When was Easter Island discovered by Europeans?

The first-recorded European contact with the island took place on 5 April (Easter Sunday) 1722 when Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen visited for a week and estimated there were 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants on the island.

How did Jacob Roggeveen find Easter Island?

Roggeveen and his crew of 233 departed from Holland on August 21, 1721. From these islands, Roggeveen sailed west, looking for Dampier’s island. The crew aboard the African Galley was the first to see the what was subsequently named Paasch Eyland ( Easter Island ), on April 5, 1722.

When did Jacob Roggeveen reaches Easter Island?

On April 5, 1722, Dutch seafarer Jacob Roggeveen is the first European to discover the Polynesian island Rapa Nui, which he named Easter Island.

What did Jacob Roggeveen do in Easter Island?

During his weeklong stay on Easter Island, Roggeveen examined and recorded various aspects of Rapa Nui culture and society: the islanders ‘ clothing; their stretched and adorned earlobes; their food; their strong physical stature and their snow-white teeth; among other things.

Are there any Easter Islanders left?

The Rapa Nui are the indigenous Polynesian people of Easter Island. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.

Who owns the Easter Islands?

Known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, the island was christened Paaseiland, or Easter Island, by Dutch explorers in honor of the day of their arrival in 1722. It was annexed by Chile in the late 19th century and now maintains an economy based largely on tourism.

Why is Easter Island called Easter Island?

Etymology. The name “Easter Island ” was given by the island’s first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday (5 April) in 1722, while searching for “Davis Land”. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th-century Dutch for “Easter Island”).

What is the great mystery associated with Easter Island?

Deforestation, slavery and rats were all factors in the Pacific island’s population decline. Most people have heard of the decimation of the population of Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui ) and have seen pictures of the massive stone statues (moai) that line the coastline.

How many moais are on Easter Island?

Easter Island’s monumental stone heads are well-known, but there’s more to the story: all along, the sculptures have secretly had torsos, buried beneath the earth. Archaeologists have documented 887 of the massive statues, known as moai, but there may up as many as 1,000 of them on the island.

When did Jacob Roggeveen die?

January 31, 1729