Colonial History

To understand how this region, and Palau in particular, came under the control of the United States via the United Nations, it's important to know the colonial history of the region. To remain within the scope of this library, the overview will focus on the colonial history of Palau.

The Palauan archipelago was settled as early as 3000 years ago (Clark, Anderson, & Wright, 2006). Much of Palauan history before European contact is unknown, but some details can be extrapolated based upon language and culture comparisons to its geographic neighbors. Hezel and Del Valle state that “although intensive contact between Europeans and islanders began only at the end of the 18th century with Capt. Henry Wilson's shipwreck off Palau” (p. 26), the first sighting of the islands was made in 1522 (Hezel & Del Valle, 1972). Significant written record of the archipelago also came at the end of the 1700s (Shuster & Foster, 2017). Writings on Palauan culture and history by Palauan authors did not appear until the 20th century.

German Colonial Period

Versammlungshaus in Ngaransone, die Häuser stehen zum Schutz vor den weißen Ameisen auf freiliegenden Stämmen, Palau

Krämer, Augustin (1865-1941)

Augustin Kramer, German anthropologist, documented Palau as part of the German South Seas Expedition c. 1915.

While Spain had initial “ownership” of the archipelago and introduced Catholicism, in 1898 it sold the islands to Germany (Kitalong & Kitalong, 2000). The Germans began colonial efforts (bauxite mining added to missionary and anthropological missions) in the early 20th century, but the fallout from the first World War saw that control of the islands transferred by the League of Nations (the United Nations precursor) to the Japanese under the auspices of the South Pacific Mandate (Wikipedia contributors, 2019b).

Japanese Colonial Period

Japanese era building. (N-2207.01).

Koror street scene, 1935? (N-2207.09).

Vocational training, Japanese era, Palau. (S-1870a.01.).

Japanese era photo, people entering shrine, Palau. (S-1870a.20).

The Japanese began to build secret military bases in the 1930s, and began the “Japan-ing” of Micronesians by massive migration, intermarriage, “the establishment of schools, shrines, temples and even education of Micronesians” (Iwamoto, 1996, p. 57). To this day Japanese colonial buildings are in modern use and Japanese words are scattered throughout the Palauan language. Many Palauans who lived through that time period retain their ability to speak fluent Japanese.

United States Colonial Period

The United States captured the region at the end of World War II. In 1947, administrative and military control of the region was granted to the United Nations through United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 (Wikipedia contributors, 2017).

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The Trust Territory Era spanned the years after the end of World War II (1947) to the day Palau gained its independence as a sovereign nation (October 1, 1994). The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was an administrative area designated by the United Nations Trusteeship Council. The United States stood in as the TTPI administrator.

The TTPI was separated up into six districts:

The end of the Trust Territory Era was marked by the declarations of independence by the Republic of Palau in 1994. All districts had by that time declared independence, apart from the Mariana Islands, which sought United States commonwealth status (Wikipedia contributors, 2019a).

Toward Independence

The Trust Territory Era was a tumultuous one. Residents of each of the districts eventually were able to vote in the 1978 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands constitutional referendum in order to form the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), which would unify the region under an autonomous, sovereign government (Wikipedia contributors, 2018). In Palau nearly 95% of registered voters turned out for the plebiscite and the referendum narrowly failed, with 55% voting "no" to joining the FSM. This resulted in Palau becoming a separate state (Wikipedia contributors, 2018).

Decades later, in 1994, Palau would declare its independence.

The Solomon report; America's ruthless blueprint for the assimilation of Micronesia.

Political Unrest

Micronesia spans a vast area of military significance to the United States. It is unsurprising then that the US sought to bring the region, including Palau, under United States control beyond the UN mandate; they attempted this through strategic investment and manipulation (Independent & Belau, 1971). This mission of assimilation was, in many ways, a success. Palau declared its independence in 1994, at the same time signing the Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States.

Compact of Free Association

The Compact of Free Association between the Republic of Palau and the United States of America is a document which codifies the agreement of exchange between the two sovereign nations. Through the Compact, the US retains military control of the islands and in exchange it provides financial assistance to Palau and allows Palauan citizens to enter the US with non-immigrant status (Palau, 1993).

References

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