What area of the world is Melanesia in?
Oceania
Which island starts it?
New Guinea
Which place ends it?
Fiji
How many countries are in it?
four
Is Vanuatu one of them?
yes
Which language is the name from?
French
What does the name mean?
islands of dark [people]
Who created the term?
Jules Dumont d'Urville
When?
in 1832
To label what?
an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands
Did he think they were different from other groups?
yes
How many other groups?
two
What were their names?
Micronesia and Polynesia
Who described these people as different from others?
Jules Dumont d'Urville
Who else?
Charles de Brosses
When did de Brosses make his theory?
In 1756
What did he think had existed?
an 'old black race'
What happened to them?
they were conquered or defeated
By whom?
the peoples of what is now called Polynesia
What was different about the Polynesians?
they had lighter skin