The ancestors of the indigenous people in Oceania originally came from Southeast Asia. /kloc-in the 6th century, when Europeans discovered Oceania, the aborigines were still in the Neolithic age, with a history of thousands of years. Melanesia's prehistoric history without words can be traced back to 20 thousand years ago. The archaeological excavation of Mango Lake in Australia shows that the life history of human beings in Oceania can be traced back to 40,000 years ago. 15 12 years, the Portuguese sailed through the northern coast of New Guinea. 15 19, Portuguese Magellan, as a Spanish sailor, led an expedition fleet around South America to explore the route to India, passing through Tuamotu Islands, Maxim Islands and Guam, and opened up a trade route from Spain to the Philippines. 1526, Portuguese menezes encountered strong winds during his voyage from Malay Peninsula to Spice Islands (Maluku Islands) and reached the west coast of New Guinea. When he saw that the aborigines had many curls, he called them Papua (Malay for curly hair). 1542, the Spanish arrived in Palau on the way from Mexico to the Philippines. 1545, the Spanish sailed along the north shore of New Guinea, and the local residents were similar to Guineans in Africa, so they were named New Guinea. 1567, Spanish Mendana de Nella led a fleet from Peru to find the legendary southern continent and arrived in Solomon Islands. About 30 years later, Mendana de Nella sailed to the Pacific Ocean again and discovered Tokelau and the Santa Cruz Islands. /kloc-At the beginning of the 7th century, Portuguese P. Fernandez de Kiros and Spanish Torres discovered the Torres Strait between the Cook Islands, New hebrides and New Guinea and the Australian mainland. A.J. Tasman, a Dutchman, set sail from Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in 1642, and discovered Tasmania, South Island of New Zealand and some islands of tonga islands and Fiji on the way. 1699, an Englishman W. Dampier sailed in the Pacific Ocean and found a big island near New Guinea, which was called New Britain Island. 1722, the Dutch discovered Easter Island and Samoa. 1768, the Frenchman Louis Antoine de Bougainville discovered bougainville island in the Solomon Islands (now Papua New Guinea). From 1768 to 1779, Englishman J. Cook made three voyages to the Western Ocean. Besides reaching Australia and New Zealand, he also discovered New Caledonia and Hawaii.

Spain occupied the Mariana Islands in the17th century. From the end of 18 to the end of 19, the islands of Oceania were colonized one after another. From 65438 to 0788, Britain established colonial rule in Australia. Since then, Europeans have been looking for sandalwood, pearls and other valuables in Oceania. 1828, the Netherlands occupied the western half of New Guinea. 183 1 year, Britain occupied Pitcairn Island. 1840, New Zealand became a British colony. At the same time, France announced the protection of some islands that later became French Polynesia. 1853, France occupied the island of New Caledonia. 1872, the United States set up a naval coal gas station in Pago Pago, Samoa. 1874, Britain took control of Fiji. 1877, Britain set up the Western Pacific High Commission in Fiji to safeguard Britain's interests in the Pacific. At the same time, Britain declared Tokelau, Niue and Cork Islands under British protection. 1884, Britain declared the southeast of New Guinea (later called Papua) a British protectorate, called British New Guinea. In the same year, the Germans announced the occupation of northeast New Guinea. 1885 The Netherlands demarcated the boundary line between the western and eastern parts of New Guinea. In the same year, Germany occupied the Marshall Islands. 1886, Britain occupied gilbert islands, and Germany seized the northern island of Solomon Islands. 1887, Pitcairn Island officially became a British protectorate. France declared wallis islands its protectorate. 1888, the law extended the scope of the reserve to Futuna Islands. In the same year, Germany annexed Nauru. 1892, Britain designated most of Gilbert and Ellis Islands as protected areas. 1893, the southern island of Solomon Islands became a British protectorate. From 65438 to 0898, the United States occupied Spanish territory in Micronesia, acquired Guam and annexed Hawaii. From 65438 to 0899, the United States occupied East Samoa and Germany owned West Samoa. At the same time, Spain sold Caroline Islands and Mariana Islands to Germany. 1900, Britain designated Dayang Island as a protected area and declared to "protect" Tonga. 1906, Britain and France abolished the Joint Naval Committee established in New hebrides in 1887, and announced the joint management of the islands. After the First World War, the colonial rule pattern in Oceania changed. The League of Nations decided that Germany's territory in Melanesia was ceded to Australia and Western Samoa was taken over by New Zealand. The German colony in Micronesia was occupied by Japan. During World War II, Japan successively occupied the unified part of New Guinea and most of Solomon Islands. After the war, the sphere of influence delineated by western capitalist powers in Oceania changed again. Micronesia was occupied by the United States.

After the establishment of European and American colonial rule, the ethnic and racial composition of Oceania residents was changed. Most of the population are European white immigrants and their descendants, mainly British immigrants. Some indigenous peoples in Oceania have become extinct, such as Chamorro and Tasmanian in Mariana Islands. Due to the large-scale deprivation of land, many indigenous people were forced to leave their homes to sell their labor. Western capitalist colonialists forcibly planted single cash crops such as coconut and sugarcane, which broke the local traditional agricultural system. Some original resources with economic value in Oceania, such as sandalwood, have also been plundered.

As early as when Spain ruled the Mariana Islands, the Chamorros had a long struggle. With the expansion of colonial activities in Oceania, a 30-year-long Maori war against colonists broke out in New Zealand in the 1960s (see Maori Uprising). There is a struggle against French colonial rule in New Caledonia. At the beginning of the 20th century, Micronesia rebelled against German colonial rule. The Maowu Movement (meaning political opposition) with the slogan "Samoa Samoa" appeared in Western Samoa. During World War II, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New hebrides all fought against colonial rule. After the war, the political situation in Oceania has undergone tremendous changes. With the rise and development of the decolonization movement, some former colonies gained political independence after a long struggle. From 1962 to 1980, nine new island countries were born in Oceania, namely Western Samoa (196265438+1October). Nauru (1968 65438+ 10), Tonga (1970 June), Fiji (1970 65438+ 10), Papua New Guinea (/kloc-0) Most of these countries are members or associated countries of the Commonwealth. In addition, Niue, Marshall Islands, Cork Islands, Palau and Micronesia have achieved internal self-government. New Caledonia and French Polynesia are not yet independent. Hawaii became a state of the United States (1959).

Countries that have been independent in Oceania, except Australia and New Zealand, are all developing countries, and they are all faced with the historical task of developing national economy. Under the common goal, they organized the South Pacific Forum, established the South Pacific Economic Cooperation Bureau and the South Pacific Fisheries Bureau to implement regional cooperation. In order to safeguard the country's natural resources, they have successively announced the 200-mile exclusive economic zone. At the same time, they advocated the establishment of the South Pacific Island Fund, the establishment of the South Pacific Common Market, and the launch of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Movement. As of 1982, among the nine island countries that became independent after the war, Papua New Guinea (197610 12) and Fiji (19751/