Polynesia, 900-1600: An overview of the history of Aotearoa, Rekohu, and Rapa Nui: 2021

(Paperback)

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This book provides a concise overview of the history of Polynesia, focusing on New Zealand and its outlying islands, during the period 900-1600. It provides a thematic examination of Polynesia to avoid placing the region's history into an inaccurate, linear Western chronology. The themes of movement and migration, adaptation and change, and development and expansion offer the optimal means of understanding Polynesia during this time. Through this innovative and unique perspective on Polynesian history, which has not been previously undertaken, the reader is encouraged to think about regions outside Europe in relation to the premodern period.

Author Bio

Madi Williams (Ngati Kuia, Ngati Koata, Ngati Apa ki te Ra To, Rangitane o Wairau) is a lecturer at the University of Canterbury where she researches the boundaries of history and the inclusion of Indigenous and non-Western perspectives in Aotearoa New Zealand and South Pacific histories. Madi is the recipient of a 2021 Judith Binney Writing Award, which will help her prepare a book based on her PhD thesis on the histories of Ngati Kuia.