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Polynesia (from other Greek - many islands) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of more than 1000 islands, dispersed in the central and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean between 23 ° 30's. sh. — 28°S sh. and 176°E. d. — 109°20’W. e. Indigenous peoples inhabiting the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They share many similarities, including language, culture, and beliefs.[1] Historically, they are skilled seafarers, able to navigate at night and navigate by the stars.
The term "Polynesia" was first used by the French writer Charles de Brosse in 1756, and was initially applied to all the islands of the Pacific Ocean. In 1831, during a lecture at the Paris Geographical Society, the French traveler, navigator, oceanographer Jules Dumont-Durville proposed a restriction on the use of the term.
It forms a triangle, the vertices of which are: the Hawaiian Islands in the north, Easter Island in the southeast and New Zealand in the southwest, however, on these islands now Polynesians make up only a small part of the population, even fewer people speak Polynesian languages.
In modern Polynesia, English is widely spoken (on most of the islands), French (in French Polynesia, as well as in Wallis and Futuna, along with English in Vanuatu). Spanish is the predominant language on Easter Island.
The population of Polynesia is 1.2 million people (1969). The population of Polynesia consists of 2 main groups: indigenous Polynesians and immigrants from Europe, America and Asia. The first, represented by various Polynesian peoples, sharply prevail on the islands of Tonga, Samoa, Wallis, Horn, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Line, Cook (together with the island of Niue), Society, Tubuai, Tuamotu, Gambier, Marquesas, Easter Island. In New Zealand, the majority of the population are Anglo-New Zealanders (descendants of immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland), in Hawaii - US Americans and Japanese; Filipinos, Chinese, and others also live. There is also a group of Chinese on the island of Tahiti. Some of the Line Islands are inhabited by Micronesians from the Gilbert Islands.
The analysis of genomic variations of 807 individuals from 17 island populations from all over Polynesia and 15 groups of Pacific Coast Native Americans strongly suggests that before the settlement of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) in East Polynesia around 1200, there was a single contact between Polynesians and a group Native Americans most closely related to the Senu Indian people of present-day Colombia. To prove that contact between Polynesians and Native Americans happened, evidence from ancient genetic samples is needed.