Page 302 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

Bhukere, a traditional method of catching fish. Photo: BPNB Jayapura
characteristics of the population that were later called Melanesian. McCallum said that the
term Melanesia was widely used in the Catholic world discussions with the French in the
year 1839 (McCallum, 2004).
On the map of the names’ development, especially the names with suffix ‘sia’, other
Asians popped up from the period of 1830 to 1834. In fact, the name Polynesia had
been known long before that, as it was mentioned, among others, by a French traveler,
Charles de Brosses in Great South when debating the various findings within a period of
exploration to the South Pacific region. A year that should not be forgotten is 1756, in
which de Brosses published his book, Histoire des Terre aux navigasi Australes, more than 70
years before the Dumont d’Urville Voyage. In the preface to the history of the navigation
to Australian mainland, the political objective of his work was made clear - to encourage
French exploration (McCallum, 2004).
Records on the Melanesian region from the 18th to the 19th century have always been
associated with some ideas of the nature and the behavior of its inhabitants who did not
settle permanently in one place but they moved from one place to another depending
on the results of their catch from fishing in the sea. Records from the navigators always

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