Where the Waves Fall: A New South Sea Islands History from First Settlement to Colonial Rule [Paperback]

Where the Waves Fall (1984) centres the stories of the Pacific Islanders and how they were affected by European explorers and colonisers in this unique account of human settlement and cultural interchange in the Pacific islands. It follows the fortunes of the seafarers who discovered island after island in the worlds largest ocean, traces the development of their civilisations and examines in depth the interaction between them and the newcomers  European explorers, traders, beachcombers, missionaries, merchants  who from the sixteenth century came in an increasing series of waves. The books framework enables the author to throw new light on hitherto isolated events. Novel suggestions are advanced as to why some islands became kingdoms in the earlier years of European contact and why others did not, and of how and why missionaries were accepted on some islands but not on others. Nor does Professor Howe shrink from provocative and at times controversial arguments concerning the ambitions and strategies of island leaders and indeed the overall nature and extent of the initiatives taken by the islanders.

Part 1. In the Seas Eye&nbsp; 1. Whence and How&nbsp; 2. Civilisations in the Making&nbsp; 3. Ethnographic Moments&nbsp; Part 2. From Cold Lands&nbsp; 4. Suspected Continents&nbsp; 5. The Wealth of Islands&nbsp; 6. To Recover the Remnant&nbsp; Part 3. Conquering Kings&nbsp; 7. Pomares of Tahiti &nbsp;8. Kamehamehas of Hawaii&nbsp; 9. Taufaahau of Tonga &nbsp;Part 4. Monarchs Manqu??&nbsp; 10. New Zealand &nbsp;11. Samoa&nbsp; 12. Fiji&nbsp; Part 5. Western Isles &nbsp;13. The Making of Melanesia &nbsp;14. Mission Frontiers&nbsp; 15. Trade Frontiers &nbsp;Epilogue&nbsp; 16. Considering the New Historiography<