Pohnpei in Federated States of Micronesia

Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, from Pohnpeian: "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')") is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...

group. It belongs to Pohnpei State, one of the four

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

s in the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...

(FSM). Major population centers on Pohnpei include

Palikir Palikir () is the Capital city, capital city of the Federated States of Micronesia located in the western Pacific Ocean. A town of slightly under 5,000 residents, it is part of the larger Sokehs municipality, which had a population of 6,647 , ou ...

, the FSM's capital, and Kolonia, the capital of Pohnpei State. Pohnpei is the largest island in the FSM, with an area of , and a highest point of , the most populous with 36,832 people, and the most developed single island in the FSM. Pohnpei is home to the megaliths and ruined city of Nan Madol, built of artificial islands off the island's eastern shore beginning in the 8th or 9th century. An important archaeological site, it was declared a national historic site in 1985. Pohnpei contains a wealth of

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. It is one of the wettest places on Earth with annual recorded rainfall exceeding each year in certain mountainous locations. It is home to the ka tree ('' Terminalia carolinensis'') found only in Pohnpei and

Kosrae Kosrae ( ), formerly known as Kusaie or Strong's Island, is an island in the Caroline Islands archipelago, and States of Micronesia, state within the Federated States of Micronesia. It includes the main island of Kosrae, traditionally known as Ual ...

Name

The name ''Pohnpei'' comes from the Pohnpeian language, literally meaning "upon a stone altar". It derives from a Proto-Chuukic-Pohnpeic phrase ''*fawo ni pei'' of the same meaning. Cognates in other

Micronesian languages The Micronesian languages form a family of Oceanic languages. The twenty languages are known for their lack of plain labial consonant and have instead two series, palatalized and labio-velarized labials, similar to the related Kanak languages ...

include Mokilese ''Pohnpei'' and Chuukese ''Fóónupi''.

History

The natives of Pohnpei, especially the 'older' generations, often refer to events in their past as having occurred, e.g., in "German times" or "before the Spaniards," which identifies the historical periods:

Pre-colonial history

The earliest settlers were probably

Lapita culture The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian peoples, Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed t ...

people from the Southeast

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

or the

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

. Pre-colonial history is divided into three eras: ''Mwehin Kawa'' or ''Mwehin Aramas'' (Period of Building, or Period of Peopling, before ); ''Mwehin Sau Deleur'' (Period of the Lord of Deleur, to ); and ''Mwehin Nahnmwarki'' (Period of the Nahnmwarki, to ). Pohnpeian legend recounts that the Saudeleur rulers, the first to bring government to Pohnpei, were of foreign origin. The Saudeleur centralized form of absolute rule is characterized in Pohnpeian legend as becoming increasingly oppressive over several generations. Arbitrary and onerous demands, as well as a reputation for offending Pohnpeian deities, sowed resentment among Pohnpeians. The Saudeleur Dynasty ended with the invasion of Isokelekel, another semi-mythical foreigner, who replaced the Saudeleur rule with the more decentralized '' nahnmwarki'' system in existence today. Pohnpeian historic society was highly structured into five tribes, various clans and sub-clans; each tribe headed by two principal chiefs. The tribes were organized on a feudal basis. In theory, "all land belonged to the chiefs, who received regular tribute and whose rule was absolute." Punishments administered by chiefs included death and banishment. Tribal wars included looting, destruction of houses and canoes and killing of prisoners. Pre-Spanish population estimates are deemed unreliable.

Earliest European contacts

Pohnpei's first European visitor was Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón on 14 September 1529 shortly before his death, when trying to find the way back to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. He charted it as ''San Bartolomé'' and called this one and the surrounding islands as ''Los Pintados'' (literally, "the painted ones" in Spanish) because the natives were frequently tattooed. It was later visited by the navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, commanding the Spanish ship ''San Jeronimo''. on 23 December 1595; his description is brief, he made no attempt to land.

