Oceania, 800-1800CE (Elements in the Global Middle Ages)

A brief overview introduction to a millennium of Pacific history, beginning about 800CE when various peoples began remarkable long-distance voyages which resulted in the settlement of some of the most far-flung islands on the planet. James Flexner draws on archaeology, oral traditions, and later documentary evidence to provide a cross-cultural look at various Polynesian peoples right up to the cusp of the age of European colonialism. Flexner writes clearly and succinctly, though I'm not sure how convinced I am by his definition of a "global Middle Ages." (I don't think there is a way you can theorize/define it in any convincing way other than "let's take a look at what was happening elsewhere in the world contemporary to what's show more happening in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin between about 500 and 1500", but this is a whole other conversation.) show less