Polynesian navigation of the Pacific Ocean and its settlement began thousands of years ago. The inhabitants of the Pacific islands had been voyaging across vast expanses of ocean water sailing in double canoes or outriggers using nothing more than their knowledge of the stars and observations of sea and wind patterns to guide them.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1586/polynesian-navigation--settlement-of-the-pacific/.