Radiocarbon dates of seeds gnawed by Polynesian rats, and of the earliest campsites, suggest that the first settlers reached Aotearoa, New Zealand, in canoes from eastern Polynesia, perhaps the Cook or Society Islands, around 1280 AD, the last large landmass to be reached by humans. Polynesian voyagers had spread across the Pacific over the previous millennium, steering by stars, swells and birds, settling Hawaii by about 1000 to 1200 and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) about 1200. The Maori hunted the giant moa to extinction within about a hundred years and developed a distinct culture. Their oral traditions tell of the voyage of Kupe.
Before and after
- c. 1276Birth of Giotto
- from 1277 to 1287First Mongol invasion of Burma
- 1279Kublai Khan completes the conquest of China
- c. 1280sConstruction of Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
- c. 1280sPolynesian navigators settle New Zealand
- c. 1280Eruption of Quilotoa
- 1281The Mongol invasions of Japan
- 29 October 1281Second Battle of Homs
- from 1282 to 1302War of the Sicilian Vespers
More in Exploration & discovery
- 972 CEBirth of Leif Erikson
- 1021Vikings are at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland
- from 1271 to 1295Marco Polo sets out for China
- 14 June 1325Ibn Battuta sets out from Tangier
- 1368Death of Ibn Battuta
- c. 1435Death of Zheng He
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 13th century.