page_title: Western New Guinea
section_title: Colonial periods
hierarchical_section_title: Western New Guinea / History / Colonial periods
context_page_description: Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, is the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region is also called West Papua. Lying to the west of the independent state of Papua New Guinea, it is the only Indonesian territory to be situated in Oceania. Considered to be a part of the Australian continent, the territory is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and also includes nearby islands, including the Schouten and Raja Ampat archipelagoes. The region is predominantly covered with ancient rainforest where numerous traditional tribes live, such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley, although a large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas, with the largest city being Jayapura.
  Following its proclamation of independence in 1945, the Republic of Indonesia took over all the former territories of the Dutch East Indies, including Western New Guinea. However, the Dutch retained sovereignty over the region until the New York Agreement on 15 August 1962, which granted Western New Guinea to Indonesia. The region became the province of Irian Jaya before being renamed Papua in 2002.
context_section_description: In 1660, the Dutch recognised the Sultan of Tidore's sovereignty over New Guinea. New Guinea thus became notionally Dutch as the Dutch held power over Tidore. In 1793, Britain established a settlement near Manokwari.  However, it failed. By 1824 Britain and the Netherlands agreed that the western half of the island would become part of the Dutch East Indies. In 1828 the Dutch established the settlement of Fort Du Bus at Lobo (near Kaimana), which also failed. Great Britain and Germany had recognised the Dutch claims on western New Guinea in treaties of 1885 and 1895. Dutch activity in the region remained minimal in the first half of the twentieth century. Dutch, US, and Japanese mining companies explored the area's rich oil reserves in the 1930s. In 1942, the northern coast of West New Guinea and the nearby islands were occupied by Japan. In 1944, Allied forces gained control of the region through a four-phase campaign from neighbouring Papua New Guinea. The United States constructed a headquarters for MacArthur at Hollandia (Jayapura), intended as a staging point for operations to retake the Philippines. Papuan men and resources were used to support the Allied war effort in the Pacific. After the war's end, the Dutch regained possession of the region.
  Since the early twentieth century, Indonesian nationalists had sought an independent Indonesia based on all Dutch colonial possessions in the Indies, including western New Guinea. Some even founded the New Guinea-based political parties, such as Indonesian Irian Independence Party (PKII) in 1946. In December 1949, the Netherlands recognised Indonesian sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies with the exception of Dutch New Guinea, the issue of which was to be discussed within a year. The Dutch successfully argued that Western New Guinea was "geographically very different" from Indonesia and the people were also very ethnically different. In an attempt to prevent Indonesia taking control of the region and to prepare the region for independence, the Dutch significantly raised development spending from its low base, began investing in Papuan education, and encouraged Papuan nationalism. A small western elite developed with a growing political awareness attuned to the idea of Papuan independence, with close links to neighbouring eastern New Guinea, which was administered by Australia. A national parliament was elected in 1961 and the Morning Star flag raised on 1 December, with independence planned in exactly 9 years' time.
caption: Dutch expeditions in Netherlands New Guinea 1907–1915.
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