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The story of Bougainville begins with European colonial ambitions. Originally visited by French explorers, the German Empire established control over the islands in the 19th century as part of German New Guinea. Over the ensuing decades, control shifted as Bougainville was claimed by Australia after World War I and briefly occupied by Japan during World War II before returning to Australian stewardship.
When Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975, Bougainville found itself incorporated into the new nation without consent from its inhabitants. This prompted initial movements for autonomy, culminating in the Bougainville Agreement, which granted the archipelago a degree of self-governance but did not fully alleviate the rising tensions.