New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second-largest island. It covers an area of 785,753 km² (303,381 sq mi). It is found in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean and is separated from Australia by the Torres Strait. In the past, when sea levels were lower, New Guinea and Australia were connected as one landmass called Sahul.

The island has the third-largest remaining rainforest in the world. It also has the highest plant biodiversity of any island. This makes it a very important place for nature and wildlife. Many unique plants and animals live there, some found nowhere else on Earth.

The eastern half of New Guinea is the main landmass of the country Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, is part of Indonesia and includes several provinces. The two largest cities on the island are Port Moresby and Jayapura. The island's name was given by a Spanish explorer in 1545 because the people there reminded him of those in the African region of Guinea.

Names

The island of New Guinea has had many names throughout history.

Early names included Papua. This name may have come from a local language meaning “not united” or described the curly hair of the people there. When European explorers arrived, they named it New Guinea because the people reminded them of Africans from a region called Guinea.

Later, Dutch colonists called it Nieuw Guinea. In more recent history, the name Irian was used. This name came from local myths and meant “hot land” or “rising spirit”. Today, the island is often called both Papua and New Guinea.

Main article: Papua

Geography

New Guinea is an island located north of the Australian mainland and south of the equator. It is surrounded by the Arafura Sea to the west, and the Torres Strait and Coral Sea to the east. The island looks like a bird-of-paradise, with the Bird's Head Peninsula in the northwest and the Bird's Tail Peninsula in the southeast.

The island has a long chain of mountains called the New Guinea Highlands, which run across the whole island. These mountains include some of the highest peaks in Oceania, with Puncak Jaya being the tallest at 4,884 meters. The island also has big lowland areas, including rainforests, wetlands, and grasslands. Many important rivers flow through New Guinea, draining into the Pacific Ocean, the Arafura Sea, and the Gulf of Papua.

Relation to surroundings

The island of New Guinea lies to the east of the Malay Archipelago. It shares the same tectonic plate as Australia. Long ago, when sea levels were lower, New Guinea and Australia were connected by land. They formed a region called Sahul, also known as Greater Australia. They separated when the Torres Strait filled with water after the end of the last glacial period.

Anthropologists consider New Guinea to be part of Melanesia. New Guinea has more rain and active volcanoes than Australia. Both places share similar animals such as marsupials, including wallabies and possums, as well as the egg-laying monotreme, the echidna. Before humans arrived, there were no animals called placental mammals except for bats and a few kinds of rats. Humans later brought pigs, more rats, and the ancestor of the New Guinea singing dog.

Political divisions

The island of New Guinea is divided into two main parts. The western side is now part of Indonesia and has six areas, each with its own capital city. The eastern side is the country of Papua New Guinea, which became independent in 1975. This part of the island includes three regions with many different provinces.

Demographics

The island of New Guinea is home to around fifteen million people. It is a very diverse place, with nearly a thousand different tribal groups and languages. This makes it the area with the most languages in the world.

People have lived on New Guinea for a very long time—perhaps as long as 50,000 years ago. Many different groups arrived over time, including groups from Southeast Asia. Today, many people live by farming, and some also hunt and gather food from the wild. Some areas of New Guinea are still not well-known to scientists and researchers.

Biodiversity and ecology

Main article: Fauna of New Guinea

New Guinea is a place with many different plants and animals. Even though it is very small compared to the whole Earth, it has a lot of the world's species. Many of these species are found only here, and scientists are still discovering new ones.

Researchers have found many new species in New Guinea over the years. New Guinea has more kinds of flowering plants than any other island in the world.

New Guinea is home to many different kinds of animals. It has many mammals, including special egg-laying mammals, marsupials, rodents, and bats. The island also has many birds, frogs, fish, and coral species, making it an important place for nature lovers.

Main article: Ecoregions of New Guinea

History

See also: History of Papua New Guinea and History of Western New Guinea

Early history

Humans may have arrived on New Guinea around 60,000 years ago. They likely came by sea from Southeast Asia.

The first people there developed farming very early. They built irrigation systems and grew crops like sugarcane as far back as 6000 BCE. The highlands became important farming areas.

Precolonial history

The western part of New Guinea had contact with kingdoms in Indonesia. Local leaders sometimes paid tribute to faraway rulers. Traders visited for valuable items like bird feathers and spices. Some leaders, like Sultan Nuku, led rebellions.

European contact

Europeans reached New Guinea in the 1500s. Portuguese and Spanish sailors explored the island and gave it its name. Later, the Dutch claimed the western part. Germany and Britain took control of other sections.

World War II

During World War II, Japan invaded parts of New Guinea. Battles happened across the island. Local people helped Allied forces by carrying supplies.

Since World War II

After the war, the Australian-controlled part became Papua New Guinea and gained independence in 1975. The western half was administered by the Netherlands and later by Indonesia. There have been efforts to address the wishes of local people.