PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
July 2014
607
“T
he ancestors of the Micronesians settled
there over 4,000 years ago. A decentral-
ized chieftain-based system eventually
evolved into a more centralized economic and re-
ligious empire centered on Yap. Nan Madol, con-
sisting 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 Pohnpei
and used to be the ceremonial and political seat of
the Saudeleur Dynasty that united Pohnpei’s esti-
mated 25,000 people from about 500 until 1500
AD
,
when the centralized system collapsed”
(Princeton
University, 2014).
“In 1525 Portuguese navigators in search of the Spice Is-
lands (Indonesia) came upon Yap and Ulithi. Spanish expe-
ditions later made the first European contact. At that time,
Spain withdrew from its Pacific insular areas and sold its
interests to Germany, except for Guam which became a US
insular area. German administration encouraged the devel-
opment of trade and production of copra. In 1914 German
administration ended when the Japanese navy took military
possession of the Marshall, Caroline and Northern Mariana Is-
lands. Japan began its formal administration under a League
of Nations mandate in 1920. During this period, extensive
settlement resulted in a Japanese population of over 100,000
throughout Micronesia. The indigenous population was then
about 40,000. Sugar cane, mining, fishing and tropical agri-
culture became the major industries. World War II brought an
abrupt end to the relative prosperity experienced during Jap-
anese civil administration. By the War’s conclusion most in-
frastructure had been laid waste by bombing, and the islands
and people had been exploited by the Japanese Military to
the point of impoverishment. The United Nations created the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) in 1947. Ponape
(then including Kusaie), Truk, Yap, Palau, the Marshall Is-
lands and the Northern Mariana Islands, together constituted
the TTPI. The United States accepted the role of Trustee of
this, the only United Nations Trusteeship to be designated as
a “Security Trusteeship,” whose ultimate disposition was to be
determined by the UN Security Council. As Trustee the US
was to “promote the economic advancement and self-sufficien-
cy of the inhabitants.” The President of the US appointed a
High Commissioner of the TTPI, and he, in turn, appointed an
Federated States of
administrator for each of the “Districts” mentioned above. The
TTPI remained under the civil administration of the US Navy
Department until 1951, when authority passed to the Depart-
ment of the Interior. In 1979, upon implementation of the
FSM Constitution, the US recognized the establishment of the
FSM national and state governments. Self- sufficiency, how-
ever, remained a dim prospect, in part because private-sector
growth had never been encouraged by the TT Administration.
On July 12, 1978, following a Constitutional Convention, the
people of four of the former Districts of the Trust Territory,
Truk (now Chuuk), Yap, Ponape (now Pohnpei) and Kusaie
(now Kosrae) voted in a referendum to form a Federation un-
der the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia
(FSM). United Nations observers certified this referendum as
a legitimate act of self- determination. Thereby, the people re-
asserted their inherent sovereignty which had remained dor-
mant, but intact, throughout the years of stewardship by the
League of Nations and the United Nations. Upon implemen-
tation of the FSM Constitution on May 10, 1979, the former
Districts became States of the Federation, and in due course
adopted their own State constitutions. Nationwide democratic
elections were held to elect officials of the National and four
State governments”
(Government of the Federated States of
Micronesia, 2014)
.
Four times the size of Washington, D. C., (land area only),
the terrain is comprised of islands that vary geologically from
high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls. Volcanic out-
croppings appear on Pohnpei, Kosrae and Chuuk. The low-
