History
The islands were most likely observed by Luis Váez de Torres in 1606, but Malay and Chinese sailors may have visited the islands earlier. Louis Antoine de Bougainville named them in 1768 for Louis XV, the king of France. Visits were also paid by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1793 and Captain Owen Stanley in 1849.
The 1942 Battle of Coral Sea was fought nearby, after Japanese occupation in the same year. The Deboyne Islands were the site of the 1942 Raids on Deboyne.
Read more about this topic: Louisiade Archipelago
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