Bougainville is the largest island in theSolomon Islands (archipelago). It was previously the main landmass in theNorth Solomons, which were associated with theGerman Empire. Most of the islands in this archipelago (which are primarily concentrated in the southern and eastern portions of it) are part of thepolitically independentSolomon Islands. Two of these islands—the closely connectedShortland Islands—are less than 9 km (5.6 mi) south or southeast of Bougainville, and about 30 km (19 mi) west ofChoiseul, one of the settlements of which, Poroporo, faces Bougainville.
In a2019 referendum, the citizens of Bougainville voted to become independent from Papua New Guinea by 2027, but the referendum was non-binding on the government of Papua New Guinea, which has not committed to this.[6][7]
During theLast Ice Age, present-day Bougainville Island was part of a single landmass known as "Greater Bougainville", which spanned from the northern tip ofBuka Island to theNggela Islands. The earliest evidence of human settlement is atKilu Cave on Buka Island, where the earliest remains are from 26,700 to 18,100 BCE. The first settlers wereMelanesian people, likely related to modernPapuans andIndigenous Australians. In the 2nd millennium BCE,Austronesian people arrived, bringing with them domesticated pigs, chickens, dogs, andobsidian tools.[8]
The first European contact with Bougainville was in 1768, when the French explorerLouis Antoine de Bougainville arrived and named the main island after himself.[8]
British and American whaling ships visited the island for provisions, water, and wood in the19th century. The first on record was theRoscoe in 1822, and the last wasPalmetto in 1881.[9]
In 1899, theGerman Empire laid claim to Bougainville, annexing it intoGerman New Guinea. Christian missionaries arrived on the island in 1902.[8]
On 18 April 1943, in Bougainville Island, during thePacific War, the Japanese admiral, commander-in-chief ofCombined FleetIsoroku Yamamoto, died after his plane was attacked by US fighter planes and crashed into the jungle.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Between 1988 and 1998, theBougainville Civil War claimed over 15,000 lives. Peace talks brokered byNew Zealand began in 1997 and led to autonomy. A multinationalPeace Monitoring Group (PMG) under Australian leadership was deployed. In 2001, a peace agreement was signed, including the promise of areferendum on independence from Papua New Guinea. This referendum was held between 23 November and 7 December 2019, with results being declared on 11 December.[15] 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.[6][16]
Bougainville is the largest island of the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is part of theSolomon Islands rain forestsecoregion. Bougainville and the nearby island ofBuka are a singlelandmass separated by a deep 300-metre (980 ft) wide strait. The island has an area of 9,000 km2 (3,500 sq mi), and there are several active, dormant or inactive volcanoes that can rise to 2,400 m (7,900 ft).Bagana (1,750 metres [5,740 ft]) in the north central part of Bougainville is conspicuously active, spewing out gas that is visible for many kilometres.[17] In 2013, amagnitude 6.4 earthquake was detected on the Bougainville Island; its epicenter was located 57 kilometers (35.4 miles) south ofPanguna, a town on Bougainville Island.[18]
Bougainville has one of the world's largest copper deposits, which has been under development since 1972. The Panguna mine is estimated to have one billion tonnes of copper ore and 12 million ounces of gold.[23] It was later shut down in a revolution against the Australian-run mine.[24]
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 theAustronesian family. The languages of the north-central and southern lobes of Bougainville Island belong to theNorth andSouth Bougainville families.[27]
Buka men performing at a Buin folk festival
The most widely spoken Austronesian language isHalia and its dialects, spoken on the island ofBuka and the Selau peninsula of Northern Bougainville. The larger languages, such asNasioi, Korokoro Motuna,Terei, and Halia, are split into dialects that are not always mutually understandable. For general communication, most Bougainvilleans useTok Pisin as alingua franca. English and Tok Pisin are the languages of official business and government.[28]
Other Austronesian languages includeNehan,Petats,Solos,Saposa (Taiof),Hahon andTinputz, all spoken in the northern quarter of Bougainville, Buka and surrounding islands. These languages are closely related.Bannoni andTorau are Austronesian languages not closely related to the former, which are spoken in the coastal areas of central and south Bougainville. On the nearbyTakuu Atoll, aPolynesian language is spoken,Takuu.[29]
Non-Austronesian languages are spoken on the main island of Bougainville. These includeRotokas, a language with a very small inventory of phonemes,Eivo, Terei,Keriaka,Naasioi (Kieta),Nagovisi,Siwai (Motuna), Baitsi (sometimes considered a dialect of Siwai), andUisai.
Cut off from the outside world for several years by aPapua New Guinean blockade during the civil war (1988-1998), the islanders suffered many deaths from a lack of medical resources.[30]
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 26% (217 respondents) of the men reported having raped a non-partner, whereas 9% (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.[31]
The Coconut Revolution, a documentary about the struggle of the indigenous population to save their island from environmental destruction and gain independence, was made in 1999.[32]
An Evergreen Island (2000), a film by Australian documentary filmmakers Amanda King andFabio Cavadini ofFrontyard Films, 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 the PNG military blockade.[33]
Mr. Pip (2012) is a film by New Zealand directorAndrew Adamson based on the bookMister Pip by New Zealand authorLloyd Jones. The film is set in Bougainville in the 1980s, during the civil war and blockades, and the cast is mostly Bougainvilleans.[34]
^Langdon, Robert (1984).Where the whalers went: an index to the Pacific Ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century. Canberra: Pacific Manuscripts Bureau. pp. 184–185.ISBN086784471X.
^"Chapter 2: History of the Bougainville Conflict".Parliament of Australia. Historical Influences (Pre-1989); 2.9.
^Hall, R. Cargill (1991).Lightning Over Bougainville: The Yamamoto Mission Reconsidered. Smithsonian Institution Press.ISBN1-56098-012-5.
^Gailey, Harry A. (1991).Bougainville, 1943–1945: The Forgotten Campaign. University Press of Kentucky.ISBN0-8131-1748-8.
^Momis, Elizabeth Ibua (2015). "The Bougainville Catholic Church and 'Indigenisation'".Bougainville before the Conflict(PDF). Canberra: ANU Press. p. 317.
