History of West Papua

The History of West Papua, as a region and not a province, refers to the history of the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. The eastern half of the island is Papua New Guinea.

Human habitation is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. Trade between New Guinea and neighboring Indonesian islands was documented as early as the seventh century, and archipelagic rule of New Guinea by the 13th. The Netherlands made claim to the region and commenced missionary work in nineteenth century. The region was incorporated into the Indonesian republic in the 1960s. Following the 1998 commencement of reforms across Indonesia, Papua and other Indonesian provinces received greater regional autonomy. In 2001, "Special Autonomy" status was granted to the region, although to date, implementation has been partial. The region was divided into the provinces of Papua and West Papua in 2003.

Papuan habitation of the region is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago.Austronesian peoples migrating through Maritime Southeast Asia settled several thousand years ago. These groups have developed diverse cultures and languages in situ; there are over 300 languages and two hundred additional dialects in the region.

At the beginning of the seventh century, the Sumatra-based empire of Srivijaya (7th century–13th century) engaged in trade relations with western New Guinea, initially taking items like sandalwood and birds-of-paradise in tribute to China, but later making slaves out of the natives. The rule of the Java-based empire of Majapahit (1293–1527) extended to the western fringes of New Guinea. The 14th century Majapahit poem Nagarakretagama mentioned Wwanin or Onin as one of recognized territory in the east, today identified as Onin peninsula in Fakfak Regency, western part of larger Bomberai Peninsula, south of Bird's Head region of West Papua. Wanin or Onin was probably the oldest name in recorded history to refer to the western part of the island of New Guinea.

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