When Did Polynesians Stop Sailing?

The traditional Polynesian navigation knowledge has been lost due to European explorers’ skepticism of indigenous seafaring skills. Between 1100 and 800 BCE, voyagers reached Fiji and West Polynesia, including Tonga and Samoa, using matting sails and long steering paddles. Polynesians and Native Americans first met around 1200 in the remote South.

The early European explorers initially believed that Polynesians were great navigators, but this led to a problem for European colonizers in the 19th century. However, Polynesians suddenly reached Easter Island, Hawaii, and New Zealand before large-scale migration ceased around 1300.1 In the early 20th century, when resources for human survival began to run low, the islands inhabitants used their maritime navigation skills to set sail for new locations.

The main motivation for Polynesians to leave was overpopulation, as their island homes had a finite ability to support population. Southeast Asian sailors were not yet identifiably Polynesian, but after many years of learning how to voyage long, they were able to sail from island to island with ease. However, sailing stopped for nearly 1000 years by the time Europeans arrived in Hawaii in the 18th century. Researchers have found that there was a time period called the Long Pause, when seafaring Polynesians colonized islands in the Pacific.