Kosrae
Kosrae is an island in the Eastern Caroline Islands.
Alternative spellings and historic names include: Arao, Armstrong, Experiment, Hope, Kusai, Kosrae, Kusae, Kuseie, Kutbiu, Quollen, Strong, Teyoa, Ualan, Ualang, and Walang
Kosrae is a volcanic island, the easternmost of the Carolines, lies 144 miles east-southeast of Pingelap, 290 miles SSE of Ujelang in the Marshalls, and 411 miles west of Jaluit. It covers an area of 42 square miles, extending from 5° 15' 4" N to 5° 23' 15" N and from 162° 57' 30" E. Its maximum diameter is eight miles (NE-SW). Kosrae consists of the lofty main island of Ualan, the important subsidiary island of Lele, and eight low coral islets on a fringing reef which almost completely encircles the first two islands at a distance ranging from a few yards to a mile. Lele Island in the northeast consists of a high portion in the east, with apeak 354 feet in height, and a low western portion which is artificial or man-made. Ualan Island is crossed from east to west by a valley, which separates it into two unequal parts; a smaller northern portion dominated by a peak 1,911 feet high and a larger southern portion culminating in Mt. Crozer, 2,079 feet in elevation.
The interior is of basalt formation. the coast in the main is a flat foreland, sandy in the north and east, overgrown with mangroves on the south and west, and nowhere more than a kilometer in width. The fields and settlements are located along the coast, on the smaller islands, and it the transverse valley. The reef, which is irregularly hexagonal in shape, is continuous except for passages giving access to the harbors. Of these, the best is Lele Harbor in the northeast; others are Coquille Harbor in the nothwest, Port Berard in the west, and Port Lottin in the south.
Kosrae is a part of eponymous Kosrae State, within Federated States of Micronesia.
Subunits
Muncipalities include: Lelu (actually a separate, but immediately adjacent, island); as well as Malem, Tafunsak, Utwe.
As with many placenames in Micronesia, Kosrae 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.
Population, Language and Religion
The 2010 FSM Census reported a population of 6,616. Kosraean is the spoken language and religious affiliation is almost exclusively Protestant.
The population of Kosrae declined from 1,100 in 1855 to less than 200 in 1880. First the missionaries and later the German and Japanese governments gradually brought the more virulent diseases under control, with the result that since the turn of the last century the population has had gradually recovering. A Japanese census in 1935 counted 1,189 Kosraeans and 25 Japanese Nationals; the US Navy counted 1,555 native residents in 1946.
Governance
Spain laid claim to the Carolines from the time of initial discovery in the early 1500's but made no attempt to occupy or administer them. In 1885 a Governor for the Carolines was appointed by the Governor General of the Philippines and presence established in Pohnpei and Yap. In this Spanish Period (1521-1899), Kosrae fell within the Western District of the Spanish East Indies.
After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Palau, Caroline, and Marianas Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the Caroline, Palau and Mariana Islands (excluding Guam), along with the Marshalls, annexed in 1885, were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. The Carolines become an administrative district of German New Guinea under direction of a vice-governor and Kosraefell within the Eastern Caroline District.
The Carolines were seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. Despite protests from the United States, including the Yap Crisis, the Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), Kosrae fell within the Ponape District of the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government.
Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy. 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. During the USN Period (1945-1947) and the TTPI Period (1947-1979) Kosrae fell within the East Carolines Administrative Unit and then the Pohnpei District.
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was established with the end of the Trust Territory. The FSM is one of three “Freely Associated States,” or “FAS” nations that entered into a Compact of Free Association or “COFA” with the US. The treaty and agreements provide economic assistance to the countries, secured US defense rights and set defense responsibilities, and allow FAS citizens to migrate to the United States.
Traditional Culture
Pre-contact social order was characterized by: a social hierarchy with several levels of social stratification and feudal relationship wherein lower chiefs owed tribute and service to higher chiefs (Goldman Level 3 of 3); occasional interpersonal violence (between individuals who frequently, but not always, are known to one another); one or just a few deaths per year (2 on Younger's 0-4 scale); occasional warfare, defined as armed aggression between political communities or alliances of political communities, with wars every few years (2 on Younger's 0-4 scale).
Traditionally, the island of Kosrae was organized politically as a single native state under a paramount chief, assisted by a number of titled chiefs. When Europeans first visited Kosrae there were seven of these high chiefs, but by 1910 their number had been reduced to one. The titled chiefs and the king lived on the small island of Lele and conferred together on all matters of importance. Far more important than native custom has been the influence of the Christian missionaries and the native church.
