Q 01/05

Solomon Islands lies in which region of Oceania?

A) Melanesia

B) Micronesia

C) Polynesia

D) Australasia

Answer · why

A) Melanesia

About 95% of the population is Melanesian, but seven outlying islands, including Tikopia and Rennell, are culturally Polynesian.

Q 02/05

Which Spanish navigator, sailing from Peru in 1568, was the first European to reach the islands?

A) Vasco Núñez de Balboa

B) Pedro Fernandes de Queirós

C) Álvaro de Mendaña

D) Juan Sebastián Elcano

Answer · why

C) Álvaro de Mendaña

He came back in 1595 to found a colony, but the settlement failed and he died there in October of that year.

Q 03/05

The islands were named because Europeans hoped they held whose legendary biblical wealth?

A) King Herod

B) King Solomon

C) King David

D) The Queen of Sheba

Answer · why

B) King Solomon

Reports of Mendaña's voyage were conflated with the story of Ophir, the land that supplied the king's gold. Mendaña himself never named the group.

Q 04/05

In which year did Solomon Islands become independent?

A) 1978

B) 1980

C) 1990

D) 1985

Answer · why

A) 1978

Independence Day is 7 July. Sir Peter Kenilorea became the first prime minister and Elizabeth II remained head of state.

Q 05/05

Who became head of state of Solomon Islands in September 2022?

A) The Governor-General

B) An elected president

C) The prime minister

D) King Charles III

Answer · why

D) King Charles III

The country is a Commonwealth realm, so Charles III succeeded Elizabeth II; a Governor-General chosen by Parliament represents the King locally.