HISTORY OF OCEANIA

history of Oceania

The history of Oceania can be divided into two great periods: history of the settlement of this area of the world before its discovery by Europeans, and the history since the arrival of Europeans and their colonization. Today still, of many States of Oceania are European or American possessions.

A SETTLEMENT BY STAGES

The settlement of Oceania was done by small successive stages.  The first newcomers  are  originating in Asia of South-east. Towards 60 000 before J-C, they move into a zone including/understanding Australia, New Guinea and Tasmanie. They are  the ancestors of the Aboriginals  of Australia and Papous.

Towards 25 000 before J-C,  Papous  populate New Guinea and New Hebrides (today Vanuatu, in Mélanésie). In same time,  the Polynesians  seize the archipelagoes of Micronesia. Each time, the scenario is identical:  when an island is over-populated, part of the population embarks on dugouts to conquer another island, sometimes located at hundreds of kilometers. This phenomenon lasts approximately to  the viii ^E century after J-C, when the Polynesians, parties of the centuries earlier of Hawaii, arrive to New Zealand after having colonized the archipelago of Samoa and the Tuamotu islands.

The whole of these companies live folded up on themselves and have few contacts with the others; they present very diverse cultures. They refer many common  however: they  are unaware of metal, know only wood,  live hunting and gathering  and developed a very rich art.

EUROPEAN EXPLORATIONS

A long time, Oceania remains with the variation of European forwardings. Admittedly, Fernand of Magellan discovers the Pacific Ocean to  the xvi ^E century. But it is necessary to await  the xvii ^E century so that  the Dutchmen discover Australia  (1606),  New Zealand  (1642)  and the islands Fiji  (1643).

To the xviii ^E century, the navigators multiply the voyages, in the search of a large "southern continent". Certain scientists think indeed that there exists, in this area of the world, a large ground similar to the American continent; the philosophers then dream to discover the "good savage there", i.e. a natural man, not yet victim of the defects of civilization. It is accordingly that the French  Louis Antoine de Bougainville  (between 1766 and 1769) and  the count of Perugia  (between 1785 and 1788), just as the British  James Cook  (between 1768 and 1779), undertake several voyages in this area of the world. Although James Cook shows the inexistence of the southern continent definitively, that does not slow down the heat of Europeans.

The COLONIZATION OF OCEANIA

Starting from the end of  the xviii ^E century, Europeans launch out in the colonization of Oceania.  The first colonists  are often  convicts, sent on the islands océaniennes to purge their sorrow (in particular in Australia and Tasmanie). Quickly, from  European missionnaires  come in the area to convert with Christianity the local populations. Other colonists come to work in  the European commercial  companies which install agricultural plantations there; moreover, this monopolization of the grounds causes many revolts of the local populations (the concept of property is then unknown in Oceania). After 1851, when gold layers are discovered in Australia, a new type of colonists unloads in Oceania; this "gold rush " generates the multiplication by four of the Australian population in 20 years!

Soon, all the great nations share the area:  Great Britain  dominates Mélanésie, Australia and New Zealand;  France  seizes New Caledonia and part of Polynesia;  the United States  annexes Hawaii, Guam, etc.

THE SHOCK OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

With the Second World war (1939-1945), Oceania knows one very dark period of its history:  the war of the Pacific. The shortly after the Japanese attack of the American base of  Pearl Harbor  (in Hawaii) on December 7, 1941, the Japanese launch out in a vast war of conquest of the area. Many islands are the theatre of  combat baited between Japanese and Americans. The United States undertakes a series of very fatal offensives to reconquer  Guadalcanal  (August 1942),  the Marshall Islands  (January-February 1944) and  the islands Mariannes  (June 1944). Several naval battles also make rage with broad grounds of Oceania, under the fire of the planes Japanese kamikazes.

A LATE DECOLONIZATION

In second half of  the xx ^E century, several archipelagoes of Oceania reach independence: Samoa (1962), Nauru (1968), the Fiji (1970), Tonga (1970), New Guinea-News-Guinea (1975), etc.

But in this area of the world, the decolonization proves  slower than elsewhere; in many archipelagoes,  the economic scanty means  prevent the small independent States from being, even quite simply autonomous. Some prefer to continue to develop in the shade of the American domination, like Hawaii, Guam or American Samoa, while France is always present in Polynesia, New Caledonia and in Wallis and Futuna. The Cook islands, for their part, are associated New Zealand.

TO GO FURTHER

? Oceania

? colonizing Europe to  the xix ^E century
? the Second World war
? decolonization

? Aboriginals
? Fernand of Magellan –James Cook

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