Federated States of Micronesia

Them Federated States of Micronesia (EFMin English, Federated States of Micronesia / marginma orderly.( listen)abbreviated in English as WSF), or simply Micronesia, they are an island sovereign State in the Micronesia region, whose form of government is the democratic federal republic. Administratively, it is made up of four states — west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Ponapé and Kosrae — scattered along the Pacific Ocean, north of the Earth's equator. They are about 607 islands covering a longitudinal distance of 2700 kilometers. Its capital is Palikir, on the island of Ponapé.

The country is considered a Micro-State as it has a land area of 702 square kilometers (similar to that of Singapore); however, its exclusive economic zone extends over a sea of more than 2,600,000 km², which is similar in size to the land territory of Kazakhstan. Its limits are to the southwest, with the island of Nueva Guinea; to the north, with Guam and the Mariana Islands; to the east, with Nauru and the Marshall Islands and to the west with Palau and the Philippines. They are located about 2,900 km north of Australia and about 4,000 km west of Hawaii.

Each of its four states is located around one or more major islands, and all but Kosrae include numerous atolls. The country is generally known by the term Micronesia, although Micronesia can refer to both the independent state and the geographic region.

The first European explorers to reach the islands were Portuguese, but finally the Spanish Empire was the first to exercise effective sovereignty over the archipelago. With the end of the Spanish-American War, the islands became part of the German Empire and were later assigned to the Empire of Japan after World War I. After World War II, the territory became the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations trust granted to the United States of America. On May 10, 1979, the trust adopted a constitution, achieving full autonomy on November 3, 1986, after signing a Free Association treaty with the American country.

On December 22, 1990, independence was officially recognized, according to Resolution 683 of the United Nations Security Council.

With a medium human development index (0.645), the country has an estimated population of 111,000 inhabitants in 2009. These data translate into a life expectancy of 69.2 years (2012).

History

Pre-colonial history

The Austronesian ancestors of the Micronesians settled there more than 4,000 years ago. A decentralized system based on caciques eventually evolved into a more centralized economic and religious culture, centered on Pohnpei. Caroline Islanders had regular contact with the Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands, as well as more rare trips to the eastern islands of Philippines.

Nan Madol in Ponapé, consisting of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals, is often called the Venice of the Pacific. It is located near the island of Ponapé and used to be the ceremonial and political center of the Saudeleur dynasty that gathered the 25,000 people of Ponapé from around 500 BC. C. until 1500, when the centralized system collapsed.

The Empire of Yap

Since about the year 1500, before the start of foreign colonial administration by Western powers, the island of Yap created and maintained a unique set of socioeconomic and political relationships with neighboring islands to the east and southwest in known as the Yapés Empire. Although on a small scale and informally, the Empire proper formed when what is now known as the municipality of Gagil, through the main town of Gatchaper, developed and maintained a network trade and maritime policy with smaller atolls and island groups between Yap and Chuuk, spanning more than 1,500 kilometers (932.01 mi) of the western Pacific.

Traditional meeting house in Yap

Through a relationship known as sawey, the Empire demanded a tribute known as Pitigil Tamol that was handed over to the supreme head of Gagil in Gatchaper. These tributes would include bagiiy (lavalava), coconut rope, coconut oil, mats and shells. In return, Gagil would correspond to the mutual support of the main island in case of natural emergencies, as well as property. These Gagil assets would include canoes alreadypens, curcuum, silex stone and other resources already thought. The relationship also requested the service of those with experience and knowledge of navigation along with the already thought sailors. This relationship may have helped the Yapes to navigate to Palaos to extract the Rai stones, the stone coin discs carved in crystalline calcite that are still used today in cultural transactions.

Although this unique relationship with Gagil and the outer islands may seem exploitative, researchers such as Lessa and Lingenfelter argue that the relationship was largely mutual, and in most cases more beneficial to Carolinos than to Yapese. Lessa had also suggested that the so-called empire was formed out of conquest and 'blackmail'. through witchcraft and the economy.

Other places mentioned in Pacific anthropological-historical literature that were quite similar to the Yapés Empire was the Tongan Empire, also known as Tu'i Tonga, which is the present-day Kingdom of Tonga.

Traditional Society

Traditional Yapense society prior to foreign colonial administrations was divided into multiple villages and townships and is highly feudal in nature. Power was not assigned to a single authority controlling Yap, but rather was decentralized and assigned to at least ten municipalities. A defining feature of Yapense society was its unique and complex system of social castes, which is still in force today. Each of the present one hundred twenty-nine (129) towns on Yap is organized into individual units based on the class system.

While each village has its own class rank within the municipality, based on the number of military victories, each village also has its own internal set of social classes unique to that group. All lower-class and low-ranking villages were under the authority of the higher-ranking villages, as the latter had considerable power and voice (lungun). An example of a high-ranking village is the aforementioned Gatchaper, whose range is Bulche' or 'UIun'. Because villages and townships were continually at war with each other, the social ranks of villages and individuals fluctuated based on military results.

However, in the 20th century, during the German colonization of Yap, the German administration pacified the island and enforced a strict ban on violent conflict. This policy caused the permanent freezing of all social ranks. At present, there are three villages with high-ranking chiefs: Teb Village in Tamil Township, Ngolog Village in Rull Township and Gatchaper in Gagil Township.

Man and woman (slaves) of the Pimlingai tribe, in Uap (Islas Carolinas) in 1911

These main villages and their municipalities are called in Yapés "fare dalip e nguchol", which means "the three kitchen stones". This similarity was created to describe the relationship between these three towns and municipalities with the remaining seven. The stones, or nguchol, represent Tamil, Gagil and Rull, while the pot represents the island of Yap. The saying goes that when a stone, or a township or town, fell, all of Yap and its value would fall as well.

Optimal weather period

Between the years 1000 and 1300, in the Pacific Ocean, there was a period of stable warm and humid climate, with constant rains, this favored an important production of food and, therefore, the growth of populations. Among the In the 1000s and 1200s, Western Polynesian populations migrated to and invested in parts of Melanesia and, for those known as Eliceans, probably originating from Tuvalu and Tokelau, some sparsely populated or uninhabited parts of Micronesia that make up the present Federated States of Micronesia, the atolls of Kapingamarangi and Nukuoro.

