Micronesia, Federated States of

Overview

The country which is made up of five states: Chuuk, Kosrae, Mostakia, Pohnpei and Yap occupies more than a million square miles although it only has a land area of approximately 280 square miles.

A Compact of Free Association was entered into with the US in 1986. This entails defence support from the US while allowing near independence. The government is located on Pohnpei which is also, probably due to this, the most westernized state. At the other end of the scale is Yap whose traditional society follows a caste system. The other states fall in between these vague extremes with their acceptance of the new and continuation of the old lifestyles. Visitors should not assume that all the ways of life are the same throughout the nation.

Wildlife both in and out of the water is probably the main attraction of this collection of islands, atolls and reefs. The species of marine life that can be seen in the more than numerous clear dive sites are close to uncountable themselves, although the Japanese WWII wrecks should not be overlooked in Truk lagoon. The land, with its rainforests, mangrove swamps and mountains provide homes for exotic flora and fauna including monitor lizards and fruit bats.

History

In 1525 Portuguese navigators in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) came upon Yap and Ulithi. Spanish expeditions later explored the rest of the Caroline Islands. The Spanish Empire claimed sovereignty over the Carolines until 1899 when it sold all of its Pacific island territories to Germany except Guam which became a U.S. territory. The German administration of the Carolines encouraged development of trade and production of copra. In 1914 German administration ended when Japanese naval squadrons took over possession of the Carolines Marshalls and Marianas. Japan began its formal administration under a League of Nations mandate in 1920. Through extensive settlement the Japanese population in Micronesia exceeded 100 000 (as compared to an indigenous population of about 40 000 at the time). Following U.S. occupation of the islands in World War II the United Nations in 1947 created the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) with the U.S. as administering authority. The TTPI consisted of Kosrae Ponape (now Pohnpei) Truk (now Chuuk) and Yap (which now are the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia) Palau the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. On November 3 1986 the FSM became independent and entered into free association with the U.S. GOVERNMENT The constitution separates the executive legislative and judicial branches. It provides for a unicameral legislature of 14 senators: ten elected every two years from districts apportioned according to population and one elected at large from each state every four years. Two of the at-large senators are...more