Portal:Oceania

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The Oceania Portal

An orthographic projection of Oceania

Oceania (UK: /ˌoʊsiˈɑːniə, ˌoʊʃi-, -ˈeɪn-/ OH-s(h)ee-AH-nee-ə, -⁠AY-, US: /ˌoʊʃiˈæniə, -ˈɑːn-/ ^ⓘ OH-shee-A(H)N-ee-ə) is a geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass contained inside of the larger continent of Oceania. Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, at the centre of the water hemisphere, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. When compared to the continents (which it is often compared to, not including Australia), Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica.

Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and globally competitive financial markets of Australia, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Caledonia, and New Zealand, which rank high in quality of life and Human Development Index, to the much less developed economies of Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Western New Guinea, while also including medium-sized economies of Pacific islands such as Fiji, Palau, and Tonga. The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney. Puncak Jaya in Highland Papua, Indonesia, is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).

The arrival of European settlers in subsequent centuries resulted in a significant alteration in the social and political landscape of Oceania. The Pacific theatre saw major action during the First World War with the Japanese occupying many German territories. During the Second World War, Allied powers including the United States, Philippines (a U.S. Commonwealth at the time) and Australia fought against Axis power Japan across various locations in Oceania. (Full article...)

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Guam (/ˈɡwɑːm/ ^ⓘ GWAHM; Chamorro: Guåhan [ˈɡʷɑhɑn]) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, reckoned from the geographic center of the U.S. In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia. As of 2022, Guam's population was 168,801. Chamorros are the largest ethnic group, but a minority on the multi-ethnic island. The territory spans 210 square miles (540 km²; 130,000 acres) and has a population density of 775 per square mile (299/km²).

Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamorro, who are related to the Austronesian peoples of the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Polynesia. But unlike most of its neighbors, the Chamorro language is not classified as a Micronesian or Polynesian language. Rather, like Palauan, it possibly constitutes an independent branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family. The Chamorro people settled Guam and the Mariana islands approximately 3,500 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while in the service of Spain, was the first European to visit and claim the island on March 6, 1521. Guam was fully colonized by Spain in 1668. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Guam was an important stopover for Spanish Manila galleons. During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. effective April 11, 1899. (Full article...)

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Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia) or any other island located in the Pacific Ocean.

Melanesians include the Fijians (Fiji), Kanaks (New Caledonia), Ni-Vanuatu (Vanuatu), Papua New Guineans (Papua New Guinea), Solomon Islanders (Solomon Islands), West Papuans (Indonesia's West Papua) and Moluccans (Indonesia’s Maluku Islands). (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 2A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 3Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 4Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 5A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 6Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 7Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 8Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 9King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 10Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 11A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 12German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 13Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 14Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 15Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 16Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 17Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 18Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 19Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 20The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 21Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 22German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 23Map showing the migration and expansion of the Austronesians which began at about 3000 BC from Taiwan. The Polynesian branch is shown in green. (from Polynesia)
Image 24An illustration of the Cross Spikes Club of the US Navy on Bikini Atoll, one of several Marshall Islands used for atomic bomb tests. (from Micronesia)
Image 25Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 26Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 27Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 28Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 29Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 30Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 31Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 32New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 33Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 34Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 35Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 36Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 37Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 38Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 39Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 40Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 41Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 42Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 43Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 44Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 45A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 46The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 47Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 48Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 49Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 50Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 51Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)