Abstract
This chapter presents a worldwide summary of island colonization by preindustrial peoples and a history of who colonized what and when. It describes three geometrical properties of islands that affect the probability of settlement: (1) island distance, (2) configuration, and (3) area. This leads to the question of whether islands were reached accidentally or on purpose and to the theory of autocatalysis as a suggested key to waves of island colonization. Island distributions in the world's various oceans affected the degree to which the people living around those oceans developed maritime skills. The chapter then explores some consequences of competition between human populations occupying islands. It also discusses three phenomena that may develop as an island is colonized: (1) niche shifts, (2) beachhead bottlenecks, and (3) degradation of island environments.
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