WI: Polynesian Trans-Pacific Trade Network

Essentially, what if Polynesian peoples had kept up some form of contact with their urheimat in Taiwan or Malaysia, as well as between islands, and also built up long-term relations with South America, into the time of the Ming Dynasty (if it isn't butterflied away), when Chinese ships could be sent east.

I'm thinking that it could result in the creation of a script of some sort, maybe initially for trade but that later trickled into the rest of society. I could also be entirely wrong.
 
Essentially, what if Polynesian peoples had kept up some form of contact with their urheimat in Taiwan or Malaysia, as well as between islands, and also built up long-term relations with South America, into the time of the Ming Dynasty (if it isn't butterflied away), when Chinese ships could be sent east.

I'm thinking that it could result in the creation of a script of some sort, maybe initially for trade but that later trickled into the rest of society. I could also be entirely wrong.

Interestingly if they retain contact with the Malay world you could get a vast transpacific Hindu-Buddhist culture
 
If South America is involved, you'll need Galapagos, or alternatively Juan Fernández to get settled. Galapagos can probably support more people and lead to more sustained contacts since Juan Fernández would be pretty marginal as well as not as close to the main centers of Andean civilisation.

But from there, how do you get a trans-Pacific trade network established? South America obviously has stuff and almost certainly sent stuff OTL, and with Polynesians in Galapagos, there's no doubt it would send stuff. The main route would either be through the South Seas and to the Indies, or across the North Pacific to Hawaii and then to the Philippines or Japan. But how much could the Polynesians bring with them? Gold and silver from the Andes would obviously interest anyone in Asia who found it, but it would have to go through so many hands, what would be left for the Asians?

Yeah, the potential of that trade route is huge, but the trade would be very, very slow. It would probably make the trans-Atlantic mail routes of the 17th/18th century look like forum posting here in comparison.

I'm thinking that it could result in the creation of a script of some sort, maybe initially for trade but that later trickled into the rest of society. I could also be entirely wrong.

Galapagos would almost certainly be settled from Easter Island which had Rongorongo. But was that actually writing or just proto-writing? Either way, it would spread to Galapagos. Maybe it could evolve into true writing in South America from the Chimu or another group, and then from there be retransmitted back and through Polynesia?
 
If South America is involved, you'll need Galapagos, or alternatively Juan Fernández to get settled. Galapagos can probably support more people and lead to more sustained contacts since Juan Fernández would be pretty marginal as well as not as close to the main centers of Andean civilisation.

But from there, how do you get a trans-Pacific trade network established? South America obviously has stuff and almost certainly sent stuff OTL, and with Polynesians in Galapagos, there's no doubt it would send stuff. The main route would either be through the South Seas and to the Indies, or across the North Pacific to Hawaii and then to the Philippines or Japan. But how much could the Polynesians bring with them? Gold and silver from the Andes would obviously interest anyone in Asia who found it, but it would have to go through so many hands, what would be left for the Asians?

Yeah, the potential of that trade route is huge, but the trade would be very, very slow. It would probably make the trans-Atlantic mail routes of the 17th/18th century look like forum posting here in comparison.



Galapagos would almost certainly be settled from Easter Island which had Rongorongo. But was that actually writing or just proto-writing? Either way, it would spread to Galapagos. Maybe it could evolve into true writing in South America from the Chimu or another group, and then from there be retransmitted back and through Polynesia?

I basically thought this scenario up in about 20 minutes because I'm in Hawaii right now, and my initial POD was that a script would be developed in the PAN urheimat and spread into Polynesia, which then grew into a Chinese New World expedition from some Chinese people going across the ocean with literate Polynesians.

Is Polynesian settlement on mainland SA plausible? If they're going to the Galápagos like you suggested, would they also be able to reach places like Panama or Ecuador?
 

PhilippeO

Banned
pig and chicken from Polynesian themselves, silk and cotton from Asia, tobacco, spice and hallucinogen from America trade ?
 
pig and chicken from Polynesian themselves, silk and cotton from Asia, tobacco, spice and hallucinogen from America trade ?

I don't know much of livestock trade--those bones were European, right? Silk and cotton, like metalinvader said, would take a while to cross, and I don't think tobacco would survive the trip, unless in seed form. The latter apparently grows well in parts of China, so now I'm wondering what the effects would be on society there. Chiles are a major product in parts of India, so they would be helpful should they make it.

Something else I just thought of: what kinds of diseases would Polynesians bring across?
 
Is Polynesian settlement on mainland SA plausible? If they're going to the Galápagos like you suggested, would they also be able to reach places like Panama or Ecuador?

They certainly could reach there--Cocos Island off Costa Rica I believe is the maximum they'd settle, since by that time Europeans would start showing up. But there's nowhere in the mainland Americas they'd settle and remain a distinct identity. They have no real advantage over the natives and they'd just get absorbed into them.
 
What would a good POD be? Around the time of the first Polynesian migrations?

I was actually planning on writing a timeline about this sort of thing, haha. Though the POD I'm planning is both further in the future than your proposed one, and shrouded in legend, so it took a bit of reconstruction for me to even think about getting this started. I'm pretty sure that a POD this early in the Polynesian's history would irrevocably change their culture, as they still have connections with the other Austronesians. It may be difficult now with a central trading network in place that the Polynesians would develop as they would now, but who am I to know? I'm pretty sure this is faulty logic.

I'll probably post my TL soon, I guess.
 
I was actually planning on writing a timeline about this sort of thing, haha. Though the POD I'm planning is both further in the future than your proposed one, and shrouded in legend, so it took a bit of reconstruction for me to even think about getting this started. I'm pretty sure that a POD this early in the Polynesian's history would irrevocably change their culture, as they still have connections with the other Austronesians. It may be difficult now with a central trading network in place that the Polynesians would develop as they would now, but who am I to know? I'm pretty sure this is faulty logic.

I'll probably post my TL soon, I guess.

Yeah, I just threw that POD out there. It could be more of a recontact as well, with sailors from Melanesia, Micronesia or thereabouts sailing between the Triangle and East Asia and bringing goods and ideas.

are we really having a scenario where Polynesians are the middleman for an international cocaine trade operation?

Annnd now I want to see a bunch of coked-up *Hawaiians kicking *Zheng He's ers.
 
Cocaine wasn't invented at that point, it would only be coca tea which is traded.

And coca tea is probably powerful enough, moreso than caffeine based on the limited penetration yerba mate or guayusa (South America's main caffeinated plants) had in the Andes. And that sort of energy is always needed when beating someone's ass.
 
Cocaine wasn't invented at that point, it would only be coca tea which is traded.

And coca tea is probably powerful enough, moreso than caffeine based on the limited penetration yerba mate or guayusa (South America's main caffeinated plants) had in the Andes. And that sort of energy is always needed when beating someone's ass.

Considering the importance of tea in China, that could become something of note there--if it made it across. Would it be possible for, say, five Chinese sailors to hitch rides across the ocean and bring back tales of the Great Eastern Land?
 
Top