** Micronesia history Spanish era








Micronesian History: Spanish Era (16th-19th centuries)


Figure 1.--Here we see Yap Islanders in front of their thatched home (1983). This photograph could easily have been taken in the 16th century when the Spanish first reached the Pacific. Spain made little effort to establish a colonial regime in Micronesia, having no desire to incur the cost of colonia administration. A few years after thios photyograph ws taken, Spain sold the islands to Germany which was building a Pacific empire. Notice there is no indication of European contact. Photographer: Isaac B. Millner.

The Federated States of Micronesi was basically formed out of the Spanish colony of the Caroline Islands which in fact Spain made little effort to colonize. The Caroline Islands in the Central Pacific covered a huge ocean area of the western Pacific, the largest area of any of the small island groups. They were located between the Marianas and New Guinea and east of the Philippines. The principal components included the Hall Islands, Kapingamarangi, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Truk Islands, and Yap Islands A Spanish captain, Francisco Lazcano, named the islands which had already been discovered after King Charles II who funded the expedition (1686). There was no attempt by the Spanish or other European ountry to colonize the islands. The Spanish saw littlke of value on the islands that could be easily exploited. Given the costs of colonial control and administration, Spanish officials for several centuries did not formally claim the islands. [Rainbird] The small islands east of the Philippines, including the Marians, were nominally considered Spanish. This was because Spain was the colonial power in the nearby Philippines Islands. The islands in Micronesia, except for the Marianas, however, were not colonized by the European maritime powers for several centuries. It was the Catholic Church that played the major promoting Spanish influence in the islands. Padre Juan Anotonio Cantova sought information from a group of Carolinians (Woleai Atoll) who sailed on outriger canoes to Guam (1721). Othger contacts included stranded European sailors. An early group of missionaries were attacked by the islanders (1732). Spain did not formally claim the islands until the late-19th century (1875). The Caroline Islands were part of the Spanish East Indies. They were also called Nuevas Filipinas (New Philippines) and administered from the Philippines. In response to German seizure of the Marshall Islands (1885), the Spanish built a fort on Pohnpei. Spain did little more to extend its controlm over the Islands. And as a result, most of the islanders lived a life style largely untouched by Europeans and the 20th century. The photograph could easily have been taken in the 16th century when the Spanish first reached the Pacific (figure 1). After the United States seized the Philippine Islands and Guam (1898), the Spanish Government sought to divest itself from the remaining small islsnds it controlled, having no desire to finance a colonial administration over islands of minimal ecoonomic value.

Sources

Rainbird, Paul. The Archaeology of Micronesia.






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Created: 8:23 PM 4/2/2012
Last updated: 8:23 PM 4/2/2012