--- title: Papua New Guinea — English Wikipedia · full text with trees description: Wikipedia's «Papua New Guinea», whole, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics, CC BY-SA 4.0. It begins: Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offsho --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/) / [en](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/) / Papua New Guinea # Papua New Guinea From Wikipedia, [«Papua New Guinea»](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea), revision of the 2026-09-01 dump, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The trees and pragmatics of these pages, Mova's parse of that text, are CC BY-SA 4.0 too. The English Wikipedia article «Papua New Guinea», whole: 25 sections, 627 sentences and 11542 words, its 180 notes at the end. The marks in brackets «[n]» are Wikipedia's own, each leading to its note and source; the small number after every sentence leads to the sentence's own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/2/) [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/3/) [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/4/) [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/5/) [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/6/) | Facts | | | --- | --- | | | **Independent State of Papua New Guinea** | | | **Motto:** [Unity in diversity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unity_in_diversity)'[\[1\]](page/6/#ref-1 "note 1") | | | **Anthem:** "[O Arise, All You Sons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Arise,_All_You_Sons)"[\[2\]](page/6/#ref-2 "note 2")[\[3\]](page/6/#ref-3 "note 3"); **[Royal anthem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_anthem):** "[God Save the King](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_King)" | | Capital and largest city | [Port Moresby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Moresby) [corpus](../Port_Moresby/ "in our corpus"); 09°28′44″S 147°08′58″E | | Official languages | [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinean_English); [Hiri Motu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiri_Motu); [PNG Sign Language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinean_Sign_Language); [Tok Pisin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin)[\[3\]](page/6/#ref-3 "note 3")[\[4\]](page/6/#ref-4 "note 4") | | **Indigenous languages** | [839 languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Papua_New_Guinea)[\[5\]](page/6/#ref-5 "note 5") | | [Demonym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym) | [Papua New Guinean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Papua_New_Guinea) | | Government | Unitary parliamentary [constitutional monarchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy) | | • [Monarch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Papua_New_Guinea) | [Charles III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III) | | • [Governor-General](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-General_of_Papua_New_Guinea) | [Bob Dadae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dadae) | | • [Prime Minister](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Papua_New_Guinea) | [James Marape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marape) | | Legislature | [National Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Parliament_of_Papua_New_Guinea) | | **[Independence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence) from [Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) [corpus](../Australia/ "in our corpus")** | | | • [Territory of Papua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_Papua) | 1 September 1906 | | • [Territory of New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_New_Guinea) | 19 May 1921 | | • [Administrative union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_Papua_and_New_Guinea) | 1 July 1949 | | • Self-governing | 1 December 1973 | | • [Independence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea_Independence_Act_1975) | 16 September 1975 | | **Area** | | | • Total | 462,840 km² (178,703 sq mi) ([54th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area)) | | • Water (%) | 2.2 | | **Population** | | | • 2021 estimate | 11,781,559[\[6\]](page/6/#ref-6 "note 6") ([93rd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population)) | | • 2024 census | 10,185,363[\[7\]](page/6/#ref-7 "note 7") | | • Density | 25.5/km² (34.62/sq mi) | | [GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product) ([PPP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity)) | 2025 estimate | | • Total | $41.810 billion[\[8\]](page/6/#ref-8 "note 8") ([135th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29)) | | • Per capita | $3,760[\[8\]](page/6/#ref-8 "note 8") ([162nd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita)) | | [GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product) (nominal) | 2025 estimate | | • Total | $32.840 billion[\[8\]](page/6/#ref-8 "note 8") ([108th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29)) | | • Per capita | $2,560[\[8\]](page/6/#ref-8 "note 8") ([142nd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita)) | | [Gini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient) (2009) | 41.9[\[9\]](page/6/#ref-9 "note 9"); medium inequality | | [HDI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index) (2023) | 0.576[\[10\]](page/6/#ref-10 "note 10"); medium ([160th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index)) | | Currency | [Kina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinean_kina) ([PGK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217)) | | Time zone | [UTC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time)+10, +11 ([PNGST](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Papua_New_Guinea)) | | Calling code | [+675](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/+675) | | [Internet TLD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain) | [.pg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.pg) | Papua New Guinea[\[12\]](page/6/#ref-12 "note 12") (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea,[\[13\]](page/6/#ref-13 "note 13") is an [island country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_country) in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of [New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea) and offshore islands in [Melanesia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanesia), a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") It has [a land border with Indonesia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia–Papua_New_Guinea_border) to the west and [maritime borders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_border) with Australia to the south and the [Solomon Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Islands) [corpus](../Solomon_Islands/ "in our corpus") to the east.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") Its capital is [Port Moresby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Moresby) [corpus](../Port_Moresby/ "in our corpus").[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") The country's 462840 km2 includes a large mainland and hundreds of islands.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") The eastern half of New Guinea was divided in 1884 between [German New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_New_Guinea) in the north and [British New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_New_Guinea) in the south, with the latter ceded to Australia in 1902 and reorganised as the [Territory of Papua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_Papua).[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") Australia [occupied German New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_occupation_of_German_New_Guinea) during World War I and then [administered the territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_New_Guinea) as a [League of Nations mandate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations_mandate).