Pitt Rivers Museum Oceania collections up to 1945 Statistics Part I
1. What was colonial history of geographical area?
[article ID:225]
Cook Islands
1888 - Becomes a protectorate of the British
1901 - Islands annexed by New Zealand
1965 - Self-government but associated state relationship with New Zealand continues
Fiji
*1874 – becomes British colony
1970 – independence
Kiribati
1892 - Gilbert Islands become protectorate in 1892
1900 - Banaba annexed
1916 - Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony formed [and extended to include Phoenix and Line islands groups and Tokelau for a time]
1939 - 1945 Japanese
1967 - elected House of Representatives established
1979 - Gilbert Islands become independent as Kiribati
Nauru
*1914 – becomes British colony
1968 – independence
New Guinea see Papua
New Hebrides /
*1887 – becomes colony administered by Anglo-French Condominium Vanuatu
1980 – independence as Vanuatu
New Zealand *
1840 – Britain claims sovereignty and administers as part of New South Wales
1841 – declared a separate colony
1907 – self-government and creation of the Dominion of New Zealand but New Zealand continues to prefer Britain to run most of its foreign affairs for some time and thus does not confirm the Statute of Westminster until 1947
Niue
1900 - GB annexed Niue as part of Samoa partition
1901 - New Zealand annexed as part of Cook Islands
1904 - separated from Cook Islands and given separate administration
1974 - self-government in association with New Zealand
Norfolk Island
1774 - 'Discovered' by James Cook
1788 - Penal settlement
1914 - Australian Commonwealth Territory
1979 - self-government
Papua
1883 – Queensland government annexed south coast, to British disapproval
*1884 – Papua becomes a British Protectorate
1888 – region formally annexed to empire
1906 – passed to newly federated Australia
1914 - joined with north of island, taken from Germans
1921 – administered by Australia under League of Nations mandate
[1942-1943 – Japanese]
1949 – formally united with other areas of New Guinea, forming Papua New Guinea
1975 – independence from Australia
Because of the way the entries are catalogued on objects prm, with contemporary [that is present day] geographical names being used in the search fields it is not possible to separate out those items which relate to Papua from those that relate to New Guinea although these were separate entities until after the period we are concerned with [they combined in 1949]. However according to note above the areas were joined in 1914 at least informally so there is an argument for this approach. Of course various islands which were perhaps considered separately (though still administered by the British) during this period are now subsumed under the country name 'Papua New Guinea' , these could be considered separately as their names are usually given in the region field but we are not doing so at this juncture. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica (not always the most reliable source) German New Guinea became an Australian mandate in 1920 under the League of Nations and after World War II it became a UN trusteeship administered by Australia. This would suggest that for approximately half of the period in question Papua New Guinea was at least in some respects a whole and can be treated as such.
Pitcairn Islands
*1789 – mutineers from the Bounty settle on Pitcairn
1838 onwards – a British colony
Solomon Islands
*1893 – become British colony
1978 – independence
Some parts of the Solomon Islands (geographically) are not part of the Solomon Islands politically, as ever objects prm has followed the political arrangement - at this stage we are not intending to look statistically at these smaller areas and if such a move seems worthwhile, because something in the more macro statistics suggests it would be worthwhile, then it should be directed at particular islands or island groups as there are many sub-country regions in Oceania.
South Sandwich Ids Part of British Falkland Islands as a dependency [uninhabited for colonial period]
Tokelau
1877 - High commissioner in Fiji received jurisdiction over British Nationals in Tokelau
1889 - Protectorate established
1916 - Tokelau became part of the Gilbert and Ellis Islands colony
1925 - New Zealand granted jurisdiction
1948 - became part of New Zealand
Tonga
*1900 – becomes British colony
1970 – independence
Tuvalu
1892 - became British protectorate
1916 - became part of Gilbert and Ellice Island Colony
1978 - became independent
Western Samoa
*1914 – becomes British colony
1962 – independence
Samoa is a big problem because entries pre-1945 just said Samoa, since then politically it has been divided between Western Samoa and American Samoa although most of the entries just say Samoa, the likelihood is that the majority came from the British held part of the island. We have therefore just kept the statistics under the heading Samoa (for information there are 5 objects which are definitely from Western Samoa (and none definitely from American Samoa) which supports this argument.
