Micronesia

/muy'kreuh nee"zheuh, -sheuh/, n.

1. one of the three principal divisions of Oceania, comprising the small Pacific islands N of the equator and E of the Philippines, whose main groups are the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands.

2. Federated States of, a group of islands in the W Pacific, in the Caroline Islands, comprising the islands of Pohnpei, Truk, Yap, and Kosrae: formerly a part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; now a self-governing area associated with the U.S. 127,616; 271 sq. mi. (701 sq. km).

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Island group, western Pacific Ocean.

A subdivision of Oceania, it comprises Kiribati, Guam, Nauru, the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Located mostly north of the Equator, Micronesia includes the westernmost of the Pacific Islands.

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▪ republic, Pacific Ocean

Introduction

  country in the western Pacific Ocean. It is composed of more than 600 islands and islets in the Caroline Islands archipelago and is divided roughly along cultural and linguistic lines into the states of—from west to east—Yap (Yap Islands), Chuuk (Chuuk Islands), Pohnpei, and Kosrae.

      To the west of the Federated States of Micronesia lies the Republic of Palau (Palau), also in the Caroline archipelago, and to the east is the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Marshall Islands). These two countries, together with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Northern Mariana Islands) and the Federated States of Micronesia, were administered by the United States as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the) from 1947 to 1986.

Land (Micronesia)

      The islands are of two general types: high volcanic islands that support a large variety of plant forms and low-lying coral atolls with poorer soil. Yap Island is distinctive in that it was formed by folds in the Earth's crust and is continental in geologic composition. Each of the four states has as its population centre an elevated landmass of fairly large extent—ranging from Pohnpei Island, with an area of 129 square miles (334.1 square km), to Yap Island (38.7 square miles [100.2 square km]). The volcanic islands of Chuuk are an anomaly in the Pacific because they are encircled by a reef but have not yet subsided beneath sea level to become a classic atoll. Yap Island and six islands in the Chuuk group rise to more than 500 feet (150 metres), and Kosrae and Pohnpei islands have peaks of 2,064 feet (629 metres) and 2,595 feet (791 metres), respectively. The coral atolls consist of groups of small islands, formed atop a coral reef enclosing a lagoon.

      The climate is tropical, with high humidity and a mean annual temperature in the low 80s F (about 27 °C). There is little seasonal variation in temperature. Rainfall averages about 120 inches (3,000 mm) per year throughout the area, although Pohnpei receives more than 200 inches (5,000 mm) yearly. There are distinct rainy and dry seasons, the latter occurring during the height of the northeasterly trade-wind season between December and April. Yap, which alone is situated in the monsoon area, has westerly winds for part of the year. Numerous typhoons (tropical cyclones) originate in the east each year, usually spinning off to the northwest toward Yap and the Mariana Islands and seldom striking any of the other islands.

      On the high islands, mangrove swamps grow along the shore, and grassland or scrub ascends to tropical rainforests in the interior mountain areas. Settlements are almost without exception located near the coast. Volcanic islands, with their richer soil, support many different species of plant life. On coral atolls the predominant forms of vegetation are the coconut palm along with pandanus and breadfruit trees. Atoll dwellers typically locate their houses on the lagoon side of the island.

People (Micronesia)

 The people of the Federated States, while generally classified as Micronesian (Micronesian culture), are very diverse culturally and linguistically. The people of Yap Island speak Yapese, a language only distantly related to the other languages of the area (which are known as Nuclear Micronesian languages). Inhabitants of the coral atolls in Yap state are similar in language and culture to the people of Chuuk, although the Chuukese and Yapese languages are not mutually intelligible. Both Chuuk and Pohnpei contain several dialects, and the inhabitants of Kapingamarangi and Nukuoro, two atolls in the southwestern portion of Pohnpei state, are Polynesians (Polynesian culture) and speak languages unrelated to Pohnpeian. Only Kosrae has complete ethnic and linguistic unity. Altogether, eight local languages are recognized as distinct, and dialectal differences in the outlying atolls add further variety.

      About half the total population lives in Chuuk state. Pohnpei has about one-third of the population, and Yap and Kosrae have about one-tenth each. In the late 20th century there began a trend toward migration to the towns for employment and education. The population growth rate is one of the highest in the region. Almost the entire population is Christian; Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominations have almost equal numbers of adherents. The country has no official language; English is spoken widely in commerce and government.

Economy

      Subsistence farming and fishing are the principal economic activities. The main staples are breadfruit, taros, coconuts, and bananas, but yams, cassava, and sweet potatoes also are grown on some of the high islands. Poultry, pigs, and dogs are sometimes also raised for food.

