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Anthropologists have defined Oceania as that region of the Pacific Ocean that encompasses three distinct geographical areas—Polynesia, meaning "many islands"; Micronesia, meaning "small islands"; and Melanesia, meaning "black islands." Other definitions of Oceania are used by geographers, economists, and oceanographers.
Oceania is a geographical, and geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands. [1][2][3][4] The boundaries of Oceania are defined in a number of ways.
The list below includes all sites located geographically within Oceania, and is constructed without reference to UNESCO's statistical divisions. [8] The list comprises a number of sites for which the state party is outside the region, but the site itself is located in Oceania; this includes sites belonging to Chile (Rapa Nui National Park), France (Lagoons of New Caledonia and Taputapuātea ...
In 1513, six years before Magellan, Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and saw the Pacific Ocean. In 1517–18, two ships were built on the Pacific coast. In 1522, Pascual de Andagoya sailed the coast as far as Ecuador. In 1532, Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru.
Melanesia (UK: / ˌmɛləˈniːziə /, US: / ˌmɛləˈniːʒə /) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, [ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ] and includes the Arafura Sea. [citation needed] The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon ...
Portuguese maritime exploration. The Cantino planisphere, made by an anonymous cartographer in 1502, shows the world as it was understood by Europeans after their great explorations at the end of the fifteenth century. Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result ...
From the early 15th century to the early 17th century the Age of Discovery had, through Portuguese seafarers, and later, Spanish, Dutch, French and English, opened up southern Africa, the Americas (New World), Asia and Oceania to European eyes: Bartholomew Dias had sailed around the Cape of southern Africa in search of a trade route to India; Christopher Columbus, on four journeys across the ...
Archaeological evidence indicates that humans arrived on New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago, probably by sea from Southeast Asia during an ice age period when the sea was lower and distances between islands shorter. For an overview of the geological history of the continent of which New Guinea is a part, see Australia – New Guinea.