Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large

coral atoll Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oce ...

of 91 islands in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and forms a

legislative district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of the

Ralik Chain The Ralik Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ralik means "sunset". It is west of the Ratak Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Ralik islands was 19,915. Christopher Loeak, wh ...

of the

Republic of the Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 ...

. Its total

land area This is a list of the world's countries and their dependencies, ranked by total area, including land and water. This list includes entries that are not limited to those in the ISO 3166-1 standard, which covers sovereign states and dependent ...

is , and it encloses a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

with an area of . Most of the land area is on the largest

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

( motu) of Jaluit (10.4 km²). Jaluit is approximately southwest of

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ' ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain, Ratak ( ...

. Jaluit Atoll is a designated conservation area and Ramsar Wetland. In 2021 the population of the islands of Jaluit Atoll was 1,409. It was the former

administrative seat An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of the Marshall Islands.

History

The British merchant vessel '' Rolla'' sighted Jaluit in 1803. She had transported

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s from Britain to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and was on her way to China to find a cargo to take back to Britain. In 1885, the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

annexed Jaluit Atoll and the other Marshall Islands as protectorate. From 1888 to 1906 the islands were administered by the Jaluit Company on behalf of Germany’s colonial government. German imperial commissars ('' Kaiserliche Kommissare'') included: * 1886–1888 Dr. jur. Wilhelm Knappe (1855–1910) * 1888–1888 Dr. Franz Leopold Sonnenschein (1857–1897) * 1889–1891 Friedrich Louis Max Biermann * 1891–1894 Dr. Karl Wilhelm Schmidt (b. 4 March 1859 in Braunschweig) * 11 May 1894 – March 1898 Georg Irmer (b. 1853 – d. 1931) * 24 March 1898 – 18 January 1906 Eugen Brandeis (b. 1846 – d. 1919) (acting to 22 February 1900) * 18 January 1906 – May 1906 Ludwig Kaiser (acting) (b. 1862 – d. 1906) * 1 April 1906 – 3 October 1914 the governors of

German New Guinea German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...

; afterwards the jurisdiction was downgraded to district, under a ''

Bezirksamtmann Bezirksamtmann (plural ''Bezirksamtleute'') is a German administrative title of gubernatorial or lower rank, roughly translating as equivalent to the British District Officer. It is derived from ''Bezirk'' ("district") + ''Amtmann'' ("official"). ...

'' After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the island became a part of the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

, a mandated territory of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, and was the seat of the Japanese administration over the Marshall Islands. Immigrants from Japan numbered several hundred by the 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the island's Japanese garrison consisted of 1,584 men of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

and 727 men of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

. The island was bombed on at least five occasions in November and December 1943 by

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

bombers of the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

7th Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

. The island became part of the vast US

Naval Base Marshall Islands Naval Base Marshall Islands were United States Navy advance bases built on the Marshall Islands during World War II to support the Pacific War efforts. The bases were built by US Navy after the Marshall Islands campaign that captured the island ...

. From World War II until 1986, Jaluit came under the control of the United States as part of the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...

. After World War II, the United States was engaged in a

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...

with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The population of

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

had agreed in 1945 to temporarily relocate to allow the U.S. to test then-new nuclear weapons at Bikini, which they were told were of great importance to humankind. The displaced islanders struggled for survival at several other Marshall Islands, including

Rongerik Atoll Rongerik Atoll or Rongdrik Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is an unpopulated coral atoll of 17 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is located in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands, approximately east of Bikini Atoll. Its total land area is only , ...

Ujelang Atoll Ujelang Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is an uninhabited coral atoll of 30 islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon of . It is the westernmost island in the Marshall I ...

Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ) is part of the Marshall Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking re ...

, and

Kili Island Kili Island or Kili Atoll (Marshallese language, Marshallese: , ) is a small, () island located in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, 415 people lived on the island, many of whom were descended from islanders who originally li ...

. A decade later the U.S. suggested that some of the Bikini Islanders move to Jaluit. Three families moved there to produce

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

for sale and other families rotated living there later on. Their homes on both Kili and Jaluit were struck by typhoons during 1957 and 1958, sinking their supply ship and damaging crops. Jaluit remained under the control of the United States until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.

Geography

Jaluit Atoll's lagoon is shaped roughly like a

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

. The islet of Jabor (', ) has the largest population center on Jaluit Atoll, with a population of approximately 1,200. The island features a small hotel, small stores that sell staple foods, and a gasoline station. Jabor is a base for commercial and sports fishing, where motorboats can be rented. Snorkeling spots are around the sunken dock by the airport and in the northern pass into the lagoon. Imiej (', ) is an islet a 45-minute boat ride from Jabor. It used to be the headquarters for the

garrison and was a major

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

base. The ruins of the power station, barracks,

antiaircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

s and a

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

remain.

Education

Marshall Islands Public School System Republic of Marshall Islands Public School System (PSS) is the public school system of the Marshall Islands, headquartered in Majuro. It was established in November 2013 by Public Law 2013-23. It is a part of the Ministry of Education, Sports an ...

operates public schools. High schools: * Jaluit High School (JHS) - a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

that serves students from Jaluit Atoll and the southern atolls of Ebon, Ailinglaplap, Namu, Kili, Namdrik and Jabat. Primary schools: * Imiej Elementary School * Imroj Elementary School * Jabnoden Elementary School * Jabor Elementary School - Jabor * Jaluit Elementary School * Mejrirok Elementary School * Narmej Elementary School Private schools: Jabor has St. Josephs, attached to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Transportation

Jaluit Airport is served by

Air Marshall Islands Air Marshall Islands is an airline based in Majuro, Marshall Islands, Majuro, Marshall Islands. It is the flag carrier of the Marshall Islands, operating inter-island services in the Central Pacific. Its main base is Marshall Islands Internati ...

Twin Town

Jaluit is twinned with: *

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

, Taiwan, since 2019

References

External links

Marshall Islands site
* * {{Authority control IUCN Category VI Ramsar sites in the Marshall Islands Atolls of the Marshall Islands Ralik Chain