HEADLINE: Polynesian Navigation Techniques and the Voyage of John Williams AUTHOR NAME: Nicholas Thomas SUMMARY: Professor Nicholas Thomas introduces his book, Voyagers, discussing 19th-century missionary John Williams's encounter with Chief Rono Matani.
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 22 September 2025
⏱️ 10 minutes
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Summary
AUTHOR NAME: Nicholas Thomas
SUMMARY: Professor Nicholas Thomas introduces his book, Voyagers, discussing 19th-century missionary John Williams's encounter with Chief Rono Matani. Matani demonstrated that proper course setting required departing from a specific, knowledge-based point on an island, utilizing landmarks. Once out of sight of land, Polynesians maintained course using specific rising stars, compensating for currents and wind through subtle environmental understanding.
1899 FIJI
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| 0:30.1 | This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor. |
| 0:35.3 | I welcome a great privilege, Professor Nicholas Thomas, Professor of Historical Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, |
| 0:40.7 | director of the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, |
| 0:42.8 | to help me with his new book, |
| 0:46.7 | wonderful story about the Pacific Rim Basin, |
| 0:51.6 | where I've been several times in my life ignorant of the questions I didn't know existed, |
| 0:56.3 | about where this wonderful culture came from that I visited in Hawaii, |
| 1:01.2 | where it's going now in the 21st century, given its history. |
| 1:04.8 | The new book is Voyagers, the settlement of the Pacific. |
| 1:06.6 | Professor, a very good evening to you. |
| 1:07.6 | Thank you very much. |
| 1:08.2 | Congratulations. |
| 1:16.5 | And I take you to a moment in your explication of the vastness of this landscape called Oceania. |
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