Increased population density made it necessary to organize access to and distribution of land, food, and resources. Consequently, processes of cultural formalization took place. Specific groups, through their constructions, materialized their ties to an area of land and sea in a much more intimate way than before. With the development of social structures, different social statuses arose, which were reflected in different functions and wealth.. The land-associated lineages appear in this period.

Before the year 1000, archeology has not recorded the forms of settlement that existed in the current Federated States of Micronesia. Nearby, in Palau, the buildings are made of dirt. After the year 1000, this mode of construction continued, but throughout Micronesia, as in the rest of the Pacific, stone foundations became the norm. In Palau and in the present-day states of Yap and Chuuk, buildings are associated to paved roads, stone border fences, walls and other stone constructions, as they still appear in villages at the beginning of the XXI century.

The durability of this optimal climate also allowed the emergence of monumental traditions.

Little Ice Age

Ancient Figure (tino aitu), atoll of Nukuoro, state of Pohnpei

Around 1300 the Little Ice Age begins, lasting until about 1850. The weather was more unstable, stormy, dry, and cold. Sea level rises, causing further coastal erosion and salinization of water resources on low-lying atolls and islands in Micronesia and Polynesia, which may have led to population movements. Around 1400, as an adaptation Given these less favorable living conditions, the groups engaged in forms of competition that could lead to an intensification of economic production. The result of a maturation that began around the year 1000, the societies of the Pacific were then clearly hierarchical.

The inter-island exchange of goods helped to reduce climate risks, particularly those related to tropical cyclones, especially for vulnerable atolls and small islands. Among these economic networks is the sawei, a complex tribal system that it involves exchanges between islands according to a hierarchy of communities. The Yap Islands receive goods and information from the eastern islands and give them basic resources or luxury goods in return. The Yap Islands provide labor to Palau, and in return they are given the opportunity to mine stone money.

Pohnpei and the Saudeleur government

In Pohnpei, pre-colonial history is divided into three eras: Mwehin Kawa or Mwehin Aramas (Period of construction or settlement, before c. 1100); Mwehin Sau Deleur (Period of the Lord of Deleur, c. 1100 to c. 1628); and Mwehin Nahnmwarki (Period of the Nahnmwarki, c. 1628 to c. 1885). Pohnpean legend has it that the Saudeleur rulers, the first to bring rule to Pohnpei, were of foreign origin. The Saudeleur's centralized form of absolute rule is characterized in Pohnpei legend as becoming increasingly oppressive over several generations. Arbitrary and onerous demands, as well as a reputation for offending Pohnpei's deities, sowed resentment among Pohnpeians. The Saudeleur dynasty ended with the invasion of Isokelekel, another semi-mythical foreigner, who replaced Saudeleur rule with the more decentralized nahnmwarki system that exists today. Isokelekel is considered the creator of the modern Nahnmwarki social system of Pohnpe and the father from the town of Pohnpei.

Nan Madol, on the coast of Temwen Island near Pohnpei, consists of a series of small man-made islands linked by a network of canals, and is often called the Venice of the Pacific. It is situated near the island of Pohnpei and was the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur dynasty, which united Pohnpei's estimated 25,000 inhabitants until their centralized system collapsed with the invasion of Isokelekel. Isokelekel and his descendants initially occupied the stone city, but later abandoned it.

Catholic Church in Pohnpei. Christianity arrived in Micronesia during the Spanish government.

Spanish colonization (1526-1899)

The first European explorers were the Portuguese, in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia), followed by the Spanish, who reached the Carolinas in the 17th century XVI, where they established their sovereignty and founded two colonies: Santa Cristina de Yap and Santiago de Ponapé. On August 22, 1526, the Spanish explorer Toribio Alonso de Salazar sighted the atoll of Taongi or Bokak (which he named San Bartolomé) in the Marshall Islands. Apparently, at the end of the same year or the beginning of the following, the Portuguese navigator Diego da Rocha sighted the Ulithi (Yap) atoll.

On January 1, 1528, the Spanish navigator Alonso de Saavedra took possession of this same atoll on behalf of the King of Spain. It could be that the atolls that Hernando de Grijalva sighted in 1537 were those of Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi (Ponapé). In 1543 the Spanish Ruy López de Villalobos sighted the atoll of Eniwetok (Is. Marshall), that of Fais (Yap) and the Palau Islands. It is possible that in 1565 Miguel López de Legazpi made landfall on Murilo Atoll (now called the Hall Islands in Chuuk).

To bolster Spain's presence as one of the remaining superpowers in the Pacific, in 1886 Governor Don Isidro Posadillo and his Spanish military force set foot on Pohnpei reasserting control of the region for the Spanish empire.

Spain claimed much of Micronesia with this move, though its primary physical presence was initially limited to the Pohnpei port city of Kolonia. By the time the Spanish arrived, the people of Pohnpei had already felt the side effects of foreign influence brought by whalers, beach fishermen, traders, and missionaries who had preceded the local military authorities. The Spanish thought that controlling Pohnpei would be an easy task. Like the missionaries, they did not seek permission from the locals to establish their foreign institutions, and their knowledge of Pohnpei society was poor.

The Spanish incursion into Pohnpei was held off until Governor Posadillo tested his power over a land called mesenieng already in the possession of the local ruler, the Lepen of Nett, and he 'granted' the right to reside on that land. The governor needed the land to establish his capital and sought a way to acquire it.

Doane, one of the American missionaries who represented part of the locals, resisted the governor's insistence, angering him in the process. Consequently,

The Spanish Wall of PohnpeiSpanish wall)

Doane was arrested and deported to the Philippines for attempting to undermine Spanish authority over the islands. Doane's deportation highlighted the power struggle between foreigners in the area, as well as relations with local people.

The relationship between Governor Posadillo and the people of Pohnpei became strained when he set about consolidating Spanish power in the area. Posadillo tried to build roads to allow free movement of Spanish officials on the island. The local government also promoted the Catholic faith and that the Spanish language was the lingua franca. Both measures met with initial resistance from the local population. To make matters worse, the governor demanded support for his ambitious plan to build a highway network.

The governor wanted a team of men from each of the chiefdoms to rotate weekly as laborers during the construction of the ring road. In addition, local chiefs were required to supply food to work teams,

The Spanish ordered the arrest of several traditional chiefs of the island who did not obey the orders issued by the governor. The incident led to the death of 17 Spanish soldiers including the governor himself. This was replaced by the governor Don Luis Casadro y Rey who arrived with 700 soldiers and 3 military ships bombarding Kolonia and forcing the local leaders to request a negotiation. Spain's response was to demand unconditional surrender and submit the rebel leaders to Spanish justice. The local leaders eventually surrendered, and several rebels were executed.

