History

Following the visits by Spanish vessels in the 1500s, contact with European ships became frequent in the late 18th and early 19th century.

General

Sources

Events

Places

Germany bought the Marshall Islands off Spain in 1885. It established a small administration, run first as a concession company and later administered directly from Berlin. The main economic development was the expansion of copra industry on the atolls and the commencement of phosphate mining on Nauru.

General

For publications on the subject matter during the German colonial period (1899-1914)

and for German publications on the topic see the: Digital Library of German Language Sources

Sources

 

Agreement between the Jaluit-Gesellschaft and the Reich 1888

regarding the administration of the Marshall Islands

Declaration between the Governments of Great Britain and the German Empire relating to the

Demarcation of the British and German Spheres of Influence in the Western Pacific, signed at Berlin, April 6, 1886

Declaration between the Governments of Great Britain and the German Empire relating to the

Reciprocal Freedom of Trade and Commerce in the British and German Possessions and Protectorates in the Western Pacific, signed at Berlin, April 10, 1886

1885 Treaty between the Marshallese Chiefs and the German Empire

The item contains the original German and Marshallese text, as well as a translation into English.

German Colonial Documents on the Marshall Islands

Compilation of page images of German colonial documents relating to the Marshall Islands. Includes annual reports.

Events

Centenary of German Annexation of the Carolines

compiled by Dirk H.R. Spennemann

Article describes the 1899 annexation of the Carolines, Palau and Mariana Islands following the purchase of these islands from Spain.

 

Places

Context

Covers of Colonial Publications.

compiled by Dirk H.R. Spennemann

Collection of cover art of early twentieth century German colonial publications demonstrating nationalistic colonial iconography.

Japan acquired the Marshall Islands, with the exception of Nauru, during World War I. It established a larger administration which continued the expansion of the copra industry, but also developed fishing and handicraft. During World War II many atolls were developed into formidable military bases.

JAPANESE MANDATE CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATION

Places

JAPANESE MILITARY DEVELOPMENT AND WWII

While and Guam Wake Island had been under US control since the Spanish-American War of 1898, the rest of Microneisa came under US influence as a result of the Pacific War. Commencing in 1944 several islands were captured, with remainder coming under US control with the surrender of the Japanese forces in September 1945.

MILITARY DEVELOPMENT AND WWII

United States Strategic Bombing Survey: Summary Report (Pacific War).

by United States Strategic Bombing Survey. (1946)

Summary of the post- World War II evaluation of the efficiency of United Sattes Bombing Programmes on the Japanese bases in the Pacific, the Phillippines and the Japanese homeland.

As a result of the post World War II rearrangement of the former Mandates of the League of Nations, Micronesia became a Trust Territory administered by the USA on behalf of the United Nations.

Lessons Learned:

The Micronesian Quest for Independence in the Context of American Imperial History

By Glenn Petersen

From the Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences [PDF file]

Following a plebiscite the population of the Marshall Islands preferred autonomy from the USA. In 1989 the Compact of Free Associaton was signed which gave the Marshalls independence, while ensuring US government funding of many of its programs.