**Historical Exploration of the Pacific:**
– Pre-European exploration:
– Humans reached Australia by at least 55,000 BC.
– Austronesians mastered long-distance canoe travel around 3000 BC.
– Polynesians spread to the Polynesian Triangle by 1500 BC.
– Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki expedition demonstrated possible trans-Pacific travel.
– Asian exploration:
– Xu Fu sailed into the Pacific in 219 BC.
– Zheng He was a notable Chinese explorer.
– Japanese boats reached North America by the 19th century.
– European exploration:
– Portuguese reached the Maluku Islands in 1512.
– Spanish explorer Balboa sighted the Pacific in 1513.
– Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition crossed the Pacific in 1521.
– Recognition of the Pacific:
– Columbus sailed west in 1492 thinking he reached Asia.
– Balboa confirmed a separate ocean in 1513.
– Magellan’s expedition proved one continuous ocean from Americas to Asia.
– Dutch Expansion in the Pacific:
– Dutch reached the East Indies in 1596.
– Established Batavia in 1619.
– Explored Japan from the Strait of Magellan in 1600.
– Magellan and the Manila Galleons:
– Ferdinand Magellan sailed through the strait in 1520.
– Manila Galleons crossed the Pacific annually from 1565 to 1815.
– South America Exploration:
– Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513.
– Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru in 1532.
– Exploration of the South Pacific:
– Spanish expeditions reached the Solomon Islands in 1567/68.
– Pedro Fernandes de Queirós discovered Vanuatu in 1606.
**European Expansion in the Pacific:**
– Coast of Asia exploration:
– Portuguese reached India in 1498 and Malacca in 1511.
– European discovery of Papua by Jorge de Menezes in 1526-27.
– Dutch Expansion in the Pacific:
– Monopolized Japan trade from 1639.
– Explored Sakhalin and Kuril Islands in 1643.
– Exploration near Cape Horn:
– Francis Drake passed through the Strait of Magellan in 1578.
– Garcia de Nodal expedition proved Tierra del Fuego was an island in 1619.
– Galleons’ Exploration of the West Coast of North America:
– Galleons followed westerlies to California.
– Limited exploration of the coast.
– European Exploration of Australia:
– Portuguese theories of reaching Australia before 1600.
– Spanish voyages from South America reaching Australia.
**Exploration of Pacific Islands:**
– Discovery of Pacific Islands:
– Exploration timeline from 1521 to 1791.
– Notable explorers like Abel Tasman and James Cook.
– Islands discovered by explorers from different regions:
– Islands like Tahiti, New Zealand, and Hawaii discovered.
– Influence on Alexander von Humboldt:
– Humboldt encountered the Pacific in 1802-1803.
– Many navigators served expeditions launched by Imperial Russia.
**Myths and Misconceptions in Exploration:**
– Myths and Misconceptions of Explorers:
– Belief in mythical lands like Terra Australis.
– Hokkaido referred to as Ezo and Jesso.
– Map inaccuracies:
– Map inaccuracies in Diderot’s Encyclopédie.
– Removal of 123 mythical islands from Royal Navy chart.
**Later Exploration and Impact:**
– Cook’s Rivals and Successors:
– Several governments sponsored Pacific expeditions in rivalry with Captain Cook.
– Spain’s Presence on the West Coast of North America:
– Spanish missions were established in California starting in 1767.
– Northeast Exploration:
– Russia annexed the southeast corner of Siberia from China in 1860.
– Pacific Trade and Imperialism:
– European colonization expanded in Australia, New Zealand, and along the Asian coast.
