76-611: The Lotud people are an indigenous ethnic group residing in Sabah , eastern Malaysia on the island of Borneo . They reside mainly in the Tuaran district (including the Tamparuli as well as Kiulu sub-districts) and also a portion of this tribe's population also reside in the village of Kampung Sukoli located in the Telipok suburban township of Kota Kinabalu city, all located in
152-568: A Marae ) in Sydney . This was seen as disrespectful to Aboriginal Australian landowners, as the Māori are not indigenous to Australia. [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] Oceania [REDACTED] South America Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( Marshallese : Ṃajeḷ ), officially the Republic of
228-700: A United Nations member state since 1991. Politically, the Marshall Islands is a parliamentary republic with an executive presidency in free association with the United States, with the U.S. providing defense, subsidies, and access to U.S.-based agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the United States Postal Service . With few natural resources, the islands' wealth
304-467: A bilingual island, where both Spanish and their native language is spoken. Despite this, the inhabitants still view themselves as Polynesians, and by extension Indigenous Oceanians, not South Americans. Linguistics in Oceania (1971) and Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama (1974) both have broad definitions of Oceania, and define eastern Pacific settlers and post-colonial Easter Islanders as making up
380-518: A piloting technique of interpreting disruptions in ocean swells to determine the location of low coral atolls below the horizon. They noticed that swells refracted around the undersea slope of atolls. When refracted swells from different directions met, they created noticeable disruption patterns, which Marshallese pilots could read to determine the direction of an island. When interviewed by anthropologists, some Marshallese sailors noted that they piloted their canoes by both sight and feeling changes in
456-539: A Spanish-speaking segment of Oceania. The Bonin Islands , located about 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers from Tokyo , are commonly thought to have been uninhabited during pre-Columbian times, even though there may have possibly been a Micronesian presence on the islands approximately 2,000 years ago. The islands are still sometimes associated with Oceania, despite now having become politically integrated into Japan . Today, they are sparsely inhabited by Japanese citizens, with
532-510: A dwindling number are still animists . Less than 20 traditional priestesses are still alive, with no prospect of future replacement. This article about an ethnic group in Asia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Indigenous peoples of Oceania The Indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians , Papuans , and Austronesians ( Melanesians , Micronesians , and Polynesians ). These indigenous peoples have
608-465: A form of population planning due to frequent famines . He also noted that Marshallese iroij held considerable authority and rights to all property, though he had a more favorable view of the condition of Marshallese commoners than of that of Polynesian commoners. The Marshalls' two island groups, the Ratak and Ralik chains, were each ruled by a paramount chief, or iroijlaplap, who held authority over
684-471: A historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. With the notable exceptions of Australia , New Zealand , Hawaii , New Caledonia , Guam , and Northern Mariana Islands , indigenous peoples make up the majority of the populations of Oceania . This differs from the term Pacific Islanders , which usually excludes Indigenous Australians , and may be understood to include both indigenous and non-indigenous populations of
760-639: A large Micronesian population (including Guamese Chamorros ), with many Micronesians having experienced discrimination at the hands of the native Polynesian Hawaiians. Migrants from areas such as the Federated States of Micronesia have also faced discrimination in Guam itself, despite both being ethnoculturally Micronesian. New Zealand has the largest population of Polynesians in the world; it consists not only of their native Māori population, but also of immigrants from other Polynesian islands, including
836-465: A mission church and school at Ebon . By 1875, the missionaries had established churches on five atolls and had baptized more than 200 islanders, and one traveler noted that most women on Ebon wore western clothes and many men wore trousers by the mid-1870s. In 1859, Adolph Capelle and another merchant arrived at Ebon and set up a trading post for the German company Hoffschlaeger & Stapenhorst. When
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#1732772471766912-670: A monopoly in the German Pacific colonies. The British government protested the regulations benefiting the Jaluit Company as a violation of the Anglo-German Declarations' free-trade provision. On March 31, 1906, the German government assumed direct control and reorganized the Marshall Islands and Nauru as part of the protectorate of German New Guinea . The Imperial Japanese Navy invaded Enewetak on September 29, 1914, and Jaluit on September 30 at
