British Solomon Islands: Location, History, Size, Population, & Government

About the British Solomon Islands, information, history size, location, population, people, culture, and government.

Solomon Islands, British

Size--11,500 sq mi. (29,785 sq. km.). Population--180,000.

The Solomons are a double chain of islands in the Southwest Pacific off the coast of New Guinea. Over 60 languages and dialects are spoken although there is a relative homogeneity in culture and political systems. A powerful influence are the Australian traders and Japanese businessmen who buy over 50% of the island's agricultural exports. The 1st missionaries and capitalists who arrived in the mid-19th century were all killed.