19th-century visitors

There is good documentation about Australian sailor John Henry Rowe, who arrived in his barque ''John Bull'' on 10 September 1825, though he did not land as his vessel was chased off by native canoes. The first lengthy description of the island and its inhabitants is presented by the Russian explorer Fyodor Litke, whose ship ''Senyavin'' gave the island group of Pohnpei, Ant and Pakin its name. From 14 to 19 January 1828, his boats attempted to land but could not due to the hostility shown by the islanders, but natives then came aboard his ship, "some trading occurred, a short vocabulary was compiled, and a map made." F.H. von Kittlitz, a member of the Litke expedition made a further descriptive account, including the offshore ruins of Nan Madol, and the two reports together provided the first real knowledge of Pohnpei. It is not clear who the next visitors were; however, when Capt. J.H. Eagleston of the barque ''Peru'' sighted the island on 3 January 1832, it was already on his charts as "Ascension Island." Riesenberg writes that it is uncertain who first called it Ascension Island, but the name became established until the Spanish period.

Miscreants and missionaries

From this time onward, whaling and trading vessels came in increasing numbers. Very soon a "large colony of beachcombers, escaped convicts, and ship's deserters became established ashore," identified as "chiefly bad characters," according to the log of the Swedish frigate ''Eugenie''. The first missionary to arrive was Father Louis Désiré Maigret, a Roman Catholic priest. He had sailed from Honolulu on the schooner ''Notre Dame de Paix'' and began his efforts in December 1837, but he departed on 29 July 1838 for

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

after seven unsuccessful months.Bunson, Maggie. ''Faith in Paradise''. Boston: St. Paul Publishing. 1977, pp. 43, 65 In his company were "several

Mangareva Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent p ...

ns and

Tahitians The Tahitians (; ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of Tahiti and thirteen other Society Islands in French Polynesia. The numbers may also include the modern population in these islands of mixed P ...

," some of whom remained on Pohnpei and left descendants. Ten years later Maigret returned to the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

as Bishop of Honolulu. A group of Protestant missionaries from New England established themselves permanently on Pohnpei in 1852. Their letters and journals contain a wealth of information about the island and are preserved at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. A drastic population decline occurred after 1854, due to a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemic. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, to counteract the Union Navy

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

of their ports,

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

ships hunted Yankee merchant shipping. On 1 April 1865, the '' CSS Shenandoah'' surprised four United States whalers at Ascension Island (Pohnpei) and destroyed them all. The local king, Nananierikie, was delighted to receive much of the spoils from this action.

Spanish rule

By 1886 the Spaniards claimed the Caroline Islands which were part of the

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

-based

Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies were the colonies of the Spanish Empire in Asia-Pacific, Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1901, governed through the Captaincy General of the Philippines, captaincy general in Manila for the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish Crown, i ...

and began to exert political authority. They founded the city ''Santiago de la Ascensión'' in what today is ''Kolonia'' (from Spanish ''colonia'' or colony). The Spanish built several government buildings, a fort, a church and a school. Spanish Capuchin friars were also sent from Manila to Pohnpei to preach the Catholic faith. After the 1898

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, 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 ...

purchased the Caroline island group from Spain in 1899 together with the Marianas (except Guam) and four years later the Marshall Islands for 17 million goldmark.

German rule and land reform

During the German administration a fundamental change in land ownership was implemented on Pohnpei and throughout the Carolines. Beginning in 1907, the feudal system, in which all land is held in fief, was gradually replaced with the issuance of individual deeds to land. The chief's economic advantages were thus reduced, and only force of tradition granted a first harvest tribute to chiefs. With land holding, taxes came due and new owners, in lieu of payment, were obliged to work 15 days per year on public projects, such as wharf construction, road building, etc. One such work for taxes engagement sparked the Sokehs rebellion. It began as an insubordination event during road construction on Sokehs Island, then escalated into the murder of nine people, the subsequent apprehension and trial of 36 Sokehs rebels, the execution of 15 insurgents, and banishment for others to Babelthuap in the German Palau Islands. The German census of 1911–12 shows 3,190 Pohnpeians, 585 Central Carolinians and 279 Melanesians. Many of the outer islands were resettled (mainly on Sokehs Island) as a consequence of destructive typhoons in their home islands. A special census conducted in late 1947 shows a total population of 5,628, of which 4,451 were Pohnpeians, and 1,177 were natives of other Pacific islands. By 1963, the population had grown to nearly 10,000.

