Examines the history of European colonisation of the Pacific. The Spaniards were the first to explore the region following the establishment of the galleon route between the Philippines and Acapulco in Mexico in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thereafter in the 18th and 19th centuries the British and French sought spheres of influence in the Pacific establishing colonies there and embarking on religious crusades to Christianise the population. In the 20th century the Pacific became the battleground for war between new superpowers, Japan and America.