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1. Background North American missions originated in work among American Indians. In the colonial period some colonists, especially New England Puritans and Moravians in the Middle States, engaged in missionary outreach to their Native American neighbors. John Eliot (1604–90) of Massachusetts was probably the first North American to engage in missions when ¶ he began preaching to Indians near Boston in 1641. David Zeisberger (1721–1808), working in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, was known as the Moravian “apostle to the Indians.” After American …

1. General Fiji, an independent country since 1970, is located near the center of the South Pacific islands. Because of its location it has become the hub of South Pacific affairs. Most of the international agencies of the region, including those of religion, make their headquarters in Fiji. The country’s natural beauty and tropical climate and its relatively large and varied population make it a center for agriculture, education, tourism, business, and some industry. The varied population includes a few Chinese, Europeans, and people from other island countries, alon…

Overview Overview “Oceania” is the U.N. term for the major area encompassing Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The last are divided into Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. (For information on Australia and New Zealand, see the separate articles.) The region of Micronesia, the westernmost of the three island groups, lies mostly above the equator. Among others, it includes the following territories and independent nations, listed here in approximate west-to-east order (information in parentheses shows the current or last…