988-511: A new cryptocurrency to be used as legal tender. The majority of the citizens of the Republic of Marshall Islands are of Marshallese descent, though there are small numbers of immigrants from the United States, China, Philippines , and other Pacific islands. The two official languages are Marshallese , which is one of the Oceanic languages , and English . Almost the entire population of
1064-441: A population of Indigenous Americans or Indigenous Oceanians, which helped them form their own unique ecosystems. Author Don Macnaughtan wrote in 2014, "The last places to be reached were in the southwest Pacific, and in the far eastern Pacific. Settlers reached all the way to Easter Island, 2,300 miles from the coast of South America, by about 700 AD. In the southwest Pacific, voyaging canoes reached New Zealand around 1250 AD, and
1140-730: A proportion having European and European American ancestry. The European proportion are not recent immigrants, but rather descendants of early settlers, as the islands were not always within the sphere of Japanese colonial influence. Islanders primarily speak Japanese , and like with those in the eastern Pacific, they could be interpreted as one of the smaller linguistic groups in Oceania. Remoter and more uninhabitable islands adjacent to Micronesia may have had fleeting contact with Indigenous Oceanians, with Howland Island and Wake Island being examples. Norfolk Island (adjacent to Melanesia ) and Pitcairn Islands (adjacent to Polynesia ) were uninhabited when discovered by Europeans, but there
1216-619: A protection treaty in German and Marshallese at the German consulate. While the Marshallese text made no distinction of rank among the five chiefs, the German text recognized Kabua as the King of the Marshall Islands, despite an ongoing dispute between Kabua and Loeak over the paramount chieftainship . A company of German marines hoisted the flag of the German Empire over Jaluit, and performed similar ceremonies at seven other atolls in
1292-481: A reform platform, won the 1999 parliamentary election, taking control of the presidency and cabinet. The islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1986. Trusteeship was ended under United Nations Security Council Resolution 683 of December 22, 1990. Until 1999 the islanders received US$ 180 million for continued American use of Kwajalein atoll, US$ 250 million in compensation for nuclear testing , and US$ 600 million in other payments under
1368-529: A relatively dry season from December to April and a wet season from May to November. Many Pacific typhoons begin as tropical storms in the Marshall Islands region and grow stronger as they move west toward the Mariana Islands and the Philippines . Population has outstripped the supply of fresh water, usually from rainfall. The northern atolls get 50 inches (1,300 mm) of rainfall annually;
1444-552: A total of 29 atolls and five individual islands situated in about 180,000 square miles (470,000 km ) of the Pacific. The largest atoll with a land area of 6 square miles (16 km ) is Kwajalein. It surrounds a 655-square-mile (1,700 km ) lagoon. Twenty-four of the atolls and islands are inhabited. The remaining atolls are uninhabited due to poor living conditions, lack of rain, or nuclear contamination. The uninhabited atolls are: The average altitude above sea level for
1520-425: A total population of just over 5 million. The PNG Constitution and other Acts identify traditional or custom-based practices and land tenure , and explicitly sets out to promote the viability of these traditional societies within the modern state. However, several conflicts and disputes concerning land use and resource rights continue between indigenous groups, the government and corporate entities. Hawaii boasts
1596-642: A vote. Since the late 1980s, Marshallese have migrated to the US, with over 4,000 in Arkansas and over 7,000 in Hawaii in the 2010 US Census. Following independence, the Marshall Islands continued to play a prominent role in the testing and launches of missiles and rockets for both military and commercial space purposes. All five of the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket flights were carried out on Omelek Island within
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#17327724717661672-472: Is banned and all by-catch must be released. However, some have questioned the ability of the Marshall Islands to enforce this zone. The Marshall Islands also lays claim to Wake Island based on oral legends. While Wake Island has been administered by the United States since 1899, the Marshallese government refers to it by the name Ānen Kio (new orthography) or Enen-kio (old orthography). The United States does not recognize this claim. The climate has
