Country history · Oceania

History of Papua New Guinea

5 recorded states lay in what is now Papua New Guinea, from British New Guinea (1884 CE). 4 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)Open in the atlas →

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

19th century

  1. British New Guinea1884 CE – 1906 CE · colony
  2. German New Guinea1884 CE – 1914 CE · colony

20th century

  1. Territory of Papua1906 CE – 1949 CE · colony
  2. Territory of New Guinea1920 CE – 1949 CE · colony
  3. Territory of Papua and New Guinea1949 CE – 1975 CE · colony

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of North America and Oceania → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Papua New Guinea. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/papua-new-guinea
MLA
“History of Papua New Guinea.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/papua-new-guinea. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Papua New Guinea.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/papua-new-guinea.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Papua New Guinea’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/papua-new-guinea (Accessed: ).