      The main source of revenue is U.S. government grant aid, which continues under the Compact of Free Association signed in 1982. External grants account for almost two-thirds of revenue. The terms of the original compact, which expired in 2001, were renewed with slight amendment in 2003. Because of the nature of the aid arrangement, servicing the debt consumed only a small portion of government outlays in the late 1990s.

      The major source of income is the service sector, including government employment. The government also derives income from the sale of fishing rights. Tourism is slowly expanding; as with the economy in general, the growth of tourism is restrained by the islands' remote location and an underdeveloped infrastructure. Local commercial fishing is developed only on a small scale, and large-scale agriculture has repeatedly proved a failure. The only mineral resources to speak of are unexploited offshore deposits of high-grade phosphate.

      Much of the Federated States' food, including rice, fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish, and almost all manufactured goods and fuel oil must be imported. Indeed, over the course of the late 20th century, the islanders' traditional diet was largely displaced by imported processed foods. Imports, which come primarily from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines, also include machinery and transport equipment. Marine products are the primary export; other significant exports are garments, betel nuts, and copra. The major export destinations are Japan, the United States, Guam, and the Northern Marianas.

      Interisland and international transportation are by air or ocean freighter. The major commercial ports are at Dekehtik (Takatik Island), near Pohnpei; Kosrae; Colonia on Yap; and Weno (Moen). International airports are located on the main islands of each state, and there are airstrips on several outlying islands in Chuuk. Small ships operated by the government service the outlying atolls in each state. Some of the atolls are also linked by weekly flights on smaller airplanes. All villages on the major islands are connected by a road system, and the primary roads in the commercial centres are paved.

Government and society

      Under the 1979 constitution, the government of the Federated States of Micronesia consists of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president and vice president are elected by the legislature, the unicameral National Congress. The legislature comprises one at-large senator from each state, who serves four-year terms, and a variable number of single-district senators (determined on the basis of population), who serve two-year terms. Most major governmental functions other than those relating to defense and foreign affairs are carried out at the state rather than the national level. Each of the four state governments has a popularly elected governor and a unicameral legislature. There are no political parties.

      The judicial system consists of the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia, state courts in each of the four states, and municipal courts in each political subdivision of each state. Recognized customary law is in force wherever it does not conflict with constitutional law. Under the Compact of Free Association, the United States provides for the defense of the islands; under other terms of the agreement, Micronesian citizens are free to live, work, or study in the United States without restriction.

      There are elementary schools on every island, and each state has at least one public high school. Primary education is compulsory between ages 6 and 14. The College of Micronesia-FSM was founded in 1963 for teacher training and later became a community college offering a range of coursework and vocational training. It has a national campus on Pohnpei and branch campuses in each of the other states and is the only institution for higher education in the Federated States of Micronesia. Several universities in the United States and the Pacific region offer extension programs for training in various disciplines.

      Widespread vaccination has helped to reduce the impact of many infectious diseases. Tuberculosis and leprosy occur at moderate rates in the islands, and outbreaks of cholera periodically sweep through the population centres, but in the late 20th century obesity and chronic noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease emerged as the major health concerns for adults. While a hospital is maintained in each of the state capitals and dispensaries have been built on all major islands, the overall state of health care is relatively poor. Local healers continue to practice massage and other traditional medical skills.

Cultural life

 Although only the people of Yap and a few outlying atolls in Chuuk still wear traditional dress—loincloths for men and grass skirts or lavalavas (sarongs) for women—most villagers live much as their ancestors did. In rural areas they support themselves by subsistence farming and fishing, use traditional food-preparation techniques, and gather in community meetinghouses for ceremonies and leisure activities, although imported foods and ways of life have made their way into even the most remote areas. Boatbuilders in some of the remote atolls and islands, such as Satawal in Yap state, have maintained their skills in the construction and navigation of large single outrigger canoes. The seamanship of the islanders is probably their most remarkable achievement and has astonished Westerners since initial contact. Wood carving, originally practiced for religious purposes, has become a commercial enterprise. Women in some of the islands weave lavalavas on traditional belt looms, and nearly everywhere large sleeping mats are plaited of pandanus leaves. Tattooing, once used widely to indicate social status, is seldom practiced today. The traditional dances remain a favourite form of entertainment. For information on the arts of Micronesia in a regional context, see Oceanic art and architecture (art and architecture, Oceanic).

