Home
|
A Australian Didjeridoo |
||||||
Under Construction Notes:
This is only a first start. At the moment there are only geografic and ethnografic information at the Pacific pages.But please check out the Africa pages, they are great!
|
Under Construction Notes:This is only a first start. At the moment there are only geografic and ethnografic information at the Pacific pages.But please check out the Africa pages, they are great! Links, Pacific and Oceania: |
|||||||||||||||
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
American Samoa |
Population: 65.000
Capital: Pago Pago
Official language:
Ethnic groups: Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan
4%, other 5%
Background: Settled as early as 1000 B. C., Samoa was "discovered"
by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the
latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which
Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied
its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor
of Pago Pago - the following year.
(Source: Worldfackbook 2000, CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Australia
Map of Australia |
Population: 19 million
Capital: Canberra
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other
1%
Background: Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire
in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly
develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major
contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns
include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management
and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A
referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by
the British monarch to an independent republic, was defeated in 1999.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Australia
Artists from Australia:
Artists from Australia:
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Population: 850.000
Capital: Suva
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian
admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese,
and other 5% (1998 est.)
Background: Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century
as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups
in 1987, caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by
the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands
by the British in the 19th century). A 1990 constitution favored native
Melanesian control of Fiji, but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population
loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became
the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable.
Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an
Indo-Fijian. Fiji has been a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions
in various parts of the world.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Fiji
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
French Polynesia(overseas territory of France)
No map |
Population: 250.000
Capital: Papeete
Official language: French, Tahitian
Ethnic groups: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%,
metropolitan French 4%
Background: The French annexed various Polynesian island groups
during the 19th century. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread
protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll after a three-year
moratorium. The tests were suspended in January 1996.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Guam
No map |
Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
Population: 150.000
Capital: Hagatna (Agana)
Official language:
Ethnic groups: Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, white 10%, Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, and other 18%
Background: Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured
by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The
military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important
US bases in the Pacific.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
New Caledonia(overseas territory of France)
No map |
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Population: 200.000
Capital: Noumea
Official language: French
Ethnic groups: Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%,
Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%
Background: Settled by both Britain and France during the first
half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853.
It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for
independence during the 1980s and early 1990s seems to have dissipated.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
New Zealand
Map of New Zealand |
Population: 4 million
Capital: Wellington
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other
European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4%
Background: The British colony of New Zealand became an independent
dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New
Zealand withdrew from a number of defense alliances during the 1970s and
1980s. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding
native Maori grievances.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: New Zealand
Artists of New Zealand:
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands(commonwealth in political union with the US)
No map |
Location: Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
Population: 70.000
Capital: Saipan
Official language:
Ethnic groups: Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians,
Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean
Background: Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory
of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the
1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the
US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish
a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new
government and constitution went into effect in 1978.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Samoa
Map of Samoa |
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Population: 175.000
Capital: Apia
Official language:
Ethnic groups: Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European
and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%
Background: New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western
Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer
the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when
the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence
in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in
1997.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Samoa
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Solomon Islands
No map |
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Population: 450.000
Capital: Honiara
Official language:
note: 120 indigenous languages
Ethnic groups: Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%,
European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%
Background: The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon
Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred
on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence
two years later. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation,
and malaria control.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile:
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Tonga
No map |
Location: Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Population: 100.000
Capital: Nuku'alofa
Official language:
Ethnic groups: Polynesian
Background: The archipelago of "The Friendly Islands" was united
into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. It became a constitutional monarchy
in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900. Tonga acquired its independence
in 1970 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It remains
the only monarchy in the Pacific.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Tonga
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Vanuatu
No map |
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Population: 200.000
Capital: Port-Vila
Official language: English, French
Ethnic groups: indigenous Melanesian 94%, French 4%, Vietnamese,
Chinese, Pacific Islanders
Background: The British and French who settled the New Hebrides
in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which
administered the islands until independence in 1980
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC
Country profile: Manuatu