The construction of several Catholic churches was ordered and in one of the constructions several workers were killed during another revolt of natives, Spain responded by sending the ship Manila to bombard Ohwa.

The Spanish were confined to their small compound in Kolonia, protected by what is now known as the Spanish Wall at Ponapé. The Spanish's ignorance of local politics, geography, and the traditional system created considerable difficulties for the authorities in their attempt to build a successful colony.

Spain's West Carolina and Palae Islands Cession Ceremony to the German Empire on November 3, 1899 on Yap Island

Spain also attempted to establish a stronger colony on Yap and while it encountered foreign missionaries in Pohnpei, it encountered German trading interests on Yap. In an attempt to counteract this influence, the Pope granted Spain all of the Caroline Islands. Relations between the Yapese and the Spanish were cordial but cautious. The Spanish were quick to establish open and friendly relations with the local Yapese chiefs to achieve their goals in this well-regulated society.

Yap's resistance to Spanish rule took many forms. These ways included continuing the traditional practices of keeping women with men for sexual purposes, against the wishes of the Spanish, and honoring traditional gods. The Yap chiefs took the colonists' wishes at their word, while continuing to pursue their own priorities behind the backs of the Spanish. The Spanish colonial government was quick to realize that maintaining power among the village chiefs was essential to maintaining its presence on Yap.

In some of the low-lying Caroline Islands, the Spanish exercised almost no effective power over the outer islands, which they rarely, if ever, visited. The islands were scattered over a vast expanse of sea, which was almost impossible to manage.

German postal stamp of the Carolina Islands (Karolinen) of 1901

The Spanish Empire was also in full decline and lacked the necessary resources to impose its dominance throughout its territory. Many islanders continued with their cultural practices as usual. The handful of German traders who came to the islands to collect copra for the European market made no significant inroads to induce change on a large scale. This history of resistance kept the islanders in good standing, ready to face challenges posed by other outside powers in later years. A fort on Yap ("Spanish Fort") survives from this time.

German Colonization (1899-1914)

After the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898, the islands that remained Spanish in Oceania were sold to Germany in 1899, but this would not last long as Japan would conquer them only 16 years later.

As spoils of war, the United States seized Guam (or Guajan) as an unincorporated territory. Seeing little use in them and the difficulty to protect the islands, the rest of Micronesia was sold by Spain to Germany through a special treaty.

Karl Kammerich, still in the Navy, was a police officer on the caroline island of Ponape from 1905 to 1910.

Micronesians had already experienced German influence as they were allowed to trade during the time of the Spanish Empire. However, the Micronesians were not consulted on this. Like the Spanish, the Germans had no coherent policy in Micronesia. His main objective was economic: to develop the copra industry and, later, to exploit phosphate when it was discovered on several islands.

Yap and Pohnpei became centers of German commercial and administrative activities headed by district officers and their retinues. German traders working for the Jailut Gesselshaft copra company in Chuuk and Kosrae were appointed as German representatives. To increase the volume of its copra exports to European markets, Germany encouraged copra production on the islands. Micronesians clearly understood that the Germans were not in Micronesia to improve the economic conditions of Micronesians, but for their own interests.

In Chuuk, copra was not profitable, so individual traders turned to other business activities from which they could profit. In other places

In other parts of Micronesia, copra was profitable due to different cultivation techniques. Christianity continued to be used as a Western indoctrination tool. A buyback plan was instituted to control the spread of weapons to minimize local conflicts, in the hope that Christianity would become the new lynchpin of a renewed colonial era that was expected to bring peace and prosperity.

Islanders from different parts of Chuuk were recruited at minimum wages to work in the mines on Nauru and Angaur. Islanders from the low-lying islands of Yap were recruited to work on German projects on the main island, and were also sent to Nauru, Palau, and Fais to work in the phosphate mines.

Tensions between the people of Pohnpei and their German colonial administrators increased when a new German administrator, Boeder, was appointed to oversee German interests on the island. Boeder was well known for his harsh treatment of native workers. The German administrator was assassinated which caused outrage in Germany, which he sent with troops trained from his headquarters in New Guinea. Upon arrival, they bombarded Sokehs Island with cannon fire in an attempt to drive out the perpetrators who were subsequently executed or deported.

Yap was instead considered a model colony under German administration with few conflicts.

Japanese colonization (1914-1945)

Japan Postal Office in Yap in 1932

Japanese colonization in the islands of Micronesia had its origin in the development, in the early years of the Meiji era, of Nanshin-ron, a political doctrine that promoted, by the Empire of Japan, the constitution of an area of influence over Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Influenced by the successes of the Western colonial powers, he sought, through the constitution of a navy, supported by territorial expansion, to protect the country through buffer zones that housed military bases and thus assert its maritime power against Western nations. It should also offer outlets for Japanese products, opportunities for the exploitation of new resources and, thanks to the low population density, provide an outlet for population growth. One of the main players in the progression of this doctrine was Enomoto Takeaki (1836-1908), a high-ranking Japanese minister, who in the years 1885-1895 played a prominent role in influencing the action of the ministries.

The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the victorious Russo-Japanese War of 1905 gave Japan a new power. The outbreak of World War I was an opportunity seized by Japan, which activated the Anglo-Japanese alliance and declared war on the German Empire on August 23, 1914. Under the pretext of clearing the Micronesian region of German warships, the Imperial Japanese Navy took possession of it, except for Guam, which belonged to the United States, and the Gilbert Islands, which the United Kingdom held, without difficulty, between October 3 and 14, 1914, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States feared for their acquired territories in the Pacific Ocean and tried to reduce the japanese influence. However, Japan's claims over Micronesia were recognized in the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 and the Empire obtained a mandate from the new League of Nations, not very binding in terms of obligations towards the populations, which authorized it to administer the region. area as an integral part of its territory. In 1922 the last differences with the United States were resolved and both nations agreed to restrict their military equipment.

