Timeline of sovereign states in Oceania

This timeline lists all sovereign states and dependencies in Oceania, both current and defunct, from the year 1750 onwards.

Timeline[]

Current Sovereign States / Decades		before	1750	1760	1770	1780		1790	1800		1810	1820			1830		1840		1850			1860		1870				1880		1890				1900		1910			1920				1930			1940		1950		1960				1970			1980		1990	2000	2010	2020
Current Sovereign States / Decades		before
Australia
	New South Wales	Australian Aboriginal nations					1788 Colony of New South Wales ( British Empire)^[1]																											1901 New South Wales ( Australia)^[2]
	Queensland	Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations											1823 Colony of New South Wales ( British Empire)^[1]								1859 Colony of Queensland ( British Empire)^[1]													1901 Queensland ( Australia)^[2]
	South Australia	Australian Aboriginal nations														1834 Colony of South Australia ( British Empire)^[1]																		1901 South Australia ( Australia)^[2]
	Tasmania	Aboriginal Tasmanian nations								1803 Colony of New South Wales ( British Empire)^[1]				1825 Colony of Tasmania ( British Empire)^[1]																				1901 Tasmania ( Australia)^[2]
	Victoria	Aboriginal Australian nations								1803 Colony of New South Wales ( British Empire)^[1]									1851 Colony of Victoria ( British Empire)^[1]															1901 Victoria ( Australia)^[2]
	Western Australia	Aboriginal Australian nations													1829 Colony of Western Australia ( British Empire)^[1]																			1901 Western Australia ( Australia)^[2]
Chile	Easter Island	Rapa Nui																								1888 Easter Island ( Chile)^[3]
Fiji		Fijians																						1871 Kingdom of Fiji^[4]	1874 Colony of Fiji ( British Empire)^[5]																													1970 Fiji^[5]
France
	New Caledonia	Kanak																		/ 1853 New Caledonia ( France)^[6]
	French Polynesia	Polynesians					1788 Kingdom of Tahiti^[7]											1842 Kingdom of Tahiti ( French Colonial Empire^{[notes 1]})^[8]										1880 French Polynesia ( France)^[8]
Indonesia
	Maluku	Dutch East India Company rule ( Dutch Empire)^[9]							1800 Dutch East Indies ( Dutch Empire)^[10]																																	1949 Maluku ( Indonesia)^[11]														1999 Maluku ( Indonesia)
	North Maluku	Dutch East India Company rule ( Dutch Empire)^[9]																																								1949 Maluku ( Indonesia)^[11]														1999 North Maluku ( Indonesia)^[12]
	Papua	Papuans																																								1949 Netherlands New Guinea ( Kingdom of the Netherlands)^[13]					1963 Irian Jaya ( Indonesia)											2003 Papua ( Indonesia)
	West Papua	Papuans																																													1963 Irian Jaya ( Indonesia)											2003 West Papua ( Indonesia)^[14]
Kiribati		Micronesian																								1892 Gilbert and Ellice Islands ( British Empire)^[15]																									1979 Kiribati^[15]
Marshall Islands		Spanish East Indies ( Spanish Empire)^[16]																								1885 German New Guinea ( German Empire)										1919 South Pacific Mandate ( Empire of Japan)									1947 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands ( United States)											1986 Marshall Islands
Micronesia		Spanish East Indies ( Spanish Empire)^[16]																								1899 German New Guinea ( German Empire)						1919 South Pacific Mandate ( Empire of Japan)								1947 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands ( United States)												1986 Micronesia^[17]
Nauru		Nauruans																								1888 German New Guinea ( German Empire)										1923 Mandate of Nauru ( Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom)								1947 Trust Territory of Nauru ( Australia^{[notes 2]})^[18]					1968 Nauru^[19]
Realm of New Zealand	New Zealand	Maori															1840 Colony of New Zealand ( British Empire)																		1907 New Zealand^[20]
Realm of New Zealand	Tokelau	Tokelauan																							1877 Union Islands ( British Empire)													1916 Gilbert and Ellice Islands ( British Empire)			1926 Tokelau ( New Zealand)
Cook Islands		Cook Islands Maori																			1858 Kingdom of Rarotonga								1888 Kingdom of Rarotonga ( British Empire)		1893 Cook Islands Federation ( British Empire)			1901 Cook Islands ( New Zealand)^[21]																		1965 Cook Islands^{[notes 3]}
Niue		Polynesians																								1901 Savage Island ( New Zealand)																						1974 Niue^{[notes 4]}
Palau		Spanish East Indies ( Spanish Empire)^[16]																								1899 German New Guinea ( German Empire)						1919 South Pacific Mandate ( Empire of Japan)								1947 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands ( United States)															1994 Palau^[18]
Papua New Guinea		Papuans																								1884 German New Guinea ( German Empire)											1919 Territory of New Guinea ( Australia)										1949 Territory of Papua and New Guinea ( Australia)						1975 Papua New Guinea^[18]
Papua New Guinea		Papuans																								1884 Territory of Papua ( British Empire)							1902 Territory of Papua ( Australia)														1949 Territory of Papua and New Guinea ( Australia)						1975 Papua New Guinea^[18]
Samoa		Pre-colonial Samoa																								1900 German Samoa ( German Empire)						1920 Western Samoa Trust Territory ( New Zealand)^[18]													1962 Samoa
Solomon Islands		Melanesians																								1885 German New Guinea ( German Empire)					1900 British Solomon Islands ( British Empire)																							1978 Solomon Islands
Tonga		Tu'i Tonga Empire																					1865 Kingdom of Tonga											1900 Kingdom of Tonga ( British Empire^{[notes 5]})																				1970 Tonga
Tuvalu		Polynesian																								1892 Gilbert and Ellice Islands ( British Empire)^[15]																									1978 Tuvalu^[22]
United States
	American Samoa	Pre-colonial Samoa																								1900 American Samoa ( United States)
	Guam	Spanish East Indies ( Spanish Empire)^[16]																								1898 Guam ( United States)^[23]
	Hawaii	Ancient Hawaii						1810 Kingdom of Hawaii^[24]																	1894 Republic of Hawaii		1898 Territory of Hawaii ( United States of America)^[25]																		1959 Hawaii ( United States)^[25]
	Northern Mariana Islands	Spanish East Indies ( Spanish Empire)^[16]																								1899 German New Guinea ( German Empire)						1919 South Pacific Mandate ( Empire of Japan)								1947 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands ( United States)											1986 Northern Marianas Islands ( United States)
	Wake Island																									1899 Wake Island ( United States)
Vanuatu		Melanesian																								1887 Anglo-French Joint Naval Commission ( French Colonial Empire / British Empire)						1906 New Hebrides ( French Colonial Empire / British Empire)^[26]																						1980 Vanuatu
Current Sovereign States / Decades		before	1750	1760	1770	1780		1790	1800		1810	1820			1830		1840		1850			1860		1870				1880		1890				1900		1910			1920				1930			1940		1950		1960				1970			1980		1990	2000	2010	2020

