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Origins of "Oceania"

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The term was apparently coined as Océanie by Danish geographer Conrad Malte-Brun (1755-1826) in 1812. The word Océanie is a French word derived from the Latin word Oceanus, which is translated into English as ocean. Natives and inhabitants of this region are called Oceanians or Oceanicans. The term Oceania" is used because, unlike the other continental groupings, it is the ocean that links the nations together; in other words, it establishes the Pacific Ocean as the defining characteristic of the region.

 

Delimiting the term Oceania is just as hard as delimiting its borders. The outline of Oceania is not clear: the term is sometimes used in reference to the region consisting of most islands in the Pacific Ocean and proximities; other times, it indicates a continent comprising Australia and close Pacific Islands.

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Political Oceania. Source: CIA World Facebook

Traditionally, Oceania has been divided into four cultural regions, each made up of countries, dependencies and other territories:

  • Australasia

  • Polynesia

  • Micronesia

  • Melanesia

 

Although this four-subregion division may not be considered entirely correct by some, and others prefer to divide Oceania into Near Oceania and Remote Oceania, it is still the most popular one in use.

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