German merchants had been establishing trading posts in the South Pacific since the mid-nineteenth century in order to engage in the copra trade. In 1884 the first German colony, called German New Guinea, was established there. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several adjacent island groups. This engraving shows the hoisting of the German flag at Mioko Island on November 4, 1884 by the German navy. In addition to members of the navy, the image also shows merchants (in civilian clothes) and members of the indigenous population witnessing the ceremony. Mioko Island is part of what came to be called the Bismarck Archipelago, named after the chancellor, once a German protectorate had been declared there.
The caption reads: “Raising of the Imperial German flag at Mioko, Duke of York Islands, on 4 November 1884. After a drawing by the traveler O. Finsch.”