Page 3 - Melanesia

Melanesia: The Cannibal Isles
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M elanesians are the
dominant inhabitants of
Melanesia. Most speak one of
the many Papuan languages,
though a few groups such
as Moluccans, the Motu and
Fijians speak Austronesian
languages. The Melanesians ap-
pear to have occupied islands
from Eastern Indonesia to as
far east as the main islands in
the Solomon Islands, including
Makira and possibly the smaller
islands farther to the east. Early
European explorers noted the
physical differences among
groups of Pacific Islanders. The in the face of immigration over
predominantly Melanesian
areas of Oceania include parts
of the Maluku Islands (Moluc-
cas) of Eastern Indonesia, the
New Guinea and surrounding
islands, the Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu and Fiji.
The region New Caledonia
and nearby Loyalty Islands
for most of its history has had
a majority Melanesian popula-
tion, but its proportion has
dropped to slightly below half
the last century to present time.
The largest and most populous
Melanesian country is Papua
New Guinea. The largest city in
Melanesia is Port Moresby in
Papua New Guinea with about
300,000 people, mostly of Mela-
nesian ancestry.