CANBERRA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Pacific island nations suffered severe depopulation from diseases introduced by European settlers, Australian researchers have found.

According to a new study recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science by Australian National University (ANU), population declines in Pacific island nations as a consequence of diseases introduced by initial contact with European vessels were larger than previously thought.

On the main island of Tonga alone the population was found to have declined between 70 and 86 percent following first contact with Europeans, according to the study.

Study co-authors Phillip Parton from the ANU School of Culture, History and Language and the Australian Research Council's Geoffrey Clark used data from aerial laser scanning and archaeological research to estimate Tonga's population at between 100,000 and 120,000 prior to European contact.

"This improved understanding of the past has allowed us to show a significant population decline from 50,000 to 60,000 to 10,000 during a 50-year period on the main island of Tongatapu in the Kingdom of Tonga," Parton said in a media release.

"Because this number is so much larger than anything anyone had previously considered, I used shipping and missionary data to check my estimates and found they were plausible."

Parton said this obviously shows a big reassessment of the impact of globalization in the 19th century.

"As in many parts of the world, the population of Pacific islands suffered severe declines after contact when Europeans introduced new pathogens," he said. Enditem

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