[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the [New Guinea campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea_campaign) of [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II), following which [the two territories were united](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_and_New_Guinea_Act_1949) in 1949.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") Papua New Guinea [was granted independence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea_Independence_Act_1975) as a [Commonwealth realm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_realm) in 1975.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") Representing the [monarch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Papua_New_Guinea) is a [governor-general](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-General_of_Papua_New_Guinea).[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") Politics take place within a [Westminster system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_system), with the government led by a [prime minister](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Papua_New_Guinea).[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") Members of the [National Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Parliament_of_Papua_New_Guinea), the unicameral legislative body, also serve as [provincial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Papua_New_Guinea) leaders.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The population is highly rural, with only 14% living in urban centres in 2023.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") The persistence of traditional communities and lifestyles are explicitly protected by the [Papua New Guinea Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Papua_New_Guinea#Constitution).[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") While official population estimates suggest the population is around 11.8 million, estimates using satellite data put the number closer to 17 million.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") The population is extremely diverse.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") There are [840 known spoken languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Papua_New_Guinea), making it the most linguistically diverse country in the world.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") Cultural practices are similarly diverse.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") Many cultural and linguistic groups are small, although English and [Tok Pisin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin) serve as common languages.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") This diversity has led to friction, especially in politics, and the government has struggled to combat [violence against women](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_against_women).[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") The country has a large Christian majority population, of several different denominations, and in March 2025 its constitution was amended to adopt Christianity as the official state religion.[\[14\]](page/6/#ref-14 "note 14")[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") The rural and diverse population is a result of highly mountainous geography.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") The land supports around 5% of all known species, and the export-driven economy is also dependent on natural resources.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Papua New Guinea is a [developing economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_economy) where nearly 40% of the population are [subsistence farmers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence_agriculture) living relatively independently of the [cash economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetary_economics).[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") The country retains [close ties to Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia–Papua_New_Guinea_relations), and has enhanced ties with both Asia and the Pacific.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") ## Etymology and naming "Papua" is derived from a local term of uncertain origin, that may have referred to at least part of the island now called [New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea).[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1526 [Portuguese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Empire) explorer [Jorge de Menezes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_de_Menezes) named the island Ilhas dos Papuas.[\[15\]](page/6/#ref-15 "note 15")[\[16\]](page/6/#ref-16 "note 16")[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") The Australian government adopted the name "[Territory of Papua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_Papua)" when it assumed control of [British New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_New_Guinea) in 1902, which Prime Minister [Edmund Barton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Barton) considered a "shorter and better name" for the territory.[\[17\]](page/6/#ref-17 "note 17")[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the [Spanish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Empire) explorer [Yñigo Ortiz de Retez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yñigo_Ortiz_de_Retez).[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the [Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28region%29) coast of Africa.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the [Portuguese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language) word [Guiné](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikt:Guiné).[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") The name is one of several [toponyms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponymy) sharing similar [etymologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_name_origins), which likely mean "of the burnt face" or similar, in reference to the [dark skin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_skin) of the inhabitants.[\[16\]](page/6/#ref-16 "note 16")[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") Its use in the country name comes from the [Territory of New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_New_Guinea), the name adopted for [German New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_New_Guinea) when it became a [League of Nations mandate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations_mandate) under Australian administration.[\[18\]](page/6/#ref-18 "note 18")[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") The hyphenated form "Papua-New Guinea" was adopted by the Papua‑New Guinea Provisional Administration Act 1945, after previous use to refer to the two Australian-administered territories.[\[19\]](page/6/#ref-19 "note 19")[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") The name "[Territory of Papua and New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_and_New_Guinea_Act_1949)" was used following [formal administrative union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_and_New_Guinea_Act_1949) in 1949.[\[20\]](page/6/#ref-20 "note 20")[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") Beginning in the 1960s, there was considerable debate around whether the territory should adopt a new name upon independence.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") The [indigenised](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenization) name "Niugini" won a 1968 competition held by the [South Pacific Post](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_Post) and was adopted by several nationalist groups, while "Pagini" was favoured by a parliamentary committee into constitutional development.