These volumes present a comprehensive survey of the history of the Pacific Ocean, an area making up around one third of the Earth's surface, from initial human colonization to the present day. Reflecting a wide range of cultural and disciplinary perspectives, this two-volume work details different ways of telling and viewing history in a Pacific world of exceptionally diverse cultural traditions, over time spans that require multidisciplinary and multicultural collaborative perspectives. The central importance of nations touched by the Pacific in contemporary world affairs cannot be understood without recourse to the deep history of interactions on and across the Pacific. In reflecting the diversity and dynamism of the societies of this blue hemisphere, these volumes seek to enhance world histories and broaden readers' perspectives on forms of historical knowledge and expression. Volume I explores the history of the Pacific Ocean pre-1800 and Volume II examines the period from 1800 to the present day.

Oceania is characterized by thousands of islands and archipelagoes amidst the vast expanse of the Pacific. Although it is one of the few truly oceanic habitats occupied permanently by humankind, surprisingly little research has been done on the maritime dimension of Pacific history. ""The People of the Sea"" attempts to fill this gap by combining neglected historical and scientific material to provide the first synthetic study of ocean-people interaction in the region from 1770 to 1870.

Presenting the history of the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands from first colonization until the spread of European colonial rule in the later 19th century, this volume focuses specifically on Pacific Islander-European interactions from the perspective of Pacific Islanders themselves. A number of recorded traditions are reproduced as well as articles by Pacific Island scholars working within the academy. The nature of Pacific History as a sub-discipline is presented through a sample of key articles from the 1890s until the present that represent the historical evolution of the field and its multidisciplinary nature. The volume reflects on how the indigenous inhabitants of the Pacific Islands have a history as dynamic and complex as that of literate societies, and one that is more retrievable through multidisciplinary approaches than often realized.