There is already speculation that the Polynesians made it to South America IOTL, and took the sweet potato with them from there. While such contact was likely transitory in nature, the evidence is strong enough that it's not considered a complete fringe theory anymore. This led me to ask another idea. What if the Polynesians had adopted maize from South America? Maize would likely help provide larger populations, but is not very drought-tolerant, and they would probably need to take nixtamalization methods with them, or get pellagra. But still, it has the potential to revolutionize Polynesian societies, and allow the Maori to engage in effective temperate agriculture rather than using tropical crops poorly suited for New Zealand's climate, and there is the potential for it to be introduced to Asia earlier than OTL. What effecs would this have? Would we see a collapse afterward, or can these societies pull through?
WI: Polynesians gain maize from South America?
- Thread starter SunKing105
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- polynesian polynesians
I introduced this idea in another thread, but how about having the Polynesians colonize the Galapagos rather than New Zealand for whatever reason? They'd much, much closer to both the Andes and Mesoamerica, and may even be able to transmit at least some of their knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation to the natives.
I have feeling they'd be the Vikings of the New World being big time coastal raiders and trader across the western coastal region of the Americas, establishing various colonies.
This happened in one TL here. Maize grows quite well on Easter Island leading to a population boom. Unfortunately it doesn't end well since maize exhausts the soil, the greater population puts more pressure on resources, and in the end everyone dies because of famine, warfare, and kuru epidemics.
But regardless, maize on Easter Island could be helpful although the main importance would indeed be finding a way to get it to New Zealand. If the Maori get it in, say, 1400, then they'd have several centuries of exponential growth on North Island and most of South Island. The Musket Wars would be less devastating when they come since the population wouldn't have just undergone such a major expansion. I think with the larger population you'd have New Zealand consolidate into several regional "kingdoms".
It's possible that Europeans would have prolonged contact with the islands earlier, and while this means earlier disease, Europe will appreciate the larger market to sell to so visit more often. If disease and depopulation and potentially earlier introduction of the potato (still very useful on South Island) still shake up Maori society--which it will--then the Maori might get the idea to go conquering and hitch a ride on Dutch, English, or whoever's ships to Tasmania or Australia and found new settlements there, wiping out the locals with their superior tactics, fortifications, and weapons. In many ways you're transplanting the 19th century Maori back to the late 17th century or so, but they'd likely be even stronger since the Maori population still probably won't have hit carrying capacity when the epidemics arrive (although said epidemics will keep the growth rate low thanks to the high death rates of children).
TTL I don't see Europeans making New Zealand a white majority nation, since they'd at most be able to do so on South Island. If they settle New Zealand then they'd be a minority ruling over a majority Maori population. I could see that with European weapons and advisors and perhaps a conversion to Christianity, a Maori ruler might conquer at least all of North Island, and potentially part of or all of South Island too in which case they have a very good position to survive as an independent country. TTL more activity in New Zealand (a market hungry for weapons and European goods) might make it so there's a few European powers in Australia so the Maori could play the Europeans off each other and avoid becoming a protectorate. They'd likely remain a small, remote, rather impoverished island country, left alone thanks to being so far out of the way.
But regardless, maize on Easter Island could be helpful although the main importance would indeed be finding a way to get it to New Zealand. If the Maori get it in, say, 1400, then they'd have several centuries of exponential growth on North Island and most of South Island. The Musket Wars would be less devastating when they come since the population wouldn't have just undergone such a major expansion. I think with the larger population you'd have New Zealand consolidate into several regional "kingdoms".
It's possible that Europeans would have prolonged contact with the islands earlier, and while this means earlier disease, Europe will appreciate the larger market to sell to so visit more often. If disease and depopulation and potentially earlier introduction of the potato (still very useful on South Island) still shake up Maori society--which it will--then the Maori might get the idea to go conquering and hitch a ride on Dutch, English, or whoever's ships to Tasmania or Australia and found new settlements there, wiping out the locals with their superior tactics, fortifications, and weapons. In many ways you're transplanting the 19th century Maori back to the late 17th century or so, but they'd likely be even stronger since the Maori population still probably won't have hit carrying capacity when the epidemics arrive (although said epidemics will keep the growth rate low thanks to the high death rates of children).
TTL I don't see Europeans making New Zealand a white majority nation, since they'd at most be able to do so on South Island. If they settle New Zealand then they'd be a minority ruling over a majority Maori population. I could see that with European weapons and advisors and perhaps a conversion to Christianity, a Maori ruler might conquer at least all of North Island, and potentially part of or all of South Island too in which case they have a very good position to survive as an independent country. TTL more activity in New Zealand (a market hungry for weapons and European goods) might make it so there's a few European powers in Australia so the Maori could play the Europeans off each other and avoid becoming a protectorate. They'd likely remain a small, remote, rather impoverished island country, left alone thanks to being so far out of the way.
I don't know. On one hand, the very limited water sources (one or two springs, otherwise you basically need to collect rainwater) means Galapagos could easily centralise power on the basis of distributing water and controlling access to the resources (and people) for making fog collectors and barrels to collect rainwater. On the other hand, it's population is likely to be fairly limited so that limits the amount of warriors and people to send to establish colonies (at least colonies that won't assimilate with the locals). I think the Manteños will do it far better since they already made long-distance voyages (as far as Mexico) and with better sailing and navigation would take their trading to a whole new level.
A problem though is the relative scarcity of freshwater on the island, and New Zealand is a lot more appealing. The Polynesians won't have much time to transmit any shipbuilding tech before the Europeans arrive, and they would be facing competition in the form of the Manteno culture.
The Manteno culture were more traders than warriors, organized into a loose political structure to the Hanseatic League. I can see the Polynesians in Galapagos and Easter Island offering their services to the Manteno chieftains, intermarrying to the point that they assume control or if the disease factor is that serious, you can see an ambitious Polynesian chieftain become a high-king figure and forcing the Manteno city-states to pay tribute to him.
What if Polynesians get also squash and beans, so they have all Three Sisters, not just maize? These were all cultivated in Peru.
It was once speculated that the Polynesians got the sweet potatoes not from an expedition but from a shipment packaged for coastal movement in South America that broke away and was moved across the ocean by currents. If that is what happened, there could have been multiple crops.