Bougainville Island
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Bougainville Island (
Tok Pisin Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...
: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the
Autonomous Region of Bougainville Bougainville ( ; ; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil''), officially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (Tok Pisin: ''Otonomos Region bilong Bogenvil''), is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island, while the re ...
, which is part of
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. It was previously the main landmass in the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
-associated North Solomons. Its land area is . The population of the whole province, including nearby islets such as the Carterets, is approximately 300,000 (2019 census). The highest point is
Mount Balbi Mount Balbi is a Holocene stratovolcano located in the northern portion of the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. A gentle prominence at is the highest point of the island. There are five volcanic craters east of the summit, one of which ...
, on the main island, at . The much smaller
Buka Island Buka Island is the second-largest island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is in Buka Rural LLG of North Bougainville District, with the Autonomous Region's and district's capital city of Buka, Bougain ...
, , lies to the north, across the wide Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airport (or airstrip) in the north is in the town of Buka. Bougainville is the largest island in the
Solomon Islands archipelago The Solomon Islands (archipelago) is an island group in the western South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in the Melanesian subregion and bioregion of Oceania and forms the eastern boundary of the Solomon Sea. The ...
. Most of the islands in this archipelago (which are primarily concentrated in the southern and eastern portions of it) are part of the
politically Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
independent
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. Two of these islands—the closely connected
Shortland Islands The Shortland Islands is an archipelago of Western Province, Solomon Islands, at . The island group lies in the extreme north-west of the country's territory, close to the south-east edge of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. The largest isl ...
—are less than south or southeast of Bougainville, and about west of Choiseul, one of the settlements of which, Poroporo, faces Bougainville. Buka has an outcropping that is from New Ireland. Among the large islands of Papua New Guinea, New Ireland is the closest to Buka. The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is scheduled to gain independence from Papua New Guinea by 2027.


History

Bougainville was first settled some 8,000 years ago. Three to four thousand years ago, Austronesian people arrived, bringing with them domesticated pigs, chickens, dogs, and
obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
tools. The first European contact with Bougainville was in 1768, when the French explorer
Louis Antoine de Bougainville Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolutio ...
arrived and named the main island after himself. British and American whaling ships visited the island for provisions, water and wood in the 19th century. The first on record was the ''Roscoe'' in 1822, and the last was ''Palmetto'' in 1881. The
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
laid claim to Bougainville in 1899, annexing it into
German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...
. Christian missionaries arrived on the island in 1902. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Australia occupied German New Guinea, including Bougainville. It became part of the Australian
Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an administrative union by the na ...
under a
League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administ ...
in 1920. In 1942, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Japan invaded the island, but allied forces launched the
Bougainville campaign The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allie ...
to regain control of the island in 1943. Despite heavy bombardments, the Japanese garrisons remained on the island until 1945. Following the war, the Territory of New Guinea, including Bougainville, returned to Australian control. It was on Bougainville Island, on April 18, 1943, during the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
, that the Japanese admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
, who was the commander-in-chief of Japan’s
Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...
, died after his plane was attacked by US fighter planes and crashed into the jungle. In 1949 the Territory of New Guinea, including Bougainville, merged with the Australian
Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...
, forming the
Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...
, a
United Nations Trust Territory United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nati ...
under Australian administration. On 9 September 1975, the
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
passed the
Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 The Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Australia. It replaced the Papua and New Guinea Act 1949, and changed the status of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea to that of an independent Papua New Gui ...
. The Act set 16 September 1975 as date of independence and terminated all remaining sovereign and legislative powers of Australia over the territory. Bougainville was to become part of an independent
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. However, on 11 September 1975, in a failed bid for self-determination, Bougainville declared itself the
Republic of the North Solomons A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
. The republic failed to achieve any international recognition, and a settlement was reached in August 1976. Bougainville was then absorbed politically into Papua New Guinea with increased self-governance powers. Between 1988 and 1998, the
Bougainville Civil War The Bougainville conflict, also known as the Bougainville Civil War, was a multi-layered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainvill ...
claimed over 15,000 lives. Peace talks brokered by
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
began in 1997 and led to autonomy. A multinational Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) under Australian leadership was deployed. In 2001, a peace agreement was signed including promise of a referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea. This referendum was held between 23 November and 7 December 2019, with results being declared on 11 December. The referendum question was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea, or full independence. Of the valid votes, 98.31% were in favour of full Independence. The vote is not binding; the Government of Papua New Guinea has the final say on the status of Bougainville.


