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60,000 BCE
- The settlement of aboriginal people in Australia
People settled the region in three waves of migration, show on the map in this section. -
10,000 BCE
The voyages of the Polynesians
In Polynesia, kingdoms extended over entire groups of islands.Like other Polynesians, the Maori lived in small settlements. -
James Cook's arrival in Australia and New Zealand
In the late 1700s, British explorer James Cook claimed Australia and New Zealand for great Britain. Cook's expeditions increased European interest in the region. -
- Aboriginal Protection Act
The Aboriginal Protection Act, enacted in 1869 by the colony of Victoria, Australia gave extensive powers over the lives of Aboriginal people to the government's Board for the Protection of Aborigines, including regulation of residence, employment and marriage. -
British settlement of Australia
the British settlement of Australia increased rapidly in the 1800s. British officials often forced Aborigines to give up their lands to colonists. -
Treaty of Waitangi
Signed in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement between the British Crown and Maori. -
Gold discovered in Australia
In 1851, colonists discovered gold, and the British population soared. -
- Control of the Pacific Islands by the France, Britain, Japan and the United States
Colonizers claimed some islands because of their natural resources. -
Australia became an independent country
Australia and New Zealand gained their independence peacefully in the early 1900s -
Samoan independence
In Western Samoa(now Samoa), the nonviolent Mau movement worked for independence, which Samoa won in 1962.
