What is the proper name for Easter Island?

Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua, also called Rapa Nui, Chilean dependency in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Where did Easter Island get its name?

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”).

How did Rapa Nui get its name?

How did Easter Island get its name? On Easter Sunday 1722, Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to land on this isolated Polynesian island, and named it Paasch-Eyland – Dutch for ‘Easter Island’ – in tribute. The island is also known by the name Rapa Nui, which the islands’ inhabitants still use.

Do humans live on Easter Island?

Despite its extreme seclusion, most people know of Easter Island for one reason: the moai sculptures. And they are enough to attract nearly 100,000 travelers every year to this island of just 5,700 inhabitants.

What language is spoken on Easter Island?

Islanders smile, sing and dance in polyester costumes to cater to the mostly Spanish-speaking spenders. Ever since Chile annexed Easter Island more than a century ago, the Spanish language has been chipping away at the Polynesian-based language called Rapa Nui.

Why are there no trees on Easter Island?

Easter Island was covered with palm trees for over 30,000 years, but is treeless today. There is good evidence that the trees largely disappeared between 1200 and 1650. However there is evidence the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) was present from 900 and it seems clear that these rats caused widespread deforestation.

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.

How did humans get to Easter Island?

Linguists estimate Easter Island’s first inhabitants arrived around AD 400, and most agree that they came from East Polynesia. These linguistic links point to a genealogical bond that ties the people of the Pacific to one another. Indeed, in 1994, DNA from 12 Easter Island skeletons was found to be Polynesian.

Does Easter Island have a flag?

The flag of Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Te Reva Reimiro) is the flag of Easter Island, a special territory of Chile. It was first flown in public alongside the national flag on 9 May 2006.

What really happened on Easter Island?

According to Easter Island: The Truth Revealed, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 people – half the population – were taken in 1862 in a raid by slave traders from Peru to work there, predominately in agriculture. They brought disease with them and much of the remaining population was decimated.

Is Easter Island safe?

Is Easter Island safe? It’s hard to think of any safer place than Easter Island. Tourists that are victims to violent crimes such as robbery, rape or murder is unheard of. Unless you’re looking for a fight, you can walk by yourself at night without worrying about your safety.

Does Easter Island have an airport?

Easter Island is served by Easter Island Mataveri Intl Airport, also commonly referred to as Easter Island, Isla de Pascua, Mataveri Intl, or simply Easter Island Airport. The airport code is IPC.

Does Easter Island have Internet?

WiFi is only available in the main town of Hanga Roa at hotels and Internet cafes (most restaurants don’t offer WiFi) but even then, the connection can be patchy. In 2016, the Chilean government implemented its WiFi ChileGob program on the island, a public service project that provides free WiFi in public places.