Geography

Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is part of the
Solomon Islands rain forests The Solomon Islands rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion covering most of the Solomon Islands archipelago. Geography Included are the islands of Bougainville and Buka, which are part of Papua New Guinea and most of the islands within th ...
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
. Bougainville and the nearby island of Buka, are a single
landmass A landmass, or land mass, is a large region or area of land. The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea, such as a continent or a large island. In the field of geology, a landmass is a defined section of continental ...
separated by a deep wide strait. The island has an area of , and there are several active, dormant or inactive volcanoes which rise to . Bagana () in the north central part of Bougainville is conspicuously active, spewing out smoke that is visible for many kilometres. Earthquakes are frequent, but cause little damage. File:Bagana Volcano.jpg, Bagana volcano File:MtBalbiToreNASA.jpg, Northern part of the island File:Buka Passage NAN1Jan44.jpg, Buka Passage (1944) File:Bougainville2022OSM.png, Detailed map of Bougainville and Buka


Ecology

Bougainville Island is primarily forested with a diverse tropical ecosystem. Copper mining on the island by a Rio Tinto-owned mining operation caused significant detriment to the immediate and downstream ecology from the destruction of forest and heavy metal-contaminated mine tailings, resulting in an uprising by the islanders to protect their land and native ecology. More recently,
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
in order to feed the growing population has affected the flow of many rivers on the island. The United Nations Environmental Program has offered to facilitate the cleanup of the
Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...
-owned
Panguna mine The Panguna mine is a large copper mine located in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in the east of Papua New Guinea. Panguna represents one of the largest copper reserves in Papua New Guinea and in the world, having an estimated reserve of ...
and explore reopening the mine with more stringent environmental standards.


Climate


Economy

Bougainville has one of the world's largest copper deposits, which has been under development since 1972, but was shut down in a popular revolution against the foreign-owned mining interests. Due to a seven-year blockade of the island by the Papua New Guinean Army during the Coconut Revolution, the island was cut off from the outside world. This pressure forced the islanders to develop self-sustaining systems from salvaged parts and foraged resources, including village-scale hydropower, coconut bio-diesel, diversified forest-garden farms, and neo-traditional herbal medicine. These innovations were a major focus of the documentary film ''The Coconut Revolution''.


Demographics


Religion

The majority of people on Bougainville are Christian, an estimated 70% being
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and a substantial minority United Church of Papua New Guinea since 1968. Few non-natives remain, as most were evacuated following the civil wars.


Languages

There are many indigenous languages in Bougainville Province, belonging to three language families. The languages of the northern end of the island, and some scattered around the coast, belong to the Austronesian family. The languages of the north-central and southern lobes of Bougainville Island belong to the
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and South Bougainville families. The most widely spoken Austronesian language is Halia and its dialects, spoken in the island of Buka and the Selau peninsula of Northern Bougainville. Other Austronesian languages include Nehan, Petats, Solos, Saposa (Taiof), Hahon and Tinputz, all spoken in the northern quarter of Bougainville, Buka and surrounding islands. These languages are closely related. Bannoni and Torau are Austronesian languages not closely related to the former, which are spoken in the coastal areas of central and south Bougainville. On the nearby
Takuu Atoll Takuu, formerly known as Tauu and also known as Takuu Mortlock or Marqueen Islands, is a small, isolated atoll off the east coast of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. Geography Takuu lies about 250 km to the northeast of Kieta, capital of ...
a
Polynesian language The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austro ...
is spoken,
Takuu Takuu, formerly known as Tauu and also known as Takuu Mortlock or Marqueen Islands, is a small, isolated atoll off the east coast of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. Geography Takuu lies about 250 km to the northeast of Kieta, capital of ...
. The Papuan languages are confined to the main island of Bougainville. These include
Rotokas Rotokas is a North Bougainville language spoken by about 4,320 people on the island of Bougainville, an island located to the east of New Guinea which is part of Papua New Guinea. According to Allen and Hurd (1963), there are three identifie ...
, a language with a very small inventory of phonemes, Eivo, Terei, Keriaka, Naasioi (Kieta), Nagovisi, Siwai (Motuna), Baitsi (sometimes considered a dialect of Siwai), Uisai and several others. These constitute two language families, North Bougainville and South Bougainville. None of the languages are spoken by more than 20% of the population, and the larger languages such as Nasioi, Korokoro Motuna, Telei, and Halia are split into dialects that are not always mutually understandable. For general communication most Bougainvilleans use
Tok Pisin Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...
as a
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
, and at least in the coastal areas Tok Pisin is often learned by children in a bilingual environment. English and Tok Pisin are the languages of official business and government.