Arriving on Kosrae, Ponhpei, Truk, and Yap islands in October 1914, naval landing troops performed an administrative role. Its commanders were instructed to respect property, religion, local customs and traditions, and old German laws that were not detrimental to Japanese interests. Pe 7. A comprehensive administration was quickly created, covering all sectors of daily life and economics. The granting of the Mandate accelerated the transfer of powers to civilian personnel. In March 1922, the South Seas Government was created, headed by a Governor. By the mid-1930s, some 950 highly competent, loyal, and honest Japanese worked there. The lowest level was the police, who it might be the only Japanese presence on the islands and atolls. Local inhabitants could be recruited into it. The traditional Micronesian chiefs on the main islands and atolls, following the practices of the previous Western occupants, had little power even if their status was recognized de jure. Those in the more remote lands, where there was no permanent official Japanese presence, were relatively much freer.

Japanese Public School in Yap in 1935

Unlike the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau, where Japanese immigration, generally poor and often from Okinawa, numbered in the tens of thousands, far outnumbering the indigenous populations, in what is now the Federated States of Micronesia it was less, not exceeding a few thousand.. However, this massive immigration compared to Micronesian populations, as well as the absence of Micronesian nationalist sentiment, undoubtedly influenced the acceptance of the Japanese occupation.

The demography of indigenous populations remained stagnant, except in Yap District, where it was declining. The efforts made in terms of equipment and medical personnel to reverse the situation were too weak to have a significant impact on improving sanitary conditions. In the Yap Islands, the Japanese action is seen as an attempt to abolish traditional customs. In order to produce subordinate workers, some Micronesian youths undergo a short course of discriminatory indoctrination, in which learning Japanese takes up half the time. Attempts were also made to teach them loyalty to Japan and, unsuccessfully, the Shinto religion. Micronesians were seen as a third-class people who could not achieve the status of imperial subjects. Within this class, the Mariana Island Indians are at the top and the Yap Island Indians are at the bottom for their resistance to administration.

The Japanese brought much of their way of life with them, be it housing, imported food and consumer goods, entertainment, religion. Imitation of Micronesian customs was very little.

Government of Japan Administrative Office (Nan'yo-cho) in Pohnpei

Japanese companies benefited from daunting regulations imposed by the authorities on foreign competition, as well as, for some, significant subsidies. In the territories of what is now the Federated States of Micronesia, especially Pohnpei, research agronomics to adapt or develop new varieties, sometimes with commercial success. In addition to subsistence farming, the Japanese, and particularly large corporations from the 1930s, produced copra and engaged in fishing, especially copra. bonito. Land needs were met by redistribution of public lands formerly owned by Micronesian communities, and by purchases from private owners, authorized beginning in 1931. Despite this, the Japanese presence was viewed favorably eyes economically by Micronesians because of the jobs the Japanese provided and the benefits income obtained from the sale of agricultural and fishing surpluses. However, these economic activities are of little importance compared to the cultivation of sugar cane in the Northern Mariana Islands and the extraction of phosphates in Palau. In 1929, 0.5% of the Empire of Japan's economic output came from the Mandate and 1% in 1935.

Despite the concern of Western powers, and in particular the United States, about Japan's reluctance to allow free movement of foreigners, Japan had long respected Micronesia's non-militarization agreements. In 1939, in anticipation of a probable war with the Americans, the Japanese navy carried out numerous military developments, notably airstrips on islands and atolls, sometimes using forced labor, often local but also Korean and Japanese, in this last case prisoner. In 1939, he assigned the administration of the territory to the Fourth Fleet.

Attack on the Japanese naval base on Dublon Island in 1944

Japan's advance into continental Asia, a consequence of its expansionist policy, rapidly caused a deterioration in relations with the United States.

World War II (1941-1945)

Attempts at compromise or dialogue between the Americans and the Japanese failed, and the attack on Pearl Harbor and a series of islands and atolls in the Pacific Ocean, and their invasion in general, took place in December 1941. In the In present-day Federated States of Micronesia, the vast and well-protected Truk Lagoon served as the base for a large Japanese fleet, including the Yamato and Musashi, the heaviest and most powerful battleships ever built.

Beginning in the fall of 1942, American forces regained the initiative over the Japanese, who a year later opted to fortify their main Pacific Ocean possessions, such as Pohnpei, and to bring in 80,000 men from Japan, Manchuria, and the Philippines. The results of this intense work were futile. The American conquest of the Marshall Islands between February and April 1944 marks the beginning of American attacks on the islands and atolls of what is now the Federated States of Micronesia.

From February through the summer, tons of bombs and amounts of incendiaries were dropped, intense campaigns of fire were carried out by US ships on the islands of Truk, Pohnpei, occasionally Kosrae, and occasionally the atolls of Woleai, Polowat and Satowan. The successive conquests of the Mariana Islands and Palau, from June to August 1944, were achieved at the cost of the near annihilation of the Japanese defenders who did not want to be captured. In September, the deserted Ulithi Atoll was taken without a fight.

Japs Yamato and Musashi anchored in the Truk Lagoon (New State of Chuuk) in 1943

The last Japanese soldiers killed on land in the Pacific Ocean died in January 1945 when an eight-man detachment fell off the Fais after a brief and futile engagement. The surrender of Japanese forces in Micronesia was signed on 30 February August 1945 and the remaining soldiers were promptly repatriated. On the Truk Islands, they were previously involved in clearing up war debris and building useful facilities for the new occupants.

During World War II, a significant portion of the Japanese fleet was based in the lagoon of Truk (Chuuk) Atoll. In February 1944, Operation Hailstone, one of the most important battles of the war, took place at Truk, in which many Japanese support ships and aircraft were destroyed.

US Administration (1945-1990)

Following the end of World War II, the territory was transferred to the United States under the auspices of the United Nations in 1947, as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

The United States occupied the region of Micronesia and planned to annex these territories, considered strategic for its defense and that of its allies, with Guam as its capital. However, the appropriation of some of Japan's northernmost islands as booty of war by the then Soviet Union led the US administration to abandon its project. The United States wanted the Soviets to leave the Japanese islands and did not want its own purpose used as a justification. This withdrawal had no effect, as the islands remained an integral part of Russia even to the present day.

On July 18, 1947, the United Nations granted the United States administration of the islands and archipelagos in the region of Micronesia, which make up the present Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, under a mandate called the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTIP). The area was divided into six largely self-governing districts: the Mariana Islands, Yap, Palau, Truk (present-day Chuuk), Ponape (present-day Pohnpei), and the Marshall Islands. The TTIP was the subject of power struggles between the Department of State, the Department of Defense, which administered it until June 30, 1951, and the Department of the Interior, which took charge until independence. However, between 1953 and 1962, most of the Northern Mariana Islands came under the administration of the United States Navy due to strategic considerations.