The land of Kosrae was entirely owned by the titled chiefs, and was parceled out under the direction of the king to lesser chiefs or feudal lords who managed the land allotted to them. Each titled chief was responsible for directing the activities of a certain number of the lesser chiefs, the latter serving as officials of the titled chiefs whom they represented. The common people fished and tilled the land under the management of their feudal lords. As tenants, they were required to turn over a considerable portion of their produce to the lord.
Class distinctions and the elaborate etiquette supporting them, however, had disappeared as early as 1884. Moreover, the politioal structure of the Kosraean state itself rapidly disintegrated after contact with European civilization. Especially Important in fostering this decline was the influence of the Christian missionaries, who strove to introduce democratic ideals and to support, at the same time, those political figures who were congenial to the missionary effort, A powerful blow was dealt to the ancient form of government in 1869, when the people were provided with an advisory body of seven men picked from among the commoners. These seven counsellors ate once a month with the paramount chief and the titled chiefs to deliberate on civil affairs and to enact laws. Under the German and Japanese administrations some semblance of the old political structure had been retained. The paramount has remained at the head of the political organization, and he has been made a village chief by the Japanese, However, his position gradually become less and less important as the traditional native governmental machinery broke down.
Whalers and Missionaries
Whalers flocked to Pohnpei and Kosrae in very large numbers during the 1850s and early 1860s. Shortly thereafter, however, the whaling industry ceased to be profitable in the area and practically disappeared, the islands reverting to obscurity for a period until the development of the copra trade stimulated imperialistic penetration.
Contact with the whalers brought smallpox and other diseases into the area, causing widespread depopulation. Sailors deserted from whaling vessels in considerable numbers and settled in the islands with native women. In many cases they augmented their livelihood by engaging in trade and furnishing supplies to the whalers. The conditions of moral chaos and exploitation were often appalling. This induced the Boston Mission Society to send missionaries to Kosrae and Pohnpei in 1852 and later to extend their activities to other islands. The missionaries inevitably came into conflict with the whalers and traders, and eventually became involved in political entanglements. In the early 1870’s, during a period when the American missionaries were temporarily withdrawn, the notorious pirate, Bully Hayes, made Kosrae his headquarters for depredations in the Pacific.
The efforts of the Boston Mission were characterized from the first by a strict Puritanism. Polygamy was abolished, and sexual laxity frowned upon in any form. European clothing was introduced. A strict prohibition was placed on dancing, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as on certain native practices such as tattooing, kava drinking, and the use of turmeric. Strict observance of the Sabbath was insisted upon. Schools were started immediately, the native languages were studied, and efforts were begun at once to translate portions of the Bible into the local dialects.
Missionaries Mr, and Mrs. Snow left Kosrae for the Marshall Islands in 1862, after ordaining a native pastor. Thenceforth for 17 years all missionary activity on that island was left in the hands of the natives, Whaling declined and disappeared, and contacts with the outside world practically ceased, In 1879, however. Dr. and Mrs. Edmund M. Pease arrived. The mission school for Marshall Islanders was immediately moved to Mwot, and in 1882 the Gilbert Islands school was also transferred there. In 1886, a school for girls was established at the same place, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred C. Walkup and two American women missionaries arrived at about this time to assist Dr. and Mrs. Pease, and Kosrae became the center of American missionary enterprise in Micronesia, a position which the island has held ever since.
German Period
German trading vessels began to visit the Eastern Carolines to buy copra in the middle 1860s, and shortly after 1870 several German firms opened trading stations in the area. Capelle and Company extended their operations from the Marshall Islands to Pohnpei. Godeffroy and Sons, a Hamburg firm active in Samoa, opened a station on Kosrae. Hernsheim and Company, also of Hamburg, established a competing stations. Hernsheim took over the holdings of Godeffroy and Sons when the latter firm was liquidated in the early 1880.
Japanese Period
During the Japanese Period, Kosrae was the site of a dispensary; the closest government physican and hospital being on Pohnpei. The Japanese also established and maintained a post office. In addition to mail, this handled parcel post, money orders, and postal savings. In 1938 it was made mandatory for natives on Kosrae to maintain postal savings accounts; deposits were encouraged and withdrawals were reportedly made extremely difficult.
Government meteorological stations on Pohnpei and in Chuuk Lagoon, but only and a weather station on Kosrae. The island was also the site of a police Assistant Inspector's station.
At one point Kosrae had a radio station, powerful enough to broadcast to Japan, located on the high hill of Lele Island. That was dismantled and transported to Pohnpei. In 1939 a license was granted to operate a radio station, JPK, at the police station on Lele Island. This station was permitted to use short-wave equipment and was probably in full operation early in 1942. There was a military wireless on Lele in Kosrae as well. There was a power plant for the post office, another for the weather station at Lele Harbor, and a third at a government building at Malem.
