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==History== | ==History== | ||
Clans based on kinship were the foundation of society. Beginning in the 16th century, various European countries began to colonize different pieces of Micronesia, named as such by Domeny de Rienzi in 1831. | |||
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator sailing for Spain, visited Guam in 1521. The Island was claimed by Spain until 1899 when it was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War. The Japanese occupied the island during World War II until liberated in 1944 by American forces. It continues to serve as the site for strategically important U.S. air and naval bases. Providing goods and service for the U.S. military bases along with tourism are the basis for the economy. Guamanians are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in elections. | Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator sailing for Spain, visited Guam in 1521. The Island was claimed by Spain until 1899 when it was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War. The Japanese occupied the island during World War II until liberated in 1944 by American forces. It continues to serve as the site for strategically important U.S. air and naval bases. Providing goods and service for the U.S. military bases along with tourism are the basis for the economy. Guamanians are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in elections. | ||
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The Marshall Islands are located to the east of the Carolines. The Spanish explored the Marshall Islands in the 16th century. They were named after a British captain in 1788. The Spanish claimed sovereignty in 1874 but Germany ignored Spain and began to colonize the islands in 1885. This attempt ended when the Japanese assumed control at the beginning of World War I in 1914. It became a U.S. trust territory in 1947 along with the Marianas and Carolines. The U.S. used the islands of Bikini and Eniwetak as a nuclear testing site from 1946-1958. These two islands remain uninhabited because of nuclear contamination. The Marshall Islands became self-governing in 1986 but signed a Compact of Free Association that continued U.S. military and economic aid. | The Marshall Islands are located to the east of the Carolines. The Spanish explored the Marshall Islands in the 16th century. They were named after a British captain in 1788. The Spanish claimed sovereignty in 1874 but Germany ignored Spain and began to colonize the islands in 1885. This attempt ended when the Japanese assumed control at the beginning of World War I in 1914. It became a U.S. trust territory in 1947 along with the Marianas and Carolines. The U.S. used the islands of Bikini and Eniwetak as a nuclear testing site from 1946-1958. These two islands remain uninhabited because of nuclear contamination. The Marshall Islands became self-governing in 1986 but signed a Compact of Free Association that continued U.S. military and economic aid. | ||
British settlers arrived in Kiribati in 1837. In the 1860s, slavers carried off islanders to work on plantations in Peru and later in Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and Australia. It became a British protectorate in 1892 and a crown colony along with the Ellice Islands in 1915. Occupied by the Japanese during World War II, the islands were regained at a tremendous loss of U.S. Marine casualties. Phosphate was the predominant source of income until the deposits were exhausted in 1979. The Ellice Islands were separated in 1975 from Kiribati. In 1979 Kiribati gained independence. | |||
Nauru, located west of Kiribati, was sighted by a British navigator in 1798. Germany annexed it in 1888 and began to mine the phosphate deposits used for fertilizer. Germany lost the island in World War I and the League of Nations put it under joint Australian, New Zealand, and British mandate. The Japanese occupied the islands during World War II. Australia administered it as a U.N. Trusteeship from 1947-1967. It became independent in 1968. | |||
==Timeline== | ==Timeline== | ||
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