chapter 33, section 2 history and government. section 2-6 indigenous peoples early migrations...

Chapter 33, Section 2

History and Government

Indigenous Peoples • Early Migrations Various people from Asia settled

the South Pacific region over 40,000 years ago.

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• Some may have crossed land bridges that are now submerged; others probably sailed in canoes and rafts.


Indigenous Peoples (cont.)• Indigenous Lifestyles

- The early Aborigines followed a nomadic way of life in the hot, dry interior of Australia.

- They created routes that made trade and social exchanges possible among various clans, or family groups.

- Nomads carried only the most essential tools and possessions with them.

- In Oceania, people settled in kinship groups on island coasts.


Indigenous Peoples (cont.)

- They built canoes that allowed them to travel and to trade with other islands.

- Between the A.D. 900s and 1300s, the Maori left Polynesia and settled New Zealand.

- They established villages, hunted, fished, and farmed the land.

European ColonizationBritish sailor James Cook was the most famous European explorer of the region. Between 1768 and 1779, Cook claimed eastern Australia for Britain, visited Oceania, circled Antarctica, and made accurate maps of the area.

(pages 818–819)(pages 818–819)


• European Settlement

European Colonization (cont.)

- Britain used Australia as a prison colony–it shipped prisoners to Botany Bay (now Sydney) beginning in 1788. (8 months at sea)

- By the early 1850s, the British were settling the coasts as farmers.

- Wool became a major export product.

- A gold rush in the early 1850s tripled Australia’s population.


- The British and other Europeans founded settlements in Oceania and later in New Zealand.


- Oceania was ideal for large commercial plantations that produced sugarcane, pineapples, and other tropical products.


European Colonization (cont.)• Indigenous Peoples

- British immigrants forced Aborigines off their ancestral lands and denied them basic rights.

- European diseases and weapons greatly reduced the indigenous population.

- In the mid-1800s, the British began forcing Aborigines onto reserves.

- The Maori of New Zealand gradually lost most of their land to the British.



- An 1840 treaty guaranteed the Maori full rights, but disagreements over the treaty led to armed Maori resistance that was eventually defeated.

- In the islands of Oceania, Europeans weakened the indigenous cultures by bringing in workers from other countries.

- Europeans also sought to replace traditional ways of life with European beliefs and practices


Struggle and Power• Britain, France, Spain, the United

States, and Germany spent the late 1800s and early 1900s struggling for control of various Pacific islands.

• After World War I, Japan took over most of the German-controlled islands.

• During World War II, the South Pacific region saw many battles between Japan and the United States, including those of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.

Independent Governments


• Australia and New Zealand

- In 1901, British colonies in Australia united to form the Commonwealth of Australia, a self-governing country within the British Empire.

- New Zealand achieved the same status in 1907.

- In 1893, New Zealand had become the first country to recognize women’s right to vote; it was also among the first to provide government assistance to the elderly, the sick, and the unemployed.


• South Pacific Islands The islands of Oceania began moving toward independence in the 1960s.

• Samoa was the first to gain its freedom in 1962. • Today the islands represent a variety of

governments, from republics to constitutional monarchies.

• Many of the region’s present ethnic conflicts have their roots in colonial times when Europeans brought in foreign workers.

Independent Governments (cont.)


• Antarctica

- In the early 1900s, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Scott engaged in a dramatic race to be the first to reach the South Pole.

- Amundsen won the race on December 14, 1911.

- Scott’s team arrived later, but, unfortunately, all members of the Scott expedition died on the return trip.


Amundsen Video

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- Much of Antarctica remained unexplored until modern technology made travel easier and safer.

- In 1959, twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty, in which they agreed to preserve the continent as a scientific research site.

- The treaty was amended in 1991 to prohibit mining and to protect the environment.


chapter 33, section 2 history and government. section 2-6 indigenous peoples early migrations...

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