Melanesia

CHAPTER 17 The Maritime Revolution, to 1550 I. Global Maritime Expansion Before 1450 A. The Pacific Ocean 1. Over a period of several thousand years, peoples originally from the Malay Peninsula crossed the water to settle the islands of the East Indies, New Guinea, the Melanesian and Polynesian islands, the Marquesas, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands out to Hawaii. 2. Polynesian expansion was the result of planned voyages undertaken with the intention of establishing colonies. Polynesian mariners navigated by the stars and by their observations of ocean currents and evidence of land. B. The Indian Ocean 1. Malayo-Indonesians colonized the island of Madagascar in a series of voyages that continued through the fifteenth century.