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 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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The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; Carolinian: Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The CNMI includes the 14 northernmost islands in the Mariana Archipelago; the southernmost island, Guam, is a separate U.S. territory. The Northern Mariana Islands were listed by the United Nations as a non-self governing territory until 1990.

During the colonial period, the Northern Marianas were variously under the control of the Spanish, German, and Japanese empires. After World War II, the islands were part of the United Nations trust territories under American administration, before formally joining the United States as a territory in 1986, with their population gaining United States citizenship. (Full article...)

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Japanese soldiers, killed while assaulting US Marine positions, lie dead on the sandbar at the mouth of Alligator Creek, Guadalcanal, after the battle on 21 August 1942.

The Battle of the Tenaru, sometimes called the Battle of the Ilu River or the Battle of Alligator Creek, was a land battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces that took place on 21 August 1942, on the island of Guadalcanal during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battle was the first major Japanese land offensive during the Guadalcanal campaign.

In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an assault by the "First Element" of the "Ichiki" Regiment, under the command of Japanese Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki. The Marines were defending the Lunga perimeter, which guarded Henderson Field, which had been captured by the Allies in landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August. Ichiki's unit was sent to Guadalcanal, in response to the Allied landings there, with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces off the island. (Full article...)

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... that Michaela Foster, a New Zealand footballer playing in the 2023 World Cup, is known for her mana?

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

Image 1Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 2Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 3Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 4Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 5King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 6Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 7Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 8Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 9Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 10Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 11A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 12Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 13A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 14Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 15Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 16Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 17Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 18German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 19Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 20Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 21Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 22On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 23The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 24Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 25New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 26Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 27Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 28Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 29The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 30German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 31A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 32Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 33Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 34Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 35Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 36Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 37Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 38Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 39Map 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 40Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 41A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 42Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 43Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 44An 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 45Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 46Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 47Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 48Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 49Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 50Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 51Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 52Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)