1748-533: Is based on a service economy , as well as fishing and agriculture; aid from the United States represents a large percentage of the islands' gross domestic product , and although most financial aid from the Compact of Free Association was set to expire in 2023, it was extended for another 20 years that same year. The country uses the United States dollar as its currency. In 2018, it also announced plans for
1824-857: Is generally considered the least decolonized region in the world. In his 1993 book France and the South Pacific since 1940 , Robert Aldrich commented: With the ending of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands , the Northern Mariana Islands became a 'commonwealth' of the United States , and the new republics of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia signed compacts of free association with Washington . Britain 's high commissioner in New Zealand continues to administer Pitcairn, and
1900-399: Is mostly European Australian , some are also Euronesians; these individuals are descended from Pitcairn Islanders that were relocated to Norfolk in 1852 because of overpopulation. The Micronesia adjacent islands became unincorporated territories of the United States, and they all have no permanent residents. The United States government restrict access to outsiders on some islands. Oceania
1976-443: Is substantial evidence of prehistoric Indigenous Oceanian settlement. Pitcairn currently have a population of around 50, who are entirely mixed-race Anglo Euronesians . They are descended from an initial group of Anglo and Polynesian settlers in the 18th century. Pitcairn was later annexed by Britain , while Norfolk Island became an external territory of Australia, who are over 1,500 kilometers removed. Norfolk's present population
2052-497: The Aboriginal peoples of mainland Australia and Torres Strait Islander peoples . Of the total 'Indigenous Australian' population, 90% identified as Aboriginal only, 6% identified as Torres Strait Islander and the remaining 4% identified as being of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a majority population of indigenous societies, with some 700+ different tribal groups recognised out of
2128-885: The Chamorros of Guam and the Northern Marianas , and the Marshallese of the Marshall Islands , and the Native Hawaiians of Hawaii . In the pre-Columbian era , humans never reached the handful of oceanic eastern Pacific islands beyond Easter Island , which itself was settled by the Polynesian Rapa Nui people . Eastern Pacific islands such as the Galápagos and Juan Fernández Islands , while inhabitable, did not have
2204-540: The Congress of Micronesia in 1965, a plan for increased self-governance of Pacific islands. In May 1979, the United States gave the Marshall Islands independence by recognizing its constitution and president, Amata Kabua . Full sovereignty or self-government was achieved in a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Marshall Islands has been a member of the Pacific Community (PC) since 1983 and
2280-485: The Cook Islands , Samoa and Tonga . Australia has the third largest Polynesian population, in addition to having the largest Fijian population outside of Fiji . Australia's Polynesian population consists of Māoris, as well as immigrants who originate from the same countries as the ones who migrated to New Zealand. In 2022, there was controversy over proposals to build a traditional Māori meeting house (known as
2356-625: The Cook Islands , through a compact of free association. Chile rules Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Ecuador rules the Galápagos Islands. The Aboriginals of Australia , the Māori of New Zealand and the native Polynesians of Hawaii, despite movements demanding more cultural recognition, greater economic and political considerations or even outright sovereignty, have remained minorities in countries where massive waves of migration have completely changed society. In short, Oceania has remained one of
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2432-561: The Federated States of Micronesia , and south of the disputed U.S. territory of Wake Island , to which it also lays claim. The atolls and islands form two groups: the Ratak (sunrise) and the Ralik (sunset) . The two island chains lie approximately parallel to one another, running northwest to southeast, comprising about 750,000 square miles (1,900,000 km ) of ocean but only about 70 square miles (180 km ) of land mass. Each includes 15 to 18 islands and atolls. The country consists of
2508-784: The Gilbert Islands and Marshall Islands. On June 25, 1788, the British ships had peaceful interactions and traded with islanders at Mili Atoll ; their meeting may have been the first contact between Europeans and Marshallese since the Mendaña expedition of 1568. Subsequent navigational charts and maps named the islands for John Marshall. From the 1820s through the 1850s, the Marshall Islanders became increasingly hostile to western vessels, possibly because of violent punishments that sea captains exacted for theft as well as