American Missionaries Sent to Ponape in 1852

Beginning in 1961, the US government came under increasing pressure from the UN, which many newly independent ex-colonial countries had joined, to move toward self-government, independence, and economic and educational development in this territory. Concerned by criticism, the United States adopted a road map in this regard at the behest of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, despite the fact that the Micronesians had not expressed their desire for independence and that the The population of the Northern Mariana Islands had repeatedly expressed their desire to become United States citizens. The UN Trusteeship Council opposed the partition of the territory based on the legal principle of uti possidetis juris. In 1962, the TTIP headquarters moved from Guam, a US territory, to Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. An economic development plan was drawn up, educational and political. A referendum was scheduled to be held to propose independence or association with the United States -the latter promoted by the Americans- for June 8, 1967. The budget assigned to the TTIP increased from 7.5 million dollars in 1962 to 15 million in 1963. The death of President Kennedy in November 1963 brought this drive to a halt.

In 1965, the World Health Organization harshly criticized the United States for poor quality public health services. TTIP funds were not sufficient to implement an effective public infrastructure construction program. For this reason, the budget was raised to 25 million dollars in 1967, increased to 35 million the following two years, and then increased to 120 million for 1970 and 1971. In addition, a fund of 10 million dollars was reserved to deal with to the consequences of natural disasters that regularly affect the Territory.

Church of Kolonia, on the island of Ponapé, remains of the European presence. Photo taken in 1973.

Autonomy

The creation of the Micronesian Congress in 1965, following an order by the US Secretary of the Department of the Interior, was an important step toward self-government. The Micronesian Congress was quick to consider ending the trust. In 1967, US President Lyndon B. Johnson unsuccessfully petitioned the US Congress to pass legislation to hold a plebiscite asking Micronesians to associate themselves to the United States. The actual negotiations with the US administration over the future political status of the region began in 1969. The US position was forced to move towards close association and, later, in 1971, towards free association. The Micronesian Congress, for its part, was in favor of independence in the long term, but as a result of a process that would mean an association with the US - a free association - in the meantime, due to the lack of infrastructure and the extreme economic dependence. The objective of the Congress was also to design a national government that would respond to the needs of a culturally very heterogeneous population.

The United States was soon faced with the fact that thirty years of administrative unity had not united the island groups of Micronesia. The biggest differences arose between 1969 and 1972. The United States was also especially interested in the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the Marshall Islands for the possible establishment of military bases. There were also plans to build a huge transshipment depot for Japanese-Iranian crude oil in Palau.

In 1975, the Micronesian Congress enacted legislation convening a constitutional convention. It was held in Saipan between July and November 1975. At the time of the convention's opening, voters in the Marianas were already they had approved the commonwealth signed with the United States in a referendum on June 17, 1975. The Nixon administration's position is that the remaining six districts constitute a single federal political entity under the name of the Federated States of Micronesia4. He wanted the future Free Association Treaty he intended to have Micronesians sign to take precedence over the future Micronesian Constitution, something Micronesian districts rejected.

The constitution required voter approval in all six affected districts. The creation, by an act of the Micronesian Congress in 1976, of a seventh district, Kosrae, by division of Ponape District, took effect on The following year, its objective was to promote the ratification of the constitution. In 1977, the United States announced that it was not opposed to independence although it did not want it. The results of the referendum of July 12, 1978 sanctioned the divergences observed throughout throughout the negotiations. Palau and the Marshall Islands rejected the constitution, in the former case by a small majority, but Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Yap accepted it. The Marshall Islands adopted their own constitution in a referendum on March 1, 1979, and Palau on July 9, 1980. Until the future institutions of the Micronesian countries were fully functional, the US administration continued to exercise certain powers related to its obligations..

In 1980, after more than a decade of intense negotiations, together with the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia signed a draft Treaty of Free Association with the United States. This was accompanied by subsidiary bilateral agreements tailored to each of the two countries in the Micronesian region. The United States Congress, the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia, and the four legislatures of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae adopted them. in 1982, and the Marshall Islands Parliament the following year. Voters in both island countries approved them by plebiscite in 1983.

Independence

On May 10, 1979, four of the Trust Territory districts ratified a new constitution to become the Federated States of Micronesia. The EFMs signed a Free Association treaty with the United States of America, which entered into force on November 3, 1986, which meant the change of Micronesia's status from trust territory to semi-independent.

Full independence in accordance with international law occurred on December 22, 1990, when the United Nations officially terminated the trusteeship over the territory.

Government and politics

The Federated States of Micronesia is governed by the 1979 Constitution that entered into force on May 10, as well as by the Treaty of Free Association signed with the United States in 1986 and revised in 1999 that it requires the Federated States to follow certain lines of foreign policy, and in return the United States is in charge of defending the country and providing economic assistance.

Fundamental rights are guaranteed and a system of separation of powers is established. The executive power is in the hands of the President of the Government, elected by the Assembly (legislative power) made up of 14 members, 10 of them elected by universal suffrage, and one of the remaining four for each of the four States that make up the Federation, and among which the president and vice-president must be elected. The four states also have their own legislative assembly. The last parliamentary elections were held on March 6, 2007 while the presidential elections were held on May 11 of the same year.

Despite not being banned, there is no established political party in the country.

Human Rights

In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), the Federated States of Micronesia has signed or ratified:

Status of major international human rights instruments

Federated States of Micronesia	International treaties
	CESCR		CCPR			CERD	CED	CEDAW		CAT		CRC			MWC	CRPD
	CESCR	CESCR-OP	CCPR	CCPR-OP1	CCPR-OP2-DP			CEDAW	CEDAW-OP	CAT	CAT-OP	CRC	CRC-OP-AC	CRC-OP-SC		CRPD	CRPD-OP
Pertenence
Signed and ratified, signed, but not ratified, neither signed nor ratified, without information, it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies.

Defense and foreign affairs

United States Navy helicopter flying over the coasts of the State of Chuuk, Micronesia

In international politics, the Federated States of Micronesia has often voted with the United States on United Nations General Assembly resolutions.

