Figure 1.--This image shows a school on Yap. Looking at this school photo we can note a different attitude from many other missionary schools at the time. Usually missionary schools required the pupils to cover themselves. This school allowed the children to wear their normal clothing. We found the image in a Japanese book published during the late-1920s. This photograph was apparently taken during the German era, probably a mission school. The Germans did not, have public schools, but there were some mission schools. The book had a propaganda goal, to show the public works that Japan was carrying out as a League Mandate power.

The Federated States of Microbnesi 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 disciovered after King Charles II who funded the expedition (1686). There was no attempt by the Spanish or other European country to colonize the islands. An early group of missionaries were attacked by the islanders (1732). Spain did not formally claim the islands until much later (1875). The Caroline Islands were part of the Spanish East Indies. They were also called Nuevas Filipinas (New Philippines) and administered from the Philippines. Germany in the mean time had occupied the Yap Islans in the east as part of its expanding empire, disputed the Spanish claim. The issue was arbitrated by Pope Leo XIII (1885). He decided in favor of Spain, but compromised by granting free trade rights to the Germans. The Spanish did not actually occupy any of the islands until after this ruling (1886). The Spanish American War (1998-99) radically changed the situation as Spain lost the Philippine Islands, in primary colony in the area. Spanish authorities concluded that there was no benefit to retaining the small islands like the Carolines that it still held. The German-Spanish Treaty followed (1899), Spain sold the islands to Germany for 25,000,000 pesetas (about 1 million pounds sterling), which maintained the Spanish name, Germanized as Karolinen. They were administered from the larger German colony of New Guinea. Japan occupied the islands during World War I. After the War they were granted a League of Nations mandate (1920). Yap was an important communications center. The Japanese built a huge naval base at Truk becauce of its large protected lagoon. Japanese forces from Truk played an important role in the Japanese offensive that carved out a huge empire after Pearl Harbor. They referred to Truk as the Gibraltar of the Pacific. It was in the first year of the war along with Rabal the principal forward operating base of the Imperial Fleet. Following the launch of the American Central Pacific campaign and the seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls, the Japanese braced for an American assault on Truk. The Imperial Fleet withdrew most of its combat units, hopeing that the large garrison and substantial air contingent could defend Truk. The Americans instead of launching a costly invasion, bypassed Truk. Instead they carried out devestating carrier air attacks on Truk and its defenses--Operation Hailstone. These attacks devestated Truk as an effective base. Without command of the sea, the Japanese could not resupply Truk. And without supplies Truk was rendered ineffective, unable to support efforts to defend the Marianas--the critical battle in the Central Pacific campaign. By the time the Japanese surrender at the end of the War, the Truk garrison was near starvation. The United States seized the islands from Japan after the Japanese surrender and administered them as a United Nations Trust Territories. The Unites States granted independence (1986/1994).

Prehistory

The islands of the central Pacific were settled by various people (Polynesian and Austronesians) sailing east from Southeast Asia and north from Polynesia. The Micronesian Islands are the small islands between the Polynesian triangle to the east and south and the large islands of Melanesia to the west. Archeologists believe that the centeal Pacific was settled some time around 500 BC alothough there are varying estimates. The first settlers are believed to be Austronesian speakers who had both horticultural skills as well as maritime knowledge. These first settlers are believed to have migrated eastward from Southeast Asia and settled on Yap. From Yap some migrated south to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia, and subsequently to Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. The serious study of archeological site on the islands began in the early-20th century with researchers from the colonial powers.

European Discovery

The Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands ame upon Yap and Ulithi (erly 16th century). The Spanish discovered other centrl Pacific islands including the Carolines. Neither madec an effort to colonize the islands.

Spanish Era (16th-19th centuries)

The Federated States of Microbnesi 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 oceN 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 valkue on ythe 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. 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.

