Biak was first sighted by Europeans by the Portuguese navigator
Jorge de Menezes in 1526. In his voyage from Malacca to Maluku via northern Borneo, Jorge de Menezes landed at Biak Islands, at the entrance of the Gulf, where he was forced to winter; the island is thenceforth called in Portuguese maps
Ilha de Dom Jorge or
Ilha onde invernou Dom Jorge, to become, finally,
Ilha de S. Jorge. The Spanish navigator
Álvaro de Saavedra sighted the island on 24 June 1528, when trying to return from
Tidore to
New Spain. Another sighting was later reported in 1545 by Spanish navigator
Íñigo Ortiz de Retes on board of
galleon San Juan when also attempting the return to
New Spain The archipelago was first mapped in the Portuguese charts of Gaspar Viegas (c. 1537), an anonymous map of 1540, and on the maps of João de Lisboa and of Bartolomeu Velho (c. 1560), and by other Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch maps. In
World War II, a strategic
airfield of the
Imperial Japanese Army was located there, serving as a base for operations in the
Pacific theatre. American forces eventually captured the island during the
Battle of Biak. The captured airfield was renamed
Mokmer Airfield and later transferred to the
Royal Australian Air Force. Biak became the second landing of allied forces after
Hollandia. Many Biak islanders received supplies from allied forces such as clothes and foods. To restore their rule after the war, the Dutch reopened schools and re-employed graduates from teacher schools in Miei. Some Biak islanders including Frans Kaisieppo, Eduard Rumbrar, Markus Kaisiepo, Marttinus Rumayau, and Lukas Rumkorem were educated in
Bestuur schools. By September 1945, Lukas Rumkorem founded Perserikatan Indonesia Merdeka (PIM), the first political party in Biak which held meetings during September and November in Nusi and from January 1946 in Bosnek. Although Rumkorem's activity would be found out by
Hoofd Plaatselik Bestuur (HPB), no further action would be taken as the HPB went on sick leave until the resident found out. By the middle of 1947, Lukas Rumkorem would be captured by Dutch authority accused of trying to kill
Frans Kaisiepo and Marcus Kaisiepo.
De Bruijn as district leader of Biak would reorganised and formed regional council
Kakain Karkara on 20 November 1947 to rebuild villages which were destroyed after
Koreri movements against social changes brought by outsiders. It was transferred from Dutch rule, along with half of New Guinea, to Indonesia in the 1960s. On 15 August 1962,
New York Agreement was signed, which contained provision for
Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat. From 29 September to 19 October 1962, there was a papuan delegations consisting of 19 members to visit Indonesian regions and meet with Sukarno in Jakarta. Another delegations from papuan regions consisted of 34 people declare their oaths for Indonesia, among these Biak sent 2 delegates, Ds. F.J.S. Rumainum and
Frans Kaisiepo. Another declaration from education employees delegates consisted of 16 people with Biak represented by L. Mandibodibo and N. Urbinas. At 05:30 on 6 July 1998, the demonstration was fired upon by the
Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI or
Indonesian Military). Many were shot while attempting to flee. Survivors were rounded up and forced to the docks where they were kept for several days while further demonstrators were caught. About 200 of the original demonstrators were forcibly loaded onto two Indonesian naval vessels and taken to two different locations to be thrown into the ocean. In the following days, bodies washed up on Biak's shores, or were snarled in fishing nets. The TNI explained that the bodies turning up belonged to victims of the
Aitape tsunami which occurred approximately away in
Papua New Guinea. == Demographics ==