The Federated States of Micronesia is a sovereign and autonomous state in free association with the United States of America, which is solely responsible for its defense. The Maritime Surveillance Division operates a paramilitary maritime wing and a small maritime police unit. The Compact of Free Association allows citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia to enlist in the US military without having to obtain permanent residency or US citizenship, allows for the immigration and employment of Micronesians to the United States, and establishes relief programs economic and technical.

The Federated States of Micronesia maintains foreign relations with 56 countries, including the Holy See. The Federated States of Micronesia were admitted to the United Nations by recommendation of the Security Council on August 9, 1991 in Resolution 703 and by approval of the General Assembly on September 17, 1991 in Resolution 46/2. The Federated States of Micronesia was an active member of the Pacific Islands Forum. However, in February 2021, the Federated States of Micronesia announced that it would formally withdraw from the Forum in a joint statement with the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Nauru following a dispute over the election of Henry Puna as the Forum's Secretary General.

Territorial organization

Territorial Organization of the Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is made up of 607 islands that are divided into four states: Yap, Chuuk, Ponape and Kosrae. The federal capital is Palikir, located on the island of Ponape.

State		Capital	Area	Population	Population density
	Chuuk	Weno	127 km2	53 595	420 rooms/km2
	Kosrae	Tofol	110 km2	7686	70 hectares/km2
	Ponapé	Kolonia	346 km2	34 486	100 rooms/km2
	Yap	Cologne	118 km2	11 241	95 h/km2

Geography

Map of the Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia consists of 607 islands that stretch along the Caroline Islands archipelago, east of the Philippines. The four constituting island groups are Yap, Chuuk (called Truk until January 1990), Ponape (called Ponape until November 1984), and Kosrae. The federal capital is Palikir, in Ponapé.

Practically all of the islands are atolls and coral reefs settled on submarine ridges, and in many cases old volcanoes as in Chuuk, with the perimeter of the lagoon of such an atoll being the emergence of corals settled on a volcanic crater.

Biodiversity

The main coastal communities are biologically and physically linked mangrove forests, seagrass beds, lagoons, and coral reefs. In Micronesia, some 300 species of coral, 1,000 fish and 1,200 molluscs are recognized. In the mangroves there are shrimp, crabs and fish, as well as birds that feed on them. Seagrass beds appear offshore behind mangroves. The lagoons provide food for the reef inhabitants and contain various types of plankton. The biodiversity and complexity of coral reefs increases markedly from east to west, with 150 hard coral species at Kosrae, 200 at Ponapé, and 300 at Chuuk. Coral productivity in this area is one of the highest in the world, as it absorbs about 2,500 grams of carbon per square meter per year, compared to 2,200 grams in the tropical forest and 125 grams in the open sea.

Inland, from the tidal zone to the top of the mountains, there is a varied range of vegetation, cloud forest, highlands, palm trees, plantations, areas dominated by climbers of the genus Merremia, savannahs, native secondary forest, fragments of introduced trees, cultivated areas, freshwater swamps, Nypa fruticans palm swamps, atoll forests, forests in rocky areas and beaches. There are some 1,230 species of ferns and flowering plants, of which 782 are indigenous, including 145 species of native ferns. On the island of Ponapé there are about 750 species of plants, of which 110 are endemic. Another 457 species have been introduced.

Isle of Ifalik, State of Yap

Climate

The climate of the Federated States of Micronesia is equatorial, hot, humid, and rainy throughout the year. The islands are located north of the equator and are affected by the constant trade winds, which temper the climate. The minimum temperatures oscillate throughout the year between 22 and 25.oC, and the maximum between 30 and 32.oC. The abundant rainfall ranges between 2,500 and 5,000 mm per year, although on the faces facing the wind they can exceed 6,000 mm. Mount Nahnalaud, only 750 m high, on the island of Ponapé, receives an average of 10,160 mm, making it one of the rainiest places on the planet, with almost always cloudy skies. In general, the rains are produced by short but very intense showers and storms. The driest places are the flat atolls, where rainfall can drop below 3,000 mm. The driest months are January and February, with no less than 250 mm and 20 days of rain.

Geology

The Federated States of Micronesia (EFM) is a group of 607 small islands, known as the Caroline Islands, in the western Pacific. It comprises four major states: Yap, Chuuk (Truk), Pohnpei (Ponape), and Kosrae (Kusaie), running from west to east in the low latitudes of the Pacific in the north equatorial region.

The islands of Yap form an island arc system on the eastern convergent margin of the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) and are connected to the Palau island arc on the south and the Izu-Mariana arc system on the north. Tectonically, the Yap island arc is situated on the margin of the Carolinas plate, which has been nearly subducted beneath the Philippine sea plate.

Aerial view of the Faichuk Islands

Three other states of the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae) lie on the Pacific plate, east of the Mariana-Yap-Palau trench system, along the Carolinas ridge. Several publications describe the volcanic activity of the Caroline Islands and their petrological characteristics. At the end of the XX century, several studies focused on volcanic islands, collecting geochemical and antiquity data.

Most authors suggest a hot spot origin for the Caroline Islands, however, differences in the geochemical nature of the volcanic rocks and the presence of subsaturated and supersaturated silica lavas on the same islands raise a number of concerns. questions about origin only hot spot for these islands

The first geological report on the Caroline Islands was submitted by the Japanese in 1915. Based on petrographic and geochemical study of rock samples collected by them, it was suggested that the Chuuk nepheline basalts are similar to the rocks of Pohnpei and it was concluded that their magma source was the same. Other Japanese researchers described the geology of the Caroline Islands. They conducted a detailed field survey in the Chuuk Islands for military geology and presented detailed petrography of the volcanic rocks of Chuuk Atoll.

Already under US rule in 1974 it was suggested that the Caroline Islands might have formed part of a relict island arc due to the complex bathymetry of the islands. in 1977 the theory of a hot spot origin for the Caroline Islands was put forward again. The results were based on a comparative study of the bathymetry of the Caroline Islands with other hot spot source islands. It was suggested that the Carolinas and Kodiak-Bowie chains, which are currently being subducted into the Pacific trenches, were once as long as the Hawaiian chain.

Economy

Fisherman of Fais Island, State of Yap

Micronesian economic activity consists mainly of subsistence agriculture and fishing, the products of which are mainly exported to Japan. Many families grow breadfruit, taro, yams, vegetables and bananas for their own consumption. Except for phosphates, mining activity is irrelevant. The tourism sector is of some importance, with 17,000 tourists in 2002, but there is still a lack of infrastructure capable of accommodating potential visitors.

