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On Easter Sunday 1722, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen sighted a small, largely treeless island on his journey across the Pacific Ocean. It was located almost 2,000 miles from South America, the nearest continent, and more than 1,200 miles from the nearest island; it was one of the most remote and isolated locations in the world. Roggeveen\u2019s crew rejoiced, and he gave \u201cto the land the name Pa\u00e1sch Eyland [Easter Island], because it was discovered by us on Easter Day\u201d.<\/p>\n
Yet despite its remoteness, the sailor soon discovered that the island was already home to a population of settlers, who had arrived there centuries earlier: \u201cWe saw smoke rising in several places,\u201d Roggeveen reported, \u201cfrom which we concluded that there were people dwelling on the same.\u201d Those people had named their home Te Pito o te Henua \u2013 the navel of the world \u2013 or, more commonly, Rapa Nui. The Dutch explorers estimated that the population, known as the Rapanui, numbered around 3,000, and described it as \u201chealthy\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 1774 Captain Cook<\/a> also visited the island, while searching for a new continent in the frigid waters of the southern Pacific. After two months at sea, his crew were exhausted and debilitated by scurvy, and in desperate need of provisions. They headed to Rapa Nui, but were surprised by what they found: a barren island with neither wood nor much fresh water on its roughly 164 sq km. \u201cNature,\u201d Cook noted, \u201chas been exceedingly sparing of her favours to the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n The crew described a population estimated to be no more than 700, lacking in tools, shelter and clothing, who spent all of their time \u201cproviding food to support their precarious existence\u201d. The giant stone statues called moai that dotted the island must surely have been produced at an earlier time when the island flourished, for the current population, Cook\u2019s naturalist remarked, had neither tools nor spare time for such vanity projects.<\/p>\n Listen| Historian Cat Jarman discusses the mysteries of Rapa Nui on this episode of the HistoryExtra <\/em>podcast<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n