Exploring the History of Oceania: Diversity and Colonization Insights

This report examines the history of Oceania, detailing the origins of its diverse populations and the impact of European colonization. The report begins by outlining the geographical regions of Oceania, including Micronesia, Melanesia, and Australasia, and highlights the significance of the region in terms of its population. It then explores the early European presence, particularly the Portuguese exploration of New Guinea and Australia, and the subsequent effects on the political and social landscapes. The report delves into the migrations of people from Africa to Asia and then to Australia, explaining the origins of the Aboriginal population. It also discusses the linguistic diversity of Micronesia as a result of different migrations, and the importance of low sea levels during the Palaeolithic age in facilitating human movement. Finally, it highlights that Oceania's diversity came from the migration of people from all over the world and the urbanization of continents in Oceania happened due to the colonization of various European powers. The report is supported by references to academic sources on the topic.

RUNNING HEAD- HISTORY OF OCEANIA 1
NAME OF THE STUDENT
NAME OF THE COLLEGE
QUESTION-
HOW DID DIVERSITY BEGIN IN OCEANIA?
ANSWER
Oceania is a component of earth’s geographical region which comprises of
Micronesia, Polynesia, Melanesia and Australasia. It has a very small land area and is the
second last in the terms of population (D'Arcy, 2008). Now this geographical part consists of

HISTORY OF OCEANIA 2
many countries but when talked in history, its urban colonization was first discovered by the
Europeans. Portuguese reached the areas of New Guinea and Australia between 1512- 1526.
This arrival of the Europeans resulted in an alteration of political and social
landscapes of the region. In the Australian continent, habitants from the African region
travelled to Asia and around 50,000 years ago, the same habitations migrated to the
Australian region and these are considered to be the earliest of all the African migrations
(Sansom, 2006).
The ancestors of Papuan speaking population are the original inhabitants of Melanesia
and the Torres Strait islanders are earliest ones are originally attached to the northernmost tip
of the Oceania region. The linguistic diversity seen in the region of Micronesia is a proof to
the settling of various migrating habitants from various regions (D'Arcy, 2008).
Oceania was mainly colonized by various migrations in the history. People could
reach the areas of Australasia and Melanesia due low sea levels during Palaeolithic age. Most
of the habitations of this region were either distributed in small clans or tribes or were
nomadic people ("History of Oceania | Essential Humanities", 2019).
This shows that Oceania received its main diversity because of the migration of
people from all the sides of the huge continent and the urbanisation of continents in Oceania
happened due to the colonization of various European powers.

HISTORY OF OCEANIA 3
REFERENCES
D'Arcy, P. (2008). The people of the sea. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press.
History of Oceania | Essential Humanities. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.essential-
humanities.net/world-history/oceania/
Sansom, B. (2006). The Brief Reach of History and the Limitation of Recall in Traditional
Aboriginal Societies and Cultures. Oceania, 76(2), 150-172. doi: 10.1002/j.1834-
4461.2006.tb03042.x