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1971, the [House of Assembly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Assembly_of_Papua_and_New_Guinea) renamed the territory "Papua New Guinea", which was retained upon independence.[\[21\]](page/6/#ref-21 "note 21")[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") ## History Main article: [History of Papua New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Papua_New_Guinea) ### First settlement Archaeological evidence indicates that modern humans first arrived in what became [New Guinea and Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahul), as well as the [Bismarck Archipelago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismarck_Archipelago), around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") [Bougainville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainville_Island) was settled by around 28,000 years ago, and the more distant [Manus Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manus_Island) by around 20,000 years ago.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") These were part of the [earliest migrations of humans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_human_migrations) from Africa, and the resulting populations remained relatively isolated from the rest of the world throughout prehistory.[\[22\]](page/6/#ref-22 "note 22")[\[23\]](page/6/#ref-23 "note 23")[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") [Rising sea levels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_sea_level) isolated New Guinea from Australia about 10,000 years ago, although [Aboriginal Australians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Australians) and [New Guineans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_people_of_New_Guinea) had already diverged from each other from about 37,000 years ago.[\[24\]](page/6/#ref-24 "note 24")[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world [where people independently domesticated plants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vavilov_center).[\[25\]](page/6/#ref-25 "note 25")[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") Before the onset of full-scale agriculture, some plants had already been domesticated, including [sago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sago), [Canarium indicum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canarium_indicum), and [karuka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karuka).[\[22\]](page/6/#ref-22 "note 22")[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") Archaeological evidence shows that [Austronesian-speaking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian_languages) peoples of the [Lapita culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapita_culture) reached the Bismarck Archipelago by 3,300 years ago.[\[26\]](page/6/#ref-26 "note 26")[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") It is unknown whether they also settled on the mainland at this time, but there is strong evidence of their presence in coastal areas from around 500 BC.[\[26\]](page/6/#ref-26 "note 26")[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") These communities interacted with larger trade networks.[\[27\]](page/6/#ref-27 "note 27")[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") It is likely through these trading networks that banana and [sugarcane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane) moved from New Guinea to other areas of the world.[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28")[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") Trade became rarer around 300 AD, as demand for goods shifted to the [Maluku Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maluku_Islands) and [Timor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timor).[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") After European interest in the region grew in the 16th century, Dutch influence grew over the [Sultanate of Tidore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Tidore).[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") As Dutch authorities become more interested in New Guinea, they confirmed and extended the sultanate's claims over western New Guinea.[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28")[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") Renewed trade began to spread to the eastern parts of New Guinea in the late 17th century, driven by demand for goods such as [dammar gum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dammar_gum), [sea cucumbers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_cucumber), [pearls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl), [copra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copra), shells, and [bird-of-paradise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird-of-paradise) feathers.[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28")[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") On New Guinea, communities were economically linked through trading networks.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") Despite this, aside from some political alliances, each community functioned largely independently, relying on [subsistence agriculture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence_agriculture).[\[29\]](page/6/#ref-29 "note 29")[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") Goods were often traded along established chains, and some villagers would be familiar with and sometimes know the languages of the immediately neighbouring villages (although language by itself was not a marker of political allegiance).[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") Some wider trading networks existed in maritime areas.[\[30\]](page/6/#ref-30 "note 30")[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") While people did not move far along these routes, goods moved long distances through local exchanges, and cultural practices likely diffused along them.[\[31\]](page/6/#ref-31 "note 31")[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") Despite these links, the creation of larger political entities under European rule had no precedent, and in many cases brought together communities that historically had antagonistic relationships, or no relationship at all.[\[32\]](page/6/#ref-32 "note 32")[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") ### European influence It is likely that some ships from China and Southeast Asia visited the island at times, and that there was some contact with New Guinean communities.[\[33\]](page/6/#ref-33 "note 33")[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") The Portuguese explorer [António de Abreu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/António_de_Abreu) was the first European to discover the island of New Guinea.[\[18\]](page/6/#ref-18 "note 18")[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") [Portuguese traders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_discoveries) introduced the South American [sweet potato](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato) to the [Moluccas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maluku_Islands).[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") From there, it likely spread into what is today Papua New Guinea sometime in the 17th or 18th century, initially from the southern coast.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") It soon spread inland to the highlands, and became a [staple food](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staple_food).[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28")[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") The introduction of the sweet potato, possibly alongside other agricultural changes, transformed traditional agriculture and societies.