Empires/Colonialists/Trustees
	Australia
	British Empire/United Kingdom
	French Colonial Empire/France
	German Empire/Germany
	Empire of Japan/Japan
	Dutch Empire/Netherlands
	New Zealand
	Spanish Empire/Spain
	United States of America

Notes[]

^ The Kingdom of Tahiti became a French protectorate during this period, with France formally annexing French Polynesia in 1880.
^ Officially, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were co-trustees, but in practice Australia administered the territory.
^ The Cook Islands became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in 1965. New Zealand is responsible for defense and most of the Cook Islands' foreign relations, and both countries share a Head of State.
^ Niue became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in 1974. New Zealand is responsible for defense and most of Niue's foreign relations, and both countries share a Head of State.
^ The Kingdom of Tonga was a British protectorate during this period, and never relinquished independence. Thus, the Kingdom formed in 1865 is the same as today, with no breaks.

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Convicts and the British colonies in Australia". australia.gov.au. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Federation". australia.gov.au. Retrieved 19 June 2016. Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901 when the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia.
^ "Easter Island Timeline". worldatlas. worldatlas.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ "Fiji's Chiefs and Rulers 1700s to date". FijiBure.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b "About Fiji". Fiji High Commission to the United Kingdom. Fiji High Commission to the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 June 2016. After Fiji was ceded to Great Britain in 1874, epidemics nearly wiped out the population and it seemed as if the natives were doomed. But the colonial government took the Fijians side. Land sales were forbidden, health campaigns implemented and the population picked up again. Theirs was not, of course, the culture of the heathen ‘golden age’, but one modified by the new religion and increasingly the new economic order. Yet in today’s Fiji, independent since 1970, a surprising amount has survived.
^ "History". Nouvelle Caledonia. Tourism New Caledonia. Retrieved 19 June 2016. On the orders of Napoleon III, and carried out by Counter-Admiral Febvrier Despointes, New Caledonia became a French colony on September 24, 1853.
^ Muscato, Christopher. "History of Tahiti". Study.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016. The Kingdom of Tahiti would last almost a century, from roughly 1788 to 1880.
^ ^a ^b West, Francis James (2016). "French Polynesia - History". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ "The Dutch East India Company (VOC): Indonesian Chapter". INDONEO. Tiket2. Retrieved 22 June 2016. By 1699, VOC lands claimed stretched from Sumatra and Ternate to Maluku and beyond.
^ "Colonial Period of Indonesia". Indonesia Investments. Van der Schaar Investments B.V. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "History of Indonesia". Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet. Retrieved 22 June 2016. On 27 December 1949 the Indonesian flag was raised at Jakarta’s Istana Merdeka (Freedom Palace) as power was officially handed over.
^ Alhadar, Smith (July 2000). "The forgotten war in North Maluku". Inside Indonesia. Indonesian Resources and Information Program (IRIP). Retrieved 22 June 2016. Just as the administrative wheels began to turn in mid-1999 to split off North Maluku as a province of its own, the conflict began to escalate.
^ Sebastian, Leonard C.; Syailendra, Emirza Adi (12 June 2015). "Can Jokowi Bring Peace to West Papua?". The Diplomat. James Pach. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ Resosudarmo, Budy P.; Mollet, Julius Ary; Kaiwai, Hans; Raya, Umbu Reku. "Development in Papua after Special Autonomy" (PDF). Crawford School of Public Policy ANU College of Asia & the Pacific. The Australian National University. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Luscombe, Stephen. "Gilbert Islands". The British Empire. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Spanish East Indies, 1565-1898". World History at KMLA. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "FSM History". Government of the Federated States of Micronesia. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Trust Territories that have achieved self-determination". United Nations. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ Phillips, Keri (11 March 2014). "How Nauru threw it all away". ABC Radio National. ABC. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "Dominion status". New Zealand History. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "History of the Cook Islands". Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "Tuvalu : History". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "Culture of Guam". Countries and their Cultures. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "Political History". Hawaiian Kingdom. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Hawaii". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "Vanuatu : History". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[8] The Kingdom of Tahiti became a French protectorate during this period, with France formally annexing French Polynesia in 1880.

