The authors have brought together a collection of works from specialists in Pacific History from across Australia and throughout the Pacific. The individual contributions were specifically written to meet the needs of senior history courses in Australia. Max Quanchi and Ron Adams are well-known educationists who have specialised in the pacific. They have extensively travelled and studied in the Pacific and have spent many years teaching history to secondary and fertiary students. The result is an authoritative text for all senior History and Australian Studies students who need to understand the Pacific region.

 

There are 204 pages in this book. This book was published 1993 by Cambridge University Press .

This book has the following chapters: Acknowledgements; A note for teachers; Part I. Pre-European Pacific Society: 1. The origins of pacific peoples; 2. Pre-European societies in the Pacific Islands; Part II. European 'Discovery' of the Pacific: 3. European discovery or multiple discoveries; 4. Being discovered: perceptions and control of strangers; Part III. Islanders and Europeans in the Nineteenth Century: 5. Trade interaction; 6. Religious interaction; 7. Labour recruiting and indenture; 8. Response and change in polynesian societies; Part IV. From Colonialism to Independence: 9. Patterns of colonial rule; 10. The path to independence; 11. Non-colonial influences and issues; Part V. The Changing Image of the Pacific: 12. The changing image of the Pacific; Appendices; Index.