The main source of income is foreign aid, coming from the United States, a country with which it is freely associated, and which contributed 109 million dollars in 2001, representing around 65% of the State's income. Other countries with significant contributions are Australia and New Zealand. Compared to the other member countries of the Federated States of Micronesia, Yap is a relatively well-off state.

The issuance of postage stamps intended mainly for philatelic collecting is also a source of income. The public sector still represents 45% of all economic activity, and the liberalization process started in 2002 has not succeeded in placing the economy on the terms agreed with the United States and the World Bank.

Infrastructure

View of the town of Kolonia, on the island of Ponapé.

The Federated States of Micronesia is served by four international airports:

• Ponapé International Airport, on the main island of Ponapé.
• Chuuk International Airport, on the main island of Chuuk.
• Kosrae International Airport, on the main island of Kosrae.
• Yap International Airport, on the main island of Yap.

Demographics

The indigenous population of the Federated States of Micronesia, which is primarily ethnic Micronesian, is made up of various ethnolinguistic groups. The population growth rate remains at 3%, although slowed down by increasing emigration. In Ponapé, cases of extreme color blindness, known as achromatopsia, are common.

There is a growing population of Americans, Australians, Europeans, and residents of China and the Philippines. Population growth remains high at more than 3% annually, which is offset to some extent by net emigration.

Information about the Covid-19 written in Chuukés, the language of the State of Chuuk

Languages

English is the most popular language, which has become the common language of government, and for secondary and tertiary education. Outside of the major capital cities of the four Federated States of Micronesia, local languages are most widely spoken such as Ulithian, Woleaian, Yapés, Ponapean, Kosraean, and Chuukese. In the Catholic mission of Pohnpei, among the Mercedarian missionaries, considered an institution in the country, Spanish is also spoken.

Health

Sanitary conditions prior to contact with Spain are unknown, but by the time Europeans arrived in the Pacific Ocean, Micronesian populations had reached demographic equilibrium.

From the 19th century until the end of the same century, the increase in contacts was accompanied by the frequent introduction of infectious diseases that devastated the islands, killing more than 30% of the population. From German rule until the end of the Japanese occupation in 1944, the introduction of Western medicine, including vaccination, and health and safety measures Hygiene allowed epidemics to be controlled and endemic parasitic, respiratory, and gastrointestinal diseases were reduced. However, the population of the Yap Islands, unlike other parts of the country, continued to decline during this period due to disease.

Beginning in the 1960s, rising standards of living led to dietary changes due to the increased importance of imported foods. Noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, are becoming more common. frequent, perhaps favored by a genetic component in the populations. Child malnutrition, which increased between the 1950s and 1980s due in part to low use of powdered milk, has been in a steady decline since the 1990s with the return of breastfeeding.

President David W. Panuelo’s vaccination in 2019

The main health problems encountered in the early 2000s are chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, due to changes in dietary practices, and cancer. Leprosy and tuberculosis affect many Micronesians. As of 2013, the Federated States of Micronesia does not have mental health centers or psychiatrists or psychologists.

Pingelap, in the state of Ponapé, is notable for the prevalence of an extreme form of color blindness called achromatopsia, and locally known as maskun. Approximately 5% of the 3,000 inhabitants of the atoll are affected.

The healthcare system developed under US Naval Administration after World War II, when the US Navy sponsored students to train as nursing and medical assistants on Guam. In the 1960s there was a program to build dispensaries, followed by the construction of hospitals, both funded and staffed by the US government. Under the Pacific Islands Health Care Program, patients were sent to the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii for treatment that was not available in Micronesia. After independence, the government found it difficult to meet these costs, and reduced local facilities to pay for the shunts, which continued to be financially and technically supported by the United States.

Total health spending in the country was $473 per capita in 2014. This was about 13.7% of GDP.

Since 1990, the governments of the four states of the federation have been fully responsible for health-related issues, and most of the medical and health legislation falls under state jurisdiction. A significant portion of the funding for the medical system comes from the United States. Total healthcare spending in the country was $473 per capita in 2014. This represents about 13.7% of GDP. The healthcare system is considered adequate for provide assistance, but the geographic isolation of the islands makes it difficult to obtain and store supplies, as well as access assistance.

According to the UN, in 2019, the infant mortality rate per thousand live births is estimated at 21.8 for women and 27.2 for men. Life expectancy at birth is 66.2 years for men and 69.6 years for women.

Campanario de la Catedral de Ponape, in Kolonia, on the island of Pohnpei, built in 1909 by the Capuchin missionaries (Catholics) of the German Empire

Religion

The Federated States of Micronesia is 97% Christian. In general this is due to Spanish and German colonial history. The Spanish domination made a large part of the population remain Catholic. During the German colonial period, until 1914, Catholic and Protestant missionaries from the German Empire were deployed.

More than half of the population follow the Catholic Church (55%) and around 42% follow various Protestant Christian groups. Various Protestant denominations, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, are present in all the states of Micronesia in very different proportions. Most Protestant groups trace their roots to American Congregationalist missionaries. On the island of Kosrae, the population is of approximately 7,800 inhabitants; 95% are Protestants. In Pohnpei, the population of 35,000 is evenly divided between Protestants and Catholics. Most of the immigrants are Filipino Catholics who have joined local Catholic churches, for example Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Pohnpei.

In the states of Chuuk and Yap, an estimated 60% are Catholic and 40% Protestant. Minority religious groups include Baptists, Assemblies of God, Salvation Army, Seventh-day Adventists Day, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and the Baháʼí Faith. There is a small group of Buddhists in Pohnpei and a small group of Ahmadiyya Muslims in both Pohnpei and Kosrae. Attendance at religious services is usually high; churches are supported by their parishioners and play an important role in civil society.

In the 1890s, on the island of Pohnpei, intermittent conflicts and the conversion of clan leaders led to religious divisions along clan lines that persist today. The western part of the island is home to more Protestants, while the eastern part is home to more Catholics. Missionaries of many faith traditions are present and operate freely. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. As of 2007, the US government received no reports of social abuses or discrimination based on religious beliefs or practices.

