pacific unit 2 exam - contact and social change

What were the Spanish and Portuguese looking for?

Unknown Southern Continent and its riches, convert islanders

What were the Dutch looking for?

Gold and silver, trade routes and markets

What were the English and French looking for?

Discovery, prestige, scientific knowledge

Who were the 3 most famous explorers in the Pacific during the English/French era?

Wallis, Bougainville, Cook

What was the relationship btwn early European explorers and Melanesians?

Met with violence, relationship limited to trade

What were the initial consequences of trade and European contact?

Intro of metal tools and increase in new diseases

What was the significance of the sandalwood trade?

Highly desire in China, Euros traded with Melanesians and got East Asia goods

What was blackbirding?

European businessmen recruited islanders to work on plantations in Australia, death and mistreatment

Why did the missionaries struggle?

Melanesian religion, several languages, no political unification

Who were the major colonial powers in Melanesia and what were their methods?

Germany: quest for profits, very repressive. British: indirect rule. France: direct rule

What is a cargo cult?

people believe in the arrival of a new age of prosperity, based on white people unloading cargo from boats and planes

How do cargo cults relate to Euro contact and Western goods?

Increased probability when there is a disruption of traditional institutions and a rapid economical transition