History, Archaeology, and Botany of Pacific Islands: assessing the Impacts of Early European colonialism on Peoples and Forests

PacificPeopleForest provides a critical new perspective on early Modern colonialism in the Pacific. Against mainstream assumptions that the 19th century marks the beginning of European impacts in the region, we rely on preliminary archaeological and historical evidence to propose that European contact in the 16th century had large demographic consequences undescribed so far, shifting the weight of human settlement from the inland areas to the coast until today. Early European colonialism also had unknown environmental impacts since the 16th and 17th centuries. As fluctuating demography led to the abandonment of inland areas, these were subsequently recolonized by forest. Thus, forests recognized today as native, might in fact be fairly recent, and heavily modified. Europeans introduced a very large number of plants that are nowadays not only staples, but also socially and symbolically key to most Pacific societies. These species had an unknown role in shaping the island ecosystems, and led to changes in sustainable agricultural practices. Both the early colonial demographic and environmental impacts remain largely unaddressed for the Pacific. The project will focus on the Mariana Islands to weave historical, archaeological, and plant-based scientific lines of evidence that uncover the history, extent and chronology of the impacts of European colonialism in the Pacific Islands. We will examine its influence on island demography, settlement patterns and vegetation dynamics, as plants are key elements of Pacific ecosystems. By integrating interdisciplinary perspectives in an innovative doctoral programme, this project seeks to offer empirically-based insights into the interplay between human populations and forest dynamics, around European contact. Providing fine-grained chronologies for demographic shifts and plant introductions can address current vulnerabilities in the archipelago, ie. exposure to climate change and demographic challenges faced by Pacific peoples.