Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as it’s called in the native language, sits in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean between Chile and Tahiti and is home to around 3,800 people. The island was discovered by Europeans when Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen found it on Easter Sunday in 1722 and named it Easter Island because he arrived during Easter week. For all its popularity these days, there are some things about Easter Island that most people don’t know about the place, so we decided to get the facts straight for you! Here are 8 things you probably didn't know about Easter Island!
1) where it is
Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is a territory of Chile. It's 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) west of Chile. Easter Island is one of the five South Pacific islands that make up French Polynesia. The island covers a land area of just 62 square miles (160 square kilometers). The small island was formed by an extinct volcano rising 2,250 feet (686 meters) above sea level. Easter Island's highest point is Mataveri Peak at 1,344 feet (410 meters).
2) why do people go there
Easter Island is a very special place. One of earth's most remote places, Easter Island is 3,500 miles west of South America and 2,200 miles east of Tahiti. People have gone there for hundreds of years to find peace and create art. Because it was isolated and devoid of natural resources, the settlers settled on Easter Island. It was also a good place for fishermen to trade because it was in the middle of the country and so far away from anyone else that they could be attacked or taken by someone else. That’s why so many people live there and why they don’t want other people to take over their little island paradise!
3) who discovered it
Easter Island was first discovered by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722. Over time, Easter Island has been claimed and occupied by many countries, including Chile, Spain, and Great Britain. In 1888, Chile annexed Easter Island to its territory and it remains part of Chile today. The island is called Rapa Nui (the native name) or Isla de Pascua (Spanish for Easter Island) in Spanish. Its official language is Spanish but English is also widely spoken throughout much of Easter Island.
4) who controls it today
Easter Island is an overseas territory of Chile. Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888 and made it part of its Valparaiso Region. Since 1985, Easter has had its administrative region called a special territory, which is governed by a council and presided over by a delegate appointed by Chile's president. (source: CIA World Factbook)
5) who lived there originally
Easter Islanders were Polynesians from French Polynesia. These people are also called Rapa Nui and called their home island Te Pito Te Henua, which translates to Navel of The World. To many explorers, Easter Island looked like a giant volcano emerging from an ocean. This is fitting because volcanoes have shaped much of Easter's topography.
6) what they built
Easter Island was colonized by Polynesians, who arrived around AD 1200. They carved giant statues called moai out of stone to honor their chiefs and ancestors. The largest of these statues is 33 feet (10 meters) high and weighs 82 tons (72,000 kilograms). There are over 900 moai on Easter Island; nearly half stand in a single group near the Rano Raraku crater. One massive statue, called Paro, lies toppled face down in one of Easter Island's lakes; it is so large that researchers believe it would have required a team of 80 men more than 10 years to carve.
7) who attacked them
The native Easter Islanders were attacked and enslaved by people from neighboring islands. Europeans are thought to have visited Easter Island in the early 1000 CE, although they may have arrived in the 16th century. Dutch sailor Jacob Roggeveen was one of the first Europeans to visit Easter Island in 1722. However, there is no concrete evidence of European occupation before that time.
8) how their statues were moved
Easter Island is famous for its huge, ancient stone statues. And if there’s one thing most people probably don’t know about Easter Island, it’s how those statues were moved from place to place. As it turns out, carving and building an eight-foot-tall statue of a person—much less transporting it to a different location—isn’t easy. But that didn’t stop Easter Islanders from moving their stone giants. For starters, they had a small island at their disposal.
