Pacific Islanders had evolved great ability to move about freely within their island strewn ocean. There was a complex spatial component in the economies of the pre-colonial Pacific, demanding considerable planning, extensive geographical knowledge and a relatively high degree of technological skill. These attributes of island culture should have been a basis for successful participation in the maritime trade which arose from the introduced commercial economy. But this happened only partially, and with a record of failures that far outran the successes, Islanders who were demonstrably able to marshal and distribute resources over large areas in the indigenous economy have often failed in their efforts to participate in modern trading systems and in the operation of commercial fisheries. The reasons of this failure have not been adequately examined and this essay is an attempt to offer some explanations.