German Colony (1899-1914)

Germany in the mean time had occupied the Yap Islans in the east as part of its expanding empire, disputed the Spanish claim. The issue was arbitrated by Pope Leo XIII (1885). He decided in favor of Spain, but compromised by granting free trade rights to the Germans. The Spanish did not actually occupy any of the islands until after this ruling (1886). The Spanish American War (1998-99) radically changed the situation as Spain lost the Philippine Islands, in primary colony in the area. Spanish authorities concluded that there was no benefit to retaining the small islands like the Carolines that it still held. The German-Spanish Treaty followed (1899), Spain sold the islands to Germany for 25,000,000 pesetas (about 1 million pounds sterling), which maintained the Spanish name, Germanized as Karolinen. They were administered from the larger German colony of New Guinea. Germany showed more interest in the Carlines than the Spanish had. Their primary focus, however was on the Marianas. German administration encouraged the development of trade and production of copra in the Carolines. The princiopak cash crop was copra, dried coconuts meat, which had various commercial uses. The Germans made very little effort to moderize the islands or introduce public education.

World War I (1914-18)

After the outbreak of World War I, Japan decided to join the Allies. Japan had a naval treaty with Britain, but it did not require the Japanese to enter the War. Rather the Japanese saw the opportunity to seize German colonies in the Pacific. The Germans had a few ships in the Pacific at the time that the War broke out in Europe. The senior German officer was Vice Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von Spee aboard the cruiser SMS Scharnhorst. Von Spee was at Ponape in the Caroline Islands with the cruiser SMS Gneisenau when news arrived of the War. The small flotialla was joined by the light cruiser SMS Nurnberg which had just returned from Honolulu in Hawaii. Spee headed north to Pagan in the Northern Marianas where the light cruiser SMS Emden and several supply ships joined Spee's flotilla. Spee assessing the sutuation considered heading for Tsingtao knowing other German shios were based there. The short range of telegrophy at the time made it impossible for Spee to contact other German ships in the Pacific. He believed that Japanese entry in the War would make Tsingtao untenable. Abnd he feared that the Australians would quickly occupy Rabaul to the south. Spee attacked Papeete, Tahiti and suceeded in sinking the British gunboat Zélée, but failed to capture the island's coal supplies (September 22). Spee decided that the only option was to head back to Germany by rounding Cape Horn. This led to a victory over a Bitish fleet at Coronel and then the destruction of his fleet at the Falklands. The Japanese proceeded to seize the northern Marianas, the Marshals, and the Caroline Islands (September 1914)as well as the Chinese Treaty port of Tsingtao . The Germans and Austriabs put up a fight for Tsingtao, but surrendered with out a fight in the Carolines abd other central Pacific islands. German islands to the south were occupied by the Australians and New Zealanders. The Japanese as a result held sway over a huge expanse of the central Pacific. And from the very beginning they place limits on port calls by foreign vessels.

Japanese League of Nations Mandates (1920-45)

Japanese merchants even before World War I had a presence in Micronesia, especially at Chuuk. Some in Japan thus saw the central Pacific as a natural adition to the Japanese Empire. The League of Nations after World War I granted Japan a mandate over the Carolines (1920). Japan began its formal administration od the islands when the Imperial Navy trnsferred reponsibility to civilian administrators (1920). Japanese economic activity in the central Pacific began (late-19th century). The Nan’yo Boeki Kaisha (South Seas Trading Company--NBK) ws set up to coordinate activity (1908). One the Japanese seized control, NBK gained a monopoly over copra production and trade throughout the central Pacific mandated islands. Shipping between the islands and Japan was controlled by the Nippon Yusen Kaisha (Japan Mail Steamship Company). The Japanese government also played a role in operating phosphate mines on Angaur in Palau, and supported a wide range of other economic development activities. The Nan’yo Takushoku, (South Seas Colonization Corporation-KK) was formed to promote Japanese colonization and settlement of the Mandated islands and economic development. The Japanese made investments to improve the islands' infrastructure. This included opening public schools. The Japanese promote migration and large numbers of Japanese settled in the cebntralmPacific. The largest Japanese settlement was in the Marianas, especially Saipan. One source reports a Japanese population of more than a 100,000 throughout their central Pacific islands. This outnumbered the indigenous eople who numbered about 40,000 people. The Japanese diversified the econmy of the island to including tropical agriculture especially sugar cane, mining, and fisheries. The sugar industry ws primarily on the Marianas. Yap became an important communications center. Among the most profitable of the new industries was fisheries. Both NBK and NKK put large fleets of fishing boats to sea, and ran substantial fish processing plants on many islands. [King] As part of the League of Nations Mandate, the Japanese were susposed to permit free trade and were prohibitedf from fortifying the islands. Japanese policy clearly violated the commitment to free trade. The military facilities were less clear. As part of the Japanese economic development of the islands, a great deal of infrastructure was built, including ports, airfields, and raillines. These facilities seem to have been primarily part of economic development, but had military uses as well. Japan seized Manchuria (1931). When the League of Nations censured Japan, Japan simoly withdrew from the League. Thus the League mandate obligations were simply ignored by the Japanese. And Japan also refused to renew the Washigton Naval Treaty limits. The United States became increasingly concerned about Japanese activities on the islands as tensions increased after Japan invaded China proper (1937). The Japanese developed Truk as one of the greatest military complexes in the Pacific. We are not sure, however, just when the various military facilities were built.

