Editing History of Papua New Guinea (section)

==German New Guinea==
{{main|German New Guinea}}
[[File:Hissen der kaiserlichen Flagge auf Mioko.jpg|thumb|Hoisting the German flag at [[Duke of York Islands|Mioko]] in 1884]]
With Europe's growing desire for [[coconut oil]], [[Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy|Godeffroy's of Hamburg]], the largest trading firm in the Pacific, began trading for [[Copra plantations in New Guinea|copra in the New Guinea Islands]]. In 1884, the [[German Empire]] formally took possession of the northeast quarter of the island and put its administration in the hands of a chartered trading company formed for the purpose, the ''[[German New Guinea Company]]''. In the charter granted to this company by the German Imperial Government in May 1885, it was given the power to exercise sovereign rights over the territory and other "unoccupied" lands in the name of the government, and the ability to "negotiate" directly with the native inhabitants. Relationships with foreign powers were retained as the preserve of the German government. The ''Neu Guinea Kompanie'' paid for the local governmental institutions directly, in return for the concessions which had been awarded to it. In 1899, the German imperial government assumed direct control of the territory, thereafter known as '''German New Guinea'''.

New Guinea was basically a business venture. Thousands of local workers were hired as cheap labor on [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]] and [[copra]] plantations. In 1899, the German government took control of the colony from the New Guinea company of Berlin. Education was in the hands of missionaries. In 1914 when the [[World War I|First World War]] broke out Australia seized the German colony. The plantations were given to Australian war veterans and in 1921 the [[League of Nations]] gave Australia a trusteeship over New Guinea.  The plantations and gold mining generated a degree of prosperity.<ref>John Dademo Waiko, ''Papua New Guinea: A History of Our Times''  (2003)</ref>
[[File:PSM V52 D045 Papuan lake dwellings with a lakatoi under sail.jpg|thumb|Papuan [[Stilt house|lake dwellings]] with a ''[[lakatoi]]'' under sail, 1898 or before]]
[[File:Picturesque New Guinea Plate XII - Sadara Makara, Koiari Village near Bootless Inlet.jpg|thumb|Koiari village near [[Bootless Inlet]], British New Guinea]]