2584-792: The Pacific Islands alike. Australia and most of the islands of the Pacific Ocean were colonized in waves of migrations from Southeast Asia spanning many centuries. American , European and Japanese colonial expansion brought most of the region under foreign administration, in some cases as settler colonies that displaced or marginalized the original populations. During the 20th century several of these former colonies gained independence and nation-states were formed under local control. However, various peoples have put forward claims for indigenous recognition where their islands are still under external administration; examples include
2660-911: The West Coast Division of Sabah. Their population was estimated at 5,000 in the year 1985 but now believed to be more than 20,000. They are a sub-ethnic group of the Dusunic group, now also known as Kadazan-Dusun . Nowadays, most of this ethnic group's population has been Christianized by adhering to denominations such as Roman Catholicism (in Tuaran district proper as well as the suburban township of Telipok in Kota Kinabalu city) and Seventh-Day Adventism (mostly those residing in Tamparuli and Kiulu sub-districts as well as in Telipok since
2736-616: The abduction of Marshallese people for sale into slavery on Pacific plantations. One of the earliest violent encounters occurred in February 1824, when the inhabitants of Mili Atoll massacred marooned sailors from the American whaler Globe . Similar encounters occurred as late as 1851 and 1852, when three separate Marshallese attacks on ships occurred at Ebon , Jaluit , and Namdrik Atolls . In 1857, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent two families to establish
2812-497: The 1st century CE at the village of Laura on Majuro and on Kwajalein Atoll . The Austronesian settlers introduced Southeast Asian crops , including coconuts , giant swamp taro , and breadfruit , as well as domesticated chickens throughout the Marshall Islands. They possibly seeded the islands by leaving coconuts at seasonal fishing camps before permanently settling years later. The southern islands receive heavier rainfall than
2888-747: The Americas and the Philippines kept to a sea lane at 13°N and provisioned at Guam, avoiding the Marshalls, which Spanish sailors saw as unprofitable islands amid hazardous waters. The British sea captains John Marshall and Thomas Gilbert visited the islands in 1788. Their vessels had been part of the First Fleet taking convicts from England to Botany Bay in New South Wales , and were en route to Guangzhou when they passed through
2964-819: The British and German governments conducted a series of secret negotiations to divide the Western Pacific into spheres of influence . The German sphere included the Marshall Islands. On November 26, 1878, the German warship SMS Ariadne anchored at Jaluit to begin treaty negotiations with the chiefs to grant the German Empire " most favored nation " status in the Ralik Chain. During the second day of negotiations, Captain Bartholomäus von Werner [ de ] ordered his men to give military demonstrations which he later said were intended to "show
3040-630: The Japanese period, with the South Seas Trading Company ( 南洋貿易会社 , Nan'yō Bōeki Kaisha ) taking over the Jaluit Company's operations and building upon the German colonial infrastructure. Other parts of the South Seas Mandate experienced heavy Japanese settlement, shifting the population to majority Japanese in the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau, but Japanese settlers remained a minority under 1,000 people in
3116-607: The Kwajalein Atoll. The fourth launch of the Falcon 1 was successful, marking the first time in history a privately developed, fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle achieved orbit. SpaceX founder Elon Musk was present in Kwajalein for select launches. The Marshall Islands sit atop ancient submerged volcanoes rising from the ocean floor, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia , north of Nauru and Kiribati , east of
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3192-612: The Marshall Islands ( Marshallese : Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ ), is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean . The territory consists of 29 coral atolls and five main islands as well as 1,220 other very small ones, divided across two island chains : Ratak in the east and Ralik in
3268-626: The Marshall Islands throughout the Japanese period, because the islands were distant from Japan and had the most limited economic potential in Micronesia. On March 27, 1933, Japan declared its intentions to withdraw from the League of Nations , officially withdrawing in 1935 but continuing to control the territory of the South Seas Mandate. Japanese military planners initially discounted the Marshalls as too distant and indefensible for extensive fortification, but as Japan developed long-range bombers,
3344-399: The Marshallese lived in thatched-roof huts, but their villages did not include the large ornate meeting houses found in other parts of Micronesia. They did not have furniture, except for woven mats, which they used for both floor coverings and clothing. The Marshallese had pierced ears and tattoos . He learned that Marshallese families practiced infanticide after the birth of a third child as
