Researchers divide the Pacific in three regions: Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Each region has its own geographical, cultural and linguistic characteristics. Melanesian communities are relatively small; a thousand people is the absolute maximum. In the pre-colonial ages this area often suffered from wars. Seamanship played an important role in a Micronesian community. They travelled great distances by canoe to maintain their complex relationships with other islands. The main characteristic of Polynesia was their highly developed art of leadership. Some leaders had thousands of servants. These communities were best described as small states. The expansion of power was probably the reason why some leaders chose the side of the colonists during the first stages of European contact. Not one culture in the Pacific has escaped the attention of the Europeans.

The Islands in the Pacific were populated from the west. Melanesia was the first area to be populated by people from South-East Asia. The western islands in this region are populated for over 30.000 years now and have developed many different languages and cultures. The island New-Guinea for example has about 750 different languages. Micronesia and Polynesia were populated by people from the eastern part of Melanesia, about 3.000 years ago. Hawaii, New-Zealand and Easter-island were the last areas to be populated in the Pacific, 2.000 years ago.
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