Micronesia

Micronesia is one of the twenty-two subregions into which the UN divides the world, one of the four that belong to Oceania. It is made up of the following countriesː Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati. It also includes three dependencies of the United Statesː Guam, Wake Island and the Northern Mariana Islands.

It has a population of approximately 340,000 inhabitants.^{[citation required]}

History

Sunset in Yap.

Guam (Guåhån in Chamorro, also called Guaján in Spanish), which is part of the Marianas archipelago, has been a dependency of the United States of America since 1898 (when it was ceded by Spain, like Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines)^{[citation required]}. Wake was occupied by the Americans in 1899. The next four were formerly the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (between the two world wars Japanese, and before Spanish, except the Marshall Islands, which were German). Palau and the current Federated States of Micronesia were known as the Caroline Islands. Nauru was German until World War I when it passed to Australia. The Gilbert Islands (today in Kiribati) were a British colony. However, European rule did not begin until well into the 19th century.

Geography

Navigator Mau Piailug (1932-2010) of Satawal Island, Micronesia. These navigators represent the highest state of technology in ancient polynesian societies, as they saved entire societies, knowing where the islands were and so the sources of food.

Micronesia is a region that includes approximately 2,100 islands, with a total land area of 2,700 km², the largest of which is Guam, which covers 582 km². The total area of the ocean within the perimeter of the islands is 7,400,000 km².

It has four large archipelagos:

• Carolina Islands: Federated States of Micronesia and Palaos.
• Gilbert Islands of the Republic of Kiribati.
• Mariana Islands: in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam (EUA).
• Marshall Islands: officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

There is also the island nation of Nauru, among other clearly separated islands and smaller island groups.

Languages

The native languages of Micronesia belong to the Austronesian (or Malayo-Polynesian) language family; most are part of the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages; The languages of Kapingamarangi and Nukuoro (Federated States of Micronesia) belong to the Polynesian branch. But the language of Palau and that of Guam and the Northern Marianas (Chamorro) are closer to those of Eastern Indonesia. English is widespread but not maternally.