3420-556: The Marshalls, though several pro-American iroij refused to recognize the German protectorate until threatened with German naval force in mid-1886. Nauru was incorporated into the German Protectorate of the Marshall Islands in 1888, following the Anglo-German Declarations of April 1886. The German commercial interests formed the joint-stock Jaluit Company , which was responsible for financing
3496-475: The Marshalls. European maps and charts named the group for British captain John Marshall , who explored the region in 1788. American Protestant missionaries and Western business interests began arriving in the 1850s. German copra traders dominated the economy in the 1870s and 1880s, and the German Empire annexed the Marshalls as a protectorate in 1885. The Empire of Japan occupied the islands in
3572-618: The Pacific Islands . From 1946 to 1958, it served as the Pacific Proving Grounds for the United States and was the site of 67 nuclear tests on various atolls. Operation Crossroads atomic bomb testing began in 1946 on Bikini Atoll after some of the residents were forcibly evacuated. The world's first hydrogen bomb , codenamed " Mike ", was tested at the Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1 (local date) in 1952, which produced significant fallout in
3648-546: The Ryukyu Islands , the four Japanese-held atolls were cut off from supplies and subject to American bombardment. The garrisons began running out of provisions in late 1944, leading to high casualties from starvation and disease. In 1947, the United States entered into an agreement with the UN Security Council to administer much of Micronesia , including the Marshall Islands, as the Trust Territory of
3724-587: The United States engaged in the copra trade in the Marshall Islands. By 1885, the German firms Hernsheim & Co . and Deutsche Handels- und Plantagen-Gesellschaft Der Südsee Inseln zu Hamburg controlled two-thirds of the trade. Contact between the Marshallese and westerners led to sometimes lethal outbreaks of western diseases, including influenza , measles , syphilis , and typhoid fever . Increased access to alcohol led to social problems in some Marshallese communities, and on several atolls conflicts erupted between rival iroij with access to firearms. In 1875,
3800-560: The autumn of 1914 at the beginning of World War I . After the war, the Marshalls and other former German Pacific colonies north of the equator became the Japanese South Seas Mandate . The United States occupied the islands during World War II and administered them as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands after the war. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll . The U.S. government formed
3876-541: The beginning of World War I . An occupation force was stationed on Jaluit on October 3. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Germany's Pacific colonies north of the equator became the Japanese South Seas Mandate under the system of League of Nations mandates . Germany ceded the Marshall Islands to Japan with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. The Japanese navy administered
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#17327724717663952-422: The colony's administration. In addition to controlling two-thirds of the Marshallese copra trade, the company had the authority to collect commercial license fees and an annual poll tax . The company also had the right to be consulted on all new laws and ordinances and nominated all colonial administrative staff. The company's licensing fees and legal advantages pushed out American and British competition, creating
4028-463: The compact. Despite the constitution, the government was largely controlled by Iroij. It was not until 1999, following political corruption allegations, that the aristocratic government was overthrown, with Imata Kabua replaced by the commoner Kessai Note . The Runit Dome was built on Runit Island to deposit U.S.-produced radioactive soil and debris, including lethal amounts of plutonium . There are ongoing concerns about deterioration of
4104-457: The entire country is 7 feet (2.1 m). In October 2011, the government declared that an area covering nearly 2,000,000 square kilometers (772,000 sq mi) of ocean shall be reserved as a shark sanctuary . This is the world's largest shark sanctuary, extending the worldwide ocean area in which sharks are protected from 2,700,000 to 4,600,000 square kilometers (1,042,000 to 1,776,000 sq mi). In protected waters, all shark fishing
4180-439: The entire world. Austronesian settlers reached the Marshall Islands as early as the 2nd millennium BC and introduced Southeast Asian crops, including coconuts , giant swamp taro , and breadfruit , as well as domesticated chickens, which made the islands permanently habitable. Several Spanish expeditions visited the islands in the mid-16th century, but Spanish galleons usually sailed a Pacific route farther north and avoided
