Oceania

A cartographic depiction of the colonization of Oceania.

The colonization of Australia and Oceania began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and proceeded apace throughout the entirety of the 19th century. This map, published by W. & A.K. Johnston around 1895, shows the process as nearly complete.

The territories of rival European powers – the British, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and German – are all identified according to a custom color scheme outlined under the title. Several groups are circled in their entirety, reflecting a regional protectorate. Only a handful of isolated locations are free from colonial powers, including the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands at the top of the page.

The map also notes the tracks of the Challenger expedition. Between 1872 and 1876, the HMS Challenger travelled nearly 70,000 nautical miles and made significant scientific discoveries relating to ocean currents, tides, wind patterns, and the composition of the sea floor. In many ways, the voyage founded the modern science of oceanography and drastically influenced the cartographic depiction of the oceans.