Easter Island or “Rapa Nui” (S2.02)

Welcome to our second episode in season 2 of 80 Days: an exploration podcast. Today we will be exploring the fascinating history and culture of Easter Island. For full show notes and links, click the link below - https://80dayspodcast.com/2017/04/16/easter-island Named by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, on Easter Sunday in 1722, the island is best known for the 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, which were built by the early Rapa Nui people. The island is one of the most isolated in the world, lying more than 1,289 miles from its nearest inhabited neighbour, and almost 2,200 miles from the closest continental point, in Chile. The tiny volcanic island consists of just 163.6 km2 or 63.2 sq mi, making it roughly twice the size of Manhattan. The native population, the Rapa Nui, have endured famines, disease, population collapse, civil war, slave raids and colonial power struggles, and the island was most recently annexed by Chile in 1888. Today, Easter Island is home to around 6,000 people, the majority of whom are descended from the original Rapa Nui settlers. *Topic list* [01:20] Intro - a seriously isolated island [05:17] Dr Mara Mulrooney - on polynesian explorers [14:42] The mystery - where did all the people go? [18:08] Moai - giant stone heads [27:50] The other explanations for the mystery [36:53] "Discovery" - Roggeveen, Dutch idiot [42:32] Was there a Civil War...? [46:30] Birdman Cult [53:38] Catholics, slavery, smallpox and Joseph Byrne [1:07:44] Dutrou Bornier - A bad man [1:13:55] Salmond and his sheep and Chile takes over [1:21:11] Mana and the Routledge archaeological expedition [1:29:23] Thor Heyerdahl expedition [1:32:15] Pinochet's law is like Pinochet's love [1:37:07] Modern day