Japanese rule

With the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, Japan as mandatory power assumed control of all German colonial possessions north of the equator, having occupied Pohnpei along with the rest of the Carolines, the Marshalls, the

Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...

(except for American-owned

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

) and Kiautschou Bay during

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 ...

. In subsequent years and 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 Japanese garrison strength was composed of about 2,000 men of the IJN under Captain Jun Naito and 5,984 IJA men under Lieutenant General Masao Watanabe. However, Pohnpei was bypassed by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the island-hopping amphibious campaigns of 1943–1945. The island was shelled on several occasions, including by the battleships USS ''Massachusetts'', USS ''Alabama'', and , as well as air attacks launched from USS ''Cowpens''. Japan surrendered in 1945, and the Pohnpei was turned over to the United States without a battle. After the war, Japanese nationals were repatriated to Japan by the US Navy. The people on Pohnpei would be in a United Nations trusteeship to determine their own fate.

United States administration, under United Nations oversight

The Federated States of Micronesia achieved independence in 1986 after being administered by the United States under UN auspices since 1947 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 ...

. Pohnpei is an island part of Federated States of Micronesia, which is recognized by the United Nations. It has maintained a defense and aid agreement with the United States after becoming independent.

Geography

The highest point of the island is Mount Nanlaud at 772 or 782 metres. Pohnpei is home to several dozen bird species including four

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species, the Pohnpei lorikeet, the Pohnpei fantail, the Pohnpei flycatcher and the long-billed white-eye. A fifth endemic, the Pohnpei starling, is thought to have recently gone

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. The only land reptiles are a few species of lizard. Originally the only mammals were bats. Pigs, rats and dogs were introduced; pigs have become feral. The lagoons are rich in fish, molluscs, turtles and other marine fauna.

Climate

Pohnpei belongs to the

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

zone (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Af''). It is one of the wettest places on Earth with an average annual recorded rainfall of in towns along the coast and about each year in certain mountainous locations.

Demographics

The population of the state in 2010 was approximately 36,196. While the majority of the population consider themselves ethnic Pohnpeians, Pohnpei is more ethnically diverse than any other island in the FSM. This is largely due to more than a century of foreign colonial occupation, bringing in Spanish, German, Japanese, Chamorro, Filipino, US, Australian, other western Europeans, and it being home to the capital of the national government, which employs hundreds of people from the other three FSM States ( Yap, Chuuk,

) having distinct ethnic and cultural origins. The indigenous makeup also includes the multiple regional ethnicities of the outer islands within Pohnpei State, resulting in a mix of Australasian Pacific Islanders and hence making Pohnpei Island the FSM's

melting pot A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...

Languages

The Pohnpeian language (formerly called "Ponapean") and its dialects are the indigenous languages of Pohnpei. The

government also uses Pohnpeian as a

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...

. English and Spanish are spoken in the island.

Administrative divisions

The municipalities on the island of Pohnpei are: * Kitti, southwest. Includes Ant Atoll * Kolonia, north * Madolenihmw, east * Nett (main island, north/center, formerly including state capital Kolonia on the north coast) * Sokehs, northwest. Also includes Pakin Atoll and

, the national capital * U, northeast

Transportation

Pohnpei International Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

code PNI) is located near Kolonia, on a small island named Deketik off the northern coast of the main island.

