Robert Wood Williamson (1856–1932) was a British solicitor and anthropologist who worked extensively in New Guinea and Polynesia. Originally published in 1924, this book forms part of a three-volume study by Williamson on the socio-political systems of Polynesian islands near the equator. The study was written with the intention of consolidating the observations made in the extensive and various literature on the subject of Central Polynesian indigenous societies into a unified and accessible text. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Polynesia and the development of anthropology.