New Guinea
German colonial territory in the Pacific, 1884–1914.
New Guinea, also known historically as Papua or Irian, is the second-largest island in the world. It is located in Melanesia, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, and is separated from Australia by the Torres Strait, though both landmasses share the same continental shelf and were connected during the Pleistocene glaciations as the landmass of Sahul. The island is home to the third-largest remaining rainforest on Earth and possesses the highest plant biodiversity of any island. Its name was bestowed by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez in 1545, who noted a resemblance between the indigenous peoples and those of the African region of Guinea. Politically, the island is divided: the eastern half constitutes the mainland of Papua New Guinea, while the western half, known as Western New Guinea, is part of Indonesia, organized into the provinces of Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua. The two major cities are Port Moresby and Jayapura. The island’s geography is dominated by the New Guinea Highlands, a spine of east–west mountains stretching across its length, with many peaks exceeding high elevations. The western half contains Oceania’s highest mountains, including Puncak Jaya, which rises to 4,884 meters. The shape of New Guinea is often compared to that of a bird-of-paradise, leading to the names Bird’s Head Peninsula in the northwest and Bird’s Tail Peninsula in the southeast. Numerous smaller islands lie to the west and east.
- area
- 249,500 km² (96,300 sq mi)
Lore & Background
The first Germans in the South Pacific were probably sailors on the crew of ships of the Dutch East India Company: during Abel Tasman's first voyage, the captain of the Heemskerck was one Holleman (or Holman), born in Jever in northwest Germany. Hanseatic League merchant houses were the first to establish footholds in the South Pacific: Johann Cesar Godeffroy & Sohn of Hamburg, headquartered at Samoa from 1857, operated a South Seas network of trading stations especially dominating the copra trade and carrying German immigrants to various South Pacific settlements; in 1877 another Hamburg firm, Hernsheim and Robertson, established a German community on Matupi Island, in Blanche Bay (the north-east coast of New Britain) from which it traded in New Britain, the Caroline, and the Marshall Islands. By the end of 1875, one German trader reported: 'German trade and German ships are encountered everywhere, almost at the exclusion of any other nation'. In 1884, the New Guinea Company was founded in Berlin by Adolph von Hansemann and a syndicate of German bankers for the purpose of colonizing and exploiting resources on Neuguinea. On 3 November 1884, under the auspices of the Deutsche Neuguinea-Compagnie, the German flag was flown over Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago and the German Solomon Islands. Albert Hahl (1868–1945) joined the German Colonial Office in 1895 and until 1914 played a major part in New Guinea's administration. He was an imperial judge at Herbertshöhe (1896–98), deputy governor of New Guinea (1899–1901), and governor (1902–14). As a judge he made three reforms: the appointment of 'luluais' [village chiefs], attempts to integrate the Tolais people into the European economy, and the protection of village lands, which led him to recommend the ending of all alienation of indigenous land. After 1901 Hahl attempted to apply his system to the whole of New Guinea, and although his success was limited, exports rose from one million marks in 1902 to eight million in 1914.
Reader's Guide
German New Guinea consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea (Kaiser-Wilhelmsland) and several nearby island groups. The Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland and several smaller islands), and the North Solomon Islands were declared a German protectorate in 1885. The Caroline Islands, Palau, and the Mariana Islands (except for Guam) were bought from Spain in 1899. German New Guinea annexed the formerly separate German Protectorate of Marshall Islands, which also included Nauru, in 1906. German Samoa, though part of the German colonial empire, was not part of German New Guinea. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and nearby islands fell to Australian forces, while Japan occupied most of the remaining German possessions in the Pacific. The mainland part of German New Guinea (Kaiser-Wilhelmsland), the Bismarck Archipelago and the North Solomon Islands are now part of Papua New Guinea. The Northern Mariana Islands are an unincorporated territory of the United States. The Carolines (as the Federated States of Micronesia), the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau are independent countries. The islands to the east of Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, on annexation, were renamed the Bismarck Archipelago (formerly the New Britannia Archipelago) and the two largest islands renamed Neupommern ('New Pomerania', today's New Britain) and Neumecklenburg ('New Mecklenburg', now New Ireland). Due to their accessibility by water, however, these outlying islands were, and have remained, the most economically viable part of the territory. With the exception of German Samoa, the German islands in the Western Pacific formed the 'Imperial German Pacific Protectorates'. These were administered as part of German New Guinea and included the Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland, and several smaller islands), the North Solomon Islands (Buka, Bougainville, and several smaller islands), the Carolines, Palau, the Marianas (except for Guam), the Marshall Islands, and Nauru. The total land area of German New Guinea was 249,500 square kilometres (96,300 sq mi).
Did You Know?
- The first Germans in the South Pacific were probably sailors on the crew of ships of the Dutch East India Company; during Abel Tasman's first voyage, the captain of the Heemskerck was one Holleman (or Holman), born in Jever in northwest Germany.
- By the end of 1875, one German trader reported: 'German trade and German ships are encountered everywhere, almost at the exclusion of any other nation'.
- On 3 November 1884, under the auspices of the Deutsche Neuguinea-Compagnie, the German flag was flown over Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago and the German Solomon Islands.
- Albert Hahl served as governor of German New Guinea from 1902 to 1914; under his administration exports rose from one million marks in 1902 to eight million in 1914.
- The Caroline Islands, Palau, and the Mariana Islands (except for Guam) were bought from Spain in 1899.
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