Papua New Guinea - History

History

Human remains have been found which have been dated to about 50,000 BC although this is an estimate. These ancient inhabitants probably migrated from Southeast Asia, from people whose ancestors had originated in Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. New Guinea was first populated by modern humans at approximately the same time as Australia.

Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples came to coastal regions roughly 500 BC. This has been correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. More recently, in the 18th century, the sweet potato was taken to New Guinea, having been introduced to the Moluccas by Portuguese traders. The far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture; sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and gave rise to a significant increase in population in the highlands.

Although headhunting and cannibalism have been practically eradicated, in the past they occurred in many parts of the country as part of ritual practices. For example, in 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, a missionary, Harry Dauncey, found 10,000 skulls in the island’s Long Houses. According to the writer Marianna Torgovnick, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the fifties, sixties, and seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups."

Little was known in Europe about the island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Meneses and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, respectively, had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia had visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird of paradise plumes. The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. The word papua is derived from an old local term of uncertain origin, and "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez. In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. The northern half of the country was ruled as a colony for some decades by Germany, beginning in 1884, as German New Guinea. The southern half was colonised in the same year by the United Kingdom as British New Guinea, but in 1904 with the passage of the Papua Act, 1905 was transferred to the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia who took on its administration. Additionally from 1905, British New Guinea was renamed the Territory of Papua.

During World War I, German New Guinea was occupied by Australia and after the war was given a League of Nations Mandate to administer it. Papua, by contrast, was deemed to be an External Territory of the Australian Commonwealth, though as a matter of law it remained a British possession. This was significant for the country's post-independence legal system. The difference in legal status meant that up until 1949, Papua and New Guinea had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia.

The New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns of World War II. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian and U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the New Guinea Campaign. The two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea after World War II, which later was simply referred to as "Papua New Guinea".

However, certain statutes continued to have application only in one of the two territories. This territorial difference of law was complicated further by the adjustment of the former boundary among contiguous provinces with respect to road access and language groups. Some of such statutes apply on one side only of a boundary which no longer exists.

The administration of Papua became open to United Nations oversight; a peaceful independence from Australia occurred on September 16, 1975, and close ties remain (Australia continues as the largest bilateral aid donor to Papua New Guinea). Papua New Guinea was admitted to membership in the United Nations on 10 October 1975.

A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it was resolved in 1997. Following the revolt, the autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president. He was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman, who continued to be re-elected as leader until the election of December 2008, which James Tanis won.

Anti-Chinese rioting, involving tens of thousands of people, broke out in May 2009. The initial spark was a fight between Chinese and Papua New Guinean workers at a nickel factory under construction by a Chinese company. Native resentment against the numerous small businesses being run by Chinese led to the rioting.