BobRingReflections

This article is about a region of the central and southern Pacific Ocean called Oceania (oh-shee-an-ee-uh) that includes the continent of Australia, the large islands of New Zealand and New Guinea, and thousands of smaller islands.   The geographer Conrad Malte-Brun coined the French term Océanie c. 1812.   Océanie derives from the Latin word oceanus , and this from the Greek word ὠκεανός (ōkeanós), " ocean ." The term  Oceania  is used because it is the ocean that links the parts of the region together.   The article includes a discussion of the natural landscape of Oceania, and the history of the region from first human inhabitants, through European contact and exploration, colonization and independence, and a snapshot of Oceania today.   The extent of Oceania is shown on the map below.   Oceania consists of four regions shown on the map below: Micronesia, to the north, includes the Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Marshall Islands.   Melanesia, at the center, includes