Melanesia

Melanesia (UK: /ˌmɛləˈniːziə/; US: /ˌmɛləˈniːʒə/) is a subregion of Oceania (and occasionally Australasia) extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji.

The region consists of the four countries of:

Besides these independent countries, Melanesia also includes:

The name Melanesia (in French "Mélanésie" from the Greek μέλας, black, and νῆσος, islands) was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands whose inhabitants he thought were distinct from those of Polynesia and Micronesia.

European encounter and definition

The concept among Europeans of Melanesia as a distinct region evolved gradually over time as their expeditions mapped and explored the Pacific. Early European explorers noted the physical differences among groups of Pacific Islanders. In 1756 Charles de Brosses theorized that there was an 'old black race' in the Pacific who were conquered or defeated by the peoples of what is now called Polynesia, whom he distinguished as having lighter skin. In the first half of the nineteenth century Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent and Dumont D'Urville identified Melanesians as a distinct racial group.

New Guinea

New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Niugini; Dutch: Nieuw-Guinea; Indonesian: Papua or, historically, Irian) is a large Island in the South West Pacific region.

It is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km², and the largest wholly within the southern hemisphere.

The island is divided among two countries: Papua New Guinea to the east, and Indonesia to the west.

Names

The island has been known by various names.

The name Papua was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with the West. Its etymology is unclear; one theory states that it is from Tidore, the language used by the Sultanate of Tidore, which controlled parts of the island's coastal region. The name came from papo (to unite) and ua (negation), which means not united or, territory that geographically is far away (and thus not united).

Ploeg reports that the word papua is often said to derive from the Malay word papua or pua-pua, meaning 'frizzly-haired', referring to the highly curly hair of the inhabitants of these areas. Another possibility, put forward by Sollewijn Gelpke in 1993, is that it comes from the Biak phrase sup i papwa which means 'the land below [the sunset]' and refers to the islands west of the Bird's Head, as far as Halmahera. Whatever the origin of the name Papua, it came to be associated with this area, and more especially with Halmahera, which was known to the Portuguese by this name during the era of their colonization in this part of the world.

Papua New Guinea

Coordinates: 6°S 147°E / 6°S 147°E / -6; 147

Papua New Guinea (PNG; /ˈpæpuə njuː ˈɡɪniː, ˈpɑː-, -pju-/, US /ˈpæpjuə, pɑːˈpuːə/;Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world; 848 languages are listed for the country, of which 12 have no known living speakers. Most of the population of over 7 million people live in customary communities, which are as diverse as the languages. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18 percent of its people live in urban centres. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior.

Solomon Islands

Coordinates: 8°S 159°E / 8°S 159°E / -8; 159

Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The country's capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes outlying islands, such as Rennell and Bellona, and the Santa Cruz Islands.

The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them, naming them the Islas Salomón. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomon Islands archipelago in June 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS Curacoa, declared the southern Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate with the proclamation of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. During World War II, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942–1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States and the Empire of Japan, such as in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The Black Pacific

The Black Pacific was a punk rock music project that was started in 2010 by Jim Lindberg, the vocalist of Pennywise, and two previously unknown members, Alan Vega (drums) and Davey Latter (bass). They were signed to SideOneDummy Records and their self-titled debut album was released on September 14, 2010.

On October 8, 2010, some line-up changes were announced by the band: Marc Orrell, formerly of celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys has joined the band as second guitarist, and Gavin Caswell has joined as bassist, replacing Davey Latter who had to return to his drumming duties with his other band Everest.

In June 2010 (shortly after the completion of their first album), Jim announced that the Black Pacific had plans to release more music in the future. He also remarked that they had more songs written than could fit on their first album, and that (in June 2010) they had another batch of songs ready to record.

Band members