Europeans settled in Oceania to establish supply points for overseas travel.
Oceania became a supply source in 1788 for the settlement of Australia.
European exploration and settlement of Oceania initiated in the 16th century. The first who arrived were the Portuguese who settled in the Moluccas as well as the Spanish (Castilian) landing in the Marianas Islands, east of the Philippines, followed by the Portuguese landing and settling temporarily in the Tanimbar or the Aru Islands and in some of the Caroline Islands and Papua New Guinea, and plenty of Spanish landings in the Caroline Islands and New Guinea.
