HOW THE WEST WAS WON

A detailed Summary of HOW THE WEST WAS WON

World War II came without warning or invitation for the people of the South Pacific and brought issues that few understood. The war became a period of excitement, hardship, and at the same time, of material abundance. Their islands, the place they called their homes, were abruptly exposed and used as never before to new outside influences and by uninvited guests. "Their harbours were used by fleets of warships, while onshore bases were built to house troops, and landing fields were constructed to service a suddenly created aircraft traffic," (Howe 156). Pacific Islanders were for the most part, observers of the war and the turmoil it generated, rather than constituents. Although there were a number of them who were actively and directly entangled and played crucial roles, there are still very few published accounts of Pacific Islanders' camaraderie in the war. Their involvement had gradually disappeared over the years in the record books, as so did their island paradise.

World War II cast a dark shadow in the South Pacific. The Islanders were in no doubt victims of the war, mere bystanders, innocent, and oblivious to the outside world before the invasion. It was a terrible and untamed place to fight a war. The South P

acific was home for a population that was quite large considering the lack of towns and economic development during that time. "There were perhaps 2.5 million people living in New Guinea and the Solomons during World War II," (Bergerud 104). Much of the Solomons was concealed paradise, although colonized for centuries before. Large areas of the inland mountains of New Guinea had no or little direct organized contact with the Western world whatsoever, until the war.

The fact of the matter is that the war helped the indigenous people learn the meaning of the word westernization. In many aspects, the invasion of the Americans and its Allied troops, and even the Japanese, were beneficial in terms of the abundant supply of food and especially medicine that were introduced to the native people. They were taught personal hygiene and manners. They were led and encouraged to develop new ideas, often to help better their lives in their island paradise. There were major improvements in education, health services, agriculture, trade, and water supply; also by developing a controlled government they had a better handle in trying to deal with criminals within their villages. They began to see the importance of an organized colony; and aside from what they were already accustomed to, they began to adapt many of the Western lifestyles. They learned how to use their resources efficiently and productively. Moreover, the people of the Pacific had a better understanding of who the outsiders really were.

"Native guides were a fixture of the war in the South Pacific," (Bergerud 114). Both sides used them extensively. Most Solomon islanders viewed the war fearfully and avoided getting involved. Those who did, however, sided with the Allies almost exclusively because the Japanese often frightened many.

World War II in the Pacific during and until now, not only a major turning point that changed the lives of the Pacific Islanders, it was moreover an introduction to colonization and what it had to offer. Although most are now deserted, "...much of the formerly productive garden or plantation land lies lost beneath a layer of compacted crushed coral or concrete," (Howe 166). However, islands like, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, New Caledonia, the Solomons, Western Samoa, and Fiji have successfully built international airports, their country's main gateway to the outside world. Additionally, paved roads and buildings, such as the hospital in Honiara, have been constructed during the war, and have contributed to the infrastructure of modernizing the Pacific.

Another visible result of the war has been the boost it gave to migration from the Pacific Islands. In Samoa, for instance, new skills acquired during the war helped in a particular way to generate an eagerness to succeed in labor markets overseas. The Islanders began to seek for the further betterment they desired. Nevertheless, the impact of the war continued in many ways. "Relics of it, both material and otherwise, abound and conspicuous among them are the wartime airfields scattered through the islands," (Howe 166). This was just the beginning of what was to grow into a self-sustaining movement, as people came to recognize materials of the outside world.

Unfortunately, malaria and yellow fever were not the only dangerous diseases that plagued the armies in the South Pacific. There were dysentery, scarlet fever, dengue fever and scrub typhus, another insect-borne disease. Yet there were thousands of native people who over the centuries had made the South Pacific their homes and seem to

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Approximate Word count = 2406
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History