There are about 1000 islands in the Pacific, north of Papua new Guinea. People have lived on the Islands at least since 1000 BC.

Spaniards reached the Islands in 1568. They tried to settle on the islands but failed as they were driven off by the inhabitants and presumably saw little to attract them.

Missionaries first settled in 1870. Blackbirding slavers took the people during 1870-1911. A German protectorate was proclaimed in the northern islands (from their colony in north New Guinea) in 1885. Britain exchanged Western Samoa for the German claims so the islands became British in 1898-9. A British protectorate over the south was proclaimed in 1893 to prevent blackbirding (trade in quasi-slaves). The Japanese invaded in 1942. Battle of Guadalcanal took place in the Solomons. They became independent in 1978. The Solomons were one of the sites of the Cargo Cults (Marching Rule) in 1950s, a result of the vast amount of military supplies brought by the invaders. If Bougainville were to secede from PNG it might logically join the Solomons.

Pop. 259.000.

Australian peace keeping forces landed 24 July 2003.

There are 70 languages, Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4% Micronesian 1%

The lingua franca is Tok Pisin (Pidgin)

Since independence the authority of the central government has declined, mainly because the islands do not produce enough to pay for a strong government. Another cause is that most people have loyalty to their local clan and tribe rather than to the state, which was a construction of the colonial power.

Trouble began with a coup in 2000 against the then elected prime minister (Bartholomew Ulufa'alu). Local war lords are said to be the main influence in the local areas. Gangs of armed men were incorporated into the official police. There is a fear that as an area with weak or non-existent government the islands could become a base for terrorists of the type of Al Qaeda (although the islanders are not Muslim). There is tension between the Istabu people from Guadalcanal and the Malaita from a neighboring island.

Australian peace keeping forces were invited in by the Government. Does this mean the islands have reverted to a colonial status?

Extensive looting of the islands' forests by Japanese logging companies.

Sea level rise threatens many of the islands. Increased intensity and frequency of tropical storms.