Admiralty Islands

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Admiralty Islands, group of 40 volcanic islands, c.800 sq mi (2,070 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Bismarck Archipelago and part of Papua New Guinea. Lorengau, the chief port and administrative center of the group, is on Manus, the largest island. Copra, pearls, and marine shells are the principal products. Discovered by the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten in 1616, the group became part of German New Guinea in 1884 and an Australian League of Nations mandate in 1920.