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The world's smallest continent, the region consists of
approximately 10,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. Know the
main data about the continent. Oceania is the name given
to the continent or region formed by about 10,000 islands
located in the Pacific Ocean. The world's smallest
continent, it is formed by 14 countries and divided into
four regions: Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and
Polynesia.
 Located below Asia and above Antarctica, the continent
was named after Oceania by the French explorer Dumont
d'Urville in 1831. Most of its territory corresponds to
Australia, the largest island, which occupies 85% of the
continent.
Being in a tropical region, Oceania has a hot and humid
climate, with varied fauna and flora. For example, animals
that only exist in Australia, such as kangaroos and
marsupials, are famous.
The most developed countries in Oceania are Australia and
New Zealand. They are major producers of wool, rich in
various ores and precious metals, as well as having
prosperous food and chemical industries.
Through
Countryaah, get to know the main data, countries and capitals in
Oceania:
Key Facts
Number of countries: 14
Population (2018): 41,261,000¹
Total area (km2): 9,008,458 km²
Population density (per km2) (2018): 4.9¹
GDP (2018): 1,535,831,000 (in dollars) ¹
GDP per capita (2086): 38,561.00 (in dollars) ¹
Countries and capitals (divided by region)
Australasia
- Australia - Canberra
- New Zealand - Wellington
Melanesia
- Papua New Guinea - Porto Moresby
- Solomon Islands - Honiara
- Vanuatu - Port Vila
- Fiji - Suva
Micronesia
- Palau - Ngerulmud
- Kiribati - South Tarawa
- Federated States of Micronesia - Palikir
- Marshall Islands - Majuro
- Nauru - Yaren
Polynesia
- Samoa - Apia
- Tonga - Nuku'alofa
- Tuvalu - Vaiaku
Oceania (Prehistory & History - Independence)
Worldwide decolonization reached relatively late to
Oceania. Samoa gained independence from New Zealand in 1962,
and in the following two decades many other states followed
suit. The US-dominated areas of Micronesia, except Guam,
became independent in the 1980s after difficult
negotiations, while American Samoa has maintained close ties
with the United States. Hawaii was incorporated in 1959 as a
state in the United States. France, as the only one of the
colonial powers of the past, maintains control over its New
Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna possessions.
Modern oceanic societies are characterized by colonial
movements and border settlements of the colonial era. In
Papua New Guinea, an independence movement in Bougainville,
which belongs to Papua New Guinea but feels more closely
connected to the Solomon Islands, has waged an armed
struggle against the state. In Fiji, equal groups of
Melanesians and Fiji Indians (introduced as laborers by the
British colonial power) face each other in an ethnic
contradiction that in 1987 triggered a Melanesian military
coup. In New Caledonia, Canucks have made several
vain attempts to gain independence through armed insurgency
against the French-dominated majority. In New Zealand,
Australia and Hawaii, the contradictions between the
indigenous minorities and the white majority since the 1970s
have led to numerous serious conflicts.
Oceanic societies are characterized by a growing divide
between the educated elite of the state and the general
population, which is tied to subsistence economics.
Externally, the countries' economic dependence on foreign
powers, which have special interests in the area, continues.
Samoa History
Samoa was populated from Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines from around 1500 BC. The Dutchman Jacob
Roggeveen discovered Samoa in 1722. Louis de Bougainville
explored the islands in 1768. The Christian mission began in
the 1830s; the missionaries were followed by American and
European traders. In 1899, Samoa was divided between Germany
and the United States; Germany got Western Samoa. New
Zealand occupied Western Samoa in 1914. Nearly a fifth of
the population died during the flu epidemic 1918-19. New
Zealand was given the mandate over the islands in 1920.
In 1946, the mandate for Samoa was renewed as a UN area
of supervision. The islands gained more and more autonomy
and after a revolt in 1961, Samoa in 1962 became the first
Polynesian territory to become an independent state.
Malietoa Tanumafili 2 was elected monarch (1963-2007).
Western Samoa joined the Commonwealth in 1970.
General voting rights were introduced in 1990. In 1997,
the country changed its name from Western Samoa to Samoa.
The number of tourists increased significantly in the 1990s.
Samoa was hit by catastrophic cyclones in 1990 and 1991 and
the number of tropical storms has increased in recent years
due to climate change.
Tonga History
Tonga was populated around 1000 BCE. of Austronesian-
speaking people. The Tongans developed a stratified social
system led by a ruler whose empire in the 13th century
reached all the way to Hawaii.
The Dutchman Jacob le Maitre visited the islands in 1616
and Abel Tasman in 1643. James Cook came in 1773 and 1774,
and called them the Friendly Islands. The first European
settlers arrived in Tonga in the late 18th century and a
Methodist mission was established in 1826; it abolished
traditional religions. In 1845, Tonga became a united
kingdom under the baptized king Tupou 1, and it was granted
a constitution in 1875.
In 1905, Tonga and the United Kingdom entered into a
friendship agreement and Tonga became a British
protectorate, but did not lose political independence. At
the death of George Tupou 2 in 1918, the throne went to
daughter Salote Tupou 3. She was popular and also popular in
the United Kingdom, and reigned until 1965.
The Protectorate was dissolved in 1970 when Tonga gained
independence. From 1965 to 2006, Tonga was ruled by King
Taufa'ahau Tupou 4. Since the 1990s, Tonga has had high
inflation and unemployment. To reduce dependence on imports,
wave energy and solar energy are utilized.
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