Manokwari
Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under proposals currently under consideration by the Indonesian Parliament, it is planned to split Manokwari town off from the regency and turn it into a separate city. The majority of Manokwari residents are Christians and the town is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manokwari–Sorong. History Trade between the natives of the region and Southeast Asians probably began around the 15th century or even earlier. Possibly via Moluccan and Malay influence, some local chiefs of the town had adopted Islam by the 19th century. On 25 October 1793, Captain John Hayes in the merchant ships Duke of Clarence and Duchess raised the British flag at Dore Bay, which he called Restoration Bay as he had put in there to restore his crews' health) and claimed it and the surrounding area, which he called New Albion, for Great Britain. The British established a small settlement there to engage in the spice trade, especially in massoy bark and nutmeg.