Sport

The FSM is part of the international Olympic movement, originally the work of James Tobin, who now sits on the IOC Executive Board, sending teams to the summer games beginning in 2000 with the Sydney games and continuing every four years to the present with athletes participating in track and field, swimming and weightlifting. The most notable Pohnpeian athlete is marathon runner Elias Rodriguez who ran for the FSM at the Sydney Olympics. Rodriguez finished last in the marathon but was cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators and watched by millions of television viewers as he entered the Olympic stadium for a final lap immediately prior to the closing ceremony which was delayed to allow his finish. Pohnpei's state football team were coached by the world's youngest national football coach, the Englishman Paul Watson, who led the team on a tour of nearby Guam, winning one match against a local team. The annual Micronesian Futsal Cup has been established on the island, also the work of Watson.

Pohnpei in fiction

Pohnpei (as Ponape) plays a role in several stories of the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

and others. Its role in " Out of the Aeons", by Lovecraft and Hazel Heald, was inspired by the ruins of Nan Madol (see above), which had already been used as the setting for a lost race story by Abraham Merritt, '' The Moon Pool'', in which the islands are called Nan-Matal."they had set forth for the Nan-Matal, that extraordinary group of island ruins clustered along the eastern shore of Ponape in the Carolines" Pohnpei is a central location in '' South Sea Adventure'' (1952), the second of Willard Price's Young Adult Adventure Series books featuring Hal and Roger Hunt. Pohnpei, or "Ponape" as it is spelled, is stated as the home island of "Mike" on the popular blog ''Dunce Upon A Time'', authored by BC Woods.

Education

Pohnpei State Department of Education Pohnpei State Department of Education (PDOE) is an agency of Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia that operates public schools. Churchill B. Edward is the department's director. Schools it had 31 elementary schools with 556 preschool ...

operates public schools. Public high schools:Higher Education in the Federated States of Micronesia
." Embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia Washington DC. Retrieved on 23 February 2018. * Nanpei Memorial High School a.k.a. Kitti High School * Madolenihmw High School * Pohnpei Island Central School (former Pacific Island Central School) in Nett Private schools: * Calvary Christian Academy in Kolonia * Ohwa Christian High School in Madolenihmw * Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School in Kolonia * Seventh Day Adventist High School in Nett Pohnpei Catholic School Post secondary education: * College of Micronesia-FSM, which has a state campus in each of the four states with its national campus in the capital city of Palikir. The COM-FSM system also includes the Fisheries and Maritime Institute (FMI) on the Yap islands. Lidorkini Museum was located in Kolonia, until its closure in 2012.

Notable residents

* Debra Daniel – Olympic swimmer * Iris Falcam – Librarian and former First Lady of Micronesia * Leo Falcam – Former President of Micronesia * Kerson Hadley – Olympic swimmer * Emelihter Kihleng – Poet * Bailey Olter – Former President of Micronesia * Elias Rodriguez – Olympic marathon runner * Mihter Wendolin – Olympic sprinter

Gallery

File:Flag of Pohnpei.svg, Flag of Pohnpei File:Pwusehn Malek (also known as Chickenshit Mountain) in Pohnpei, FSM.jpg, Pwusehn Malek (also known as Chickenshit Mountain) in Pohnpei File:Pohnpei Lorikeet.jpg, Pohnpei lorikeet File:Pohnpei Flycatcher.jpg, Pohnpei flycatcher File:PohnpeiAirport.jpg, Pohnpei Airport File:Petroglyphs at Pohnpeid, Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia).jpg, Petroglyphs

Explanatory notes

Citations

External links

POHNPEI, un estado marítimo-insular en el Océano Pacífico. 1.

POHNPEI, uno de los cinco estados que integran la FSM. 2.

POHNPEI (Islas Carolinas orientales). 3º parte.

Los atolones occidentales de Pohnpei (Estados Federados de Micronesia). 4ª parte.
{{Authority control Caroline Islands Palikir