Solomon Islands Independence Day is observed on 7 July every year.
The Solomon Islands are an archipelago of six large islands surrounded by 900 smaller ones in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
The history of the islands starts around 2000 B.C. with the migration and settlement of Austronesian people.
In 1568, Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana de Neira was the first European to sight the archipelago.
The British reached the islands only in 1767, when English explorer Philip Carteret reached the shores.
The southern Solomon Islands became a British protectorate in 1893 in response to the German annexation of others. By 1900, Germany agreed to cede their interests to Britain and the Solomons came entirely under British rule.
The demand for freedom started after World War II, with Peter Kenilorea leading the country into independence on 7 July 1978.
The Solomons have been a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth since.
