British Solomon Islands Protectorate

The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was a British dependency in the western Pacific that existed from 1893 until independence in 1978. In June 1893 Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa proclaimed a protectorate over the southern Solomon Islands, following Anglo-German agreements that divided the region into spheres of influence. The territory grew by stages: Bellona, Rennell and Sikaiana were added in 1897, the Santa Cruz and Reef Islands in 1898, and the islands east of Bougainville were transferred from Germany in 1899. Charles Woodford, appointed resident commissioner in 1897, bought Tulagi as the administrative centre and tried to control the labour trade and the traffic in firearms. The islands were administered through the Western Pacific High Commission, and from 1953 the high commissioner was also the protectorate's governor. During the Second World War the Solomons became a battleground, and the fighting devastated Tulagi; Honiara on Guadalcanal replaced it as capital after the war. Local councils, a legislative council and a new constitution in 1974 prepared the islands for self-government. The protectorate ended when the Solomon Islands became an independent state in 1978.