Bougainville Strait is one of three major routes for merchant shipping through the Solomon Islands; the routes are the Bougainville Strait and Indispensable Strait which link the Pacific Ocean, Solomon Sea and Coral Sea; and the Manning Strait that links the Pacific to New Georgia Sound, which is also known as ‘The Slot’, through which Japanese naval ships resupplied the garrison on Guadalcanal during the Pacific War. Bougainville Strait Bougainville Strait separates Choiseul Island, part of the Solomon Islands from Bougainville Island, the next to the northward and part of Papua New Guinea. It was first passed through in 1768 by Louis
César Gabriel de Choiseul Flèche and of Giry, lord of Chassy. He was made a knight of the order of the Holy Spirit on 1 January 1762. He was made an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences on 15 December 1769. Praslin Island, one of the Seychelles, was named after him. The villages of Choiseul and Praslin in Saint Lucia are also named after him César Gabriel de Choiseul César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin (15 August 1712 – 15 November 1785) was a French officer, diplomat and statesman. On 30 April 1732, he married Anne Marie de Champagne de Villaines de