Countries within Oceania which were never in the British Empire:
Gambier Islands French Polynesia
1844 a French protectorate was proclaimed and the islands were annexed in 1881.
Irian Jaya [Indonesia]:
Now part of Indonesia. Dutch claimed western half of the island of New Guinea in 1828 but their first permanent administrative posts were not established until 1898. The Netherlands regained sovereignity after Second World War until granting of independence to Indonesia in 1963. A plebiscite held in 1969 resulted in the area becoming an Indonesian province.
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia
In 1842 the chiefs of the islands ceded sovereignity to France
Marshall Islands
In 1886 with agreement of UK Germany established a protectorate. Japan seized the islands in 1914 and after 1919 adminstered them as a League of Nations mandate. Occupied by USA in Second World War in 1947 they were made part of the United Nations Trust Territory of Pacific Islands under the jurisdiction of the USA. In 1979 formed a republic and internal self-government. In 1982 the government signed a Compact of Free Association with the USA. Full independence was gained in 1991.
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands]:
In 1886 Spain colonized the Carolines but its short rule ended in 1899 when the islands were sold to Germany. Germany yielded the islands to Japan in 1914 and after 1920 Japan got formal title to them as a League of Nations mandate. In 1947 the Carolines with Marshalls and northern Marianas became a UN Trust Territory under USA administration. Federated self-government was put into effect in 1979, in 1983 a Compact of Agreement was signed with USA. Micronesia became fully independent in 1991.
New Caledonia
France took possession of most of present day New Caledonia in 1853 though the Loyalty Islands were not taken until 1864.
Northern Mariana Islands
Spanish territory from 1668 until sold to Germany in 1899 [except Guam]. See Micronesia.
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands]:
Unclear until 1914 when the Japanese took over and lost the territory in 1945. Thereafter it became part of the UN Trust Territory from 1947, the country became internally self-governing in 1981, signed a Compact of Free Association with the USA in 1982 though this caused internal dissent for many years.
Rapa Nui [Easter Island]
In 1888 the island was annexed by Chile and it is now a Chilean dependency
Society Islands French Polynesia
Tahiti (and therefore effectively all the Society Islands) were made a French protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia
Declared as dependencies of Tahiti within the protectorate by France in 1847 and became part of colony in 1880
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia
Placed under French protection in 1889 and annexed in 1900.
USA [Hawaii]:
Self-governed by monarchy until overthrown in 1893 and a republic formed with USA support. In 1898 the Hawaiian islands were annexed by the USA and became a state of the USA in 1959.
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Wallis became a French protectorate in 1887 and Futuna in 1888, in 1959 the islands elected to bcome an overseas territory of France.
