Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands are an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean east of New Guinea which form an independent state since 1978.

The archipelago consists of six large islands in two rows ( Choiseul , Santa Isabel , Malaita , New Georgia , Guadalcanal and Makira ), and nearly a thousand small islands. A seventh island, Bougainville geographically belongs also to the Solomon Islands, but is politically a part of Papua New Guinea .

The islands are as a Commonwealth Realm member of the (British) Commonwealth of Nations . The surface of the islands together is 28,896 square kilometers and a population of 609 883  (2014)  people. The capital is Honiara . Honiara is situated on the island of Guadalcanal and has about 40,000 residents.

The Solomon Islands are over 70 languages ​​spoken. The national language is the Melanesian variant of English ( pidgin ). Although the Solomon Islands were a British protectorate, the English one is here generally not powerful.

The population lives mainly from agriculture , fisheries and forestry . Gasoline and many other products to be imported. The islands are rich in mineral resources such aslead , zinc , nickel and gold .

Contents

 * 1 History and politics
 * 2 Administrative divisions
 * 3 Natural disasters
 * 3.1 Hurricane Zoe
 * 3.2 Earthquake and tsunami in 2007
 * 3.3 Other natural disasters
 * 4 Geography and demography
 * 5 Economics
 * 6 See also

History and politics [ edit ]
Probably the first settlers arrived around 30,000 years BC. [4] Later settlers (about 4000 years BC.) introduced new forms of culture, including the interpreter canoe .Between 1200 and 800 BC were the ancestors of the Polynesians, the Lapita-people of the Bismarck Archipelago with their special ceramics. [5] In 1586 continued the Spaniard Alvaro de Mendaña de Neira foot. He left Peru and was looking for the legendary Ophir, where Solomon took his gold from, and therefore gave the islands their present name. In the 19th century, followed by other Europeans, nearly all traders (including slave traders ) and missionaries . Part of the population has blond hair, but this feature is separate from the European colonization.

The British protectorate (the British Solomon Islands ) dates from 1893, when the United Kingdom is the islands far-appropriated. In the Second World War, during theBattle of the Solomon Islands , there was heavy fighting in and around the islands, which have been lost on both sides many ships and planes. In July 1942 landed theJapanese on the island of Guadalcanal, after a bitter struggle of six months with the US followed. More than 24,000 soldiers were killed, and the Japanese had to retreat northwards.

Self-government were the islands in 1976, the independence followed in 1978 . From 1998 began a civil war in which the rights were under pressure. In December 2001parliamentary elections were held as part of a peace process. Allan Kemakeza became the new prime minister, even though he had recently been put on suspicion of embezzlement of state funds from the post of head of government. The date for surrender of weapons by the various militias, originally scheduled in 2000, has been repeatedly postponed.

At the end 2001 the country was bankrupt . The foreign debts were not paid, nor the salaries of civil servants. Since then, the country is dependent on foreign aid . Much discussed the donations are include Taiwan, which previously received in exchange diplomatic recognition. Because foreign aid is the economic and security situation improved significantly. Tourism, although reserved for adventure travelers, beginning to play an increasingly important economic role.

In 2007 the residents were startled by a tsunami . These villages were razed to the ground and fell 52 deaths.

The Solomon Islands are a Commonwealth realm . The head of state is the British Queen Elizabeth II as being the Queen of the Solomon Islands ..

Administrative divisions [ edit ]
Solomon Islands The Solomon Islands are divided into nine provinces and one capital region ( Honiara ) (the provincial capitals are in parentheses):
 * 1) Central ( Tulagi )
 * 2) Choiseul ( Taro Island )
 * 3) Guadalcanal ( Honiara )
 * 4) Isabel ( Buala )
 * 5) Makira ( Kirakira )
 * 6) Malaita ( Auki )
 * 7) Rennell and Bellona Province ( Tigoa )
 * 8) Temotu ( Lata )
 * 9) Western ( Gizo )

[Natural disasters edit ]
The islands are regularly ravaged by hurricanes. Therefore, the huts where people live layer built on the ground.

Hurricane [Zoe edit ]
In December 2002 two islands were hit by the eye of the cyclone Zoe, a tropical storm of the highest category with winds of 300 km / h. The cyclone caused a rise in the seawater with 5 meters. The islands were hitTikopia , Fatutaka and Anuta in which a total of 3000 - 4000 people live. Tikopia is the biggest and is 5 kilometers long. These are volcanic islands in the Santa Cruz group. The Santa Cruz Islands lie 960 kilometers from Honiara and are only accessible by ship, because there is no airport. According to reports, the devastation was enormous, but most people were able to eject safely.

Earthquake and tsunami in 2007 [ edit ]
On April 1st 2007 in the vicinity of the Solomon Islands a violent earthquake rather forcefully 8.1 on the Richter scale . The epicenter was about 40km from the island of Gizo.

An hour or two after the quake struck a tsunami in Solomon Islands. Waves of several meters have hit various places. There were several dozen deaths and thousands of people homeless.

Other natural disasters [ edit ]

 * Earthquake Solomon Islands in April 2010

[Geography and demography edit ]
Map of the Solomon Islands
 * Life expectancy: 69 years
 * Languages: English (official), Pidgin -English, 87 regional and local languages
 * Religion: 34% Anglican, 19% Roman Catholic , 17% Methodist

Economy [ edit ]

 * Currency: Solomon Islands dollar (SI $) = 100 cents; rate (2014): SI $ 1 = € 0.10
 * GDP: US $ 278 million ($ 620 per person); decreasing

See also [ edit ]

 * List of mammals in the Solomon Islands
 * List of wrecks in the Solomon Islands
 * Monuments on the World Heritage List
 * Northern Solomon Islands