History (Micronesia)

      The eastern Caroline Islands, like the Marshall (Marshall Islands) and Gilbert (Gilbert Islands) islands, were probably first settled from the area of the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) and Fiji sometime before 1000 BCE. Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggests that the earliest migrants worked their way up the chain of islands to the east and gradually spread westward from the Marshalls. Pottery dating to about the 1st century CE has been found in Chuuk (Chuuk Islands), and artifacts of similar antiquity have been unearthed in other islands in the east. The languages of the area, with the exception of Yap and the two Polynesian outliers, Kapingamarangi and Nukuoro atolls, are closely related to one another and show striking similarities to Vanuatuan tongues.

      The high island of Yap (Yap Islands) appears to have been settled from the west, probably from the Philippines or Indonesia. Pottery and shell adzes found there date from the 2nd century CE and show a resemblance to types discovered in the Mariana Islands. Yap's caste system and other features of its social organization are unparalleled elsewhere in the area. The renowned Yapese stone money was quarried in nearby Palau and the Marianas. In later centuries a reciprocal tribute and trade system was evolved with the surrounding coral atolls, sometimes termed the Yap empire, or Yapese empire. In the eastern islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae, some seven centuries ago, a major social upheaval occurred, possibly under the impact of invasion from the south. Fortified settlements were built of huge basaltic logs, their ruins still visible today, and political authority over each island was centralized even as the society became more stratified.

      The islands were visited occasionally during the 16th century by Spanish navigators and were later named for the Spanish king Charles II. During the 19th century, European naval ships followed whalers and traders to the islands, and the inhabitants experienced their first intensive contact with foreigners. In 1886 Spain finally colonized the Carolines, but its short rule was ended in 1899 when the islands were sold to Germany at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. Germany, in turn, yielded the islands at the outbreak of World War I to Japan, which gained formal title to them in 1920 as a League of Nations (Nations, League of) mandate. At first Japan attempted to develop a solid economy; later it used the islands as an outlet for surplus population; and finally it fortified them just before World War II. In July 1947 the Carolines, together with the Marshalls and Northern Marianas, became the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the), under U.S. administration. They were designated as a strategic area to allow the United States to set up military bases as deemed necessary; consequently, ultimate responsibility for the trust territory rested with the UN Security Council (Security Council, United Nations) rather than with the UN General Assembly (General Assembly, United Nations), as was the case with other trust territories.

      Micronesian leaders began negotiations with the United States for full self-government in 1969. The constitution that was drafted in 1975 became the basis for the federated government that went into effect in 1979. By that time, however, the Marianas, the Marshalls, and Palau had voted to separate from the proposed federation; this left only the “inner states” of Yap, Truk (later Chuuk), Kosrae, and Ponape (later Pohnpei) to compose the new political entity, the Federated States of Micronesia. In a 1983 plebiscite, voters approved a Compact of Free Association with the United States. The compact, which became effective on Nov. 3, 1986, provides for internal self-government while requiring that the United States remain responsible for defense and external security and that it provide financial assistance. The articles of the compact allow the Federated States of Micronesia to become fully independent and alter its relationship with the United States at any time, providing this change of status is approved in plebiscites. Although the original compact had a 15-year duration, it was renewed by mutual consent in 2003 for another 20 years, with some amendments. The renewed compact came into force in 2004. The Federated States of Micronesia became a member of the UN on Sept. 17, 1991.

      The late 1990s were difficult for the islands, with Pres. Bailey Olter suffering an incapacitating stroke in July 1996, just after he had been reelected and just before a series of natural disasters swept the islands. Typhoons, flooding, and mudslides caused widespread destruction in 1996 and again in 1997, and in 1998 a prolonged drought attributed to the El Niño weather pattern forced the declaration of a state of emergency. During the following two years, cholera outbreaks killed several dozen people on Pohnpei, leading to the institution of a national vaccination program. In Chuuk state a longstanding movement sought separate administrative status for the Faichuk Islands; in the early 21st century, legislation was introduced in the National Congress to have Faichuk admitted as the fifth state.

The Rev. Francis X. Hezel, S.J. Sophie Foster

Additional Reading

Tim Rock, Diving and Snorkeling Chuuk Lagoon, Pohnpei & Kosrae (2000), gives general geographic and historical background and also serves as a diving guide. Neil M. Levy, Micronesia, 6th ed. (2003), is a regional guidebook. Kenneth Brower, Micronesia, the Land, the People, and the Sea (1981); and William H. Stewart, Explorer's Atlas of Tourist Maps for the Federated States of Micronesia, Pacific Ocean: Kosrae, Ponape, Truk, and Yap (1982), are geographic surveys. Other sources include Steven C. Smith, The Federated States of Micronesia: An Emerging Nation: An Overview for Peace Corps Volunteers (1986); and Austin Ranney and Howard R. Penniman, Democracy in the Islands: The Micronesian Plebiscites of 1983 (1985).Sophie Foster

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