[this list excludes those countries which do not have objects in the PRM by 1945]
2. List countries included in geographical region
[article ID:226]
Australia [Norfolk Island]
Cook Islands
Fiji
Gambier Islands French Polynesia
Irian Jaya [Indonesia]
Kiribati
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia
Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands]
Nauru
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niue
Northern Mariana Islands
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands]
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Islands
Rapa Nui [Easter Island]
Samoa
Society Islands French Polynesia
Solomon Islands
South Sandwich Islands
Tokelau Islands
Tonga
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia
Tuvalu
USA [Hawaii]
Vanuatu
Wallis & Futuna Islands
List of all countries within Oceania Melanesia
Australia [Norfolk Island]
Fiji
Irian Jaya [Indonesia]
Kiribati
New Caledonia
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu
List of all countries within Oceania Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands]
Marshall Islands
Nauru
Northern Mariana Islands
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands]
List of all countries within Oceania Polynesia
Cook Islands
Fiji [Rotuma only]
Gambier Islands French Polynesia
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia
New Zealand
Niue
Pitcairn Islands
Rapa Nui [Easter Island]
Samoa
Society Islands
South Sandwich Islands
Tokelau Islands
Tonga
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia
Tubuai Islands
Tuvalu
USA [Hawaii]
Wallis & Futuna Islands
List of 'colonial' countries [ie at some time part of British Empire]
Cook Islands
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
New Zealand
Niue
Norfolk Island [Australia]
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Island
Samoa
Solomon Islands
South Sandwich Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Western Samoa
List of countries that were not part of British Empire at any time
Gambier Islands French Polynesia
Irian Jaya [Indonesia]
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia
Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands]
New Caledonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands]
Rapa Nui [Easter Island]
Society Islands French Polynesia
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia
USA [Hawaii]
Wallis & Futuna Islands
A good many of these islands were or are still part of other European countries' colonial holdings eg Irian Jaya which was Dutch, Hawaii (still part of the American Empire!) and all the islands still incorporated into French Polynesia.
3. Total number of objects from geographical region
[article ID:227]
Oceania total = 17,088 objects
Oceania Melanesia total = 12,362
Oceania Micronesia total = 513
Oceania Polynesia total = 4,922
Oceania [sub-region unspecified] = 228 [obtained by finding Oceania and omitting all continent sub-regions]
[There is some double counting between categories, presumably because of poor provenancing and because Fiji for example actually counts against both, this has probably artificially inflated Polynesia's total as only a very little of Fiji is actually in Polynesia but probably most of its undetailed provenances mean it says both continent regions against the entries. This double counting accounts for the fact that the Oceania total never matches the total of Melanesia + Micronesia + Polynesia + Unprovenanced]
Total numbers of objects per country listed in alphabetical order:
Australia [Norfolk Island] total = None [NB therefore this has been removed from future country related statistics]
Cook Islands total = 111
Fiji total = 1009
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 84
Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total* = 625
Kiribati total = 205
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia total = 86
Marshall Islands total = 53
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 222
Nauru total = None [NB therefore this has been removed from future country related statistics]
New Caledonia total = 304
New Zealand total = 1,620
Niue total = 125
Northern Mariana Islands total = None [NB therefore this has been removed from future country related statistics]
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 66
Papua New Guinea total *= 7,537
Pitcairn Islands total = 100
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 902
Samoa total = 346
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 164
Solomon Islands total = 3,154
South Sandwich Islands total = None [NB therefore this has been removed from future country related statistics]
Tokelau Islands total = 1 [possibly also from New Zealand!]
Tonga total = 290
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 13
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 80
Tuvalu total = 188
USA [Hawaii] total = 142
Vanuatu total = 956
Wallis & Futuna Islands total = 4
* Note that the division of the New Guinea island between Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya is not always clear and an actual division [same total number of objects, divided more specifically]:
Definitely Papua New Guinea = 7,047
Definitely Irian Jaya = 135
Papua New Guinea OR Irian Jaya = 980
The likelihood is that more of the uncertainly provenanced items came from PNG than Irian Jaya so it is possible that the figure of 7537 [all the entries in which PNG is listed even if Irian Jaya is also mentioned] is a more correct figure (as would be 135 for Irian Jaya). However this will never been known for sure because of the undetailed provenance for these items.
There is a good deal of double counting between countries as well as very many Oceanian items are poorly or imprecisely provenanced. These figures are therefore only an indication and should be viewed with some scepticism.