4256-503: The evolving political status of the Marshall Islands, the United States recognized the constitution of the Marshall Islands and the establishment of the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The constitution incorporates both American and British constitutional concepts. There have been a number of local and national elections since the Republic of the Marshall Islands was founded. The United Democratic Party, running on
4332-608: The expedition of Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón landed on an uninhabited island, possibly in Ailinginae Atoll , where they resupplied and stayed for six days. Natives from a neighboring island briefly met the Spanish. This expedition named the islands 'Los Pintados' or "the Painted Ones" for the natives who wore tattoos. Later Spanish explorers of the Marshalls included Ruy López de Villalobos , Miguel López de Legazpi , Alonso de Arellano , and Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira , though coordinates and geographic descriptions in 16th century Spanish logs are sometimes imprecise, leaving uncertainty about
4408-412: The firm went bankrupt in 1863, Capelle partnered with Portuguese ex-whaler Anton Jose DeBrum to establish a copra trading firm: Capelle & Co. In 1873, the company moved its headquarters to Jaluit , the home of Kabua , a powerful iroij and disputed successor for the paramount chieftainship of the southern Ralik Chain . In the 1870s, various other companies from Germany, Hawaii, New Zealand, and
4484-412: The first American air raids on Japanese territory. The United States invaded the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944, during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign . The Americans simultaneously invaded Majuro and Kwajalein. By autumn 1944, the Americans controlled all of the Marshall Islands, except for Jaluit, Maloelap, Mili, and Wotje. As the American campaign advanced through Micronesia and into
4560-431: The individual island iroij. On August 21, 1526, Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar was the first European to sight the Marshall Islands. While commanding the Santa Maria de la Victoria , he sighted an atoll with a green lagoon, which may have been Taongi . The crew could not land, because of strong currents and water too deep for the ship's anchor, so the ship sailed for Guam two days later. On January 2, 1528,
4636-605: The islanders, who have not seen anything like it before, the power of the Europeans." On November 29, Werner signed a treaty with Kabua and several other Ralik Chain iroij which secured a German fuelling station at Jaluit and free use of the atoll's harbor. On August 29, 1885, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck authorized the annexation of the Marshall Islands as a protectorate following repeated petitions by German business interests. The German gunboat Nautilus docked at Jaluit on October 13 to take control. On October 15, iroij Kabua, Loeak, Nelu, Lagajime, and Launa signed
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#17327724717664712-451: The islands became useful as a forward base to attack Australia, British colonies, and the United States. In 1939 and 1940, the navy built military airfields on Kwajalein , Maloelap , and Wotje Atolls as well as seaplane facilities at Jaluit. After the outbreak of the Pacific War , the United States Pacific Fleet carried out the Marshalls–Gilberts raids , which struck Jaluit, Kwajalein, Maloelap, and Wotje on February 1, 1942. They were
4788-408: The islands from late 1914 through 1921. The civilian South Seas Government ( 南洋廳 , Nan'yō-chō ) set up its headquarters in Palau in April 1922 and administered the Marshalls until World War II. Japanese surveys determined that the Marshalls' value was primarily strategic, because they could enable future southward expansion . The Marshalls also continued to be a major producer of copra during
4864-669: The islands practices some religion: three-quarters of the country follows either the United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands (UCCCMI) or the Assemblies of God . Linguistic and anthropological studies have suggested that the first Austronesian settlers of the Marshall Islands arrived from the Solomon Islands . Radiocarbon dating suggests that Bikini Atoll may have been inhabited as early as 1200 BCE, though samples may not have been collected from secure stratigraphic contexts and older driftwood samples may have affected results. Archaeological digs on other atolls have found evidence of human habitation dating around
4940-479: The least completely decolonized regions on the globe. In New Zealand , according to the 2018 census , 16% of the population identified as being of Māori descent. Many of those same people also identified as being descended from other ethnic groups, such as European. The indigenous peoples of Australia are the Indigenous Australians , who account for 2.5% of the total population according to 2011 census figures. The term 'Indigenous Australians' refers to both
