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 Bougainville and neighbouring islands |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
  Bougainville Island (Papua New Guinea)
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| Location | Melanesia |
| Coordinates | 6°00′S 155°00′E / 6°S 155°E |
| Archipelago | Solomon Islands |
| Area | 9,318 square kilometres (3,598 sq mi) |
| Highest point | Mount Balbi (2,715 metres (8,910 ft)) |
| Country | |
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Papua New Guinea
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| Province | Bougainville Province |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 175,160 (as of 2000) |
| Density | 18.80 /km2 (48.7 /sq mi) |
Politically, Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, part of Papua New Guinea (PNG). This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 (2000 census). It includes the adjacent island of Buka, and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets. (The nation of the Solomon Islands is a separate state.)
Geographically and ecologically, Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands archipelago in Melanesia. It is part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion.
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History
Louis Antoine de Bougainville named the island after himself.
In the 1970s, Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto) began exploiting the island's huge copper reserves. Resentment over the negative effects of the company's activities on the area and the politicized view that there was a lack of any tangible benefit to the islanders erupted into conflict in late 1980s. Attempts at proclaiming the independence of Bougainville (Republic of North Solomons) have occurred twice, once in 1975 and the other in 1990. In the second case the government of Papua New Guinea moved to put down what became a secessionist movement led by Francis Ona, a former surveyor for BCL. The PNG army received military aid from Australia and enlisted the support of Sandline International, a private military company. An embargo was enforced to weaken the people's resistance. However, they proved much more resilient than expected, designing their own weapons and fueling engines with vegetable oil. Peace talks brokered by New Zealand began in 1997, leading to autonomy for the island.
Languages
There are several indigenous languages in Bougainville Province. These include both Austronesian (or Melanesian) and Papuan (or Non-Austronesian) languages.
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 Petats, Solos, Saposa/Taiof, Hahon and Tinputz, all spoken in the northern quarter of Bougainville, Buka and surrounding islands. These languages are closely related. Banoni and Arawa are Austronesian languages not closely related to the former, which are spoken in the coastal areas of central and south Bougainville. In the nearby atolls of Mortlock Islands, a Polynesian language.
The Papuan languages are confined to the main island of Bougainville. These include Rotokas, a language with a very small inventory of phonemes, Eivo, Telei (Buin), Keriaka, Nasioi (Kieta), Nagovisi, Korokoro Motuna (Siwai), Baitsi (sometimes considered a dialect of Korokoro Motuna) Uisai (sometimes considered a dialect of Telei) and several others. They constitute the North Bougainville and South Bougainville language families.
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 as a lingua franca, and at least in the coastal areas Pisin is often learned by children in a bilingual environment. English and Tok Pisin are the languages of official business and government.
In popular culture
Bougainville and its 1990s struggle for independence is the setting for the 2007 novel Mister Pip, by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones.
A documentary about the struggle of the indigenous population to save their island from environmental destruction and gain independence was made in 1999, called Coconut Revolution.[1]
Bougainville - Our Island Our Fight was a 1998 film by director Wayne Coles-Janess. It featured footage of the war from behind the blockade.
See also
- Bougainville Province
- Bougainville Campaign
- Bougainville Revolutionary Army
- Empress Augusta Bay
- Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
- North Solomon Islands
- Francis Ona
References
Further reading
- Robert Young Pelton, Hunter Hammer and Heaven, Journeys to Three World's Gone Mad. ISBN 1-58574-416-6
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Coordinates: 6°00′S 155°00′E / 6°S 155°E
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