### L1172 too much taxation leads to starvation Inevitably, political and ritual power passed to those who owned the best land. By 1600 C.E., some Polynesian societies had developed into elaborate chiefdoms headed by small elites of chiefs, navigators, and priests, especially in areas where wet, swamp-based agriculture was possible. Inevitably, the escalating demands of chiefs and priests questing for ever more prestige threatened the fine line between subsistence and surplus. - [[Beyond the Blue Horizon by Brian Fagan#L1172 too much taxation leads to starvation|View in Vault]]