Gone Native in Polynesia: Captivity Narratives and Experiences from the South Pacific

(Hardback)

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Campbell presents a study of the lives and experiences of Europeans and Americans in the age of early industrial overseas expansions, who became detatched from their own societies and lived, sometimes for many years, among Pacific Islanders as integrated members of their communities, often with little hope of returning home and frequently with no wish to do so. As engaging as primitivism was to European philosophers, the realities of contact between seafarers and islanders who faced previously unimagined technological and human marvels were much more pragmatic. Jealousy, ethnocentrism, and violence on both sides competed with humanitarian interests and indigenous hospitality to shape the emerging pattern of relationships. At first, Europeans crossed the oceans only for compelling reasons: the passion for scientific research, the dedication to Christian evangelism, or the uncompromising profit motive. Later, settlers and government officials followed in the wake of these early explorers. Scattered in the interstices of contact relationships were large numbers of men whose interest was not in changing native society or profiting from it, but in experiencing primitive life and simply surviving itself. These men included castaways and deserters, some abandoned by their captains and others kidnapped by the islanders. Their prospects depended on their successful integration into Polynesian societyand in making themselves useful by applying European knowledge and skills to local situations and by mediating between islanders and their insistent visitors.

Reviews

[T]his book is a valuable record of the experiences of these often forgotten "marginal men."-Pacific Affairs
Campbell enhances his story with two dozen illustrations, and his insights show a deep familiarity with the primary sources from which he draws his data....His book makes a contribution not only to Pacific but to world history.-International History Review
Meticulously researched, Gone Native is a small gold mine of information about the little-known phenomena of castaways in Pacific Island history.-Rapa Nui Journal
This book is beautifully produced with proper footnotes for easy reference, and marvelous illustrations reproduced (in black and white) in large, single-page format. It is so clearly written that it will be of interest to general readers as well as academics. But there is also meat for the specialist scholar. Campbell's mastery of the printed and unpublished source materials comes through clearly. In short, this book will enhance its author's reputation as one of the acknowledged leaders of Pacific history.-The Northern Mariner
"This book is a valuable record of the experiences of these often forgotten "marginal men.""-Pacific Affairs
"[T]his book is a valuable record of the experiences of these often forgotten "marginal men.""-Pacific Affairs
"Campbell enhances his story with two dozen illustrations, and his insights show a deep familiarity with the primary sources from which he draws his data....His book makes a contribution not only to Pacific but to world history."-International History Review
"Meticulously researched, Gone Native is a small gold mine of information about the little-known phenomena of castaways in Pacific Island history."-Rapa Nui Journal
"This book is beautifully produced with proper footnotes for easy reference, and marvelous illustrations reproduced (in black and white) in large, single-page format. It is so clearly written that it will be of interest to general readers as well as academics. But there is also meat for the specialist scholar. Campbell's mastery of the printed and unpublished source materials comes through clearly. In short, this book will enhance its author's reputation as one of the acknowledged leaders of Pacific history."-The Northern Mariner

Author Bio

I. C. CAMPBELL teaches Pacific History and World History at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He developed an empathy for the Pacific Islands from childhood experiences there and has been interested in race relations, culture contact and colonialism ever since. He is the author of A History of the Pacific Islands (1989) and Island Kingdom: Tonga Ancient and Modern (1992).