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Article: The Neglected War: The German South Pacific and the Influence of World War I.
- Article from:
- Oceania
- Article date:
- September 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 University of Sydney. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Northeastern New Guinea and the islands of the Bismarck Archipelago were annexed by Germany in 1884. Over the next few years, Germany added Western Samoa and most of Micronesia to its colonial empire. In 1914, Australian, New Zealand and Japanese expeditionary forces seized the German colonies in the Pacific. While German rule in the South Pacific was effectively terminated in 1914, the formal end of Germany's role as a colonial power was sealed by the Versailles Treaty. Former German New Guinea was handed over to Australia under a League of Nations mandate; New Zealand secured Western Samoa; Japan was granted control over former German Micronesia; and Great Britain, New ...