- published: 02 Oct 2012
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The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea. It was devolved to Australian jurisdiction in the year 1906, and in 1949 it was dissolved as a political entity when it was amalgamated with the former German New Guinea territory that had been mandated to Australia by the League of Nations after the First World War. The new combined territory was named the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, and it was granted full independence by Australia in the year 1975 under the name of Papua New Guinea. The Territory of Papua made up roughly half of that country and contained the capital Port Moresby.
Archeological evidence suggests that humans arrived on New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago. These Melanesian people developed stone tools and agriculture. Portuguese and Spanish navigators sailing in the South Pacific entered New Guinea waters in the early part of the 16th century and in 1526-27, Don Jorge de Meneses came upon the principal island "Papua". In 1545, the Spaniard Íñigo Ortiz de Retez gave the island the name "New Guinea" owing to what he saw as a resemblance between the islands' inhabitants and those found on the African Guinea coast. Knowledge of the interior of the island remained scant for several centuries after these initial European encounters.