Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in the Melanesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. This page is about the history of the nation state rather than the broader geographical area of the Solomon Islands archipelago, which covers both Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, a province of Papua New Guinea. For the history of the archipelago not covered here refer to the former administration of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, the North Solomon Islands and the History of Bougainville.
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. It has a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi), and a population of about 700,000. Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands, but excludes outlying islands, such as the Santa Cruz Islands and Rennell and Bellona.
The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.
Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the second largest island in the country by area, after Guadalcanal. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita's river systems and tropical forests are being exploited for ecosystem stability by keeping them pristine.
The Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACoM), also known as the Church of the Province of Melanesia and the Church of Melanesia (COM), is a church of the Anglican Communion and includes nine dioceses in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The Archbishop of Melanesia is Leonard Dawea. He succeeds the retired archbishop George Takeli.
The Community of the Sisters of Melanesia, more usually called The Sisters of Melanesia, is the third order for women to be established in the Church of Melanesia, which is the Anglican Church of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The South Sea Evangelical Church (SSEC) is an evangelical, Pentecostal church in Solomon Islands. In total, 17% of the population of Solomon Islands adheres to the church, making it the third most common religious affiliation in the country behind the Anglican Church of Melanesia and the Roman Catholic Church. The SSEC is particularly popular on Malaita, the most populous island, where 47% of its members live; there are also smaller populations in Honiara and elsewhere on Guadalcanal, on Makira, and in other provinces.
Peter Ambuofa was an early convert to Christianity among Solomon Islanders who established a Christian community on Malaita, and a key figure in the history of the South Seas Evangelical Mission.
Solomon Islands is an overwhelmingly Christian majority country, with adherents of Islam being a minuscule minority. Due to secular nature of the country's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. The religion first entered the country in 1987, when a Ghanaian missionary belonging to the Ahmadiyya movement visited Guadalcanal island on a reconnaissance trip lasting three years. Today, there are two major denominations in the country - Ahmadi Muslims and Sunni Muslims. According to a 2007 report by the United States Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report, there are approximately 350 Muslims in the country. However, different reports suggest that there may be 1000 Ahmadi Muslims in the country alone.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Solomon Islands:
Christianity is the predominant religion in Solomon Islands. The vast majority of Christians in the country belong to Protestant churches, with Anglicanism being the single largest denomination. The constitution of Solomon Islands establishes the freedom of religion, and this freedom is respected in practice by both the government and general society.
The Archbishop of Melanesia is the spiritual head of the Church of the Province of Melanesia, which is a province of the Anglican Communion in the South Pacific region, covering the nations of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. From 1861 until the inauguration of Church of the Province of Melanesia in 1975, the Bishop of Melanesia was the head of the Diocese of Melanesia.
The Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a commission officially established by the government of Solomon Islands in September 2008. It has been formed to investigate the causes of the ethnic violence that gripped Solomon Islands between 1997 and 2003. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is the first of its kind in the Pacific Islands region.
Honiara is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. As of 2021, it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies along the Kukum Highway.
"Walkabout long Chinatown" is a "popular folksong" from Solomon Islands. The government of Solomon Islands describes it as "the national song of not only Solomon Islands, but also of Melanesia" as a whole.
Pijin is a language spoken in Solomon Islands. It is closely related to Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea and Bislama of Vanuatu; these might be considered dialects of a single language. It is also related to Torres Strait Creole of Torres Strait, though more distantly.
Solomon Islands is a sovereign country in Melanesia consisting of many islands with a population of 561,231 (2013). It became self-governing from the United Kingdom in 1976 after three previous attempts at forming a Constitution. The Constitution of Solomon Islands was enacted in 1978. This however led to conflicts between cultures and armed conflict in the late 1990s forced a review of the 1978 Constitution. This review resulted in the Federal Constitution of the Solomon Islands Bill 2004 (SI) and various other amendments. The Human Rights Chapter, however, remained unchanged.
Charles Dausabea was a Solomon Islands politician.
William Alaha Pwaisiho is a Rector in the Church of England and a retired bishop of the Anglican Church of Melanesia.
The Solomon Islands coup d’état occurred on 5 June 2000, in the capital of Honiara. The event came as a result of longstanding ethnic tensions between the province that saw a rise in armed political groups from the late 1990s. This rise of armed political groups, eventually ended in the coup d’état, in which the prime minister, Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, was taken hostage by the militant group, Malaita Eagle Force.