Choiseul Island
Topographic map of Choiseul
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 Choiseul
Choiseul Island (off the coast of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Solomon Islands |
| Coordinates | 7°05′S 157°00′E / 7.08°S 157.0°ECoordinates: 7°05′S 157°00′E / 7.08°S 157.0°E |
| Area | 2,971 km2 (1,147 sq mi) |
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Solomon Islands
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| Province | Choiseul Province |
Choiseul Island, native name Lauru, is the largest island (2,971 km2 (1,147 sq mi)) of the Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands, at 7°05′S 157°00′E / 7.08°S 157°E.
This island is named after Étienne François, duc de Choiseul.
The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña in April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine Santiago, commanded by Maestre de Campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. They charted it as San Marcos, and also who named the narrow channel separating San Jorge from Santa Isabel Island as the Ortega channel after the commander of the expedition.
Choiseul islanders suffered attacks from blackbirding in the nineteenth century (the often brutal recruitment or kidnapping of labourers for the sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji).
In April 1885 a German Protectorate was declared over the North Solomon Islands, including Choiseul. In 1900, under the terms of Treaty of Berlin (14 November 1899), Germany transferred the North Solomon Islands (except for Bougainville and its surrounding islands) to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in exchange for the British giving up all claims to Samoa. Missionaries settled on Choiseul under both protectorates, converting most of the population to Christianity. In the early 20th century several British and Australian firms began large-scale coconut planting.
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Wikipedia