5016-454: The motion of the boat. Sailors also invented stick charts to map the swell patterns, but unlike western navigational charts, the Marshallese stick charts were tools for teaching students and for consultation before embarking on a voyage; navigators did not take charts with them when they set sail. When Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue visited the Marshalls in 1817, the islanders still showed few signs of western influence. He observed that
5092-462: The neighbouring town of Manggatal, both within the Kota Kinabalu city area has a Seventh-Day Adventist majority population among its native Dusun populace) with a large Muslim minority (both converts to the faith and Muslim by birth and ethnic descent alike) and some lesser extent to evangelical Christianity ( Sidang Injil Borneo ) as well as other denominations such as Anglicanism, True Jesuism and Lutheranism ( Basel Christian Church of Malaysia ), with
5168-434: The north, so communities in the wet south subsisted on prevalent taro and breadfruit, while northerners were more likely to subsist on pandanus and coconuts. Southern atolls probably supported larger, more dense populations. The Marshallese sailed between islands on walaps made from breadfruit-tree wood and coconut-fiber rope. They navigated by using the stars for orientation and initial course setting, but also developed
5244-459: The ocean – they rank as amongst the last places on earth discovered by humans. These include the Galápagos Islands, Cocos Island , the Revillagigedos Archipelago , and the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of South America; Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand; and Midway Island , northwest of Hawaii. They are some of the few places on the planet which have never had an 'indigenous' population." Lord Howe Island
5320-551: The other former British colonies remain members of the Commonwealth of Nations , recognizing the British Queen as their titular head of state and vesting certain residual powers in the British government or the Queen's representative in the islands. Australia did not cede control of the Torres Strait Islands , inhabited by a Melanesian population, or Lord Howe and Norfolk Island, whose residents are of European ancestry. New Zealand retains indirect rule over Niue and Tokelau and has kept close relations with another former possession,
5396-458: The region. Over the years just one of over 60 islands was cleaned by the U.S. government, and the inhabitants are still waiting for the 2 billion dollars in compensation assessed by the Nuclear Claims Tribunal. Many of the islanders and their descendants still live in exile, as the islands remain contaminated with high levels of radiation. A significant radar installation was constructed on Kwajalein atoll. On May 1, 1979, in recognition of
5472-482: The remote, cool and windy archipelago of the Chatham Islands around 1500 AD (New Zealand was in fact the last major land mass on the planet settled by humans – Iceland was settled about 800 AD, and Madagascar some hundreds of years earlier.) After New Zealand, the Pacific was full, and long-range voyaging began to decline quite rapidly. A few habitable Pacific islands were never found until Europeans entered
5548-470: The specific islands they sighted and visited. On July 6, 1565, the Spanish ship San Jeronimo nearly wrecked at Ujelang Atoll after the ship's pilot Lope Martín led a mutiny. While the mutineers were resupplying at Ujelang, several crew members took back control of the ship and marooned Martín and twenty-six other mutineers in the Marshalls. By the late 16th century, Spanish galleons sailing between
5624-403: The waste site and a potential radioactive spill . In February 2018, the Marshall Islands became the first country in the world to recognize its cryptocurrency as its own legal tender for digital currency . In January 2020, David Kabua , son of founding president Amata Kabua , was elected as the new President of the Marshall Islands . His predecessor Hilda Heine lost the position after
5700-452: The west. 97.87% of its territory is water, the largest proportion of water to land of any sovereign state. The country shares maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and the Federated States of Micronesia to the west. The capital and largest city is Majuro , home to approximately half of the country's population. The Marshall Islands are one of only four atoll based nations in
5776-821: Was politically integrated into the Australian state of New South Wales , despite being nearly 800 kilometers removed, and Midway is now an unincorporated territory of the United States . All oceanic islands of the eastern Pacific (excluding Clipperton ) were eventually annexed by Central America and South America , after going unclaimed for a few hundred years following their initial discoveries. They are now politically associated with those regions, in addition to sometimes being associated with Oceania. The sparse number of current inhabitants are primarily Spanish -speaking Mestizos . A percentage of Easter Islanders have race-mixed with Mestizo settlers from their current political administrators, Chile , and it has gradually become
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