Pacific War II (1941-45)

The Japanese built a huge naval base at Truk becauce of its large protected lagoon. Japanese forces from Truk played an important role in the Japanese offensive that carved out a huge empire after Pearl Harbor. They referred to Truk as the Gibraltar of the Pacific. It was in the first year of the war along with Rabal the principal forward operating base of the Imperial Fleet. Both Truk and Rabaul were the cornerstones of Japanese naval power in the Pacific and as long as the First Air Fleet's carriers dominated the Pacific Ocean, unassailable. The American naval victory at Midway (June 1942) changed the ballance of power in the Pacific. The Americas after securing Guadalcanal (December 1942) began to isdolate Rabaul. Following the launch of the American Central Pacific campaign and the seizure of the Gilberts (November 1943) and Marshalls (February 1944), the Japanese braced for an American assault on Truk. The Imperial Fleet withdrew most of its combat units, hopeing that the large garrison and substantial air contingent could defend Truk. The Americans instead of launching a costly invasion, bypassed Truk. Instead they carried out devestating carrier air attacks on Truk and its defenses--Operation Hailstone. These attacks devestated Truk as an effective base. Without command of the sea, the Japanese could not resupply Truk. And without supplies Truk was rendered ineffective, unable to support efforts to defend the Marianas--the critical battle in the Central Pacific campaign. World War II histories commonly focus on the islands garisoned by the Japanese and developed as important bases. Those invaded by the United states are particulsrly well known. Thus Ulithi in the Carolines is often not nmentioned. The American invasion of Peleliu is often seen as a mistake, but one impact was that the Japanese did not move troops on to Ulithi which the U.S. Navy occupied without opposition. It proved to be one of the most important American anchorages in the Pacific. The bypassed Japanese garisons were allowed to 'wither on the vine'. The Japanese were unable to supply the garisons. By the time the Japanese surrender at the end of the War, the Truk garrison was near starvation.

American United Nations Trusteeship (1945-86/94)

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.

Independence (1986/94)

The Unites States granted independence (the Federated States of Micronesiaa--1986 and Palau--1994). Both nations have treaties of free association with the United States. Tosiwo Nakayama, the former President of the Congress of Micronesia, became the first President of the Rederated States of Micronesia (FSM) and formed his Cabinet. The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Under the Compact, the United States has full authority and responsibility for the defense of the FSM. This security relationship can be changed or terminated by mutual agreement. The Compact also provides U.S. grant funds and Federal program assistance to the FSM. More than 25 U.S. Federal agencies operate programs in the FSM. Micronesians can live, work, and study in the United States without a visa. Many Micronesians volunteer to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, at double the per capita rate as American citizenss. They are also eligible for admission to U.S. Service Academies. Americans can live and work freely in Micronesia without visas.

Sources

King, Thomas F. "The Islands of the Japanese Mandate in 1937," The Earhart Project.

Rainbird, Paul. The Archaeology of Micronesia.

Created: 9:12 PM 3/5/2012
Last updated: 6:06 AM 8/31/2013