Babeldaob
Babeldaob is an island, located in the Republic of Palau.
Alternative spellings and historic names include: Arrecifos, Babelthuap Babldaob, Babeltaob, Babelehoup; Palau, Panlong, Palog
Babeldaob is the largest island in Palau. It is about 23 miles long (N-S), varies from four to eight miles in width, and covers an area of 143 square niles. It is volcanic in origin. There are several ranges of hills, the highest having an elevation of 641 feet. The southern part of the island, where some of the hills are of chalk, is thickly wooded, but the northern half has few forests, and many of the hills are bare, Ngardok Lake in the northeast is to approximately 1,000 yards long and 400 yards wide; from it the Enkassar or Hgardorok river flows south to the coast. There are mumerous settlements, mainly on the periphery of the island.
As with many placenames in Micronesia, "Babeldaob" is a geographic 'pars pro toto', in which the name of a constitutive village, island or atoll is often used describe the larger island, atoll or island grouping in which it is the predominate member. At times, the island was termed "Palau" (Belau) and in this use was eponymous for the the Palauan archepeligo as a whole.
Subunits
States within the Island include: Aimeliik State ("Eimelik"), Airai State ("Ngerechumelbai"), Melekeok State "("Melekiok"), Ngaraard State ("Galalud"), Ngarchelong State ("Arekalong"), Ngardmau State, Ngatpang State, Ngchesar State ("Enkassar"), Ngeremlengui State ("Almongui"), Ngiwal State ("Ogiwal")
Population, Language and Religion
The 2015 Palaun Census reported 5,195 residents. Palauan is the spoken language. The population is primarily Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestants.
Administrative History
The Spanish Period (1521-1899) began with initial discovery in the early 1500's though Spain made little attempt to occupy or administer the islands until 1885, when the islands were incorporated into the Spanish East Indies.
After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the the Palau, Caroline and Marshall Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the islands were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. Palau was a portion of the "Western Carolines District," along with Yap and the Marianas, administered through German New Guinea.
Palau was seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. The Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), the islands were governed by the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government. Koror, in Palau, served as the seat of administration. Japanese presence and proximity were greater in Palau than in the neighboring Caroline and Marshall Islands, accelerating economic development and acculturation. This included imposition of well-defined individual property rights.
Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy during the USN Period (1945-1947). The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was formalized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 in 1947. The Navy passed governing duties to the Department of the Interior in 1951, initiating the TTPI Period (1947-1979). Within the Palau District, Babeldaob was grouped within the “Palau Area” subdivision.
Traditional Culture
Pre-Contact
Pre-contact Palau was organized in a loose confederation of all islands comprised of ten “districts” or “divisions.” Political organization in was characterized by hereditary chieftainship and ranked groups.
Chieftainship was primus inter pares or "first among equals" type similar to Yap, but distinct from centralized chieftainships over smaller polities in the eastern Carolines or merely clans in the central Carolines.
Social organization and ranking in Palau were influenced by wealth (primarily land) and inherited clan affiliation, but also influenced by personal ability and prestige. Households up through clans were primarily defined by matrilineage, but children could choose to join their father's matrilineage, gaining inheritance rights within it instead through their own mother's line. Broadly, competition played a larger role in social order and culture in Palau than anywhere in the Caroline or Marshall Islands.
Colonial Eras
Traditional cultural and political systems evolved over the course of foreign administration. The German administration sought to systemize native life, introducing regulations dealing with native institutions. Local chiefs broadly retained control but their authority was curtailed and they were subjected to German supervision.
The Japanese administrators sought to simplify the traditional clan system through consolidations. Initially Japan retained German policies, but with relaxed enforcement, later introducing further reaching policies aimed at modernization. The Japanese also tried the German scheme of indirect rule, using native chiefs and council as their intermediary, but abandoned the effort. Laws were promulgated by the Bureau and chiefs merely carried them out.
Present Day
Traditional leaders in Palau played a significant role in the end of TTPI and the establishment of Palau as an independent nation. Today, clan relations and traditional leaders continue to influence voting behavior and also political allegiances, particular in the absence of formal political parties or ideological groupings. Though its role is not formalized as a "fourth branch" as it is in Yap State in the neighboring FSM, Palau's Council of Chiefs does provide both an implicit check on, and constitutes a significant influence on, the government.
As Former FSM President Haglegam has explained, "On Palau, a council of traditional chiefs was created to serve as adviser to the president. So, unlike their counterpart in the FSM, the Palauan traditional chiefs have a formal role at the national level, albeit in advisory capacity. However, the council has complained that the president ignores their advice on policy matters. We should keep in mind that the power to advise does not carry with it the power to modify or formulate policy. So, the Palauan traditional chiefs’ power to influence public policy is minimized by granting them only advisory power."
Japanese Era Development
The Japanese made significant investments in transportation infrastructure, including construction of a road connecting Koror and Babeldaob Islands, as well as Construction of roads on Babeldaob itself.
During the Japanese Period there was a police assistant inspector’s station at Melekeok on Babeldaob and a police substation at Arumonogui as well.
The Japaese also established the Marukyoku Public School, where in the late 1930s Kosei Kori served as principal and Shizuo Kohara was a classroom teacher.
A large radio sending station was located at Airai village, as well as a radio receiving station at Gasupan village. The sending station had a 10 kw set, used the A-3 type of transmission, and broadcasted with the call letters HMJ on a frequency of 9,455 kc., and with the call letters HMK on a frequency of 17,875 kc. The Kokusai Denki Tsushin Kaisha (International Electric Communication Company operated a radio-telephone service between Koror and Tokyo.
Resource Extraction
Deposits of manganese ore are located in the northern part of Babeldaob. An earthy bituminous coal is found and was during the Japanese Period mined, in the southern part of Babeldaob Island. Deposits of brownish "wood coal," or lignite, exist in western Babeldaob.
Deposits of aluminum ore (laterite) were also discoverted Babeldaob. These exploited starting in late 1930s by the Nanyo Aruminyunu Kogyo Kaisha. In 1938, 30,000 tons of laterite ore were produced on Babelthuap, yielding 7,500 tons of aluminum. According to a Japanese report in 1939, 100,000 tons of ore were expected to be mined in that year, with an anticipated yield of 25,000 tons of aluminum.
Stone money, or Rai, was formerly quarried on Babeldaob Island in Palau by natives from Yap.
In 1927 the Industrial Experimental Station, which was succeeded in 1936 by the Tropical Industries Research Institute, initiated large-scale experiments on 100 hectares of forest. In March, 1928, a plot of 20 hectares was chosen on Babeldaob Island for experiments in afforestation. As a result of its investigations, the Station reported that teak, Ceylon cinnamon, ironwood, rosewood, mahogany, and acacia appeared promising for afforestation purposes, In 1931 the station was reported to be conducting experiments on methods of drying copra, on means of preventing the decomposition of timber, and on methods of combating timber infections. In 1936 a program of reforestation was initiated on Palau based on the findings.
Political Representation
The Republic of Palau's legistive branch consists of a bicameral Congress. The sixteen members of the lower chamber, or House of Delegates, are elected to four-year terms through first-past-the-post elections and represent single-member constituencies in the form of the 16 states. The thirteen members of the upper chamber, or Senate of Palau, are elected for four-year terms through a non-proportional block voting system in which each voter may choose thirteen candidates from the nationwide slate of candidates. The President of Palau is directly elected through a two-round process.
Airport or Airfield
Roman Tmetuchl International Airport is located on Babeldaob, with a 7,200 foot Asphalt/Concrete runway.
