Block, Siteadmin, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, protect
4,562
edits
Changes
no edit summary
[[Image:Easter_island_statues.jpg|thumb|right|Easter Island Statues]]
[[Image:Easter_island_statues.jpg|thumb|right|Easter Island Statues]]
'''Easter Island''' is a remote, though uncharacteristically large, [[Chile]]an island in the South Pacific 2,237 miles west of [[South America]]. The natives of Easter Island, a [[Polynesia]]n people, refer to their island as Rapa Nui. Europeans refer to it as Easter Island because the Dutch accidentally encountered it on [[Easter]] Sunday, 1722, the day of first European contact.
'''Easter Island''' is a remote, though uncharacteristically large, [[Chile]]an island in the South Pacific 2,237 miles west of [[South America]]. The natives of Easter Island, a [[Polynesia]]n people, refer to their island as Rapa Nui. Europeans refer to it as Easter Island because the Dutch accidentally encountered it on [[Easter]] Sunday, 1722, the day of first European contact.
In 1888 the Council of Rapanui Chiefs asked the Chilean Navy Captain, Policarpo Toro, to accept the sovereignty of Easter Island without giving up their chieftaincy titles, the ownership of their lands, the validity of their culture and traditions and on equal terms. This known as the agreement of wills of September 9, 1888.
That day was not imposed a nation over another, it was neither a conquest nor an imposition, the most experienced people, the Rapanui elders, led by Atamu Tekena, offered sovereignty to Chile thinking about the future of the island. The island officially became part of the Chilean patrimony and not a private possession, as it was seen outside the island.
Chile did not invade or buy the island, the Rapanui people did not sell anything, they were integrated in equal conditions to Chile, therefore, they have the same rights as the rest of the Chileans and it is the duty of the State to guarantee them, that was the commitment acquired by means of the agreement. The Chilean State undertook to guard the security of this island and take care of its people. The agreement in no case included the handing over of the ownership of the land.
The most developed island in the Pacific was about to succumb, before the agreement, to a demographic and ecological disaster, in addition to the abuses of sailors and traders who came to a land without a flag and a State that managed to develop a magnificent culture.
But it was defenseless against the abuses of firearms and slave traders. The elders, who knew the periods of glory and also those of slavery, decided to join Chile to stop these abuses, ceding sovereignty.
Between 1965 and 1970, the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) settled on Easter Island, radically changing the way of life of the Rapa Nui, as they became acquainted with the customs of the consumer societies of the developed world. During this period, the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva enacted the Pascua Law, which meant a basic leveling between the rights of the islanders and the Chilean mainlanders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Iorana & Goodbye|publisher=Pehuén|author=Patricia Stambuk}}</ref><ref>[https://www.24horas.cl/nacional/la-desconocida-historia-de-la-base-gringa-albergada-en-isla-de-pascua-2132317 La desconocida historia de la base "gringa" albergada en Isla de Pascua]</ref>
Between 1965 and 1970, the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) settled on Easter Island, radically changing the way of life of the Rapa Nui, as they became acquainted with the customs of the consumer societies of the developed world. During this period, the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva enacted the Pascua Law, which meant a basic leveling between the rights of the islanders and the Chilean mainlanders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Iorana & Goodbye|publisher=Pehuén|author=Patricia Stambuk}}</ref><ref>[https://www.24horas.cl/nacional/la-desconocida-historia-de-la-base-gringa-albergada-en-isla-de-pascua-2132317 La desconocida historia de la base "gringa" albergada en Isla de Pascua]</ref>