Oceania 1871 CE

What is happening in Oceania in 1871CE

Recent decades have seen several of the Pacific islands fall under European rule. The British have taken control of New Zealand, and have continued to expand their Australian settlements. The French have taken possession of the Society Islands, including Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands (1842), and New Caledonia (1853 – which in 1864 becomes a French penal colony).

Other Pacific islands feel the impact of Western contact almost as deeply. American settlers have tightened their hold on Hawaii, and on Fiji, European cotton plantations have been established, bringing in imported labour from other Pacific islands. Easter Island has suffered from devastating slave raids from South America. Of all the Pacific Islands, only Tonga, under its king George Tupou I (reigned 1845-93), has escaped the worst effects of European contact most successfully.

Next map, Oceania in 1914