First recorded sighting by Europeans is by Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra who landed on 24 June 1528 when trying to return from Tidore to New Spain.

It was then charted as Paine within the Islas de Oro (Golden Islands in Spanish), as they called Yapen and the present day Schoutens.

In 1545 it was visited by Íñigo Órtiz de Retes on board of galleon San Juan.

[4] The island has been designated the Yapen rain forests ecoregion by the World Wildlife Federation for its unique bird life and flora.

Two protected areas cover a third of the island, whose population is growing with subsequent clearance of forest for planting and firewood.