Human rights

Cut off from the outside world for several years by a Papua New Guinean blockade during the civil war, the islanders suffered many deaths from a lack of medical resources. A 2013 United Nations survey of 843 men found that 62% (530 respondents) of those have raped a woman or girl at least once, with 41% (217 respondents) of the men reported having raped a non-partner, whereas 14% (74 respondents) reported having committed gang rape. Additionally, the survey also found that 8% (67 respondents) of the men had raped other men or boys.


Popular culture

''
The Coconut Revolution ''The Coconut Revolution'' is a 2001 multi-award winning documentary film about the struggle of the indigenous peoples of Bougainville Island during the Bougainville Civil War. The movement is described as the "world's first successful eco-re ...
'', a documentary about the struggle of the indigenous population to save their island from environmental destruction and gain independence, was made in 1999. '' An Evergreen Island'' (2000), a film by Australian documentary filmmakers Amanda King and
Fabio Cavadini Frontyard Films is an Australian film production company that makes documentary films, owned by Australian documentary filmmakers Amanda King and Fabio Cavadini. Their films include ''An Evergreen Island'', ''Starting from Zero'' and ''A Thousa ...
of
Frontyard Films Frontyard Films is an Australian film production company that makes documentary films, owned by Australian documentary filmmakers Amanda King and Fabio Cavadini. Their films include ''An Evergreen Island'', ''Starting from Zero'' and ''A Thousa ...
, showed the ingenuity with which the Bougainvillean people survived for almost a decade (1989-1997) without trade or contact with the outside world, because of a trade dispute. ''
Mr. Pip ''Mr. Pip'' is a 2012 film written and directed by Andrew Adamson and based on Lloyd Jones (New Zealand author), Lloyd Jones' novel ''Mister Pip''. Hugh Laurie played Mr. Watts. Plot In 1989, as the Bougainville Civil War rages on in Papua New ...
'' (2012) is a film by New Zealand director
Andrew Adamson Andrew Ralph Adamson (born 1 December 1966) is a New Zealand film director, producer, and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, where he directed the Academy Award-winning animated films '' Shrek'' and '' Shrek 2''. He was director, executive p ...
based on the book '' Mister Pip'' by
Lloyd Jones Lloyd Jones or Lloyd-Jones may refer to: People Sports * Lloyd Jones (athlete) (1884–1971), American athlete in the 1908 Summer Olympics *Lloyd Jones (figure skater) (born 1988), Welsh ice dancer *Lloyd Jones (English footballer) (born 1995), En ...
.


Independence referendum

In late November 2019 a non-binding referendum was held to decide whether Bougainville should be a sovereign state independent from Papua New Guinea. The result was overwhelmingly in favour of sovereignty for the island, with 98% of the votes supporting secession. The Papua New Guinea government and Bougainville have agreed that the region will attain full independence in 2027 pending approval of the PNG government.


See also

*
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943 – also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle off Bougainville Island (ブーゲンビル島沖海戦) – was a naval ba ...
*
Bougainville campaign The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allie ...
*
Bougainville Copper Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). BCL operated the copper, gold and silver mine at the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island in PNG from 1971 ...
*
Bougainville Revolutionary Army The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force ...
*
Bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...
* '' The Bougainville Photoplay Project'' *
Empress Augusta Bay Empress Augusta Bay is a bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville Island, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in northeastern Papua New Guinea. It is a subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. History Emp ...
*
Francis Ona Francis Ona (c. 1953 – 24 July 2005) was a Bougainville secessionist leader who led an uprising against the Government of Papua New Guinea as part of the Bougainville Civil War. He and his followers were concerned about the environmental and ...
* List of birds of the Solomon Islands archipelago *
North Solomon Islands The Northern Solomons were the more northerly group of islands in the Solomon Islands (archipelago) over which Germany declared a protectorate in 1885. Initially, the German Solomon Islands Protectorate included, in the south-east, Choiseu ...
*
Solomon Archipelago The Solomon Archipelago is a terrestrial ecoregion and marine ecoregion in the Pacific Ocean. It includes the tropical ocean waters surrounding most of Solomon Islands (excluding the Santa Cruz Islands, which is a part of the Vanuatu marine ecore ...


References


Bibliography

* * * Hobbs, J. (2017). ''Fundamentals of World Regional Geography'' (4th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts.


Further reading

* Robert Young Pelton, Hunter Hammer and Heaven, Journeys to Three Worlds Gone Mad. {{Authority control * Islands of Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands (archipelago) . 1899 establishments in German New Guinea 1919 disestablishments in German New Guinea 1943 establishments in Australia 1975 disestablishments in Australia 1975 establishments in Papua New Guinea Copper mines in Papua New Guinea