Countries in descending order of number of objects associated with them:
Papua New Guinea total = 7,537
Solomon Islands total = 3,154
New Zealand total = 1,620
Fiji total = 1,009
Vanuatu total = 956
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 902
Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total = 625
Samoa total = 346
New Caledonia total = 304
Tonga total = 290
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 222
Kiribati total = 205
Tuvalu total = 188
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 164
USA [Hawaii] total = 142
Niue total = 125
Cook Islands total = 111
Pitcairn Islands total = 100
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia total = 86
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 84
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 80
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 66
Marshall Islands total = 53
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 17
Western Samoa total = 16
American Samoa total = 11
Wallis & Futuna Islands total = 4
Tokelau Islands total = 1 [possibly also from New Zealand!]
Australia [Norfolk Island] total = 0
Nauru total = 0
Northern Mariana Islands total = 0
South Sandwich Islands total = 0
Total number of objects divided by colonial status:
List of 'colonial' countries [ie at some time part of British Empire]
Cook Islands = 111
Fiji = 1,009
Kiribati = 205
[Nauru = 0]
New Zealand = 1,620
Niue = 125
Norfolk Island [Australia] = 0
Papua New Guinea = 7,537
Pitcairn Islands = 100
Samoa = 346
Solomon Islands = 3,154
South Sandwich Islands = 0
Tokelau = 1
Tonga = 290
Tuvalu = 188
Vanuatu = 956
Total for colonised Oceania areas = 15,642
List of countries that were not part of British Empire at any time
Gambier Islands French Polynesia = 84
Irian Jaya [Indonesia] = 625
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia = 86
Marshall Islands = 53
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] = 222
New Caledonia = 304
[Northern Mariana Islands = 0]
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] = 66
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] = 902
Society Islands French Polynesia = 164
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia = 13
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia = 80
USA [Hawaii] = 142
Wallis & Futuna Islands = 4
Total for Oceania areas outside the British Empire = 2,745
4. Total number of objects for geographical region divided into archaeological and ethnographic objects
[article ID:228]
For Oceania as a whole:
Archaeology - 272
Ethnography - 15,188
Arch or Ethn - 1,628
Oceania has a much higher percentage of ethnography than there is globally (and probably than there is from any other continent).
Archaeology:
Oceania total =272 [note that 1628 objects are either archaeological or ethnographic - see separate section below]
Oceania Melanesia total = 40
Oceania Micronesia total = 11
Oceania Polynesia total = 214
Oceania unspecified = 7
Cook Islands total = 1
Fiji total = 3
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 0
Kiribati total = 0
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia total = 0
Marshall Islands total = 0
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 11
New Caledonia total = 5
New Zealand total = 185
Niue total = 0
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 0
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total = 4 [none specifically provenanced]
Pitcairn Islands total = 2
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 0
Samoa total = 20
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 1
Solomon Islands total = 0
Tokelau Islands total = 0
Tonga total = 1
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 2
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 2
Tuvalu total = 0
USA [Hawaii] total = 1
Vanuatu total = 3
Wallis & Futuna Islands total = 0
Countries that actually do have archaeological items in PRM collections:
Cook Islands total = 1
Fiji total = 3
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 11
New Caledonia total = 5
New Zealand total = 185
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total = 4 [none specifically provenanced]
Pitcairn Islands total = 2
Samoa total = 20
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 1
Tonga total = 1
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 2
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 2
USA [Hawaii] total = 1
Vanuatu total = 3
Countries that actually have archaeological items etc and were in British Empire:
Cook Islands = 1
Fiji = 3
New Zealand total = 185
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total = 4
Pitcairn Islands total = 2
Samoa total = 20
Tonga total = 1
Vanuatu total = 3
Total British Empire Oceania archaeology = 215
Countries that actually have archaeological items etc but were NOT in British Empire:
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 11
New Caledonia total = 5
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 1
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 2
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 2
USA [Hawaii] total = 1
Total non-British Empire Oceania archaeology = 22
Ethnography:
Oceania total = 15,188