Economic Activity
Development of bauxite deposits found in Kosrae was contemplated in 1937 by the Nanyo Aruminyumu Kogyo Kaisha (South Seas Aluminium Mining Company). Very limited phosphate mining was done by the Nanyo Kohatsu Kaisha at Tafwensak in Kosrae, where the company had a small wooden shack. The bottoms of many of the caves of Kosrae are covered with deposits of soft brown guano. Basalt rocks are widely available on Kosrae, but they were not often quarried during the period.
In 1938, lumber for the Shinto shrine at Palau was obtained from a Japanese named Yamamoto who owned and operated a sawmill on Ukat Island in Coquille Harbor.
The South Seas Development Company, or Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha, failed in an attempt to raise sugar on Kosrae in 1938. The heavy requirements of the troops in the Marshall Islands for fresh vegetables led the company, in 1939, to attempt truck gardening on a large scale in Kosrae, The first year’s yield was good, but insect pests ruined the next crop.
Education
The South Seas Government established a public school on Kosrae. The public school offered a regular course of three years and a supplementary or advanced course of two additional yeara. The school year covered 48 weeks, and pupils were in attendance six days in each week. The curriculum of the regular course stressed the teaching of Japanese. In 1940 a school for Japanese children was also establisned on Kosrae.
The American missionaries had instituted a policy of establishing a school with each church and preaching station. Native children attended these church schools five days aweek. The instruction was provided by native teachers, who had usually been trained at the Mission Training School at Kosrae and who were often later ordained and became pastors. Since 1935, when attendance at the government public schools was made compulsory for native children, most of the church schools which had not already succumbed to competition with the superior Japanese schools closed down. In Kosrae, however, they continued to operate, drawing their pupils either from the children too young to attend the public schools or, more usually, from those who had already graduated and who wished to avail themselves of the opportunity to learn to read and write their own language.
Civil Defense
The mandate from the League of Nations forbid the giving of military training to natives except for the purposes of internal policing and local defense. The Japanese had officially denied that the native population in the mandated area were subjected to military training. In 1941, however, compulsory military training for purposes of defense was initiated on Kosrae. On Sunday, February 16, 1941, all the male inhabitants of Kosrae between the ages of twelve and sixty were called to the playground at Lele to begin military training for island defense. This training was announced as compulsory, and it was planned to devote the entire day each Sunday to military drill.
Electoral Divisions
The legislative branch of the Federated States of Micronesia is unicameral. Two types of Senators are elected: at-large senators, one for each of the four states, who serve four-year terms, and population-based senators, representing specific constituencies, who serve two-year terms. The President of Micronesia is elected by the Congress from amongst the four at-large senators, after which a special election is held to (re)fill that seat.Kosrae is represented in the FSM Congress by the Kosrae, At-Large Seat Senator, and the Kosrae, Sole Population-Based District Senator.
Education
The Local Education Agency, or “school district” for Kosrae is Kosrae State Department of Education.
Runway
Kosrae International Airport (KSA) is located on the fringing reef adjacent to the Okat district of Kosrae Island. The airport receives regular commercial flights from Guam (via Pohnpei) and Honolulu (via the Marshall Islands). Caroline Islands Air also makes periodic flights from Kosrae to Pohnpei International Airport in the F.S.M. and Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The runway is 5,751 by 150 feet of asphalt.
References and Resources
Broadbent, William A. A Profile of Relevant Attitudes, Perceptions and Aspirations of Young Micronesians. Vol.1. Non-Journal, ED197027, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Jan. 1972, p. 231, https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Micronesian+Attitudes&id=ED197027.
---. A Profile of Relevant Attitudes, Perceptions and Aspirations of Young Micronesians. Vol.2. Non-Journal, ED197028, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Jan. 1972, p. 370, https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Micronesian+Attitudes&id=ED197028.
Cordy, Ross. “Archaeological Research on Kosrae (Eastern Caroline Islands).” Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, vol. 3, no. 0, 1982, https://doi.org/10.7152/bippa.v3i0.11198.
Hezel, Francis X. “The Role of the Beachcombers in the Caroline Islands.” The Changing Pacific, edited by Neil Gunson, Micronesian Seminar, 1978, pp. 261–72, https://micsem.org/article/the-role-of-the-beachcombers-in-the-caroline-islands/.
Thilenius, G. Results of the South Seas-Expedition, 1908-1910, Vol. 4 (Kusae). Kosrae Historic Preservation Office, 2008.
Younger, Stephen M. “Violence And Warfare In The Pre-Contact Caroline Islands.” The Journal of the Polynesian Society, vol. 118, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 135–64, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20707479.
