VSLB, Virtual SLB: Virtual Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands is a nation in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea,
consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of
28,400 square kilometers (10,965 sq mi). The capital is Honiara, located on the
island of Guadalcanal.
The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by Melanesian people for
thousands of years. The United Kingdom established a protectorate over the
Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II
occurred in the Solomon Islands campaign of 1942-45, including the Battle of
Guadalcanal. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years
later. The country remains a Commonwealth Realm.
Since 1998 ethnic violence, government misconduct and crime have undermined
stability and civil society. In June 2003 an Australian-led multinational force,
the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), arrived to
restore peace and disarm ethnic militias.
The North Solomon Islands are divided between the independent Solomon Islands
and Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea.
check out Solomon_Islands
Melanesia (from Greek: μ?λα? black, ν?σο? island) is a subregion of Oceania
extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north
and north-east of Australia. The term was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville
in 1832 CE to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct
from Polynesia and Micronesia.
Today d'Urville's racial classification is known to be inaccurate because it
obscures the very great cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity in the area
and combines two quite distinct groups, the Austronesians (who have a much wider
distribution than just Melanesia) and the Papuans (who themselves comprise a
number of separate groups). A further complication is that the term Melanesian
is sometimes used to refer solely to the Austronesian peoples of that region,
especially when contrasting them with the Polynesians and Micronesians (both of
which groups are also Austronesian).
In contrast, the geopolitical conception of Melanesia is widely used. For
example, the Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Agreement is a
regional trade treaty governing the states of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua
New Guinea and Fiji. 'Melanesia' is also current as a geographic term, to refer
to the area when national, ethnic and linguistic distinctions are not relevant.
People
The original inhabitants of the islands now named Melanesia are likely to have
been the ancestors of the present-day Papuan language speaking people. These
people are thought to have occupied New Guinea tens of millennia ago, and
reached the islands at least 35,000 years ago (according to radiocarbon dating).
They appear to have occupied these islands as far east as the main islands in
the Solomon Islands (i.e. including San Cristobal) and perhaps even to the
smaller islands further to the east.
It was particularly along the north coast of New Guinea and in the islands north
and east of New Guinea that the Austronesian people came into contact with these
pre-existing populations of Papuan speaking peoples, probably around four
thousand years ago. It seems there was a long period of interaction which
resulted in many complex changes in genetics, languages and culture. It is
likely that it is from this area that a very small group of people (who spoke an
Austronesian language) departed to the east to become the Founders of the
Polynesian people.
Location
The following islands and groups of islands since the 19th century have been
considered part of Melanesia:
* Bismarck Archipelago
* Fiji
* New Caledonia
* New Guinea (Papua New Guinea mainland and the Indonesian province of Papua)
* Maluku Islands
* Solomon Islands
* Torres Strait Islands
* Vanuatu
* Palau Islands
Islands whose long-established inhabitants are of mixed ancestry which do not
necessarily self-identify as Melanesian:
* Flores
* Nauru
* Sumba
* Timor
Some of the islands to the west of New Guinea such as Halmahera, Alor and Pantar
can also be considered to be part of Melanesia, although people in this area do
not make use of the term.
SLB may also refer to:
Schlumberger Limited New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol.
Sport Lisboa e Benfica
SLB Breakers Group, an online electrical store based in the United Kingdom.
Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity
Sir Lord Baltimore, a pioneering heavy metal band.
A Slide-Lid Box, a form of packaging for cigars, also known as a Cabinet box.
Storm Lake Municipal Airport in Storm Lake, Iowa, United States
Solomon Islands by the three letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code.
Senior League Baseball
Server Load Balancing
Sethu Lakshmi Bai higher secondary school in India
State Law Building, a high-rise in the CBD of Brisbane, Australia
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