Education

Education in the Federated States of Micronesia is compulsory for citizens ages 6 to 13 and is important to its economy. The literacy rate for citizens ages 15 to 24 is 98.8%.

A Japanese School on Truk Island (now Chuuk State)

The national education agency is the Federated States of Micronesia Department of Education. Each state, however, has its own education agency that manages public schools.

• Chuuk Department of Education
• Kosrae Education Department
• Pohnpei Education Department
• Yap Department of Education

The College of Micronesia is the tertiary institution.

Prior to the influence of the Spanish Empire, education in Micronesia was barely distinguishable from everyday life experiences and impromptu learning opportunities. Spanish influence beginning in the 17th century changed the learning experience of Micronesians to what happened in schools. This system was also influenced by the German Empire beginning in 1899. The Japanese brought their strict model of education to Micronesia in 1914. After World War II, the United States brought its own model of education to Micronesia and introduced instruction in English.

Culture

A rai stone

Although each of the four states has its own culture and traditions, there have been cultural and economic ties that have linked the country for centuries. One of the common cultural traits are clan systems, usually matriarchal. These clans can even extend to more than one island in the country, creating a complex system of relationships. Another common trait of Micronesian culture is the importance of traditional extended families, where households include parents, grandparents, children, cousins, and even more distant relatives.

The island of Yap is famous for its "stone money" known as rai stones, large limestone discs, up to 4 meters in diameter and a large hole in the center. Being of such a large size, in general the stone is not moved, but what is transferred is the property. There are five main types: Mmbul, Gaw, Rai, Yar and Reng, the latter only 0.3 meters in diameter. Its value is based on both size and its history. Most of them come from other islands, since there is no calcite on Yap, some even as far away as New Guinea, although almost all of them come from Palau. It is estimated that there are about 6,500 coins scattered throughout the island.

Lamelamen eoranei (traditional religious practices) are an integral part of Micronesian security, control and continuity. Religious practices formalized people's relationship with the environment and with each other throughout history. For example, environmental conservation practices command people to treat and respect nature, as it provides the sustenance for life.

Handicrafts of Ponape

Sacred sites, such as special designated spaces, rocks, trees, and reef locations, have significant historical value, as can be explained by the narratives of the various clans. For example, each designated space can honor the sacredness of that clan's ancestors. Sacrality connotes the restriction of access to land and to the reef, which is reserved only for members of that clan, known as an aan shon ainang (designated area for a particular clan or sub-clan). People respect these reserved areas, since dishonoring them would mean violence between the extended families of the perpetrators and the guardians of the sacred areas.

Respect helps maintain balance between people from different clans and the environment. As in the traditional folk saying, "liwini ngeni pwal neningeni' (lit. 'one good deed deserves another').

Social Structure

The social organization reflects the different community units present on each island or group of islands according to the pattern of the different ainang systems. The ainang is a kinship-based unit that usually translates into a clan designed to perpetuate local and regional continuity; It focuses on social relationships.

Ainang (clan members) naturally inherit their identity first from the mother's ainang and then from the father's ainang. In Chuuk, and in parts of Yap and Pohnpei, matrilineality predominates, but one is also linked to one's father's clan as afaker.

Ruins of Nan Madol in Pohnpei was the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until approximately 1628

This double belonging transmits rights and obligations to the next generation. This, in turn, maintains the connection to one's kin and assigns one's rank in the Ainang system of the islands.

The degree of obligation of individual members depends on their social position in the clan. At the very least, one is expected to be loyal in order to have access to the economic resources and social status of the ainang. Each member must defend the integrity of the clan. The inhabitants of each island created their own customary laws to safeguard their resources.

Differences in social organizations are most notable between volcanic and low-lying islands. This also affected how islanders responded to each other within the Micronesian archipelagos. For example, islanders of small coral islands do not share many of the customs practiced by islanders of mountainous islands such as Yap, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, which are more socially ranked due to their comparatively large land mass and larger population.

Traditional dances

Traditional dances from the main islands include the "dance of the stick" in Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap, the standing dances in Chuuk and the sitting dances in Yap and Chuuk. The Yapese are especially known for their dance prowess. The Yapense stick dance is performed by men, women, and children at the same time, while the foot dances are performed by women or by men and children, but never by both at the same time. Men participate in various dance competitions, which are segregated by caste; the lower castes have a few different dances, such as the women's standing dance, but they can only dance when authorized by a person of a higher caste.

Dancers in traditional costume celebrating Yap Day

Chuuk shares many of the same dance styles with Yap due to the similar cultural heritage with Chuuk and the outer islands of Yap. The most mysterious and rare Chuuk dance is the so-called 'moonlight dance', one of the few dances in which men and women dance together. It can only be performed during the full moon with the permission of the village chief. Traditionally, it was a way for young men and women to come together.

Parties

The calendar of official holidays is fixed every year for the country as a whole, with the following holidays being fixed:

If a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated throughout the country on the following Monday. Similarly, if a party falls on a Saturday, it is celebrated on the preceding Friday.

On the other hand, each State has its own particular holidays:

Sports

Valentine Yairegpie at the Youth Summer Games Buenos Aires (Argentina) 2018

Most sports played today were introduced by foreign nations that occupied the islands of the Micronesian region. The most popular are track and field, baseball, basketball, and soccer. There is also competition with the va'a, a canoe with an outrigger. The Micronesia national football team has played very few matches. The last one was in 2003, and each of the 4 states fielded their own team in the regional competitions. Notably, the U-23 soccer team participated in the 2015 Pacific Games held in Papua New Guinea. They currently hold the record for goals against in a match (46-0 loss to Vanuatu).

The Federated States of Micronesia National Olympic Committee was founded in 1995 and was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1997. Since its first participation in the Summer Olympics in 2000, Micronesia has participated in all editions, but has not yet won any medals.

The Micronesian Government organized the Federated States of Micronesia Games in 1995, 1997 and 2001. This multi-sport competition for the citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia included twelve or thirteen sports depending on the edition. Micronesian athletes they regularly participate in the Micronesian Games, the South Pacific Mini-Games, and the South Pacific Games. The 2002 and 2014 Micronesian Games were held in the state of Pohnpei. The 2018 Micronesian Games were held in the state of Yap.

The best-known Micronesian athlete in Oceania is weightlifter Manuel Minginfel, a multiple gold medalist in regional and continental competitions and a silver medalist at the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships. He has also competed in four Summer Olympics.