Despite an idyllic tropical setting in the middle of the world’s largest ocean, the Pacific Islands have been a battleground for centuries. Indigenous Austronesian and Polynesian tribes were among the world’s first explorers and navigators, and then fought one another for centuries, sometimes eating their victims after successful conquests.

Despite an idyllic tropical setting in the middle of the world’s largest ocean, the Pacific Islands have been a battleground for centuries. Indigenous Austronesian and Polynesian tribes were among the world’s first explorers and navigators, and then fought one another for centuries, sometimes eating their victims after successful conquests.