Sunset over Pacific Ocean, Yap Islands, Caroline Islands, Micronesia Photographic Print
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In a series of voyages after Magellan's Pacific crossing, most of the islands of the Carolines were discovered. As little wealth was found, the islands were neglected and, as they were a hazard to navigation, were avoided as much as possible during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Spanish missionaries made a few unsuccessful attempts to convert some of the natives early in the eighteenth century.
New England whalers followed the sperm whale into the Marshalls and eastern Carolines in the 1840's and brought close outside contact to the natives of Kusaie, Ponape, and Truk. The traders and whalers, who came in increasing numbers, brought smallpox and other disastrous new elements to the entire area.
The missionaries were not far behind the sailors, and in 1852 the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions established bases on Ponape and Kusaie. Hawaiian missionaries followed soon after. From the original bases on Ponape and Kusaie, the missionaries branched out into the Marshalls and other sections of the Carolines.
THE SPANISH PERIOD
The 1870's saw increased German commercial activity in these islands as in other parts of the Pacific. Spain's jealousy was roused, and she attempted to claim sovereignty that brought her into conflict with both Germany and Great Britain. The matter was referred to the Pope for arbitration in 1885, and he ruled in favor of Spain.
The Spanish immediately occupied Yap and in 1887 established a settlement, Colonia de Santiago, on Ponape. The occupation of Ponape resulted in trouble with both natives and well-entrenched American missionaries. The trouble with the natives, which was expensive and also costly in lives, continued even after the missionaries were removed. In 1898, as a result of defeat in the Spanish American War, Spain ceded Guam to the United States and in the following year sold the rest of her Micronesian possessions to Germany.
THE GERMAN PERIOD
The Carolines, during the German period of occupation, were under the jurisdiction of the governor of German New Guinea. After 1911 they were divided into the western Caroline district, which was administered from Yap, and the eastern Caroline district, which was administered from Ponape.
Although there were never many German administrators or settlers in the area, this was a period of rapid economic and political change. Copra became the economic foundation of the islands although they were never self-supporting. The Germans reduced the power of the chiefs and made changes in the forms of land tenure. Roads were constructed with native labor, public buildings built, and some of the harbors improved. The Germans paid some attention to native health and sanitation, with the result that in some places the decline of the native population was checked. Schools were left largely ill the hands of the missionaries. The changes did meet some resistance from the natives, especially from the chiefs, who lost some of their prerogatives.
One of the outstanding accomplishments of this period was the laying of the Pacific cable in 1905. Yap was made the center for the lines connecting Japan, Asia, and the south. Control of Yap was later to be a source of international friction.
THE JAPANESE PERIOD
In 1914 the Japanese navy took over the German possessions in Micronesia and ruled the islands until 1922, when a civilian government was placed in charge. In 1919 Japan received the islands as a class C mandate from the League of Nations. The type C mandate was administered as an integral part of the mandatory state, and eventual independence of the territory was not contemplated. After Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1935, the islands were retained, with the Japanese military playing an increasing part in their administration.
The Japanese followed a policy of economic development that was intended eventually to make the islands pay for themselves and supplement the Japanese economy by the production of tropical commodities that could not be produced in Japan, by the development of such minerals as were present, and by securing fish that play an important part in the Japanese diet. Although the islands did form an outlet for some of Japan's growing population, it was always recognized that the islands were too small to absorb more than a small part of the increase. However, by the outbreak of the Second World War, the number of the Japanese in the whole of the mandated territory exceeded that of the natives. After the war, the islands became trust territories of the United States, eventually gaining independence.
The division between the eastern Caroline Islands and the western Caroline Islands represents a major geological division. The major islands and island groups of the western Caroline Islands are the tops of submerged mountain ranges that rise above the surface of the sea. The Palau group, Yap, Fais, and Sorol, at least, are elevated portions of great ridges that are wrinkles in the continental shelf and are similar in origin to the areas nearer Asia, such as Japan and the Ryukyus. All these islands are west of the sial or andesite line, which marks the edge of the continental shelf. They are recent elevation, and the process of elevation is still going on, as is proved by recently elevated marine terraces and by earthquakes. The islands of the eastern Caroline Islands stand on a great submarine shelf that is fairly stable, although there may be some subsidence in the western portion. Truk shows signs of subsidence whereas Ponape and Kusaie do not.