- This article discusses the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. For other uses of the name, see New Britain (disambiguation).
New Britain is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea, separated from the island of New Guinea by Dampier Strait. Langila is one of the most active Volcanoes of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Ulawun is a Volcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, about 130 km southwest of Rabaul. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and part of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known The main towns are Rabaul/Kokopo and Kimbe. Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province Papua New Guinea. Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Kimbe is the capital of the province of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea.
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Geography
New Britain extends from 148° to 152° E. longitude and from 4° to 7° S. latitude. It is crescent-shaped, approximately 600 km (370 miles) along its southeastern coastline, and from 30 to 110 km (20–70 miles) wide, not including a small central peninsula. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The island is the 38th largest in the world, with an area of 37,800 km² (14,600 mile²). This is a list of Islands in the world ordered by area. It includes all islands with an area greater than 2500 km² (970 square miles Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile.
Steep cliffs form some sections of the coastline; in others the mountains are further inland, and the coastal area is flat and bordered by coral reefs. The highest point, at 2438 m (7999 ft), is Mount Sinewit in the Baining range in the east. Baining Mountains is a Mountain range on Gazelle Peninsula, New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at about. Most of the terrain is covered with tropical rainforest, and several large rivers are fed by the high rainfall.
New Britain was largely formed by volcanic processes, and there are several active volcanoes on the island, including Ulawun (the highest volcano in Papua New Guinea), Langila, the Garbuna Group, the Sulu Range, and the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan of the Rabaul caldera. Ulawun is a Volcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, about 130 km southwest of Rabaul. Langila is one of the most active Volcanoes of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The Garbuna Group of Volcanoes consists of three volcanic peaks Krummel Garbuna and Welcker atop a Shield volcano. The Sulu Range consists of a group of overlapping small Stratovolcanos on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Tavurvur is an active Stratovolcano near Rabaul in East New Britain province Papua New Guinea. Vulcan is a Pumice cone in Papua New Guinea. It is a sub-vent of the Rabaul caldera and lies on the western rim of the larger feature Rabaul caldera is a large Volcano situated in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. A major eruption of Tavurvur in 1994 destroyed the East New Britain provincial capital of Rabaul. Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province Papua New Guinea. Most of the town still lies under metres of ash, and the capital has been moved to nearby Kokopo. Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea.
Administrative divisions
New Britain is part of the Islands Region, one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. The four regions of Papua New Guinea are its broadest scale administrative divisions It comprises the mainland of two provinces:
- East New Britain with headquarters in Kokopo (formerly Rabaul)
- West New Britain with headquarters in Kimbe
History
1700-1914
William Dampier became the first known European to visit New Britain on February 27, 1700: he dubbed the island with the Latin name Nova Britannia. A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain. Kimbe is the capital of the province of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. William Dampier ( 5 September 1651 (baptised &ndash March 1715 was an English Buccaneer, sea captain Author and scientific observer Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation
In November 1884, Germany proclaimed its protectorate over the New Britain Archipelago; the German colonial administration gave New Britain and New Ireland the names of Neupommern (or Neu-Pommern; "New Pomerania") and Neumecklenburg (or Neu-Mecklenburg; "New Mecklenburg"), and the whole group was renamed the Bismarck Archipelago. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect New Ireland ( Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan) is a large Island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 8650 km² in area New Ireland ( Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan) is a large Island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 8650 km² in area Mecklenburg ( Low German: Mekelnborg) is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern New Britain became part of German New Guinea. German New Guinea ( Ger Deutsch-Neuguinea) was a former German Protectorate from 1884 to 1914 consisting of the northeastern part of
In 1909, the indigenous population was estimated at about 190,000; the foreign population at 773 (474 white). The expatriate population was practically confined to the northeastern Gazelle Peninsula, which included the capital, Herbertshöhe (now Kokopo). Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. At the time 5,448 hectares (13,464 acres) had been converted to plantations, primarily copra, cotton, coffee, and rubber. Westerners avoided exploring the interior initially, believing that the indigenous peoples were warlike and would fiercely resist intrusions.
On 11 September 1914, New Britain became the site of one of the earliest battles of World War I when the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was a small Volunteer force of approximately 2000 men raised in Australia shortly after the They quickly overwhelmed the German forces and German New Guinea became the Australian Territory of New Guinea.
World War II
During World War II the Japanese captured New Britain very early on. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Empire of Japan ( {{unicode|Kyūjitai}}: ja 大日本帝國 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国 pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku During January of 1942, Japanese heavily bombed Rabaul. Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province Papua New Guinea. On January 23, Japanese marines landed by the thousands, starting the Battle of Rabaul. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor The Battle of Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942, represented The Japanese used Rabaul as a heavy base until 1945. It was used as the key point for the failed invasion of Port Moresby. ||-||-||-||-||-||} Port Moresby (ˌpɔrt ˈmɔrzbi or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255000 (2000 is the Capital and largest city of Papua The Allies were able to bypass attacking New Britain by setting up airbases on surrounding islands. With air attacks impossible due to Allied fighters, the base was abandoned by the Japanese in August of 1945.
Since 1945
People and culture
The indigenous people of New Britain fall into two main groups: the Papuans, who have inhabited the island for tens of thousands of years, and the Austronesians, who arrived around two thousand years ago. The Papuans are the speakers of the Papuan languages and indigenous peoples of New Guinea. The Austronesian people or Austronesian-speaking people, are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak or had ancestors who spoke There are around ten Papuan languages spoken and about forty Austronesian languages, as well as Tok Pisin and English. Tok Pisin ( tok means "word" or "speech" as in "talk" pisin means " Pidgin " is a creole spoken throughout English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States
The population of New Britain was 404,873 in the 2000 census. The major towns are Rabaul/Kokopo in East New Britain and Kimbe in West New Britain. Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province Papua New Guinea. Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. Kimbe is the capital of the province of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain.
The traditional cultures of New Britain are diverse and complex. While the Tolai of the Rabaul area of East New Britain have a matrilineal society, other groups are patrilineal in structure. The Tolai are the indigenous people of the Gazelle Peninsula and the Duke of York Islands of East New Britain in the New Guinea Islands region There are numerous traditions which remain active today, such as the dukduk secret society (also known as tubuan) in the Tolai area. Duk-Duk is a Secret society, part of the traditional culture of the Tolai people of the Rabaul area of New Britain, the largest Island
See also
References
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The postage stamps of New Guinea, part of present-day Papua New Guinea, were issued up to 1915 and are considered rare The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
- Jane's Solomon Islands
- Australian War Memorial, Operations against German Pacific territories, 6 August 1914 – 6 November 1914. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
- Ethnologue map of languages of New Britain
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