The Archaeology of Islands and Coasts in the Study of Colonialism and the Rise of the Early Modern World

Abstract

Abstract In the study of colonialism, the archaeology of islands and coasts is crucial in examining the multifaceted processes and outcomes of Indigenous and colonial encounters that took place with the rise of the early modern world from the 1400s to the mid-1800s. European global expansion ensued with advances in oceanic sailing technology, the opening of maritime highways, and the establishment of an extensive coastal infrastructure with port facilities near good harbors and anchorages. This chapter highlights how island and coastal archaeology provides important insights about the earliest encounters between Indigenous populations and foreign intruders; about the onslaught of managerial, missionary, and settler colonies onto native homelands; and about later processes of urbanization, intensification, and landscape modifications that continue to impact many coastal places today. The authors emphasize how archaeological investigations of coastal ports provide exceptional opportunities to examine ancient Indigenous history and the various permutations of colonialism that subsequently unfolded in native lands with the rise of the early modern world.