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") This likely led to the spread of the [big man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_man_%28anthropology%29) social structure.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") Sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, [taro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro),[\[34\]](page/6/#ref-34 "note 34") and led to significant population growth in the highlands.[\[35\]](page/6/#ref-35 "note 35")[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") By the 1800s, there was some trade with the [Dutch East Indies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_Indies).[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") Beginning in the 1860s, people from New Guinea were effectively taken as slaves to [Queensland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland) and [Fiji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji) [corpus](../Fiji/ "in our corpus") as part of the [blackbirding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbirding) trade.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") This was stopped in 1884.[\[36\]](page/6/#ref-36 "note 36")[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") Most of those taken were from coastal Papua.[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") Those who returned to New Guinea brought their experiences with Western culture with them, but the largest impact was the development of a [Melanesian Pidgin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanesian_Pidgin) that would eventually become the [Tok Pisin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin) language.[\[37\]](page/6/#ref-37 "note 37")[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") Christianity was introduced to New Guinea on 15 September 1847 when a group of [Marist missionaries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Mary_%28Marists%29) went to [Woodlark Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlark_Island).[\[38\]](page/6/#ref-38 "note 38")[\[39\]](page/6/#ref-39 "note 39")[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") Missions were the primary source of Western culture as well as religion.[\[37\]](page/6/#ref-37 "note 37")[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") The western half of the island was [annexed by the Netherlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_New_Guinea) in 1848.[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28")[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") The nearby [Torres Strait Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Strait_Islands) were annexed by Queensland in 1878,[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28") and Queensland attempted to annex some of New Guinea in 1883.[\[18\]](page/6/#ref-18 "note 18")[\[40\]](page/6/#ref-40 "note 40")[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") The eastern half of the island was divided between Germany in the north and the United Kingdom in the south in 1884.[\[41\]](page/6/#ref-41 "note 41")[75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") The [German New Guinea Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_New_Guinea_Company) had initially tried to develop plantations, but when this was not successful began to engage in barter trade.[\[28\]](page/6/#ref-28 "note 28")[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") In the British area, gold was found near the [Mambare River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambare_River) in 1895.[\[42\]](page/6/#ref-42 "note 42")[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1888, the British protectorate was annexed by Britain.[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the [newly federated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Australia) British [dominion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion) of Australia.[79](79/ "tree and pragmatics") With the passage of the [Papua Act 1905](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_Act_1905), the area was officially renamed the [Territory of Papua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_Papua),[\[40\]](page/6/#ref-40 "note 40") and the Australian administration became formal in 1906,[\[42\]](page/6/#ref-42 "note 42") with Papua becoming fully annexed as an Australian territory.[\[40\]](page/6/#ref-40 "note 40")[80](80/ "tree and pragmatics") Under European rule, social relations amongst the New Guinean population changed.[81](81/ "tree and pragmatics") Tribal fighting decreased, while in new urban areas there was greater mixing as people moved to partake in the [cash crop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_crop) economy.[82](82/ "tree and pragmatics") The large inequality between colonial administrators and locals led to the emergence of what colonial governments called [cargo cults](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult).[\[29\]](page/6/#ref-29 "note 29")[83](83/ "tree and pragmatics") One of the most significant impacts was to changes in local travel.[84](84/ "tree and pragmatics") Colonial authorities outlawed tribal warfare, and it became normal to move for work, while roads increased the connectivity between inland areas.[\[31\]](page/6/#ref-31 "note 31")[85](85/ "tree and pragmatics") Colonial authorities generally worked with individual village representatives, although neither German nor British authorities developed an effective system of indirect rule.[\[43\]](page/6/#ref-43 "note 43")[86](86/ "tree and pragmatics") In German New Guinea [Tok Pisin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin) began to spread through local adoption, and was reluctantly used by German authorities.[\[30\]](page/6/#ref-30 "note 30")[87](87/ "tree and pragmatics") In areas under British and then Australian governance, [Hiri Motu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiri_Motu), a pidgin version of the [Motu language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motu_language), became established as a de facto official language.[\[30\]](page/6/#ref-30 "note 30")[88](88/ "tree and pragmatics") Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australian forces [captured German New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_occupation_of_German_New_Guinea) and occupied it throughout the war.[\[44\]](page/6/#ref-44 "note 44")[89](89/ "tree and pragmatics") After the end of the war, the [League of Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations) authorised Australia to administer this area as a Class "C" [League of Nations mandate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations_mandate) territory from 9 May 1921, which became the [Territory of New Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_New_Guinea).[\[18\]](page/6/#ref-18 "note 18")[\[40\]](page/6/#ref-40 "note 40")[\[42\]](page/6/#ref-42 "note 42")[90](90/ "tree and pragmatics") The Territory of Papua and the new Mandate of New Guinea were administered separately.[\[40\]](page/6/#ref-40 "note 40")[91](91/ "tree and pragmatics") Gold was discovered in [Bulolo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulolo) in the 1920s, and prospectors searched other areas of the island.[92](92/ "tree and pragmatics") The [highland valleys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea_Highlands) were explored by prospectors in the 1930s and were found to be inhabited by over a million people.[\[42\]](page/6/#ref-42 "note 42")[93](93/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/2/) [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/3/) [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/4/) [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/5/) [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/6/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Papua_New_Guinea/page/2/) - ↑ back to [English Wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/)