Despite its relatively late development, Pacific Island history has nevertheless produced a large body of published studies, and developed a distinct character. Most of its studies have been on intercultural relations between Pacific Islanders and Europeans over the last two and a half centuries.2 Pacific historians have largely focused on the impact of Western products, peoples, and ideas on Pacific Islanders, with much emphasis placed on presenting Pacific Islanders as rational, active agents in this process. The majority of Pacific Islanders’ millennia of history was recorded and conveyed orally, which has meant that much Pacific history has become multidisciplinary to incorporate non-literate sources such as oral traditions, linguistic patterns, and material remains.