North Solomon Islands between Bougainville (an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea) and the sovereign state of Solomon Islands, which is the successor state to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate renamed in 1975 prior to achieving independence in 1976. On 17 February 1568, the archipelago was discovered by Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendaña y Neyra, who named its "Islas de Salomon". In April 1885 a German protectorate ("Schutzgebiet") was declared over the northern Solomon Islands: Bougainville, Buka, Choiseul, Santa Isabel and Ontong Java. In 1893 the British declared a protectorate over the southern Solomon Islands of New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Malaita and San Cristobal,
Santa Isabel Island Maestre de Campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and Alférez Hernando Enríquez resulted in the discoveries of the islands of Malaita, Guadalcanal, Savo, Vangunu, Choiseul, Makira, Ulawa, Malaupaina, Malaulalo, Ali'ite, and Ugi Island. The Spanish immediately came into contact with Solomon Islanders and at first the relationship was cordial. However, the Spanish expedition's need for fresh food and water quickly led to tension and conflict, the Solomon Islanders’ subsistence economy being unable to provide continuous supplies to the Spanish. Having found no gold and little food, and beset by attacks and sickness, the Spanish colonists shifted their colony to the site of