[19] Officially, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were co-trustees, but in practice Australia administered the territory.

[24] The Cook Islands became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in 1965. New Zealand is responsible for defense and most of the Cook Islands' foreign relations, and both countries share a Head of State.

[25] Niue became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in 1974. New Zealand is responsible for defense and most of Niue's foreign relations, and both countries share a Head of State.

[26] The Kingdom of Tonga was a British protectorate during this period, and never relinquished independence. Thus, the Kingdom formed in 1865 is the same as today, with no breaks.

[auscol-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Convicts and the British colonies in Australia". australia.gov.au. Retrieved 19 June 2016.

[ausfed-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Federation". australia.gov.au. Retrieved 19 June 2016. Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901 when the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia.

[3] "Easter Island Timeline". worldatlas. worldatlas.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.

[4] "Fiji's Chiefs and Rulers 1700s to date". FijiBure.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.

[fijiuk-5] "About Fiji". Fiji High Commission to the United Kingdom. Fiji High Commission to the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 June 2016. After Fiji was ceded to Great Britain in 1874, epidemics nearly wiped out the population and it seemed as if the natives were doomed. But the colonial government took the Fijians side. Land sales were forbidden, health campaigns implemented and the population picked up again. Theirs was not, of course, the culture of the heathen ‘golden age’, but one modified by the new religion and increasingly the new economic order. Yet in today’s Fiji, independent since 1970, a surprising amount has survived.

[6] "History". Nouvelle Caledonia. Tourism New Caledonia. Retrieved 19 June 2016. On the orders of Napoleon III, and carried out by Counter-Admiral Febvrier Despointes, New Caledonia became a French colony on September 24, 1853.

[7] Muscato, Christopher. "History of Tahiti". Study.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016. The Kingdom of Tahiti would last almost a century, from roughly 1788 to 1880.

[frpoly-9] West, Francis James (2016). "French Polynesia - History". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 19 June 2016.

[10] "The Dutch East India Company (VOC): Indonesian Chapter". INDONEO. Tiket2. Retrieved 22 June 2016. By 1699, VOC lands claimed stretched from Sumatra and Ternate to Maluku and beyond.

[idcol-11] "Colonial Period of Indonesia". Indonesia Investments. Van der Schaar Investments B.V. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[12] "History of Indonesia". Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet. Retrieved 22 June 2016. On 27 December 1949 the Indonesian flag was raised at Jakarta’s Istana Merdeka (Freedom Palace) as power was officially handed over.

[13] Alhadar, Smith (July 2000). "The forgotten war in North Maluku". Inside Indonesia. Indonesian Resources and Information Program (IRIP). Retrieved 22 June 2016. Just as the administrative wheels began to turn in mid-1999 to split off North Maluku as a province of its own, the conflict began to escalate.

[14] Sebastian, Leonard C.; Syailendra, Emirza Adi (12 June 2015). "Can Jokowi Bring Peace to West Papua?". The Diplomat. James Pach. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[15] Resosudarmo, Budy P.; Mollet, Julius Ary; Kaiwai, Hans; Raya, Umbu Reku. "Development in Papua after Special Autonomy" (PDF). Crawford School of Public Policy ANU College of Asia & the Pacific. The Australian National University. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[gei-16] Luscombe, Stephen. "Gilbert Islands". The British Empire. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[sei-17] "Spanish East Indies, 1565-1898". World History at KMLA. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[fsm-18] "FSM History". Government of the Federated States of Micronesia. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[undecol-20] "Trust Territories that have achieved self-determination". United Nations. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[21] Phillips, Keri (11 March 2014). "How Nauru threw it all away". ABC Radio National. ABC. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[22] "Dominion status". New Zealand History. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[23] "History of the Cook Islands". Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[27] "Tuvalu : History". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[28] "Culture of Guam". Countries and their Cultures. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[29] "Political History". Hawaiian Kingdom. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[hh-30] "Hawaii". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[31] "Vanuatu : History". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[notes 1]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[notes 2]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[notes 3]

[notes 4]

[notes 5]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

Timeline of sovereign states in Oceania

Contents

Timeline[]

Notes[]

See also[]

References[]