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• Palau (Belau)

• Guam (Northern Mariana Islands)

• Marshall Islands (Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap, Kwajalein, + Majuro)

• Nauru

• Kiribati

• Federated States of Micronesia

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The Micronesian Islands (translating to small islands) exists between Hawaii and the Philippines, totaling to 2000 + islands – some are individually situated while others can be seen in clusters. It is mainly situated in the northern part of the equator and is the westernmost area of the Pacific Islands. The majority of the islands in this area are classified as low coral atolls, the western islands are high islands that were caused by volcanic activity/geological uplifting. The islanders populating the island are more than used to the ‘shortage’ of land, constant droughts, and vulnerability to cyclones. To adapt to this life of constant change, islanders would traditionally move freely around the low-lying islets, utilizing their comprehensive interisland exchange networks.

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In the lens of colonialism, in 1521 Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese Navigator/Explorer) was the first to find an inhabited Pacific Island. This island was Guam, the southernmost island of the Mariana Islands. By 1688 Spain colonized the chain of Mariana Islands, making it the first Micronesian island to be colonized by Europeans. This was followed by a period of warfare between the indigenous Chorro people and their colonizers. Disease (introduced by Europeans) and death from warfare decreased the native population from 100,000 to 4,000. The aftermath claimed a wide area of the indigenous culture and those who outlived the war were relocated to colonial settlements. Other colonizing nations include Germany, Britain, the United States, Japan, and Australia.

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The land of Palau, the Northern Marianas, Chuuk, the Marshalls, and areas in the Gilberts were all victims of the second world war. Warfare between the Japanese and American armies meant that the islands remained in an economic disaster, the people were uprooted, infrastructure/property were demolished, and food shortage rapidly spread. War has not completely left the islands and traces of it can be found in Japanese sunken fleets from 1944 (Chuuk), here you can find human skeletons, dishes, fighter planes, and tanks. Today it is an underwater museum that invites tourists to its wonders. Micronesia is circumstantially located between North America and Asia, providing a gateway to military endeavors for countries such as the United States. Atomic bombs erupted throughout the Marshall Islands, namely in Bikini and Enewetak atolls, the United States was responsible for this. Programs such as Operation Crossroads, Able, and Baker; all had some effect on the ships stationed there, radiation levels, and bodies of water surrounding the explosion area. Ships stationed at what had been considered safe distances were contaminated, columns of water rose 1 km creating a radioactive sprayer when it fell, and some 90 ships were compromised in the first test. 25 medical conditions were identified amongst the people of Bikini and Enewetak as a result of ‘Bravo’, miscarriage, stillbirths, stunted growth in children, radiation sickness and burns were amongst these. These islands and its inhabitants endured this exploitation till 1963. Marshall Islanders have appealed for a clean up of their island and compensation to their people.

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Nauru regained complete political and independence in 1866, claiming the first nation in the region to decolonize and sparking a chain reaction in its neighbors. At the turn of the 20th Century, mining of rich phosphate deposits began. It heavily benefited the local economy but consequently made locals rely on imported goods including food, manufactured goods, fuel, machinery, and equipment. Today, the islands phosphate resource has been drained, casting a cloud of uncertainty on the islands’ economic future.

Goodbye traditional island life, hello urbanism. A large portion of the island native populate the cities and towns of the islands. An estimate of one-half of the islanders occupy the urban areas, heavily reliant on tourism and other random industries to fuel their economy. Remnants of original island living can be found in the outermost islands.

Global warming is making a debut in these absorbent coral foundations of atolls. Melting polar ice and increased sea levels have caused coastal erosion, loss of land, movement of groundwater tables (separation of groundwater zone capillary fringe + makes soil that lays here constantly porous), poisoned crops, and decreased freshwater levels. As mentioned, these atolls are exposed to extreme storms but are protected by coral reefs. Unfortunately, rising ocean temperatures have meant these coral reefs have been severely damaged, endangering the near future of these islands.

Unfortunately, unemployment has spread rapidly in recent years. This was caused by the sudden increase in rural to town moving natives. The United States managed a naval airbase (Guam) since WW2, but in 1980 the region increased trade in Asia provoking the US to create more activity in the region. Prior to this the population was spread out evenly, urban crowding emerged so out-migration began to countries like Saipan, Hawaii, US in hope for employment endeavors. They once maintained a self-sustaining economy but now it is a wage measured economy.

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Due to the fact that the islands are small, dense, and constantly damaged, archaeological excavations/investigation cannot be fully completed. For this reason, we turn to our knowledge of the language in contrast to Melanesia. It is a concrete fact that Micronesia was first populated 3,500-2,000 years ago, we know this because of the identification of the languages spoken and its relation to Austronesian languages in Melanesia. East + Central Micronesian languages can be compared to those in Southeast Melanesia, while the western islands can be compared to the language in east Melanesia.  Nauru, the Gilberts, the Marshalls, Kosrae, Pingelap, Mokil, Pohnpei, Ngatik, the Mortlocks, Chuuk, the Puluwat area, the Woleai area, Yap, Palau, and the Marianas are all mutually intelligible Micronesian languages. Extreme cultural diversity can be pinpointed as the cause of this. The Marshalls + Gilberts are classified as “nuclear Micronesian” as they are observed as closely related. Palau, Yap, and the Mariana’s are significantly unrelated in language but are still regarded as Micronesian. Influence from the Spanish and Filipino (tagalog) language has influenced the Chamorro language greatly in the four centuries of ‘Western’ contact.