Micronesia is an independent nation in Micronesia. With the capital city of Palikir, Micronesia 2020 population is estimated at 112,640 according to countryaah. The first residents of the islands that are now part of the Micronesian Federation probably came from the southeast (possibly the Fiji area) about 4,000 years ago, but the data vary between different sources. An exception is the state of Yap in the far west, which was probably populated for millennia before our time count began by people from present Indonesia or the Philippines.
For several centuries, the chiefs of Yap ruled over all the surrounding islands. In the Yap kingdom, huge round boulders were used as means of payment – in traditional contexts these are still paid today.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Comprehensive guide to and popular abbreviations of Micronesia, covering history, economy, and social conditions.
In the 16th century, the islands were discovered by Portuguese and Spanish seafarers. During the 19th century they were used as bases for British electorate. From the middle of the same century, Christian missionaries began to operate on the islands, at the same time as the trade in coconuts developed. For Micronesia political system, please check diseaseslearning.
In 1886, Spain made the entire archipelago of the Carolinians (which includes the Micronesian Federation) into its colony. However, it was already sold to Germany in 1899, which in turn transferred the islands to Japan at the outbreak of the First World War. Japan was mandated in 1920 to manage the islands by the United Nations’ forerunner of the League of Nations. So many Japanese moved to the islands that in the end they were more than the indigenous people.
