Easter Island belongs to which country?
Easter Island other artifacts. However, land clearing for cultivation and the introduction of the Polynesian rat led to gradual deforestation. By the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population was estimated to be 2,000–3,000. European diseases, Peruvian slave raiding expeditions in the 1860s, and emigration to other islands, e.g. Tahiti, further depleted the population, reducing it to a low of 111 native inhabitants in 1877. Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888. In 1966, the Rapa Nui were granted Chilean citizenship. In 2007 the island gained the constitutional status of "special territory." Administratively, it belongs to the Valparaíso Region, comprising a
Mana Expedition to Easter Island Mana Expedition to Easter Island The Mana Expedition to Easter Island (Polynesian: "mana" means "good luck") occurred between March 1913 and August 1915. It was the first archaeological expedition to Rapa Nui which was privately organized and funded, preceding the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island of Thor Heyerdahl by more than 40 years. The Mana Expedition was led by Katherine and William Scoresby Routledge. The expedition and its ship, the "Mana", bore the same name. The ship left Falmouth, England on March 13, 1913 with a crew of twelve, including a surveyor, geologist, sailing master, navigator, engineer, cook, seamen,