Pacific Islander Americans
Overview
The Pacific Islands region of the South Pacific Ocean is called Oceania when Australia and New Zealand are included. There are approximately 25,000 islands, atolls and islets in Oceania. Within the Pacific Islands region are the subregions of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. The islands of Tonga, Tahiti, and Fiji are located within two of these three areas.
Polynesia means "many islands," and includes within its 5 million squares miles the Kingdom of Tonga and the Territory of French Polynesia, where Tahiti is located. Samoa and Hawaii are also found in Polynesia. The region's name comes from the Greek word melas, meaning black. It was so named because of the skin color of island natives.
Tonga is an archipelago of 170 islands. Its total land area is about four times the size of Washington, D.C., measuring 288 square miles (746 square kilometers). People live on 36 of Tonga's islands. The population in July 1998 was approximately 108,207. The majority of Tongans are of Polynesian ethnic origin. About 300 Europeans also live on the islands. Christianity is the primary religion, with more than 30,000 people belonging to the Free Wesleyan Church. The monarch is the head of the church, which is the Methodist Church in the United States.
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