Part 1: Empty Polynesia
“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Genesis I.6 (KJV)
The Polynesian Expansion was and remains one of the great triumphs of human mind and courage. Wielding only Neolithic technology and sailing only double-hulled canoes, the Polynesian peoples spread out and settled nearly all of the isolated and empty Pacific island in the course of a thousand years. This accomplishment evokes wonder for two reasons: first that it occurred, and second, that it occurred so recently.
“And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.”
Genesis I.7 (KJV)
Consider the second: time. Although the Lapita culture originated as Eurasia entered the early Iron Age, most Polynesian settlement started much later. The Marquesas were settled when Marcus Aurelius ruled in Rome. The Polynesians reached Easter Island as the Western Empire collapsed. Islamic armies conquered Persia as humans first reached Hawaii. Charlemagne had been born, crowned, and died before the proto-Maori glimpsed New Zealand.
In short, the Polynesian triangle was settled pretty damn recently (with the exception of some eastern fringes).
“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
Genesis I.9 (KJV)
Our POD is that this didn’t happen. The Polynesian expansion and Lapita culture die stillborn. New Zealand stays empty. Hawaii remains free of man. The untouched and unquarried stones of Easter Island stare out at a lonely sea. A thousand islands remain untouched by the hand of man. The Melanesians do manage to reach Samoa, Fiji, and New Caledonia, but the rest remains unsettled when the European arrive in the Pacific.
At first, little changes from OTL. The lands beyond the waters at the edge of the world remain little noticed and unpeopled.
“ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis I.10 (KJV)
The Spanish spot the occasional island on route from Manila to New Spain, but hurry on in their Galleons. They have more urgent concerns. The English and Dutch privateers pursue the Manila galleons, but still nothing.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Genesis I.26 (KJV)
Abel Tasman visits the South Island of OTL New Zealand (“Staten Landt”) on one of his voyages. He has instructions from the Dutch East India Company on how to deal with the natives he meets on his voyages. But while he has orders detailing how to interacting should he meet civilized races, and orders on how to deal with savage races, he has no orders on how to deal with a lack of races. The untouched old growth forests and strange birds the size of horses have little impact on his men. There are no Maori to kill a few of Tasman’s crew, but there are also no towns to trade in and nothing to trade for.
The Dutch sailors stop for a few days to kill some of the giant birds – so trusting, none of the big birds so much as try to flee or fight- take on fresh water, and then depart. Nothing changes. To the everlasting gratitude of the human race, the few rats that venture onto the shore from Tasman’s ships fail to form a stable breeding population. But the importance of that failure will not be apparent for a long, long, time.
Eventually, rumors begin to filter out of the southern seas. Whisper of giant eagles with wingspans that darken the sky chasing flightless birds the size of horses. Whispers of empty lands and forests that reach higher than the eye can sea, of islands unopened and empty, of a paradise awaiting the hand of man. But nobody is bothered. Empty islands on the edge of the world are curiosities, nothing more. What is whispered in Batavia stays in Batavia. For a time.
Thoughts?
“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Genesis I.6 (KJV)
The Polynesian Expansion was and remains one of the great triumphs of human mind and courage. Wielding only Neolithic technology and sailing only double-hulled canoes, the Polynesian peoples spread out and settled nearly all of the isolated and empty Pacific island in the course of a thousand years. This accomplishment evokes wonder for two reasons: first that it occurred, and second, that it occurred so recently.
“And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.”
Genesis I.7 (KJV)
Consider the second: time. Although the Lapita culture originated as Eurasia entered the early Iron Age, most Polynesian settlement started much later. The Marquesas were settled when Marcus Aurelius ruled in Rome. The Polynesians reached Easter Island as the Western Empire collapsed. Islamic armies conquered Persia as humans first reached Hawaii. Charlemagne had been born, crowned, and died before the proto-Maori glimpsed New Zealand.
In short, the Polynesian triangle was settled pretty damn recently (with the exception of some eastern fringes).
“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
Genesis I.9 (KJV)
Our POD is that this didn’t happen. The Polynesian expansion and Lapita culture die stillborn. New Zealand stays empty. Hawaii remains free of man. The untouched and unquarried stones of Easter Island stare out at a lonely sea. A thousand islands remain untouched by the hand of man. The Melanesians do manage to reach Samoa, Fiji, and New Caledonia, but the rest remains unsettled when the European arrive in the Pacific.
At first, little changes from OTL. The lands beyond the waters at the edge of the world remain little noticed and unpeopled.
“ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis I.10 (KJV)
The Spanish spot the occasional island on route from Manila to New Spain, but hurry on in their Galleons. They have more urgent concerns. The English and Dutch privateers pursue the Manila galleons, but still nothing.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Genesis I.26 (KJV)
Abel Tasman visits the South Island of OTL New Zealand (“Staten Landt”) on one of his voyages. He has instructions from the Dutch East India Company on how to deal with the natives he meets on his voyages. But while he has orders detailing how to interacting should he meet civilized races, and orders on how to deal with savage races, he has no orders on how to deal with a lack of races. The untouched old growth forests and strange birds the size of horses have little impact on his men. There are no Maori to kill a few of Tasman’s crew, but there are also no towns to trade in and nothing to trade for.
The Dutch sailors stop for a few days to kill some of the giant birds – so trusting, none of the big birds so much as try to flee or fight- take on fresh water, and then depart. Nothing changes. To the everlasting gratitude of the human race, the few rats that venture onto the shore from Tasman’s ships fail to form a stable breeding population. But the importance of that failure will not be apparent for a long, long, time.
Eventually, rumors begin to filter out of the southern seas. Whisper of giant eagles with wingspans that darken the sky chasing flightless birds the size of horses. Whispers of empty lands and forests that reach higher than the eye can sea, of islands unopened and empty, of a paradise awaiting the hand of man. But nobody is bothered. Empty islands on the edge of the world are curiosities, nothing more. What is whispered in Batavia stays in Batavia. For a time.
Thoughts?