ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the way in which the British took over from the Spanish as the main European influence on the Pacific and concludes by summarizing the lasting legacy of the European intrusion. The protective umbrella of the Pax Britannica helped provide a secure, low-cost environment for international trade in the nineteenth century. Decolonization created as many opportunities for Great Britain as it did constraints. British interest in the Pacific increased dramatically with the so-called swing to the East that followed the loss of its American colonies. The most dramatic influences in promoting market integration were improvements in communications and transportation. Cultural and political differences have ensured that integration in the Pacific would have economic roots. In practice, the new societies clearly were products of both their cultural background and the adaptation to alien physical and biological environments. One enduring feature of the new societies has been the diversity of their economies.
