When Women Ruled the Pacific: Power and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Tahiti and Hawai'i

British and American imperialists advanced into the Pacific in the 19th century, causing catastrophic effects for Polynesian peoples and cultures. Women rulers in Tahiti and Hawai‘i attempted to mitigate these effects, but foreign diseases devastated the populations, and European militaries jockeyed for more formal imperial control. Joy Schulz's book highlights four Polynesian women rulers who held enormous domestic and foreign power and expertly governed their people amid shifting loyalties, betrayals, and imperial racism. These rulers fought arguments of lineage and battles for territorial control, but their freedom was unlike anything Europeans and Americans had ever seen. Imperial histories and missionary accounts have lost their successes, resulting in the loss of womens autonomy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 166 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2023
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Throughout the nineteenth century, British and American imperialists expanded their influence into the Pacific, resulting in catastrophic consequences for the Polynesian peoples and cultures. In both Tahiti and Hawai'i, women rulers attempted to mitigate the effects of these encounters, leveraging their power amidst the destabilizing influence of the English and Americans. However, as the century progressed, foreign diseases devastated the Tahitian and Hawaiian populations, and powerful European militaries competed for more formal imperial control over Polynesian waystations, leading to Tahiti's cession of rule to France in 1847 and Hawai'i's relinquishment of power to the United States in 1893.

In her book, When Women Ruled the Pacific, Joy Schulz explores the remarkable stories of four Polynesian women rulers who wielded significant domestic and foreign power and skillfully governed their people amidst shifting loyalties, betrayals, and the rise of imperial racism. Similar to their European counterparts, these Polynesian rulers engaged in debates over lineage and territorial control, yet the freedom enjoyed by Polynesian women, in general, and women rulers, in particular, stood in stark contrast to anything Europeans and Americans had ever witnessed. As a result, white chroniclers of contact found it challenging to explain their encounters, initially praising but ultimately condemning Polynesian gender systems, ultimately eroding women's autonomy. The achievements of these women rulers have been obscured by the dominant narratives of imperial histories and missionary accounts, which have chosen to tell different stories.

By centering the lives of these women rulers in the history of nineteenth-century international relations, Schulz offers a fresh perspective on their contributions and challenges. Her book fills a significant gap in the literature, providing a much-needed exploration of queenship and women's political sovereignty in the Pacific region. Through her meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Schulz restores the visibility of these women rulers and their significant roles in shaping the history of the Pacific.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496231802