Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia Quiz

Answer: Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are indigenous in the Americas, yet carbon dating has proved that they have been in the Cook Islands as early as 1000 AD. They were widespread throughout Polynesia by the time Europeans reached it. The Maori word for sweet potato, Kumara, is similar to Native American words for it: the Quechua and Aymara languages call it a k'umar or k'umara.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has more than 800 languages still in use. This is due to the fact that many tribes in Papua New Guinea are still uncontacted and have not assimilated with the rest of the world yet.

Answer: Javanese

This is due to Micronesia being in the middle of the other three regions. Many Micronesians identify primarily with one of the other three groups.

Answer: Easter Island

Easter Island is one of the remote islands in the world. It is almost 1300 miles away from the nearest piece of inhabited land, which is the Pitcairn Islands, a British Dependency. Easter Island is also known for its carved head statures, called Moai.

Answer: Solomon Islands

The Battle of Guadalcanal saw thousands of American and Japanese die, and was a dark period in history. Guadalcanal is the largest island in the Solomon Islands.

Answer: The Netherlands

Germany held Nauru from 1888 until 1914, when Australians captured it during World War One. Australians shared control of Nauru with the UK and New Zealand. Japan later conquered Nauru during World War Two. The Netherlands' main colony was Indonesia.

Answer: Tonga

Although Tonga was protected by the British, it retained its monarchy and thus its sovereignty. This was decided in the Treaty of Friendship, which didn't impose a higher British power in Tonga than a British consul.

Answer: Vanuatu

This agreement between the British and the French was known as the British-French Condominium. The colonization of Vanuatu by the British and French is why English and French are official languages in Vanuatu today.

Answer: Nauru

Nauru is the second least populated country in the entire world, and the least populated country in Oceania. Only Vatican City has fewer people than Nauru. Nauru is also the only country in Micronesia not to be controlled by the Americans at one point, with influence from European countries and Japan instead.

Answer: Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is a nation consisting of 650 islands in the South Pacific. Its official currency is the United States Dollar.