Micronesian History: American United Nations Trusteeship (1945-86/94)


Figure 1.--The photo was taken in 1969 on Ifalik, a coral atoll in the central Caroline Islands. It shows seven boys attending the first grade class at the atoll primary school. We can see three choices about the clothing. A boy doesn't wear clothing. This was the most traditional way for children at that age. Five boys are wearing plant loincloths, traditional for men and older boys. A pupil wear a cotton loincloth. at about this time we begin to see the spread of western-style clothing.

The United States seized the islands from Japan after the Japanese surrender orld War II. Unlike the Marshalls and Marianas, the United States did not invade. At the time the Japanese surrendered, the island garison and the Caroline islanders were starving. The Japanese population at the time exceeded that of the Carolinian islanders. The Japanese were repatriated. The Carolines were placed under U.S. administration by the United Nations (1947). They became part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). The U.S. President appointed a High Commissioner of the TTPI. The Commissioner in turn, appointed an administrator for each of the island districts. The TTPI remained under the civil administration of the US Navy Department until 1951, when authority passed to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The islands before the arrival of the Germans and Japanese and even more so the Americans were largely self sufficient. Many islanders adopted American eating habits and thuis are no longer self sufficent. Palau decided to separate from the other islands.






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