Papua New Guinea History

By | March 8, 2021

Papua New Guinea is a country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, bordered by Indonesia to the west and north and Solomon Islands to the east. It has an area of 462,840 square kilometers and a population of approximately 8.3 million people. English is the official language of Papua New Guinea, although there are over 800 indigenous languages spoken in the country. Christianity is the main religion in Papua New Guinea, although traditional beliefs are still practiced by some. The currency used is the kina (PGK). The capital city is Port Moresby, and other major cities include Lae and Mount Hagen.

According to homosociety, Papua New Guinea has a rich cultural heritage that can be seen through its traditional music and dance styles as well as its unique art forms such as shell money production and tapa cloth making. It also has some stunning natural landscapes including lush green rainforests, pristine white sand beaches, colorful coral reefs, and crystal clear lagoons.

History

Papua New Guinea was formed from areas belonging to the two colonies of British New Guinea and Deutsch- New Guinea (Kaiser-Wilhelms-Land and the Bismarck archipelago), founded in 1884–85. Then there were thousands of small communities (“tribes”) in the area, often ruled by so-called big men. There was no state formation, no cities, no overall religion and no common language. Tribal war and regional trade occurred. The gift system bullet linked the islanders in southeast Papua New Guinea, while hiri(trade in earthenware against sago) linked tribes on the south coast; mussel money from the coast spread to the central highlands. While Germany planted plantations in its colony, British New Guinea was considered mainly as strategic protection for Australia, which from 1921 managed the entire area.

During World War II, large parts of Papua New Guinea were occupied by Japanese troops and were the scene of jungle wars and naval battles. The massive military presence and influx of Western goods affected the local population (compare cargokult). In 1949, an administrative unit was created by the former German and British colonies. Papua New Guinea gained autonomy in 1973 and became independent in 1975 with Port Moresby as its capital. See abbreviationfinder for geography, history, society, politics, and economy of Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea for an active foreign policy in the Pacific region and in 1989 signed a cooperation agreement with ASEAN. The copper mine Panguna on the island of Bougainville has largely funded Papua New Guinea’s state budget but with huge local environmental damage. Repeatedly between 1975 and 1990, Bougainville has declared itself independent. In 1992, Papuan government troops conducted a failed invasion attempt on the island. In 1997 the government wanted to recapture the province with the help of mercenaries from mainly South Africa, but the plan was abandoned when it sparked fierce protests in Papua New Guinea and Australia. The result was a government crisis in Papua New Guinea; Prime Minister Paias Wingti resigned and Sir Julius Chan became head of government.

  • COUNTRYAAH.COM: Provides latest population data about Papua New Guinea. Lists by Year from 1950 to 2020. Also includes major cities by population.

Papua New Guinea Life Expectancy 2021

The elections of June 1982 saw the return to the government of Pangu Pati (33 seats, against 19 of the Progressive People’s Party, 22 of the Nationalist Party, 13 of the United Party, 8 of Papua Besena and 6 of the Alliance Melanesiana), supported by the United Party. The attempt by the head of the Somare government to introduce the legislation already proposed in 1978 against corruption in the political class failed in the face of the parliamentary vote of no confidence in November 1985. The head of the government was then elected P. Wingti, who in April had headed a split of Pangu Pati giving birth to a new party, the People’s Democratic Movement. Wingti formed a new five-party government with the Nationalist Party, the Progressive People’s Party, Papua Besena and the United Party. The provisions of the Wingti cabinet against corruption, through the establishment of special government commissions, if they led to the removal from the government of some compromised exponents, however, did not resolve the basic situation; the initiatives to restore public order proved to be equally ineffective.

In March 1987, with the new political elections, the opposition party, Pangu Pati, once again obtained the relative majority (26 seats against the 18 of Wingti’s party). But the difficulties Somare encountered in creating a new coalition subsequently led to the election as head of the government of Wingti, who once again formed a coalition cabinet with the new People’s Action Party, born in 1986, the Progressive Party. of the people, the Papuan Party (formerly Papua Besena), the Single Party and the Nationalist Party.

In July 1988, following the serious scandal involving T. Diro, an important member of the government, leader of the People’s Action, the government fell due to a vote of no confidence in Parliament. It was replaced in July by a government led by the new leader of Pangu Pati, R. Namaliu (who succeeded Somare in May), joined by the Melanesian Alliance, the People’s Action, the Papua Party, the Nationalist Party and the new League for National Progress. Faced with the problem of public order, threatened by an increasingly violent and widespread crime, strongly repressive legislation was passed in 1993, with measures that reduce the very constitutional freedoms of opinion and association.

With regard to foreign policy, the country has enjoyed privileged relations with Australia since 1975, which provided it (along with Japan) significant financial aid. But the decline in Australian economic support over the past decade has prompted him to develop relationships with other countries. In addition to Europe and the United States, under the Chan Papua New Guinea government he established diplomatic relations and cooperation agreements with China, South Korea and ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations), and in 1986 he also initiated diplomatic relations with the USSR. In March 1987 it also signed an agreement on the definition of the respective territorial waters with the Solomon Islands,

The most controversial issue remains that relating to the border areas with Indonesia: in the Indonesian area of ​​Irian Jaya, inhabited by Papuan communities, the independence movement Organisai Papua Merdeka, born in 1965, has never ceased its guerrilla activity, claiming independence from Indonesia and union with Papua New Guinea.