Guadalcanal
[key], volcanic island, c.2,510 sq mi (6,500 sq km), South Pacific,
largest of the Solomon Islands.
Honiara, capital
of the Solomon Islands, is there. The island is largely jungle. Mt.
Makarakombou rises to 8,028 ft (2,447 m). There are coconut and oil palm
plantations and some gold mining. The inhabitants, mostly Melanesians, live
along the coasts. Discovered by English navigators in 1788, Guadalcanal
became a British protectorate in 1893. During World War II it was occupied
by the Japanese. In Aug., 1942, U.S. forces began their first large-scale
invasion of a Japanese-held island; after bitter fighting, it was conquered
(Feb., 1943). In 1999, attacks by the Gwale majority caused many of the
Malaitan minority to flee their homes; by 2000 the conflict had escalated
into battling between ethnic militias in Honiara and the jungle. Points of
interest include a museum of Melanesian artifacts and Henderson Field, the
main objective of the American invasion.
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