese
US bombers destroy Japanese warships and planes in Operation Hailstone, a radar-guided night attack on the Truk Islands
American marines win the island of Saipan in the Marianas, bringing Japan within range of US bombers
American marines land on Japanese-occupied Iwo Jima, a volcanic island 650 miles southeast of Tokyo
At a cost of 20,000 dead, US marines win full control of the small strategic island of Iwo Jima
