Pohnpei Rebellion

The term Pohnpei Rebellion can refer to two distinct series of incidents on the Island of Pohnpei in the eastern Caroline Islands.

Pohnpei Rebellion of 1887

The first, generally called the Pohnpei Rebellion or First Pohnpei Rebellion, occurred in 1887, during the Spanish Period.

Though Spain long claimed all of the Caroline Islands, their negligible on-the-ground presence was a major factor in German commercial inroads and claims of possession. These came to a head in the Yap Conflict. Spain responded by introducing or expanding its official presence and building out infrastructure for governance. The efforts were complimented by the introduction of Catholic missionaries.

In the eastern Caroline islands, especially on Pohnpei, this put the Spanish in conflict with American Protestant missionaries, and their native disciples. In 1890, a native preacher in Metalanim protested the building of road and was jailed. The chief of that district revolted, attacked the Spanish garrison, and slew 33 soldiers. The American mission gave refuge to the surviving troops and the Capuchins, and conducted them to safety. An overland punitive expedition failed with considerable loss of life, but Metalanim was then successfully stormed and taken from the sea.

Sokehs Rebellion of 1910

The second, more often termed the Sokehs Rebellion, occurred in 1910, during the German Period.

Turnover in German colonial leaders from 1907 through 1910 resulted in a series of differing and inconsistent policies dealing with the roles and rights of traditional leaders on Pohnpei, as well as the use of compulsory native labor for public works projects.

In 1910 natives were called to perform their two years quota of labor in road building, they assembled in an angry spirit, exacerbated by Catholic-Protestant intrigues behind the scenes (see First Pohnpei Rebellion). When one recalcitrant laborer was seized and flogged, his fellow tribesmen quit work, attacked their masters, District Commissioner Gustav Boeder, and three other Germans. Retaliation was swift. The Germans came with warships and a force of Melanesian soldiers, drove the rebels out of their stronghold, and pursued them into the mountains. By the middle of February, 1911, the entire insurgent district was brought under control with only slight German losses.