Bismarck Archipelago

The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and part of Papua New Guinea.

History
The first inhabitants of the archipelago arrived around 33,000 years ago after they sailed from what is now Papua New Guinea. Later arrivals included the Lapita people.

The first European to visit the islands was the Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616.Sigmond,J.P and Zuiderbann, L.H.(1976) Dutch Discoveries of Australia, Rigby, Australia. Spate, O.H.K. (1979) The Spanish Lake, Australian National University, Second Edition, 2004. 

The islands remained unsettled by Western Europeans until they became part of the German protectorate of German New Guinea in 1884. The area was named after  German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

On 13 March 1888, a volcano erupted on Ritter Island causing a megatsunami. Almost all of the volcano fell into the ocean, which left a small lake in the volcanic crater.

Afer the outbreak of World War I, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force seized the islands in 1914  and Australia later received a League of Nations mandate for the islands. They remained under Australian control (interrupted only by the Japanese occupation during World War II) until Papua New Guinea became independent in 1975.

Notes

Bibliography
Firth, Stewart (1983). New Guinea Under the Germans. Carlton, Australia: Melbourne University Press. .
Howe, K. R., Robert C. Kiste, Brij V. Lal, eds. (1994). Tides of History: The Pacific Islands in the Twentieth Century. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. .
King, David et al. (1982). Papua New Guinea Atlas: A Nation in Transition. Bathurst, Australia: R. Brown and the University of Papua New Guinea. .
Moore, Clive (2003). New Guinea: Crossing Boundaries and History. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. .
Ryan, Peter, ed. (1972). Encyclopedia of Papua New Guinea. 3 volumes; Vol I: A - K, maps, black and white illustrations, xv + 588pp. Vol II: l - Z, maps, black and white illustrations, 589-1231pp. Vol III: Index, folding colour map in rear pocket, map, colour illustration, v + 83pp. Carlton, Australia: Melbourne University Press. .

Other websites

 about the provinces 

Category:Geography of Papua New Guinea
Category:Archipelagos