Oceania Melanesia total = 12,025
Oceania Micronesia total = 501
Oceania Polynesia total = 3,367
Oceania unspecified = 218
[See comments before about double counting]
Cook Islands total = 109
Fiji total = 992
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 29
Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total = 135
Kiribati total = 205
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia total = 86
Marshall Islands total = 53
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 211
New Caledonia total = 294
New Zealand total = 1,068
Niue total = 125
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 65
Papua New Guinea total = 6,765
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya unspecified = 483
Pitcairn Islands total = 16
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 144
Samoa total = 322
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 162
Solomon Islands total = 3,146
Tokelau Islands total = 1 [possibly from New Zealand]
Tonga total = 286
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 11
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 51
Tuvalu total = 188
USA [Hawaii] total = 110
Vanuatu total = 944
Wallis & Futuna Islands total = 4
Countries with ethnographic items and were in British Empire:
Cook Islands total = 109
Fiji total = 992
Kiribati total = 205
New Zealand total = 1,068
Niue total = 125
Papua New Guinea total = 6,765
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya unspecified = 483
Pitcairn Islands total = 16
Samoa total = 322
Solomon Islands total = 3,146
Tokelau Islands total = 1 [possibly from New Zealand]
Tonga total = 286
Tuvalu total = 188
Vanuatu total = 944
Total for British Empire Oceanian ethnography = 14,650
Countries with ethnographic items and were NOT in British Empire:
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 29
Irian Jaya [Indonesia] total = 135
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia total = 86
Marshall Islands total = 53
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 211
New Caledonia total = 294
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 65
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 144
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 162
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 11
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 51
USA [Hawaii] total = 110
Wallis & Futuna Islands total = 4
Total for non-British empire Oceanian ethnography = 1,355
Either Ethnographic or Archaeological
Oceania total = 1,628
Oceania Melanesia total = 297
Oceania Micronesia total = 1
Oceania Polynesia total = 1,341
Oceania unspecified = 2
Cook Islands total = 1
Fiji total = 14
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 55
Kiribati total = 0
Marquesas Islands French Polynesia total = 0
Marshall Islands total = 0
Federated States of Micronesia [Caroline Islands] total = 0
New Caledonia total = 5
New Zealand total = 367
Niue total = 0
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 1
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya (none specified specifically for Irian Jaya, some could be) = 260
Pitcairn Islands total = 82
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 758
Samoa total = 4
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 1
Solomon Islands total = 8
Tokelau Islands total = 0
Tonga total = 3
Tuamotu Archipelago French Polynesia total = 0
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 27
Tuvalu total = 0
USA [Hawaii] total = 31
Vanuatu total = 9
Wallis & Futuna Islands total = 0
Oceania countries that actually have archaeology / ethnographic artefacts:
Cook Islands total = 1
Fiji total = 14
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 55
New Caledonia total = 5
New Zealand total = 367
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 1
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya (none specified specifically for Irian Jaya, some could be) = 260
Pitcairn Islands total = 82
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 758
Samoa total = 4
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 1
Solomon Islands total = 8
Tonga total = 3
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 27
USA [Hawaii] total = 31
Vanuatu total = 9
Countries with archaeological / ethnographic items and were in British Empire:
Cook Islands total = 1
Fiji total = 14
New Zealand total = 367
Papua New Guinea / Irian Jaya (none specified specifically for Irian Jaya, some could be) = 260
Pitcairn Islands total = 82
Samoa total = 4
Solomon Islands total = 8
Tonga total = 3
Vanuatu total = 9
British Empire total = 748
Countries with archaeological / ethnographic items and were NOT in British Empire:
Gambier Islands French Polynesia total = 55
New Caledonia total = 5
Republic of Palau [Caroline Islands] total = 1
Rapa Nui [Easter Island] total = 758
Society Islands French Polynesia total = 1
Tubuai Islands French Polynesia total = 27
USA [Hawaii] total = 31
Non-British Empire total = 878
The high percentage of objects from without the British Empire is due to the very large number of objects from Rapa Nui which are not clearly defined as either archaeological or ethnographic - and of these a large majority are stone tools.
