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Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania which in geographical terms extends from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia.
The name Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black; νῆσος, islands) was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct from Polynesia and Micronesia.
Wikipedia notes that the term "Melanesia" has "fuzzy edges" and can be used in either an anthropological or a geographical context.
In an anthropological context, the term refers to one of the three regions of Oceania whose pre-colonial population generally belongs to one ethno-cultural family as a result of centuries of maritime migrations.
The geographic conception of Melanesia is used as a reference to the area where political, ethnic, and linguistic distinctions are not relevant.
The term is also present in geopolitics, where the Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Agreement is a regional trade treaty involving the states of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Broader geographic/ethnological concept of Melanesia
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanesia)
The following islands and groups of islands since the 19th century have been considered part of Melanesia:
- Amphlett Islands, Papua New Guinea
- Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
- d'Entrecasteaux Islands, Papua New Guinea
- Fiji
- Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
- Maluku Islands, Indonesia
- New Caledonia, France
- New Guinea, politically divided between independent Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua
- Norfolk Island, Australia (geographically only)
- Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
- Rotuma, Fiji
- Schouten Islands, Indonesia
- Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- Solomon Islands, politically divided between Papua New Guinea and independent Solomon Islands
- Torres Strait Islands, politically divided between Australia and Papua New Guinea
- Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea
- Vanuatu
- Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea
Norfolk Island, listed above, has archaeological evidence of East Polynesian rather than Melanesian settlement. We place it in Polynesia.
Rotuma in Fiji has strong affinities culturally and ethnologically to Polynesia. We place it along with Fiji.
Based on ethnological factors, some of the islands to the west of the Moluccas, such as Flores, Sumba, Timor, Halmahera, Alor, and Pantar can also be considered to be part of Melanesia, although most people in this area do not make use of the term.
Geopolitical approach
We take the view that the Melanesian islands of Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea are treated along with these countries. Indonesia for us is part of Asia and Australia and Papua part of Australasia.
Thus Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia are the countries in Melanesia.
For countries and region-wide entities in Melanesia see Category:Melanesia.